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

我们的研究项目是评估草食动物在生理应激条件下分布的行为机制，因此需要全地形车。我们将开展研究，以确定暴露于压力源（如狼捕食、人类主导的景观（即农田）和有限的栖息地可用性）下的野牛时空动态的主要决定因素。我们将利用这些信息，通过改变冲突易发地区附近的连通性，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分布的反应。第二步是监测戴无线电项圈的野牛，评估它们的行动决定。我们将使用图论来确定资源补丁网络的部分，如果受到影响，应该对野牛的分布产生强烈和可预测的影响。在此基础上，我们将在网络上进行景观规模的实验，通过局部但战略性的栖息地改造来减少受保护土地以外的活动。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，在农业地区）。我们的研究需要进行植被调查，并从野牛粪便中的激素水平来确定它们活动范围边缘的压力水平。这些信息将阐明野牛在试图向新地区扩张时如何应对压力和植被质量。拟议的研究具有创新性，因为它将超越对分布模式的简单描述，揭示栖息地选择过程中涉及的行为机制。影响动物分布的方法将严格的科学与适应性管理相结合，这将加快具有保护意义的创新和有效的管理行动的发展。在加拿大，自由放养的平原野牛种群受到威胁（COSEWIC， 2004年5月），随着野牛在保护区以外的时间越来越长，它们自由放养的性质可能会受到威胁。我们的工作将通过提高我们预测和控制野牛分布的能力来帮助野牛管理。

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.