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510 results for “Ungulates”
Ungulate occurrence in forest harvest blocks is influenced by forage availability, surrounding habitat, and silviculture practices
<p>Forest harvesting causes habitat loss and alteration and can change predator-prey dynamics. In Canada, forest harvesting has shifted the distribution and abundance of ungulates (deer, elk, and moose) that prefer early seral forest, resulting in unsustainable caribou predation by shared predators (bears, cougars, and wolves). Long-term solutions for caribou recovery require management to reduce ungulate prey species within caribou ranges. Silviculture practices applied after forest harvesting directly affect the amount of forage available in harvested areas, and therefore influence ungulate distribution, but few studies have completed detailed assessments on how specific treatments of site preparation, planting, and stand tending influence ungulate use of harvest blocks.</p> <p>We used camera traps, silviculture data, GIS-derived habitat and disturbance data, and detailed vegetation data collected at field sites to investigate ungulate occurrence in harvest blocks in west-central Alberta, Canada. We compared seasonal ungulate occurrence and investigated how site-specific characteristics, the surrounding habitat and disturbance density, and fine-scale silviculture treatments influenced ungulate occurrence in blocks. </p> <p>Deer, elk, and moose occurrence was higher in summer compared to winter. Elk, moose, and white-tailed deer occurrence were higher in blocks with greater availability of specific forage species. Moose occurrence was higher in blocks with a lower road density in the surrounding area, and white-tailed deer occurrence was higher in blocks further from seismic lines and with a lower proportion of harvest blocks in the surrounding area.</p> <p>Deer, elk, and moose occurrence were higher in younger harvest blocks. Mule deer and white-tailed deer occurrence were lower in blocks with higher planting densities of lodgepole pine, and mule deer occurrence was also lower in blocks that had been stand-tended.</p> <p>Our study provides detailed information on ungulate response to fine-scale silviculture methods used in Alberta, directly linking wildlife occurrence to forestry practices, and providing practical scientific information to inform sustainable forestry. Translating this research into practical landscape management decisions could benefit boreal biodiversity, including threatened species like caribou, and culturally and economically important species like deer, elk, and moose. </p>
Identifying temporal dynamics in post-release survival of a restored large ungulate
<p>Wildlife translocation is an important conservation tool for restoring species and reducing global biodiversity decline; however, this practice is challenging for wildlife, and translocated individuals must adjust to their release landscapes for restoration success. The period following release is a vulnerable time for wildlife and determining when animals acclimate following translocation improves long-term estimates of population dynamics and allows researchers to efficiently tailor translocation design and post-release management to each population's needs.</p> <p>We evaluated demographic acclimation and investigated changes in post-release survival of a population of 106 elk (<em>Cervus canadensis</em>) translocated to Missouri, U.S.A., from 2011 to 2013 using generalized survival modeling. We defined the acclimation period as the duration of time prior to stabilization in mortality risk relative to time from release, and we evaluated acclimation duration from flexible plots of estimated mortality hazards across time. We simultaneously investigated factors contributing to post-release survival and compared survival rates and mortality sources observed during acclimation and post-acclimation periods.</p> <p>Elevated mortality risk for translocated elk spanned a 5-month acclimation period following release, with an additional one-year period reflecting reduced, but still elevated, mortality hazards. Baseline hazards during the initial 5-month acclimation period were approximately four times higher than the subsequent 4.4 years following release.</p> <p>Release cohort, but not age class or sex, was associated with post-release mortality risk, and mortality sources within the acclimation period tended to be undetermined with greater frequency relative to mortalities occurring after the acclimation period.</p> <p><em><strong>Synthesis and applications.</strong></em> Our results highlight the utility of flexible modeling approaches to evaluate dynamic post-release responses of translocated populations. Translocated elk demonstrated a pronounced demographic acclimation period that spanned five months following release. Changes in mortality sources and the timing of stabilization in mortality hazards suggest that demographic acclimation in translocated elk was associated with adjustments in physiological stress and movement rates that stabilize over a similar post-release duration. Improving post-release monitoring and assessment of restored populations by evaluating temporal dynamics of manifold biological and ecological responses of translocated animals.</p>
Experimental feeding validates nanofluidic array technology for DNA detection of ungulate prey in wolf scats
<p><span>The study of carnivores' diet is a key component to enhance knowledge on the ecology of predators and their effect on prey populations. Although molecular approaches to detect prey DNA in carnivore scats are improving, the validation of their accuracy, a prerequisite for reliable applications within ecological frameworks, is still lagging behind the methodological advances. Indeed, variation in detection probability among prey species can occur, representing a potentially insidious source of bias in food-habit studies of carnivores. Calibration of DNA-based methods involves the optimization of specificity and sensitivity and, whereas priority is usually given to the former to avoid false positives, sensitivity is rarely investigated so that false negatives may be largely overlooked. </span></p> <p><span>We conducted feeding trials with captive wolves (</span><em><span>Canis lupus</span></em><span>) to validate a nanofluidic array technology recently developed for detection of multiple prey species in scats. Using 371 scat samples from 12 wolves fed with a single-prey diet, the sensitivity of our nanofluidic array method varied between 0.45 and 0.95 for the six main ungulate prey species. The method sensitivity was enhanced by using multiple markers per species and by a relatively low threshold for the number of amplifying markers required to confirm a detection. Yet, at least two markers should be used to avoid false positives. By acknowledging sources of bias in sensitivity to reliably interpret results of DNA-based dietary methods, our study highlights the relevance of feeding experiments to optimally calibrate the relative thresholds to define a positive detection and investigate occurrence and extent of biases in sensitivity.</span></p>
Data from: Glucocorticoids negatively relate to body mass on the short-term in a free-ranging ungulate
<p>Environmental fluctuations force animals to adjust glucocorticoids (GCs) secretion and release to current conditions. GCs are a widely used proxy of an individual stress level. While short-term elevation in GCs is arguably beneficial for fitness components, previous studies have documented that the relationship between long-term baseline GCs elevation and fitness components can vary according to ecological and individual factors and according to the life-history of the species studied. Using longitudinal data on roe deer (<em>Capreolus capreolus</em>) from two populations facing markedly different environmental contexts, we tested whether baseline GC levels negatively correlate with body mass – a trait positively associated with demographic individual performance – on the short- to long-term. In support, higher baseline GC concentrations were associated to lighter body mass, both measured during the same capture event, in adults of both populations. Overall, we showed that despite the marked environmental and demographic differences between populations and despite the between-sex differences in life history (<em>i.e.</em> reproductive tactics), the relationship between body mass and GCs is consistent across environmental contexts, but might differ according to the life history stage of an individual. This work opens promising perspectives to further explore the relationship between GC and fitness-related traits according to life history stages in free-ranging mammals across seasonal and environmental contexts. The timing and context-dependence of GC levels highlight the complexity of studying stress responses in the wild.</p>
Survival and cause-specific mortality in adult females of a northern migratory ungulate
<p>Survival of ungulates can vary seasonally due to changing environmental conditions, e.g., weather or predation pressure. The wild forest reindeer (<em>Rangifer tarandus fennicus</em>, 'WFR') migrate between calving and wintering grounds. The annual cycle of female WFR includes four main seasons (wintering, calving, rutting and autumn migration) during which they are subject to different conditions, but almost nothing is known about their survival or mortality patterns. We measured survival in 305 GPS-tagged female WFR in two subpopulations in Finland (2010–2022). Data were analysed for inter-annual and seasonal patterns in survival and cause-specific mortality (predation, traffic, accidents and unknown causes) with known-fate models. Inter-annual survival in Suomenselkä (mean 0.90) showed an increasing trend during the study and was higher than in Kainuu (mean 0.84) which showed a declining trend. Seasonal variation in survival was population dependent. Survival was lowest in Kainuu during the winter while in Suomenselkä, it was lowest during autumn migration. Concerning cause-specific mortality, seasonal variation mirrored variation in predation that was the primary cause of mortality (55% of cases). Wolves (<em>Canis lupus</em>) killed the majority of predated individuals (58%). Predation rates were two times higher in Kainuu where the wolf density was higher. We provide the first adult survival estimates for WFR and show that the seasonal variation in survival is clearly different between these two northern ungulate populations. This indicates that seasonal variation in survival is determined by site-dependent factors and cannot be generalised across populations.<span class="x_ContentPasted0"> </span></p>
Data from: Conserving habitat for migratory ungulates: how wide is a migration corridor?
<ol> <li>Conserving migratory ungulates relies on the analysis of GPS collar data and associated maps of migration corridors to inform management and policy actions. Current methods for identifying migratory corridors use complex statistical models designed to account for movement uncertainty rather than estimating the amount of space required by animals to migrate. Further, such methods can complicate conservation efforts by producing highly variable corridor widths and non-contiguous corridors that do not fully connect seasonal ranges.</li> <li>To remedy this, we propose an intuitive line buffer approach for delineating individual migration corridors that is simple to implement and focuses on the functional corridor widths needed by migratory ungulates. </li> <li>By buffering a line that connects successive GPS locations, we can delineate individual migration corridors with consistent widths that are robust to variable parameters (GPS fix-rate, travel speed, tortuosity) and provide contiguous connection between seasonal ranges. Using a combination of expert knowledge, simulation, and 10-min GPS collar data collected from mule deer (<em>Odocoileus</em> <em>hemionus</em>) and pronghorn (<em>Antilocapra</em> <em>americana</em>), we suggest 400 to 600 m are reasonable estimates of functional migration corridor widths for individuals of those species.</li> <li>Our line buffer approach is intended to simplify migration corridor delineation, improve transparency, and encourage a broader discussion of functional corridor widths. These considerations help advance efforts to conserve habitat within migration corridors and prioritize conservation efforts within a single corridor or across multiple corridors.</li> </ol>
Coursing the mottled mosaic: generalist predators track pulses in availability of neonatal ungulates
<p>The density and distribution of resources shape animal movement and behavior and have direct implications for population dynamics. Resource availability often is "pulsed" in space and time, and individuals should cue in on resource pulses when the energetic gain of doing so exceeds that of stable resources. Birth pulses of prey represent a profitable but ephemeral resource and should thereby result in shifting functional responses by predators. We evaluated movements and resource selection of coyotes (<em>Canis</em> <em>latrans</em>) across a gradient of reproductive stages ranging from late gestation to peak lactation of female mule deer (<em>Odocoileus</em> <em>hemionus</em>) in southwest Wyoming, USA to test whether coyotes exhibited shifts in selection and movement behavior relative to the availability and vulnerability of neonatal mule deer. We expected coyotes to track pulses in availability of neonatal mule deer, and such behavior would be represented by shifts in resource selection and search behavior of coyotes that would be strongest during peak parturition of mule deer. Coyotes selected areas of high relative probability of use by female mule deer and did so most strongly during peak parturition. Further, searching behavior of coyotes intensified during pulses of availability of deer neonates. Our findings support the notion that coyotes exploit pulses of neonatal deer, presumably as an attempt to capitalize on a vulnerable, energy-rich resource. Our work quantifies the behavioral mechanisms by which coyotes consume ungulate neonates and provides one of the first examples of a mammalian predator-prey system centered on a pulsed resource. </p>
Data for: Direct and indirect effects of food, fear and management on crop damage by ungulates
<p>Foraging on crops by wild ungulates may create human-wildlife conflicts through reducing crop production. Ungulates interact with and within complex socio-ecological systems, making the reduction of crop damage a challenging task. Aside from ungulate densities, crop damage is influenced by different drivers affecting ungulate foraging behavior: food availability and food quality in the landscape (i.e. the foodscape) as well as fear from hunting and scaring actions (i.e. the landscape of fear) may together affect the degree of damage via both direct and indirect effects. A better understanding of the individual effects of these potential drivers behind crop damage is needed, as is an appreciation of whether the effects are dependent on ungulate density. We investigated this by applying path analysis to test indirect and direct links between ungulate density, foodscape, landscape of fear and, human management goals on crop damage of oats and grass, respectively. Our results suggest that crop type is the major driver behind crop damage, with more damage to oats than to leys, implying that human decisions (i.e changing crop type) influence the level of crop damage. We found that management goals and actions influenced the foodscape and the landscape of fear, by affecting the amount of forage produced in the agricultural landscape and the amount of scaring actions. Additionally, we found that supplementary feeding influenced the local ungulate densities in the area. Our results highlight the importance of including human actions on multiple levels when assessing drivers behind damage by ungulates in managed landscapes. We suggest that more studies using path analysis on multiple scales are needed in order to tackle complex issues such as crop damage and other human-wildlife conflicts.</p>
Fig. 6 in Middle Eocene ungulate mammals from Myanmar: A review with description of new specimens
Fig. 6. Cenogram of the Pondaung fauna.
Data from: Prolonged impacts of past agriculture and ungulate overabundance on soil fungal communities in restored forests
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Data from: Estimating ungulate migration corridors from sparse movement data
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The mark of captivity: plastic responses in the ankle bone of a wild ungulate (Sus scrofa)
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Data from: Drivers of site fidelity in ungulates
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An improved understanding of ungulate population dynamics using count data: insights from western Montana
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Data from: Effects of resource availability and interspecific interactions on Arctic and red foxes' winter use of ungulate carrion in the Fennoscandian low-Arctic tundra
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Data from: Spatial heterogeneity of habitat selection of large carnivores and their ungulate prey in proximity to roads
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Integrating socio-ecological suitability with human-wildlife conflict risk: Case study for translocation of a large ungulate
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Ungulate substrate use in fauna passages
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Plant dispersal syndromes are unreliable as predictors of zoochory and long-distance dispersal by ungulates and waterbirds
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Data for: Industrial energy development decouples ungulate migration from the green wave
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.