Responding to spatial and temporal variations in predation risk: space use of a game species in a changing landscape of fear

Description

Niveau: Supérieur, Doctorat, Bac+8
Responding to spatial and temporal variations in predation risk: space use of a game species in a changing landscape of fear V. Tolon, S. Dray, A. Loison, A. Zeileis, C. Fischer, and E. Baubet Abstract: Predators generate a ‘‘landscape of fear'' within which prey can minimize the risk of predation by selecting low-risk areas. Depending on the spatial structure of this ‘‘landscape'', i.e., whether it is coarse- or fine-grained, prey may respond to increased risk by shifting their home ranges or by fine-scale redistributions within these ranges, respectively. We studied how wild boar (Sus scrofa L., 1758) responded to temporal changes in risk in hunted areas (risky habitat) sur- rounding a nature reserve (refuge habitat). Animals with home ranges ‘‘in contact'' with the reserve during the low-risk season were the only ones to shift toward the refuge when the risk increased. These shifts occurred at two temporal scales in response to the increased risk during the daytime and during the hunting season. Whereas animals not influenced by the reserve found food and shelter in forest during the hunting season, shifts to the refuge area were detrimental to the rather scarce forest areas in the reserve. This confirms that spatiotemporal changes in risk are major drivers of animal distribution when predation strongly limits their fitness.

• refuge habitat


• structure spatiale


• risk


• models below


• office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage


• than during


• areas


• effect


• effects between


• levels within

Sujets

• Geneva
• Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage
• Effect

Informations

• Publié par: mijec
• Nombre de lectures: 33
• Langue: English

Extrait

1129

Responding to spatial and temporal variations in predation risk: space use of a game species in a changing landscape of fear

V. Tolon, S. Dray, A. Loison, A. Zeileis, C. Fischer, and E. Baubet

Abstract:Predators generate a ‘‘landscape of fear’’ within which prey can minimize the risk of predation by selecting lowrisk areas. Depending on the spatial structure of this ‘‘landscape’’, i.e., whether it is coarse or finegrained, prey may respond to increased risk by shifting their home ranges or by finescale redistributions within these ranges, respectively. We studied how wild boar (Sus scrofaL., 1758) responded to temporal changes in risk in hunted areas (risky habitat) sur rounding a nature reserve (refuge habitat). Animals with home ranges ‘‘in contact’’ with the reserve during the lowrisk season were the only ones to shift toward the refuge when the risk increased. These shifts occurred at two temporal scales in response to the increased risk during the daytime and during the hunting season. Whereas animals not influenced by the reserve found food and shelter in forest during the hunting season, shifts to the refuge area were detrimental to the rather scarce forest areas in the reserve. This confirms that spatiotemporal changes in risk are major drivers of animal distribution when predation strongly limits their fitness. Their response is, however, scaledependent and reflects at the individual level the perceived structure of their ‘‘landscape of fear’’.

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Introduction

By definition, the act of predation leads to the death of the prey, but predator–prey interactions can also have nonlethal or indirect effects (Creel and Christianson 2008), because prey often try to avoid the risk of predation by

changing their behavior. For instance, animals can switch activity patterns (Lima and Bednekoff 1999), or modulate vigilance levels (Roberts 1996) or group size (Hamilton 1971) in response to increased predation risk, usually incur ring energetic costs. The concept of the ‘‘ecology of fear’’ (Brown et al. 1999) concerns the behavioral responses of

Received 10 March 2009. Accepted 19 August 2009. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at cjz.nrc.ca on 19 November 2009. 1,2 V. Tolon. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique – Unite´ Mixte de Recherche (CNRS–UMR) N8lledntBe,F7onneoveiedaSitemb, ˆ ara,FacLivUne;ncoBeL6733udtegru5355ni,Ursvee ´ ityoeLFn,sier ´ dteF,nocnar0096yL,0e; Universite´ Lyon 1 and CNRS–UMR N 8edirtoraboLa8,55oiBteeirt ´ emoiBeve,FlutieEvologiruabliel22V,669,ennnarFO;ecciffe5 National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Centre National d’Etude et de Recherche Applique´e – Cervide´s et Sanglier, F55 000 Bar leDuc, France. S. Dray. Universite´ de Lyon, F69000, Lyon, France; Universite´ Lyon 1 and CNRS–UMR N 8loiBeigort ´ eteeidereomBioraboiat5585L, Evolutive, F69622, Villeurbanne, France. A. Loison. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique – Unite´ Mixte de Recherche (CNRS–UMR) N8.eB6LrgouFe,3773rF,cecnadteaLue,baavoi ´ deSsiteodnnleelneBtt ˆ mirevinU,3555 A. Zeileis.DeparatittscimtneotSfuA,nirts.a ¨ aWtsrtiuAagei,n6,Asse20Wie109htaMdnas,scitamehascrtWivenisuft C. Fischer. Ecole d’Inge´nieurs de Lullier, S1254 Jussy, Switzerland. E. Baubet.CalessahdteeFaleneauuvSae,agntCeOfficeNationalde ´ euqilpedivreC–et ´ sitnoeraNtEdula’deReceetdheApherc Sanglier, F55 000 BarleDuc, France. 1 Corresponding author (email: [e-mail]lyon1.fr). 2 Presentaddress:LaboratoiredeBiom ´ etrieetBiologieEvolutive,CNRS–UMRN8 5558 UCB Lyon 1, baˆtiment Gre´gor Mendel, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1981, 69622 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France.

Can. J. Zool.87: 1129–1137 (2009)

doi:10.1139/Z09101

Published by NRC Research Press