DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Ungulate Movement Strategies and Resource Predictability in Grassland Ecosystems

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This research seeks to better understand the underlying behavioral mechanisms associated with the movement strategies of ungulates as they travel through different landscapes. Animal movements are usually motivated by a need for resources and among ungulates, some species (e.g., white-tailed deer) have generally abundant and well-dispersed resources and are considered range-residents, whereas other species (e.g., caribou, wildebeest), whose resources are predictably distributed in different parts of their range in different seasons, are migratory. However, large-scale, long-range movements that occur when resource distributions are fundamentally unpredictable in both time and space have so far received little attention. These movements could be called nomadism and one striking example can be observed in Mongolian gazelles, which are the most important wild ungulate in one of the last intact temperate grassland ecosystem on the planet. We will develop computer models that simulate and link behavioral movement mechanisms which can be either based on memory, perceptual cues or triggered by environmental factors. It explores their efficiency under different scenarios of resource distributions across time and space. Finally it tries to integrate empirical data on resource distributions as well as movements of moving animals, such as satellite data on primary productivity and satellite tracking data of Mongolian gazelles. New insights about the driving forces of ungulate movements will support conservation efforts for nomadic and migratory species in general and Mongolian gazelles specifically, which are constantly moving and difficult to manage with traditional static protected areas.