SPATIAL ECOLOGY OF COYOTES ALONG A SUBURBAN-TO-RURAL GRADIENT
SPATIAL ECOLOGY OF COYOTES ALONG A SUBURBAN-TO-RURAL GRADIENT
复制标题
郊狼沿郊区到农村梯度的空间生态
DOI：
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发表时间：
2004
期刊：
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通讯作者：
T. M. Gehring
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
T. Atwood;H. P. Weeks;T. M. Gehring
摘要郊狼（犬latrans）现在在美国东部的大部分地区无处不在，但是，很少有信息存在于他们如何能够利用和繁荣在破碎的景观。我们调查了土狼的活动范围，运动和规模依赖的资源选择沿着梯度（郊区/远郊/农村）的人为干扰。家域大小随郊区到农村的梯度变化沿着，与城市化呈负相关（R2 = 0.79，P < 0.001）。栖息地组成和土狼使用的95%（家庭范围）和50%（核心区域）的轮廓是非随机的。郊狼广泛使用走廊栖息地，避免城市和农田栖息地。森林栖息地被广泛用于昼夜覆盖。农村郊狼比郊区/远郊郊狼以更快的速度旅行更远的距离。昼夜活动模式是相似的沿着梯度，这表明郊狼的反应类似于不同水平和类型的人类活动。土狼出现在景观尺度上评估栖息地质量，并利用小，间断资源补丁存在于发达的景观。我们认为，觅食栖息地和旅行走廊的可用性对郊狼在人类活动频繁地区的运动至关重要。
Abstract Coyotes (Canis latrans) are now ubiquitous throughout most of the eastern United States; however, little information exists on how they are able to exploit and thrive in fragmented landscapes. We investigated home ranges, movements, and scale-dependent resource selection of coyotes along a gradient (suburban/exurban/rural) of anthropogenic disturbance. Home-range sizes varied along a suburban-to-rural gradient and were inversely correlated to urbanization (R2 = 0.79, P < 0.001). Habitat composition and coyote use of 95% (home range) and 50% (core area) contours were nonrandom. Coyotes used corridor habitat extensively and avoided urban and crop-field habitats. Forested habitat was used extensively for diurnal cover. Rural coyotes traveled greater distances at faster rates than did suburban/exurban coyotes. Diel activity patterns were similar along the gradient, suggesting that coyotes responded similarly to differing levels and types of human activity. Coyotes appeared to assess habitat quality at the landscape scale and exploited small, disjunct resource patches present in developed landscapes. We believe that the availability of foraging habitat and travel corridors is critical to movement of coyotes in areas of high human activity.