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88 results for “elk”

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zenodo36/100

Ensminger et al 2020 - Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in harvested elk

Raw data for modeling fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in Ensminger et al. 2020.

opencc-by-4.0May 2020View details →

zenodo36/100

The Alunda Elk

The Alunda elk is a ceremonial stone axe from the Neolithic, c. 4000-1700 B.C., that was found during the excavation of a ditch in [Norrlövsta](https://goo.gl/GrRu17) in Alunda parish, Östhammar Municipality, Uppland in 1910. The 21 cm long object of greenish black [diorite](https://goo.gl/fMbQ5B) is not a proper axe, it hasn't been used in battle or for utilitarian purposes. One end is naturalistically sculpted in the shape of an elk head, the ridge along the body alludes to the animals neck, and the back edge is softly rounded. The conical shaft hole is not bored through. The Alunda elk was probably used in ceremonies, the nature and meaning of which have been lost to us. It is considered one of the most beautiful animal sculptures of the Nordic Neolithic, made by a highly skilled craftsperson who was very familiar with the physical characteristics of the [elk](https://goo.gl/rRtWBd) species. The axe is believed to originate from [Karelia](https://goo.gl/kHvq2m) where similar animal depictions are known. Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-byNov 2018View details →

dryad36/100

Cougars, wolves, and humans drive a dynamic landscape of fear for elk

To manage predation risk, prey navigate a dynamic landscape of fear, or spatiotemporal variation in risk perception, reflecting predator distributions, traits, and activity cycles. Prey may seek to reduce risk across this landscape by using habitat at times and in places when predators are less active. In multi-predator landscapes, avoiding one predator could increase vulnerability to another, making the landscape of fear difficult to predict and navigate. Additionally, humans may shape interactions between predators and prey, and induce new sources of risk. Humans can function as a shield, providing a refuge for prey from human-averse carnivores, and as a predator, causing mortality through hunting and vehicle collisions and eliciting a fear response that can exceed that of carnivores. We used telemetry data collected between 2017 and 2021 from 63 GPS-collared elk (Cervus canadensis), 42 cougars (Puma concolor) and 16 wolves (Canis lupus) to examine how elk habitat selection changed in relation to carnivores and humans in northeastern Washington, USA. Using step-selection functions, we evaluated elk habitat use in relation to cougars, wolves, and humans, diel period (daytime vs. nighttime), season (summer calving season vs. fall hunting season), and habitat structure (open vs. closed habitat). The diel cycle was critical to understanding elk movement, allowing elk to reduce encounters with predators where and when they would be the largest threat. Elk strongly avoided cougars at night but had a near neutral response to cougars in the day, whereas elk avoided wolves at all times of day. Elk generally used more open habitat where cougars and wolves were most active, rather than altering use of habitat structure depending on the predator species. Elk avoided humans during the day and ~ 80% of adult female mortality was human caused, suggesting that humans functioned as a "super predator" in this system. Simultaneously, elk leveraged the human shield against wolves but not cougars at night, and no elk were confirmed to have been killed by wolves. Our results add to the mounting evidence that humans profoundly affect predator-prey interactions, highlighting the importance of studying these dynamics in anthropogenic areas.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Behavioral trade-offs and multitasking by elk in relation to predation risk from Mexican gray wolves

Non-consumptive effects of predation can alter foraging time, stress levels, and habitat use by prey, potentially resulting in reduced fitness. However, prey can mitigate the non-consumptive effects of predation by increasing vigilance, chewing and vigilance synchronization (i.e., multitasking), and spatiotemporal avoidance of predators. We quantified the effects of the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) predation risk on elk (Cervus canadensis) behavior in the southwestern United States. We conducted behavioral observations on adult female elk and developed predation risk indices using Mexican wolf GPS collar data, locations of elk killed by Mexican wolves, and landscape covariates. We compared a priori models to determine the best predictors of adult female behavior and multitasking, separately. Metrics that quantified both spatial and temporal predation risk were top predictors in both datasets. Adult female vigilance was positively associated with increased predation risk. Increased predation risk had little effect on the probability of foraging, but resulted in decreased time spent resting. In a post hoc analysis, the effect of predation risk on foraging and resting differed across diurnal periods. During midday when wolf activity was relatively low, the probability of foraging increased while resting decreased, in areas with high spatial predation risk. During crepuscular periods when elk and wolves were most active, increased predation risk was associated with increased vigilance and slight decreases in foraging. Our results suggest elk are temporally avoiding predation risk from Mexican wolves by trading resting for foraging, a trade-off often not evaluated in behavioral studies. The probability of multitasking increased with predation risk, suggesting that adult female elk may be offsetting the non-consumptive effects of risk on feeding time. These results highlight potentially important but often excluded behaviors and trade-offs prey species may use to reduce the indirect effects of predation and contribute additional context to our understanding of predator-prey dynamics.

opencc-zeroMay 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Elk food habits using DNA metabarcoding for plant identification

North American elk (Cervus canadensis) inhabited portions of the Eastern United States until extirpation in the mid-1800s. From 2000 to 2008, 201 elk were reintroduced to the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (NCWMA), Tennessee. The stocking source was Elk Island National Park, Alberta Canada where there are two distinct genetic populations isolated from the north and south. This genetic structure has largely persisted in the population after translocation. Food habits were evaluated in the early stages of restoration, but the population has had approximately 20 years to adapt to the landscape, and current food habits are unknown. To assess diet composition using DNA metabarcoding, we collected fecal pellets of elk from 65 openings within the 79,318-ha NCWMA weekly from February to April of 2019. We targeted the ITS2 region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA to amplify vegetation sequences found in the internal portion of the elk feces. DNA metabarcoding of feces was linked to results from an accompanying elk population genetics study to investigate food habits between sexes from the two different genetic groups. The majority (80.298%) of sequences matched plants from 22 genera. The top genera (>5.000%) represented were Vaccinium (15.216%), Festuca (8.446%), Rosa (6.358%), Robinia (5.793%), and Eleagnus (5.186%). Elk heavily used woody plants before and after spring green-up (>50% of diet). However, the quantity of forbs in their diet more than doubled after emergence in the spring. The sex-genetic groups consumed similar vegetation in approximately proportionate amounts. Diversity analyses revealed a significant difference in plant genera sequence detection between males from the two genetic groups, although this finding is likely explained by limited sample size. NCWMA elk used a variety of forage in the winter and DNA metabarcoding analysis allows for a comprehensive analysis of food habits useful for monitoring how elk respond dietarily to habitat management.

opencc-zeroJul 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Multi-level thresholds of residential and agricultural land use for elk avoidance across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

1. Conversion of land for settlements and agriculture is increasing globally and can influence wildlife space use. However, there is limited research to identify the thresholds of land use change that incur wildlife avoidance, and how these thresholds might vary across levels of selection. 2. We evaluated multi-level avoidance thresholds of elk (Cervus canadensis) impacted by residential development and irrigated agriculture across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Using GPS data from 765 elk in 21 herds, we estimated habitat selection in relation to development and agriculture at 3 levels (home range selection, within home range selection, and movement path selection). Next, using individual selection covariates and associated measures of land use availability, we used functional-response models to evaluate how selection varied based on availability, and in turn, to estimate avoidance thresholds. 3. We found individual and level-specific variation in elk responses to environmental factors. Elk exhibited stronger responses (either selection or avoidance) when selecting home range locations (i.e. second-order selection) than when selecting areas within home ranges (i.e. third-order selection) or selecting movement paths (i.e. fourth order selection). Importantly, elk avoidance of development and agriculture changed as the amount of land in these categories changed. Across all levels of selection, elk exhibited neutral selection for human development at low levels of availability (<1.1–2.2% developed) but avoided areas that were >1.1–2.2% developed. Conversely, elk selected positively for irrigated agriculture at low to moderate levels of availability (<52.0–66.2% agriculture) but exhibited neutral selection in areas that were > 52.0–66.2% agriculture. 4. Synthesis and Applications: Elk avoidance of low levels of human development suggests conservation efforts such as restrictions on future development or conservation easements could focus on areas that are still below 2% developed. Additionally, because elk selection was strongest at the landscape scale, conservation actions that are based on information about the overall landscape structure may be most impactful. Our results highlight the importance of understanding variability in wildlife habitat selection at multiple levels, particularly in relation to land use change and highlight how functional response modelling can help inform landscape conservation.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data for: Fear before food: Scale-dependence in elk habitat selection

<ol> <li>Habitat selection is a critical aspect of a species' ecology requiring complex decision-making that is both hierarchical and scale-dependent, since factors that influence selection may be nested or unequal across scales.</li> <li>Elk (Cervus canadensis) ranged widely across diverse habitats in North America prior to European settlement and subsequent eastern extirpation. Most habitat studies have occurred within their contemporary western range, even after eastern elk reintroductions began. As habitat selection can vary by geographic location, available cover, season, and diel period, it is important to understand how a non-migratory, reintroduced population in northern Wisconsin, USA is limited by the lack of variation in topography, elevation, and vegetation.</li> <li>We tested scale-dependent habitat selection on 79 adult elk from 2017–2020. We used resource selection functions across both temporal and spatial scales to understand differences in selection of topographic and environmental features.</li> <li>We found that selection varied both spatially and temporally and elk selected areas with the greatest potential to influence fitness at larger scales (i.e., landscape scale), meaning elk selected areas closer to escape cover and further from "risky" features (e.g., wolf territory centers, county roads and highways). We found stronger avoidance to wolf territory centers during spring, suggesting elk were selecting safer habitats during calving season. We found elk selected habitats with less canopy cover across both spatial scales and all seasons, suggesting that elk selected these areas for better access to forage as forest stands in early seral stages have greater nutritional value and forage biomass than closed-canopy forests and direct solar radiation to provide warmth in the cooler seasons.</li> <li>This study highlights how processes at different spatial and temporal scales influence species' decision-making. It provides insight into the complexity of making informed decisions in which an individual is responding to their immediate environment while simultaneously making decisions in the context of the larger landscape. Scale-dependent behavior is crucial to understand within specific geographic regions as these decisions scale up to influence population dynamics. </li> </ol>

opencc-zeroAug 2023View details →

dryad36/100