Abstract
Habitat selection of animals depends on factors such as food availability, landscape features, and intra- and interspecific interactions. Individuals can show several behavioral responses to reduce competition for habitat, yet the mechanisms that drive them are poorly understood. This is particularly true for large carnivores, whose fine-scale monitoring is logistically complex and expensive. In Scandinavia, the home-range establishment and kill rates of gray wolves (Canis lupus) are affected by the coexistence with brown bears (Ursus arctos). Here, we applied resource selection functions and a multivariate approach to compare wolf habitat selection within home ranges of wolves that were either sympatric or allopatric with bears. Wolves selected for lower altitudes in winter, particularly in the area where bears and wolves are sympatric, where altitude is generally higher than where they are allopatric. Wolves may follow the winter migration of their staple prey, moose (Alces alces), to lower altitudes. Otherwise, we did not find any effect of bear presence on wolf habitat selection, in contrast with our previous studies. Our new results indicate that the manifestation of a specific driver of habitat selection, namely interspecific competition, can vary at different spatial-temporal scales. This is important to understand the structure of ecological communities and the varying mechanisms underlying interspecific interactions.
Highlights
Habitat selection of animals depends on factors such as food availability, landscape features, and intraand interspecific interactions
Habitat selection within home ranges depends on factors such as prey availability, landscape features, and intra- and interspecific interactions, which can reduce the selection of otherwise preferred habitats[2,3,4]
The present study showed that wolves avoided higher altitudes during winter, in the area where wolf territories were sympatric with bears, i.e., in the northern part of the wolf breeding range in Scandinavia
Summary
Habitat selection of animals depends on factors such as food availability, landscape features, and intraand interspecific interactions. Competition triggers different behavioral responses, including varying degrees of spatio-temporal overlap and avoidance among competitors, yet the behavioral mechanisms that drive carnivore responses to competition are poorly understood[8]. Previous research on interspecific competition focused www.nature.com/scientificreports on their habitat and resource use[15,16,17], interference competition between trophic levels[18,19], and the demographic impact of coexisting predators on prey[20,21]. The latter topic has management implications, e.g., to adjust harvest quotas of ungulates in areas with coexisting bears and wolves[22]. The negative effect of bear density on the probability of establishment of wolf pairs was a novel finding regarding the effects that interspecific competition between apex predators can have at the population level[26,27]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
