All-terrain vehicle to investigate mechanisms of bison distribution under physiological stress

要求的全地形车是必要的，以执行我们的研究计划的行为机制，导致草食动物分布在生理压力下的评估。我们将进行研究，以确定野牛的时空动态的主要决定因素，这些野牛暴露在狼的捕食、人类主导的景观（即，农田）和有限的栖息地。 我们将利用这些信息，通过修改容易发生冲突的地区附近的连通性来减少野生动物与人类的冲突。第一步将是描述野牛范围内捕食风险的时空模式。为此，我们将评估野牛对狼群分布的反应。 第二步将是监测无线电项圈野牛，以评估他们的运动决定。我们将使用图论来确定资源补丁网络的某些部分，如果这些部分受到影响，应该会对野牛分布产生强大且可预测的影响。在此基础上，我们将对网络进行一次小规模的实验，通过局部但具有战略意义的栖息地改造，减少保护地以外的活动。最后，我们将描述压力源并确定它们如何影响野牛分布，特别是在野牛分布范围的边缘（例如，农业区）。 我们的研究需要进行植被调查，并确定激素的压力水平在野牛粪便的边缘，他们的范围。这些信息将澄清野牛如何应对压力和植被质量，因为他们试图扩大到新的地区。 拟议的研究是创新的，因为它将超越简单的分布模式的描述，揭示了在栖息地选择过程中所涉及的行为机制。影响动物分布的方法将结合联合收割机严格的科学和适应性管理，这将加快发展创新和有效的保护意义的管理行动。在加拿大，自由放养的平原野牛种群受到威胁（COSEWIC，2004年5月），随着野牛在保护区之外度过更多时间，它们的自由放养性质可能会受到威胁。我们的工作将有助于野牛的管理，提高我们预测和控制它们分布的能力。

The All-Terrain Vehicle requested is necessary to carry out our research program on the evaluation of behavioural mechanisms that result herbivore distribution under physiological stressors. We will conduct research to identify the main determinants of the spatiotemporal dynamics of bison that are exposed to stressors such as wolf predation, human dominated landscapes (i.e., farmlands), and limited habitat availability. We will use this information to reduce wildlife-human conflicts by modifying connectivity near areas prone to conflicts. The first step will be to characterize spatio-temporal patterns of predation risk within the bison range. To do so, we will evaluate how bison respond to the distribution of wolves. The second step will be to monitor radio-collared bison to evaluate their movement decisions. We will use graph theory to pin point parts of the resource patch network that, if impacted, should have strong and predictable effects on bison distribution. On this basis, we will carry out a landscape-scale experiment on the network by local - yet strategic - habitat modifications to reduce movements outside of protected lands. Finally, we will characterize stressors and identify how they impact bison distribution, particularly at the edge of bison range (e.g., in agricultural areas). Our research requires to conduct vegetation surveys and to identify stress levels from hormones in bison scat at the edge of their range. This information will clarify how bison respond to stress and vegetation quality as they attempt to expand into new areas. The proposed research is innovative because it will go beyond the simple description of distribution patterns by revealing the behavioural mechanisms involved in the habitat selection process. The approach to influencing animal distribution will combine rigorous science and adaptive management, which will speed the development of innovative and effective management actions of conservation significance. Free-ranging plains bison populations are threatened in Canada (COSEWIC, May 2004), and as bison spend more time outside of protected lands their free-ranging nature may be in jeopardy. Our work will help bison management by increasing our ability to predict and control their distribution.