HABITAT SELECTION BY ELK BEFORE AND AFTER WOLF REINTRODUCTION IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
HABITAT SELECTION BY ELK BEFORE AND AFTER WOLF REINTRODUCTION IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
复制标题
黄石国家公园狼放归前后麋鹿对栖息地的选择
DOI：
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发表时间：
2005
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
E. Merrill
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Mao;M. Boyce;Douglas W. Smith;F. J. Singer;D. Vales;John Vore;E. Merrill
摘要 猎物物种被认为会选择栖息地以获得必要的资源，同时避免被捕食。我们研究了 1995 年将狼（Canis lupus）重新引入黄石国家公园后，麋鹿（Cervus elaphus）的栖息地选择是否发生了变化。利用条件固定效应逻辑回归建立栖息地选择模型，我们根据 1985-1990 年（没有狼）和 2000-2002 年（有狼）每周进行的麋鹿放射定位，比较了麋鹿的季节性栖息地选择。与火灾有关的栖息地变化和气候可能与躲避狼相互作用，影响了麋鹿的栖息地选择。在夏季，当狼的活动集中在巢穴和会合地点时，麋鹿显然会通过选择更高的海拔、更少的开放栖息地、更多被烧毁的森林以及在狼密度高的地区选择比狼重新引入之前更陡的斜坡来避开狼。冬天，麋鹿与狼在空间上没有分开。与狼出现之前相比，狼重新引入后，麋鹿在冬季选择了更开阔的栖息地，但没有改变它们对雪水当量（SWE）或坡度的选择。麋鹿似乎选择的栖息地可以让它们在夏季避开狼，但它们在冬季可能会依赖其他行为反捕食策略，例如分组。这项研究提供了证据，证明狼可以改变季节性麋鹿的分布和栖息地选择，并展示了狼返回黄石公园如何恢复重要的生态系统过程。
Abstract Prey species are thought to select habitats to obtain necessary resources while also avoiding predation. We examined whether habitat selection by elk (Cervus elaphus) changed following the reintroduction of wolves (Canis lupus) into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. Using conditional fixed-effects logistic regression to build habitat-selection models, we compared seasonal habitat selection by elk based on weekly elk radiolocations taken in 1985–1990 (without wolves) and 2000–2002 (with wolves). Fire-related habitat changes and climate likely interacted with wolf avoidance in shaping habitat selection by elk. In summer, when wolf activity was centered around dens and rendezvous sites, elk apparently avoided wolves by selecting higher elevations, less open habitat, more burned forest, and, in areas of high wolf density, steeper slopes than they had before wolf reintroduction. In winter, elk did not spatially separate themselves from wolves. Compared to the pre-wolf period, elk selected more open habitats in winter after wolf reintroduction, but did not change their selection of snow water equivalents (SWE) or slope. Elk appear to select habitats that allow them to avoid wolves during summer, but they may rely on other behavioral antipredator strategies, such as grouping, in winter. This study provides evidence that wolves can alter seasonal elk distribution and habitat selection, and demonstrates how the return of wolves to Yellowstone restores important ecosystem processes.