Movement ecology and space-use by mountain lions in West Texas

Abstract

Local knowledge regarding the movements and space-use of large carnivores can inform species’ management, conservation planning, and strategies for reducing human-wildlife conflict. However, because issues regarding large carnivores can be controversial, obtaining such information may be difficult and therefore lacking in many places. Such is the case for mountain lions ( Puma concolor ) in West Texas, where most of the land is privately owned. Therefore, we sought to better understand movements and home ranges of mountain lions in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. We GPS collared 24 mountain lions (15 females, 9 males) between 2011 and 2017. We inspected variograms to distinguish dispersers from residents then we estimated movement metrics and home ranges using continuous-time movement models and autocorrelated kernel density estimation. Using generalized linear mixed models, we tested for seasonal differences in all movement and home range metrics. Of three subadults that dispersed, one had data appropriate for speed estimation; she exhibited faster speeds while dispersing than while exhibiting philopatric movements. Compared to adult resident males, adult resident females moved with slower average speeds (females: 11.82 ± 0.43 km/day; males: 20.36 ± 2.86 km/day), exhibited similar directional persistence in movement (females: 0.95 ± 0.14 h; males: 1.12 ± 0.21 h), crossed their home ranges in similar times (females: 5.76 ± 0.98 days; males: 7.07 ± 1.34 days), and used smaller home ranges than males (females: 283.83 ± 37.50 km 2 : males: 1077.95 ± 219.30 km 2 ). Adults moved with slowest speeds in the cold-dry season; there were no seasonal effects on other estimates. Each individual’s successive seasonal home ranges were highly overlapped (0.95 ± 0.01). The mountain lions did not expand, contract, or shift their home ranges seasonally, which may be due to ample prey-availability and limited seasonal-shifts in prey distribution. Mountain lions used areas larger than most local ranches and tended to move across the landscape quickly. Together, our results indicate that mountain lions do not typically stay on one property for long which may have implications for conservation planning and species management.