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opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Stomatal density, size and space-use efficiency at the community level in China

The maximum stomatal conductance (g), a major anatomical constraint on plant productivity, is a function of the stomatal area fraction (f) and stomatal space-use efficiency (e). However, f and g have been considered as equivalents, with e rarely considered, and their adaptation to the environment and their regulation of ecosystem productivity are unclear. Here, we analyzed the community-weighted mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis of stomatal traits from tropical to cold-temperature forests. The variance of g and f was higher for arid sites, indicating greater functional niche differentiation, whereas that for e was lower, indicating convergence in efficiency. Besides, when other stomatal trait distributions remained unchanged, increasing kurtosis but decreasing skewness of g would improve ecosystem productivity, and f showed the opposite patterns. These findings highlight how the relative importance and equivalence of inter-related traits can differ at community scale.

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Intraguild processes drive space-use patterns in a large-bodied marine predator community

Interspecific interactions, including predator-prey, intraguild predation (IGP), and competition, may drive distribution and habitat use of predator communities. However, elucidating the relative importance of these interactions in shaping predator distributions is challenging, especially in marine communities comprising highly mobile species. We used individual-based models (IBMs) to predict the habitat distributions of apex predators, intraguild (IG) prey, and prey. We then used passive acoustic telemetry to test these predictions in a subtropical marine predator community consisting of eight elasmobranch (i.e., shark and ray) species in Bimini, The Bahamas. IBMs predicted that prey and IG prey will preferentially select habitats based on safety over resources (food), with stronger selection for safe habitat by smaller prey. Elasmobranch space-use patterns matched these predictions. Species with predator-prey and asymmetrical IGP (between apex and small mesopredators) interactions showed the clearest spatial separation, followed by asymmetrical IGP among apex and large mesopredators. Competitors showed greater spatial overlap although with finer-scale differences in microhabitat use. Our study suggests space-use patterns in elasmobranchs are at least partially driven by interspecific interactions, with stronger spatial separation occurring where interactions include predator-prey relationships or IGP.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Antelope space-use and behaviour indicate multi-level responses to varying anthropogenic influences in a highly human-dominated landscape

A primary means of conserving a species or a habitat in a human-dominated landscape is through promoting coexistence with humans while minimizing conflict. For this, we should understand how wildlife are impacted by direct and indirect human activities. Such information is rare from areas with high human densities. To investigate how animals respond to altered ecological conditions in human-dominated landscapes, we focussed on a wild herbivore of conservation concern in Krishnasaar Conservation Area (KrCA) in Nepal. Here, blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra, a generalist grazer, lives in refugia located in a growing human population. We studied the impacts of humans on habitat use and behaviour of blackbuck. We laid 250 x 250 m grid cells in the entire KrCA and carried out indirect sign surveys with three replications for habitat use assessment. We observed herds of blackbuck for 89 hours in different habitat types using scan sampling methods. Our habitat-use survey showed that habitats under intensive human use were hardly used by blackbuck, even when high-quality forage was available. Habitat openness was the major predictor of habitat-use inside the core area, where levels of human activities were low. We also found a positive correlation between habitat use by blackbuck and livestock. Blackbuck were substantially more vigilant when they were in forest than in grassland, again indicating an influence of risk. Overall, blackbuck appear to be sensitive to risk associated with both natural and anthropogenic factors. Our findings have direct implications for managing human-wildlife interactions in this landscape, specifically regarding strategies for livestock grazing in habitats highly used by blackbuck and concerning predictions of how changing land use will impact long-term persistence of blackbuck. Our work suggests that wild herbivores may be able to persist in landscapes with high human densities so long as there are refuges where human activities are relatively low.

publicMay 2024View details →

Intraguild processes drive space-use patterns in a large-bodied marine predator community

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publicDec 2022View details →

Antelope space-use and behaviour indicate multi-level responses to varying anthropogenic influences in a highly human-dominated landscape

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publicMar 2025View details →

Data from: Predator-prey space-use and landscape features influence movement behaviors in a large-mammal community

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publicOct 2022View details →

Stomatal density, size and space-use efficiency at the community level in China

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Data from: Are 2D space-use analyses adapted to animals living in 3D environments? A case study on a fish shoal

Methodologies enabling the monitoring of animal movement and behavior in 3-dimensions (3D; x, y, z, the latter accounting for the vertical dimension) are becoming increasingly accessible and can be deployed on entire groups of animals inhabiting 3D habitats. When 2-dimensional (2D; x, y) space-use analyses are used on such groups, their spatial organization is represented as a planar projection of individuals' space-use. Movement on the vertical dimension is ignored and could biased ecological inference made from the spatial structure of the group. We used a digital imaging technique to track movements and feeding behavior of individual animals within a free-range aggregation of juvenile drift-feeding fish (Galaxias anomalus) in 3D and at fine spatiotemporal scales. We estimated spatiotemporal overlap of space-use and feeding territories between group-members using 2D (x, y) and 3D spatial analysis to: (1) describe the spatial structure of the group, (2) identify patterns of resource partitioning, and (3) investigate the relationship between space-use overlap and feeding behavior. We found that overlapping ratios of space-use and feeding territories were over-estimated in 2D, while 3D analysis of space-use provided evidence of spatial partitioning between group-members. We also found that, regardless of the computation used, the overlapping ratios of space-use were positively correlated with overlapping ratios of feeding territories while no effect was found on feeding activity. In conclusion, whilst 3D analysis provided valuable information on the spatial structure of a group, inferences on the ecological function of space-use can also be obtained from 2D analysis.

Data from: Analyzing movement behavior and dynamic space-use strategies among habitats using multi-event capture-recapture modeling

1.The environment of most species is heterogeneous at different spatial and temporal scales; this heterogeneity can have a direct effect on various components of fitness. As a consequence, individual space-use and movement strategies are central issues in ecology and conservation and receive considerable attention from researchers. 2.In the last 30 years, this issue has led to the development of capture–recapture models that allow movement between sites to be quantified, while handling imperfect detection. For studies involving numerous recapture sites in which the emphasis is on dispersal or migration rather than movement between particular sites, Lagrange et al. recently proposed a parsimonious CR multi-event model that contrasts individuals that move and individuals that stay in place, irrespective of the sites involved. 3.In this study, we developed a generalized version of this model to allow survival probability and movement probability to differ for different types of habitat to which the individual sites may be assigned. We investigated the potential of this new parameterization by studying the movements of an amphibian, the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata), in a set of breeding and resting/foraging ponds. 4.Our capture-recapture multi-event model provides a highly flexible tool allowing users to model movements within and between several habitats. This approach can be potentially used to study movement behavior and space-use strategies of a wide range of taxa.

Data from: Migration strategies and annual space-use in an Afro-Palaearctic aerial insectivore – the European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

Obligate insectivorous birds breeding in high latitudes travel thousands of kilometres during annual movements to track the local seasonal peaks of food abundance in a continuously fluctuating resource landscape. Avian migrants use an array of strategies when conducting these movements depending on e.g. morphology, life history traits and environmental factors encountered en route. Here we used geolocators to derive data on the annual space-use, temporal pattern and migratory strategies in an Afro-Palaearctic aerial insectivorous bird species – the European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. More specifically, we aimed to test a set of hypothesises pertaining to the migration of a population of nightjars breeding in south-eastern Sweden. We found that the birds wintered across the central and western parts of the southern tropical Africa almost entirely outside the currently described wintering range of the species. The nightjars performed a narrow loop migration across Sahara, with spring Sahel stopovers significantly to the west of autumn stops indicative to an adaptive response to winds during migration. To our surprise, the migration speed was faster in the autumn (119 km d− 1) than in the spring (99 km d− 1), possibly due to the prevailing wind regimes over the Sahara. The estimated flight fraction in both autumn (14%) and spring (12%) was almost exactly as the theoretically predicted 1:7 time relationship between flights and stopovers for small birds. The temporal patterns within the annual cycle indicate that individuals follow alternative spatiotemporal schedules that converge towards the breeding season. The positive relationship between the spatially and temporally distant winter departure and breeding arrival suggests that individuals´ temporal fine-tuning to breeding may be constrained, leading to potential negative fitness consequences.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Caution is warranted when using animal space-use and movement to infer behavioral states

Background: Identifying the behavioral state for wild animals that can't be directly observed is of growing interest to the ecological community. Advances in telemetry technology and statistical methodologies allow researchers to use space-use and movement metrics to infer the underlying, latent, behavioral state of an animal without direct observations. For example, researchers studying ungulate ecology have started using these methods to quantify behaviors related to mating strategies. However, little work has been done to determine if assumed behaviors inferred from movement and space-use patterns correspond to actual behaviors of individuals. Methods: Using a dataset with male and female white-tailed deer location data, we evaluated the ability of these two methods to correctly identify male-female interaction events (MFIEs). We identified MFIEs using the proximity of their locations in space as indicators of when mating could have occurred. We then tested the ability of utilization distributions (UDs) and hidden Markov models (HMMs) rendered with single sex location data to identify these events. Results: For white-tailed deer, male and female space-use and movement behavior did not vary consistently when with a potential mate. There was no evidence that a probability contour threshold based on UD volume applied to an individual's UD could be used to identify MFIEs. Additionally, HMMs were unable to identify MFIEs, as single MFIEs were often split across multiple states and the primary state of each MFIE was not consistent across events. Conclusions: Caution is warranted when interpreting behavioral insights rendered from statistical models applied to location data, particularly when there is no form of validation data. For these models to detect latent behaviors, the individual needs to exhibit a consistently different type of space-use and movement when engaged in the behavior. Unvalidated assumptions about that relationship may lead to incorrect inference about mating strategies or other behaviors.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

Personality and predictability in farmed calves using movement and space-use behaviours quantified by Ultra-wideband sensors

Individuals within a population often show consistent between individual differences in their average behavioral expression (personality), and consistent differences in their within-individual variability of behavior around the mean (predictability). Where correlations between different personality traits and/or the predictability of traits exist, these represent behavioral or predictability syndromes. In wild populations, behavioral syndromes have consequences for individual's survival and reproduction and affect the structure and functioning of groups and populations. The consequences of behavioral syndromes for farm animals is less well explored, partly due to the challenges in quantifying behavior of many individuals across time and context in a farm setting. Here, we use Ultra-Wideband location sensors to provide precise measures of movement and space use for 60 calves over 40-48 days. We find that individuals show consistent within and between individual variation in movement and space use and show correlations in personality and predictability, indicating the existence of "exploratory" and "active" personality types in farmed calves. We consider the consequences of such individual variability for cattle behavior and welfare and how such data may be used to inform management decision in farm animals.

Data from: Using spatial capture–recapture to elucidate population processes and space-use in herpetological studies

The cryptic behavior and ecology of herpetofauna make estimating the impacts of environmental change on demography difficult; yet, the ability to measure demographic relationships is essential for elucidating mechanisms leading to the population declines reported for herpetofauna worldwide. Recently developed spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods are well suited to standard herpetofauna monitoring approaches. Individually identifying animals and their locations allows accurate estimates of population densities and survival. Spatial capture–recapture methods also allow estimation of parameters describing space-use and movement, which generally are expensive or difficult to obtain using other methods. In this paper, we discuss the basic components of SCR models, the available software for conducting analyses, and the experimental designs based on common herpetological survey methods. We then apply SCR models to Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus), to determine differences in density, survival, dispersal, and space-use between adult male and female salamanders. By highlighting the capabilities of SCR, and its advantages compared to traditional methods, we hope to give herpetologists the resource they need to apply SCR in their own systems.

publicApr 2017View details →

Data from: Using spatial capture–recapture to elucidate population processes and space-use in herpetological studies

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publicOct 2016View details →

Data from: An integrated occupancy and space-use model to predict abundance of imperfectly detected, territorial vertebrates

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publicMay 2022View details →

Personality and predictability in farmed calves using movement and space-use behaviours quantified by Ultra-wideband sensors

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publicDec 2017View details →

Data from: Analyzing movement behavior and dynamic space-use strategies among habitats using multi-event capture-recapture modeling

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