Using first-passage time to link behaviour and habitat in foraging paths of a terrestrial predator, the racoon
Using first-passage time to link behaviour and habitat in foraging paths of a terrestrial predator, the racoon
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DOI：
10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.012
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发表时间：
2012-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Chamberlain, Michael J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Byrne, Michael E.;Chamberlain, Michael J.
了解动物如何改变其与环境条件有关的行为是研究动物运动，觅食生态和栖息地的关键因素，并可以为实际的保护和管理应用提供宝贵的信息。为了最佳地利用异质景观中的资源，觅食者应大量搜索有利可图的补丁，同时最大程度地减少低品质地区的觅食活动。我们使用了第一学期的时间（FPT）分析来识别和表征沿浣熊夜间运动路径的区域限制搜索（ARS）行为。尽管FPT分析已成功地应用于各种上层物种，但我们的目标是确定FPT检测与陆地捕食者搜索行为变化相关的栖息地特征的能力。浣熊，普罗扬·洛尔（Procyon Lotor）在夜间动作中通过radiotelemetry进行了跟踪。我们发现了58条路径中55个ARS行为的证据，浣熊在平均半径为42.6 m（范围20-100 m）的区域集中搜索大量搜索。为了测试我们对AR的检测是否代表了行为的实际变化，我们跟踪了五个与人造食物斑块有关的浣熊。我们在10次中的9次中检测到ARS行为，其中轨道动物遇到了食物斑块。浣熊在浅水充足的地区显示出ARS的行为，它们迅速穿过开口和干燥区域，地面植被稀疏。这种方法的应用应证明可用于研究栖息地使用和觅食陆地捕食者的生态，通过在动物运动与环境之间提供联系。 （c）2012年动物行为研究协会。由Elsevier Ltd.出版。保留所有权利。
An understanding of how animals alter their behaviour in relation to environmental conditions is a key element in the study of animal movement, foraging ecology and habitat use, and can provide valuable information for practical conservation and management applications. To exploit resources in heterogeneous landscapes optimally, foragers should intensively search in profitable patches while minimizing foraging activities in low-quality areas. We used first-passage time (FPT) analysis to identify and characterize area-restricted search (ARS) behaviour along the nightly movement paths of racoons. While FPT analysis has been successfully applied to a variety of pelagic species, our goal was to determine the ability of FPT to detect habitat characteristics associated with changes in searching behaviour for a terrestrial predator. Racoons, Procyon lotor, were tracked via radiotelemetry during their nightly movements. We found evidence of ARS behaviour in 55 of 58 paths, with racoons concentrating intensive searching bouts in areas with an average radius of 42.6 m (range 20-100 m). To test whether our detection of ARS represented an actual change in behaviour, we tracked five racoons in relation to an artificial food patch. We detected ARS behaviour during 9 of 10 occasions in which a tracked animal encountered the food patch. Racoons showed ARS behaviour in areas with abundant shallow water, and they moved quickly through openings and dry areas with sparse ground-level vegetation. Application of this method should prove useful for studies of habitat use and foraging ecology of terrestrial predators by providing links between animal movements and the environment. (C) 2012 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.