Animal behavior has important impacts on animal populations and the ecosystem at large, but the impact of such behavior on many ecological phenomena is understudied. For example, behavior drives transmission between wildlife disease hosts. Space use and resource selection determines where hosts will make contact, movement determines how pathogens may spread over the landscape, and other fine-scale behaviors determine the rate of contact and transmission. Spatial and movement data from GPS telemetry are useful for studying the causes and consequences of many behavioral processes. One particular focus of such spatial analyses is the behavioral responses of prey to predation risk. While many studies have highlighted the broad impacts of these antipredator behaviors, few studies have emphasized how predation risk may impact the behavioral drivers of disease transmission. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are an excellent system to study these questions for three reasons. First, deer exhibit a fission-fusion social structure, so contacts are dependent on numerous interacting factors. Second, deer face varying predation risks and respond to these risks with varying strategies including spatial avoidance, foraging, and grouping behavior. Third, deer are host to many important diseases with differing transmission mechanisms. In this dissertation, I had three main objectives; 1) to evaluate the factors that produced variation in deer-to-deer contact, 2) to evaluate multiple behavioral responses of deer to predation risk and, 3) to use these behavioral patterns to make predictions of the relative risk of deer-to-deer contact.In chapter one, I evaluated population variation in contact and tested the impact of variation in contact-related behavior on inferences from social network analysis. I used camera trap recordings of visits and behaviors by deer to scrapes throughout DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska from 2005 and 2006. Based on 2,013 interactions by 169 unique identifiable males and 75 females, I produced social networks based on indirect contact among deer at scrapes, with edges weighted based on the frequency, duration, and types of behaviors. Social networks based on scrape-related behavior were highly connected and dependent upon the frequency, duration, and type of behavior exhibited at scrapes (e.g., scraping, interacting with a scrape or overhanging branch, rub-urinating, grazing) as well as the age of the deer. Including behavior when defining edges did not preserve the network properties of simpler measures (i.e., unweighted networks) confirming that heterogeneity in behaviors that affect transmission probability are important for inferring transmission networks from contact networks. In chapters two through five, I evaluated the behavior of deer using movement data from GPS collars. I captured and collared white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at two sites: Shelbyville, IL, and Carbondale, IL from January 2020 to March 2022. I collared a total of 156 deer across both sites, 71 in Shelbyville and 85 in Carbondale. Of these deer, 45 in the Shelbyville sample were female and 26 male, and in Carbondale, 54 deer were female and 31 male. Deer were tracked with remotely-sensed GPS telemetry collars for periods of roughly one year on average, resulting in a total of 1,933,465 GPS locations. In chapter two, I used this GPS data to develop a method to relate resources to the relative probability of encounter based on a scale-integrated habitat selection framework. This framework integrates habitat selection estimates at multiple scales to obtain an appropriate estimate of availability for encounters. Using this approach, I related encounter probabilities to landscape resources and predicted the relative probability of encounter. Additionally, I further tested the usefulness of this approach by applying this framework to two other systems representing social contact and predator-prey contact respectively. This predicted distribution of encounters was more accurate when predicting novel encounters than a naïve approach or any individual scale alone. In chapter three, I improved estimates of the drivers of movement by developing novel methods for step selection analysis (SSA). To determine the impact of long-term behavior on local selection from SSA, I simulated movement trajectories including bias toward locations simulating different types of long-term behavior. Based on these simulated trajectories, I evaluated the impact of long-term behavior by identifying frequently reused locations based on a three-dimensional kernel density estimate including latitude, longitude, and time of day. Following this, I developed two approaches to account for spatial and temporal patterns of long-term behavior. I then compared estimates of known values of selection from models using these correction methods to previously established methods based on factors such as spatial memory. In chapter four, I applied this method to estimate local-scale step selection of deer in response to sources of risk. Additionally, I evaluated the impact of risk variables on behavioral states using hidden Markov models (HMMs) and determined state-specific estimates of selection. I found that deer avoided human modification but were more likely to change behavioral state in response to mesopredators. Since different sources of risk induce different behavioral responses, it is likely necessary to account for all of these behavioral responses when estimating the impacts of predation risk and its potential consequences. In chapter five, I used inferences from the preceding three chapters to build a mechanistic model of home range selection and movement that can be used to infer contact distributions. This approach could include varying levels of complexity including local-scale step selection, behavioral state transitions, and antipredator response. I ran models with varying levels of complexity and compared the performance of those models to the approach in chapter 2 for predicting contacts. I found that this method could predict contacts accurately even with limited data, but still had difficulty when transferring predictions to new locations.

The present study compared Sand Forest bird assemblages found in a communal land area with that of the Tembe Elephant Park, and determined the habitat preference and status of selected herbivore species within the park. The study forms part of the Maputaland Conservation-based and Integrated Rural Development Programme of the Centre for Wildlife Management from the University of Pretoria and is linked to the activities of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area (LTFCA). The main purpose of the study was to compare Sand Forest bird assemblages found in the Tshanini Community Conservation Area, which is characterised by low levels of human utilisation, with that of the Tembe Elephant Park, which is characterised by wildlife utilisation. This approach was used to determine the biological importance of this communal land area in contributing towards the conservation of the rare Sand Forest habitat. Visual and auditory bird surveys revealed that the communal land area contains unique Sand Forest bird assemblages, which demonstrated the biological importance of the communal land for Sand Forest conservation, especially from an avian perspective. The second purpose of the study was to identify possible competition between selected herbivore species within the Tembe Elephant Park and/or a decrease in numbers of rare species. Herbivores that might be adversely affected by the destruction of the Sand Forest, or who may themselves have a destructive effect on the Sand Forest were also identified. Target herbivores included the nyala Tragelaphus angasii, impala Aepyceros melampus, Burchell’s zebra Equus burchellii, greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, red duiker Cephalophus natalensis and suni Neotragus moschatus. Road transects were used to record the spatial distribution of the target herbivores, and the vegetation types that were used more or less often than expected were subsequently determined. None of the target herbivores showed a preference for the Sand Forest or appeared to have a destructive effect on the Sand Forest. The suni, however, reached its highest density within the Sand Forest and the destruction of this habitat will therefore negatively affect the suni population. In several parks and reserves that aim to conserve a variety of species, it has been necessary to control the populations of highly competitive species. Both the nyala and the impala are highly competitive and occur in relatively high numbers within the Tembe Elephant Park, and consequently their population numbers should be kept sufficiently low in order not to have a negative influence on the vegetation or the survival of less competitive ungulates. Total aerial counts and transect distance sampling counts indicated an increase in the numbers of all the target herbivores. It is important to protect a viable portion of the preferred habitat of every target species within a reserve, and to keep competition with rare species to a minimum for the long-term survival of the regional biodiversity. Key aspects of wildlife and their habitat should be monitored so that trends are noted in time, and management adjustments can be made accordingly. / Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Centre for Wildlife Management / unrestricted

Dans certains cas, la colonisation des zones humides par les espèces animales et végétales peut être une menace majeure pour la biodiversité. Il est donc primordial de mieux connaître l'écologie des espèces colonisatrices pour définir leurs relations avec le reste de l'écosystème. Nous avons étudié les conséquences de la colonisation relativement récente des étangs piscicoles français par le cygne tuberculé (Cygnus olor). Nous nous sommes intéressés à l'expression de cette colonisation dans l'espace par l'étude des processus de sélection de l'habitat. Nos résultats montrent que dans un paysage d'étangs, la répartition des cygnes tuberculés dépend à la fois de la configuration spatiale des étangs (aire isolement), des ressources disponibles et du statut de reproduction des cygnes tuberculés. Nous avons ensuite étudié les interactions entre le cygne tuberculé et les communautés animales et végétales des étangs. Sur les sites de cantonnement des couples, nous n'avons pas montré d'effet de la présence des cygnes tuberculés sur l'abondance des oiseaux d'eau, et aucune forme d'exclusion spatiale à l'échelle de l'étang. En revanche, les cygnes tuberculés peuvent générer une déplétion significative des herbiers de macrophytes aquatiques, suggérant des effets en cascade sur les autres communautés des étangs piscicoles. Comme toute perturbation générée par une espèce colonisatrice, celle associée à l'arrivée des cygnes doit néanmoins être replacée dans le contexte plus large des régimes de perturbations à l'oeuvre sur l'écosystème, ce qui importe particulièrement dans le cas d'écosystèmes aussi dépendants de l'activité humaine que les étangs piscicoles. / In some cases, wetland colonization by animals and plants may be a major threat to biodiversity. It is therefore crucial to better understand the ecology of colonizing species to assess their relationships with the other elements of ecosystems. We studied the consequences of the relatively recent colonization of French fishponds by mute swan (Cygnus olor). We especially considered how such colonization now translates into space, through the analysis of habitat selection processes. Our results show that swan distribution within a fishpond landscape depends on fishpond spatial configuration (area isolation), available resources as well as mute swan breeding status. We then analysed the relationships between mute swan and fishpond animal and plant communities. Where swan pair settle, we do not demonstrate any effect of swan presence on the abundance of other waterbirds, nor any spatial exclusion within fishponds. Conversely, mute swans can signif icantly deplete aquatic macrophyte beds, suggesting cascade effects on other fishpond communities are possible. Like any perturbation caused by a colonizing species, that associated with swan arrival however has to be considered in the broader context of perturbation regimes onto the ecosystem. This is especially crucial in ecosystems like fishponds, that are so much dependent upon human activity.

Fire may alter both aquatic and terrestrial habitat used by all amphibian life stages, yet, our knowledge of its effects on amphibians is primarily limited to adult responses. I present an integrated approach to test the response of Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) to fire by examining responses in tadpole performance and survivorship, adult abundance, and oviposition. Tadpoles raised with burned leaf litter had similar survival, but total mass and total length were 440% and 170% greater, respectively, for tadpoles raised in unburned litter. I assessed terrestrial and aquatic oviposition cues by embedding burned and unburned litter treatments within burned and unburned terrestrial plots. Oviposition was an order of magnitude higher in unburned plots, regardless of the litter treatment. This difference was not statistically significant or driven by adult abundance. My results indicate the need to explore the dynamic effects forest management practices can have on amphibians across life stages.

Bayou St. John (BSJ) and City Park Lakes and Lagoons (CPLL) are urban waterways in New Orleans, Louisiana. I studied habitat selection of red drum in BSJ, and fish assemblage change in BSJ and CPLL over 40 years. Temperature was found to be the best predictor of red drum habitat selection in Bayou St. John, while salinity and change in depth also were found to be good predictors for certain sites. Potential prey item abundance did not appear to influence habitat selection. Using data from 1971 – 2010, nearshore habitats in CPLL were affected by Hurricane Katrina, but have sense recovered and nearshore habitats in BSJ were found to have decreased diversity. Pelagic habitats in both areas were found stable across 40 years. Since 2006, nearshore assemblages were similar for CPLL and BSJ with a decrease in fishes from Order: Cyprinodontiformes and an increase in other fishes seen across years.

As populações de veado-campeiro vêm sofrendo constantes ameaças, principalmente pela caça excessiva e destruição de seu habitat. A escassez de conhecimento sobre a biologia da espécie dificulta a elaboração de diferentes formas de manejo. Assim, há necessidade de estudos básicos para a instituição de programas para a conservação do veado-campeiro, principalmente no Brasil. O presente estudo teve como objetivos estimar o tamanho da área de vida de fêmeas de veado-campeiro, além de quantificar e comparar o uso de habitat pelas mesmas nos períodos reprodutivos e não-reprodutivos no Pantanal Sul-Matogrossense. Foram utilizadas quatro fêmeas de veado-campeiro em vida livre marcadas com colares de GPS modelo ATS® G2110, as quais tiveram suas localizações registradas a cada 13 horas por um período de aproximadamente 12 meses. Os cálculos para área de vida foram feitos através do programa ArcView® GIS versão 3 Extensão Animal Movement, usando os métodos do Mínimo Polígono Convexo (MPC) com 100% das localizações, e Kernel fixo com 95%, 70% e 50% de probabilidade de uso, sendo os dois últimos para estimativas dos centros de atividade. As fêmeas tiveram uma área de vida anual média de 549,88ha ± 124,76 quando estimado pelo MPC e 258,69ha ± 34,54 quando estimado por Kernel com 95% de probabilidade de uso. Quanto às áreas de uso mensais por status reprodutivo, não houve diferença significativa entre os meses (p > 0,05), evidenciando apenas uma pequena diminuição no tamanho das áreas de vida durante o período de aleitamento e um aumento nas épocas de acasalamento. Os habitats foram estabelecidos pelo tipo de vegetação predominante na área e foram caracterizados por imagem de satélite Landsat-5 e verificação in loco da região de estudo. Para verificar se houve uso desproporcional entre as categorias de habitats em relação à disponibilidade em suas respectivas áreas de vida foi usado o teste qui-quadrado de qualidade de ajustamento (chi-square goodness-of-fit test) e posterior estimativa do intervalo simultâneo de confiança de Bonferroni. Na análise anual, os habitats campo e baía foram selecionados, apesar deste último ser o menos abundante, enquanto floresta e caronal foram evitados pelas fêmeas de veado-campeiro. No entanto, ao analisarmos a seleção de habitat mensalmente para comparar o uso entre os diferentes status reprodutivos, o habitat campo tendeu a ser preferido, mas seu uso foi igual ao disponível em todos os períodos. Sendo assim, este estudo elucidou algumas informações sobre a ecologia do veado-campeiro, a fim de facilitar o desenvolvimento de programas de conservação para a espécie. / The pampas deer populations have been under constant threats, mainly by excessive hunting and habitat destruction. The lack of knowledge about the biology of the species hampers the development of different forms of management. Thus, there is a need for basic studies of establishment of conservation programs, mainly in Brazil. This study aimed to estimate the size of home-range, to quantify and compare the habitat use by females in reproductive and non-reproductive periods rights in Pantanal Sul-Matogrossense. Four females of pampas deer were marked with GPS collars, model ATS® G2110, which had recorded their locations every 13 hours for approximately 12 months. The calculations for home-range were made using the Arcview® GIS version 3 Extension Animal Movement, using the methods of the minimum convex polygon (MPC) with 100% of the locations, and fixed Kernel 95%, 70% and 50% of probability, being the last two for estimating the activity centers. The females had an annual home-range average of 549.88 ± 124.76 ha when estimated by MPC and 258.69 ± 34.54 ha when estimated by Kernel with 95% of probability. For the monthly home-ranges for reproductive status, no significant difference among months (p > 0.05), showing only a slight decrease in the size of home-range during the suckling period, increasing in the mating seasons. The habitats were established by the type of dominant vegetation and characterized by landsat-5 imaging satellite and in loco verification of the study area. To determine if there was disproportionate use of habitats between the categories regarding availability in their respective home-range, was used the chi-square goodness-of-fit test and subsequent estimation of Bonferroni simultaneous confidence intervals. In annual analysis, field and bay habitats were selected, despite the last being the less abundant, while forest and caronal were avoided by females of pampas deer. However, when analyzing the monthly habitat selection to compare the use between the different reproductive status, the habitat field tended to be preferred, but its use was equal to that available in all periods. Thus, this study clarified some informations about the ecology of pampas-deer, facilitating conservation programs development for the species.

Although the American marten (Martes americana) generally is recognized as an obligate late-seral species, the factors dictating this association are poorly understood. Martens were studied in Newfoundland, Yellowstone National Park, and in a captive setting. As expected, use of habitat types was not proportional to availability P < 0.001). Defoliated and late-seral conifer stands were used more than expected, while all other types indicated expected or less than expected use. Habitat selection by martens was detectable at spatial scales greater than 80 m (P < 0.001). Newfoundland martens were radio-collared and monitored for diet activity during the winters of 1990 and 1991. A regression of the percent active fixes on temperature had a negative slope (P = -4.45, P= 0.084, n = 12), indicating that martens did not minimize their exposure to low temperatures. A log-linear model suggested that the presence or absence of light was the only factor associated with marten activity patterns (P < 0.001). Martens in Western Newfoundland and a population in Yellowstone National Park were tested for their response to predation risk using bait stations in various habitat types. Visitation rates of martens at bait-boxes were not different between study sites (P = 0 .190). However, martens visitation by habitat was different (P = 0.001). Martens use of bait-boxes was similar in old-growth and defoliated habitats, suggesting that foliar cover may not have a strong influence on the risk of predation for martens during winter. Martens did use bait-boxes in defoliated stands to a greater extent than those in open habitats (P < 0.001), suggesting that they perceived stem structure as decreasing predation risk. In captive experiments, martens selected areas with both overhead cover and woody stem structure (P = 0.012). I detected no difference between the use of areas with only overhead cover and those having only stem structure (P = 0.671). However, martens decreased foraging activity in response to a predatory cue (P = 0.004). The inability of martens to use food resources in areas lacking cover during the summer suggests a perception of increased threat associated with these areas.

This dissertation is a treatise on spatially-explicit resource selection on two very different vertebrate species. The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is the most endangered large whales in the world. Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement are impediments to recovery. The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is an imperiled species whose upland habitats are shrinking from urban and agricultural development. Determining spatial distribution of important resources is important for conservation strategies. Historical and modern thinking of habitat selection theory and analytical techniques are reviewed and applied to these species. Fine-scale resource selection of sea surface temperature (SST), derived from AVHRR imagery, is evaluated for right whales in the southeastern U. S. calving grounds. Aerial survey data (December-March, 1991-1998) including survey tracklines and right whale locations were entered into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for comparing whale use of SST to availability based on search effort. Using Monte Carlo techniques, mean and standard deviation for SSTs and latitudes of whale-sightings were compared to sampling distributions derived from available SSTs and latitudes. From these data, it was concluded that the North Atlantic right whale uses SSTs and latitudes non-randomly. Broad-scale habitat selection for gopher tortoises was evaluated from the 2003 Land Cover/Land Use map (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). Based on land cover and ancillary data, potential gopher tortoise habitat was developed for northeast Florida.

The choice of a place to live and reproduce is crucial for species� survival in providing them with adequate resources and shelter from predators or climatic conditions. Determining habitat suitability in endangered species is important for the success of translocation as a conservation tool. In addition, understanding mechanisms (source/sink system versus ecological traps) that drive habitat selection in translocated animals may be critical to population viability. In New Zealand, where ecosystems are highly vulnerable to extinction, habitat restoration on predator-free off-shore islands is an important recovery tool. Therefore, there is a need to understand the relationship between the establishment of the translocated populations and the characteristics of their new environment. Previous research indicated that re-introduced populations of Stewart Island robin (Petroica australis rakiura - Toutouwai) and South Island saddleback (Philesternus carunculatus carunculatus - Tieke) on Ulva Island (Stewart Island), New Zealand, showed preferences for coastal habitats that were characterized by low-lying dense vegetation and open ground cover. In this study, we further investigated territorial establishment in these two populations since re-introduction and looked at how birds utilised the landscape. I hypothesised that sites colonised soon after re-introduction were of high quality and later on, birds moved into unsuitable habitats. I defined habitat quality at a micro-scale in terms of vegetation structure, nest characteristics and food availability. I modeled bird presence and nesting success in relation to habitat components to determine factors in the environment that influenced breeding site selection and contributed to successful nesting in these two species. I discussed results in comparison to similar bird-habitat models developed for the South Island saddleback population on Motuara Island (Marlborough Sounds) and examined explanatory variables in each model. Translocated birds in the three studied populations first established territories in coastal scrub, and in the following years moved into larger coastal forest stands. Although vegetation structure was the primary variable explaining site selection in these populations, vegetation composition should still be considered important as it dictated the suitability of nesting substrate and the availability of food items. There was no evidence that first-colonised areas were more suitable habitats, and I concluded that these cases could not be used as examples of ecological traps. Instead, results suggested that with increased density robins and saddlebacks on Ulva have more recently settled in sites less suitable to nesting and foraging, thus underlying a source/sink structure. However, the sparse distribution of food items on Motuara contributed to a lack of territorial behavior and environmental effect on breeding success; therefore a source/sink system could not be confirmed in this population. I recommended that future translocation sites give preference to mixed-size stands with broadleaved species that are characterised by dense canopy below 4 m height and with suitable cavities in live trees. Lastly, due to robins� and saddlebacks� attraction to conspecifics and their territorial behavior, resources evenly distributed across the landscape could also increase their survival and reproductive success.

<p>The moose (Alces alces) is very important both economically and ecologically, therefore all knowledge of moose is vital for future management of the moose population. Little is known about moose habitat selection in Sweden. In coastal southwestern Sweden growing human population and new infrastructure projects continuously threaten to fragment and isolate local moose populations. The habitat selection of 22 moose, 8 males and 14 females, in southwestern Sweden was studied from February 2002 until December 2005. The moose were captured and fitted with GPS-collars and positions were collected at 2-hour intervals. The number of moose positions totaled 71103 during the study period of 46 months. Data for individual animals were divided into four seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter based on climate and moose biology. A total of 125 moose seasonal home ranges were generated and habitat use within each of the generated home ranges was studied using Euclidean distance-based analysis. A reclassified digital landcover map was divided into the land use classes agriculture, clear-cut, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, mire and mountain. The results showed that there was a difference in habitat selection between males and females. Males were significantly closer to forest and clear-cuts compared to females. Both males and females selected clear-cuts and avoided agriculture within their home ranges.</p> / <p>Älgen är en viktig art, både ekonomiskt och ekologiskt, och all kunskap är viktig för att även i framtiden kunna sköta en sund älgstam. Trots flertalet studier finns det många frågetecken om älgens habitatval i Sverige. En ökad exploateringstakt och nya infrastrukturprojekt hotar att fragmentera och isolera populationer av älg. Habitatvalet hos 22 älgar, 8 tjurar och 14 kor, i sydvästra Sverige studerades mellan februari 2002 och december 2005. Älgarna sövdes och utrustades med GPS-sändare, deras positioner registrerades varannan timma och det totala antalet positioner under den 46 månader långa studietiden var 71103 stycken. Data från varje älg delades in i 4 säsonger; vår, sommar, höst och vinter, baserat på klimat och älgens biologi. Totalt genererades 125 hemområden baserade på säsong, och valet av habitat inom varje hemområde studerades med hjälp av Euclidean distance-based analysis. En omklassificerad digital marktäckedata användes som var indelad i 6 olika klasser; odlad mark, hygge, barrskog, lövskog, myrmark och berg i dagen. Resultaten visade att det var skillnad mellan könen i hur de väljer habitat. Tjurarna var signifikant närmare barrskog och hyggen än korna, men både tjurar och kor selekterade för hyggen och undvek odlad mark inom deras hemområden.</p>