Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-05-10T23:18:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 VanessaRodriguesDeMorais_DISSERT.pdf: 1105716 bytes, checksum: 7d6ea94fddc9d45e293b3ec2073b01f5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-05-18T20:27:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 VanessaRodriguesDeMorais_DISSERT.pdf: 1105716 bytes, checksum: 7d6ea94fddc9d45e293b3ec2073b01f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-18T20:27:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VanessaRodriguesDeMorais_DISSERT.pdf: 1105716 bytes, checksum: 7d6ea94fddc9d45e293b3ec2073b01f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-26 / Natural landscapes have been dramatically affected by habitat loss and fragmentation, which transform continuous forest in habitat patches imbedded in areas of non-habitat (matrices). This matrices, inhospitable or not, affect countless ecological process, like dispersal. One of the ways to understand this effect of matrix on dispersal is studying animal?s perceptual range. Which is a range at which an animal perceive landscape elements. This perception is directly connected to the success to reach a new habitat patch while animals navigate through matrix. To contribute to this knowledge we evaluate the habitat perception of Heliconius erato. However, we were also interest in evaluate the effect of butterflies age and matrix type on its perception. Consequently, we raised butterflies on laboratory and matched with butterflies from forest during a release experiment. To determinate perceptual range, we did releases in two different matrices at three distances from forest (0, 30 and 100 meters) and measured the final angle reached for butterflies. We found that: I) butterflies released in edge were strongly oriented to forest; II) than higher the release distance the lower perceptual ability and III) there is an interaction between age and matrix type. Na?ve butterflies oriented better on open field (perceptual range: 30-100 meters and experienced oriented better at coconut plantation (perceptual range: 30-100 meters). / Paisagens naturais tem sido afetadas dramaticamente pela perda de habitat e fragmenta??o, os quais transformam paisagens cont?nuas em manchas de habitat circundadas por ?reas de n?o-habitat (matrizes). Essas matrizes, in?spitas ou n?o, afetam incont?veis processos ecol?gicos, como a dispers?o. Uma das formas de compreender o efeito da matriz no processo de dispers?o ? estudando o alcance da percep??o do habitat dos animais, o qual ? definido como o alcance (dist?ncia) em que um animal pode perceber elementos da paisagem. Essa percep??o est? diretamente relacionada ao sucesso de chegada ? um novo habitat, enquanto o animal navega por uma matriz. N?s avaliamos a percep??o do habitat em Heliconius erato, uma borboleta tropical. Entretanto n?s tamb?m est?vamos interessados em avaliar o efeito da idade das borboletas e do tipo de matriz na percep??o do habitat. Consequentemente, n?s criamos borboletas em laborat?rio e pareamos com borboletas coletadas na floresta durante um experimento de soltura. Para determinar o alcance da percep??o, n?s realizamos solturas em duas diferentes matrizes (coqueiral e campo em regenera??o) ? tr?s dist?ncias da floresta (0,30 e 100 metros) e medimos o ?ngulo final alcan?ado pelas borboletas. N?s encontramos que (I) borboletas soltas na borda se orientaram fortemente para a floresta; (II) quanto maior a dist?ncia de soltura, menor a habilidade de perceber o habitat e (III) h? intera??o entre matriz e idade da borboleta. Borboletas inexperientes se orientaram melhor no campo aberto (alcance da percep??o: 30-100 metros) e experientes se orientaram melhor no coqueiral (alcance da percep??o entre 30-100 metros).

A fundamental problem in ecology is determining what factors affect the distribution of organisms across a landscape. Landscapes are by their nature heterogeneous and different habitat types confer different fitness benefits and costs to organisms that inhabit them. Ecologists are now aware of the importance of examining multiple spatial scales when designing studies quantifying animal resource selection. Scale of analysis has been shown to be important, since ecological pressures relating to the establishment of a home range differ from those relating to the use of resources within the home range. Most studies that examine multiple spatial scales examine the effect of modifying extent. Here, I examine the role of grain, an underappreciated component of scale, on our interpretation of habitat selection patterns and functional response. The goal of this thesis was to examine how grain size affects the interpretation of animal resource selection and functional response across multiple habitats. The perceptual range of an individual is known to change with habitat, therefore I hypothesized that resource selection and functional response would be both grain- and habitat-dependent, and that resource selection functions computed using different grains for different resources would be more predictive than models computed using only a single grain. I used GPS-collared white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to quantify resource selection functions at various grains and used generalized linear mixed effects modelling and multi-model inference techniques to examine how resource selection patterns changed with spatial scale across habitat types. I used selection ratios to examine functional response across grains. Model coefficients changed with grain and the strength of selection varied by habitat type. Multi-grain resource selection functions had lower AIC values and better cross-validation scores than single grain models. Functional response varied with scale and habitat type, displaying a unique relationship for each habitat. My results suggest that spatial memory and habitat-dependent perceptual range play an important role in resource selection. I conclude that the examination of multiple grains in the study of animal habitat selection and functional response represents a step forward in our ability to understand what drives the distribution and abundance of organisms.