Data from: Drivers of site fidelity in ungulates
Creators
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Morrison, Thomas1
- Merkel, Jerod2
- Hopcraft, J. Grant1
- Aikens, Ellen3
- Beck, Jeffrey2
- Boone, Randall4
- Courtemanch, Alyson5
- Dwinnell, Samantha2
- Fairbanks, Sue6
- Griffith, Brad7
- Middleton, Arthur8
- Monteith, Kevin2
- Oates, Brendan2
- Riotte-Lambert, Louise1
- Sawyer, Hall9
- Smith, Kurt2
- Stabach, Jared10
- Taylor, Kaitlyn11
- Kauffman, Matthew7
- 1. University of Glasgow
- 2. University of Wyoming
- 3. Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
- 4. Colorado State University
- 5. Wyoming Game and Fish Department
- 6. Oklahoma State University
- 7. United States Geological Survey
- 8. University of California, Berkeley
- 9. Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc.*
- 10. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
- 11. Grouse Mountain Environmental Consultants*
Description
- While the tendency to return to previously visited locations – termed 'site fidelity' – is common in animals, the cause of this behaviour is not well understood. One hypothesis is that site fidelity is shaped by an animal's environment, such that animals living in landscapes with predictable resources have stronger site fidelity. Site fidelity may also be conditional on the success of animals' recent visits to that location, and it may become stronger with age as the animal accumulates experience in their landscape. Finally, differences between species, such as the way memory shapes site attractiveness, may interact with environmental drivers to modulate the strength of site fidelity.
- We compared inter-year site fidelity in 669 individuals across eight ungulate species fitted with GPS-collars and occupying a range of environmental conditions in North America and Africa. We used a distance-based index of site fidelity and tested hypothesized drivers of site fidelity using linear mixed effects models, while accounting for variation in annual range size.
- Mule deer Odocoileus hemionus and moose Alces alces exhibited relatively strong site fidelity, while wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and barren-ground caribou Rangifer tarandus granti had relatively weak fidelity. Site fidelity was strongest in predictable landscapes where vegetative greening occurred at regular intervals (i.e. high temporal contingency). Species differed in their response to spatial heterogeneity in greenness (i.e. spatial constancy). Site fidelity varied seasonally in some species, but remained constant over time in others. Elk employed a 'win-stay, lose-switch' strategy, in which successful resource tracking in the springtime resulted in strong site fidelity the following spring. Site fidelity did not vary with age in any species tested.
- Our results provide support for the environmental hypothesis, particularly that regularity in vegetative phenology shapes the strength of site fidelity. Large unexplained differences in site fidelity suggests that other factors, possibly species-specific differences in attraction to known sites, contribute to variation in the expression of this behaviour.
- Understanding drivers of variation in site fidelity across groups of organisms living in different environments provides important behavioural context for predicting how animals will respond to environmental change.
Notes
Funding provided by: Horizon 2020
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007601
Award Number: 641918
Funding provided by: Horizon 2020
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007601
Award Number: 794760
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: GRF 1252375
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
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Award Number: DEB 0919383
Funding provided by: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
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Funding provided by: U.S. Bureau of Land Management
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Funding provided by: Boone and Crockett Club*
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Funding provided by: Bowhunters of Wyoming*
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Funding provided by: Environment Yukon*
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Funding provided by: Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt
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Funding provided by: James E. Ellis Memorial Scholarship*
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Funding provided by: Knobloch Family Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100017743
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Funding provided by: Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellowship*
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Funding provided by: Muley Fanatic Foundation
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Funding provided by: PacifiCorp*
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Funding provided by: Parks Canada
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Funding provided by: Sierra Trading Post*
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Funding provided by: University of Wyoming
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008106
Award Number: Berry Fellowship
Funding provided by: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000199
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Funding provided by: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005825
Award Number: 2014-01928
Funding provided by: Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board*
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Game and Fish Department*
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Governor's Big Game License Coalition*
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association*
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation*
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011911
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Funding provided by: Boone and Crockett Club
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Funding provided by: Bowhunters of Wyoming
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Funding provided by: Environment Yukon
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Funding provided by: James E. Ellis Memorial Scholarship
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Funding provided by: Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellowship
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Funding provided by: PacifiCorp
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Funding provided by: Sierra Trading Post
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Governor's Big Game License Coalition
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association
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Funding provided by: Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation
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dataset_sitefidelity_toShare.csv
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