Spatio–temporal hotspots of satellite–tracked arctic foxes reveal a large detection range in a mammalian predator

Movement Ecology

Dominique Berteaux¹  Joël Bêty¹  Sandra Lai¹ 

[1] Canada Research Chair on Northern Biodiversity, Centre for Northern Studies and Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski G5L 3A1, QC, Canada

关键词: Dynamic Brownian bridge movement model;    Scavenging;    Detection range;    Spatio–temporal hotspots;    Sea ice;    Vulpes lagopus;    Argos satellite tracking;   

Others  :  1233239
DOI  :  10.1186/s40462-015-0065-2

 received in 2015-03-27, accepted in 2015-10-13,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

The scale at which animals perceive their environment is a strong fitness determinant, yet few empirical estimates of animal detection ranges exist, especially in mammalian predators. Using daily Argos satellite tracking of 26 adult arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) during a single winter in the High Canadian Arctic, we investigated the detection range of arctic foxes by detecting hotspots of fox activity on the sea ice.

Results

While maintaining territories in the tundra, these solitary foragers occasionally used the sea ice where they sometimes formed spatio–temporal hotspots, likely scavenging on marine mammal carcasses. We detected 35 movements by 13 individuals forming five hotspots. Foxes often traveled more than 10 km, and up to 40 km, to reach hotspots, which lasted one–two weeks and could gather up to 12 individuals. The likelihood of a fox joining a hotspot was neither influenced by its distance from the hotspot nor by the distance of its home range to the coast.

Conclusions

Observed traveling distances may indicate a high detection range in arctic foxes, and our results suggest their ability to detect food sources on the sea ice from their terrestrial home range. While revealing a wide knowledge gap regarding resource detection abilities in mammalian predators, our study provides estimates of detection range useful for interpreting and modeling animal movements. It also allows a better understanding of foraging behavior and navigation capacity in terrestrial predators.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Lai et al.

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Lima SL, Zollner PA. Towards a behavioral ecology of ecological landscapes. Trends Ecol Evol. 1996; 11(3):131-5.
• [2]Schoener TW. Theory of feeding strategies. Annu Rev Ecol Syst. 1971; 2:369-404.
• [3]Pe’er G, Kramer-Schadt S. Incorporating the perceptual range of animals into connectivity models. Ecol Model. 2008; 213(1):73-85.
• [4]Olden JD, Schooley RL, Monroe JB, Poff NL. Context-dependent perceptual ranges and their relevance to animal movements in landscapes. J Anim Ecol. 2004; 73(6):1190-4.
• [5]Garber P, Hannon B. Modeling monkeys: A comparison of computer-generated and naturally occurring foraging patterns in two species of neotropical primates. Int J Primatol. 1993; 14(6):827-52.
• [6]Doerr ED, Doerr VA. Dispersal range analysis: quantifying individual variation in dispersal behaviour. Oecologia. 2005; 142(1):1-10.
• [7]Janson CH, Di Bitetti MS. Experimental analysis of food detection in capuchin monkeys: Effects of distance, travel speed, and resource size. Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 1997; 41(1):17-24.
• [8]Wilmers CC, Stahler DR, Crabtree RL, Smith DW, Getz WM. Resource dispersion and consumer dominance: scavenging at wolf- and hunter-killed carcasses in Greater Yellowstone, USA. Ecol Lett. 2003; 6(11):996-1003.
• [9]Marzluff JM, Heinrich B, Marzluff CS. Raven roosts are mobile information centres. Anim Behav. 1996; 51(1):89-103.
• [10]Wright J, Stone RE, Brown N. Communal roosts as structured information centres in the raven, Corvus corax. J Anim Ecol. 2003; 72(6):1003-14.
• [11]Heinrich B, Marzluff J. Do common ravens yell because they want to attract others? Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 1991; 28(1):13-21.
• [12]Selva N, Jedrzejewska B, Jedrzejewski W, Wajrak A. Scavenging on European bison carcasses in Bialowieza Primeval Forest (eastern Poland). Ecoscience. 2003; 10(3):303-11.
• [13]Rolland RM, Hamilton PK, Kraus SD, Davenport B, Gillett RM, Wasser SK. Faecal sampling using detection dogs to study reproduction and health in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). J Cetacean Res Manage. 2006; 8(2):121-5.
• [14]Nams VO. Density-dependent predation by skunks using olfactory search images. Oecologia. 1997; 110(3):440-8.
• [15]Cablk M, Sagebiel J, Heaton J, Valentin C. Olfaction-based detection distance: a quantitative analysis of how far away dogs recognize tortoise odor and follow it to source. Sensors. 2008; 8(4):2208-22.
• [16]Nevitt GA, Losekoot M, Weimerskirch H. Evidence for olfactory search in wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008; 105(12):4576-81.
• [17]Selva N, Fortuna MA. The nested structure of a scavenger community. Proc R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci. 2007; 274(1613):1101-8.
• [18]Selva N, Jędrzejewska B, Jędrzejewski W, Wajrak A. Factors affecting carcass use by a guild of scavengers in European temperate woodland. Can J Zool. 2005; 83(12):1590-601.
• [19]Killengreen ST, Strømseng E, Yoccoz NG, Ims RA. How ecological neighbourhoods influence the structure of the scavenger guild in low arctic tundra. Divers Distrib. 2012; 18(6):563-74.
• [20]DeVault TL, Rhodes OE. Identification of vertebrate scavengers of small mammal carcasses in a forested landscape. Acta Theriol. 2002; 47(2):185-92.
• [21]DeVault TL, Rhodes JOE, Shivik JA. Scavenging by vertebrates: behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives on an important energy transfer pathway in terrestrial ecosystems. Oikos. 2003; 102(2):225-34.
• [22]Dabrowska BB. Investigations on visual acuity of some corvine species. Folia Biol (Krakow). 1975; 23(3):311-32.
• [23]Ruxton GD, Houston DC. Obligate vertebrate scavengers must be large soaring fliers. J Theor Biol. 2004; 228(3):431-6.
• [24]Chesemore DL. Notes on the food habits of Arctic foxes in northern Alaska. Can J Zool. 1968; 46:1127-30.
• [25]Roth JD. Temporal variability in arctic fox diet as reflected in stable-carbon isotopes; the importance of sea ice. Oecologia. 2002; 133(1):70-7.
• [26]Frafjord K. Food-habits of Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) on the Western Coast of Svalbard. Arctic. 1993; 46(1):49-54.
• [27]Mullen DA, Pitelka FA. Efficiency of winter scavengers in the Arctic. Arctic. 1972; 25(3):225-31.
• [28]Smith TG. Predation of ringed seal pups (Phoca hispida) by the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus). Can J Zool. 1976; 54:1610-6.
• [29]Tarroux A, Berteaux D, Bêty J. Northern nomads: ability for extensive movements in adult arctic foxes. Polar Biol. 2010; 33(8):1021-6.
• [30]Lundberg J, Moberg F. Mobile link organisms and ecosystem functioning: implications for ecosystem resilience and management. Ecosystems. 2003; 6(1):87-98.
• [31]Tarroux A, Bêty J, Gauthier G, Berteaux D. The marine side of a terrestrial carnivore: Intra-population variation in use of allochthonous resources by arctic foxes. PLoS One. 2012; 7(8):e42427.
• [32]Gauthier G, Bêty J, Giroux JF, Rochefort L. Trophic interactions in a high Arctic snow goose colony. Integr Comp Biol. 2004; 44(2):119-29.
• [33]Cameron C, Berteaux D, Dufresne F. Spatial variation in food availability predicts extrapair paternity in the arctic fox. Behav Ecol. 2011; 22(6):1364-73.
• [34]Environment Canada. 2011. http://ice-glaces. ec.gc.ca. Accessed 01 November 2011
• [35]Gagnon C-A, Berteaux D. Integrating traditional ecological knowledge and ecological science: a question of scale. Ecol Soc. 2009; 14:19.
• [36]Smith TG, Stirling I. The breeding habitat of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida). The birth lair and associated structures. Can J Zool. 1975; 53(9):1297-305.
• [37]Argos user’s manual. 2011. http://www. argos-system.org/manual/. Accessed 01 November 2011
• [38]Kranstauber B, Smolla M. move: Visualizing and analyzing animal track data. R package 1.4-496. 2015.
• [39]Kranstauber B, Kays R, LaPoint SD, Wikelski M, Safi K. A dynamic Brownian bridge movement model to estimate utilization distributions for heterogeneous animal movement. J Anim Ecol. 2012; 81(4):738-46.
• [40]Pages JF, Bartumeus F, Hereu B, López-Sanz À, Romero J, Alcoverro T. Evaluating a key herbivorous fish as a mobile link: a Brownian bridge approach. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2013; 492:199-210.
• [41]Green GI, Mattson DJ, Peek JM. Spring feeding on ungulate carcasses by grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park. J Wildl Manag. 1997; 61:1040-55.
• [42]Palm EC, Newman SH, Prosser DJ, Xiao X, Ze L, Batbayar N et al.. Mapping migratory flyways in Asia using dynamic Brownian bridge movement models. Mov Ecol. 2015; 3(1):3. BioMed Central Full Text
• [43]Sawyer H, Kauffman MJ, Nielson RM, Horne JS. Identifying and prioritizing ungulate migration routes for landscape-level conservation. Ecol Appl. 2009; 19(8):2016-25.
• [44]Zuur AF, Leno EN, Walker NJ, Savelieve AA, Smith GM. Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R. Springer, New York; 2009.
• [45]Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar D. nlme: Linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R package 3.1-102. 2011.
• [46]Bates D, Maechler M, Bolker B. lme4: linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. R package 1.0-4. 2013.
• [47]Laidre KL, Stirling I, Lowry LF, Wiig Ø, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Ferguson SH. Quantifying the sensitivity of arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change. Ecol Appl. 2008; 18(Sp2):S97-125.
• [48]Stirling I, Derocher AE. Factors affecting the evolution and behavioral ecology of the modern bears. Int Conf Bear Res Manag. 1990; 8:189-204.
• [49]Stirling I. Midsummer observations on the behavior of wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Can J Zool. 1974; 52(9):1191-8.
• [50]Amstrup SC. The polar bear — Ursus maritimus. In: Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation. 2nd ed. Feldhamer GA, Thompson BC, Chapman JA, editors. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore; 2003: p.587-610.
• [51]Hudson E, Aihoshi D, Gaines T, Simard G, Mullock J. The weather of Nunavut and the arctic. graphic area forecast 36 and 37. 2001.
• [52]Stirling I, Latour PB. Comparative hunting abilities of polar bear cubs of different ages. Can J Zool. 1978; 56(8):1768-72.
• [53]Kolenosky GB. Polar bear. In: Wild furbearer management and conservation in North America. Novak M, Baker JA, Obbard ME, Malloch B, editors. Ontario Fur Trappers Association, North Bay; 1987: p.474-85.
• [54]Brown G. The great bear almanac. The Lyons Press, New York; 1993.
• [55]Nams VO. Olfactory search images in striped skunks. Behaviour. 1991; 119(3/4):267-84.
• [56]Hirsch BT. Tradeoff between travel speed and olfactory food detection in ring-tailed coatis (Nasua nasua). Ethology. 2010; 116(7):671-9.
• [57]Kelly BP, Quakenbush LT. Spatiotemporal use of lairs by ringed seals (Phoca hispida). Can J Zool. 1990; 68(12):2503-12.
• [58]Kamler JF, Ballard WB, Gilliland RL, Mote K. Coyote (Canis latrans) movements relative to cattle (Bos taurus) carcass areas. West N Am Nat. 2004; 64:53-8.
• [59]Stahler DR, Heinrich B, Smith DW. Common ravens, Corvus corax, preferentially associate with grey wolves, Canis lupus, as a foraging strategy in winter. Anim Behav. 2002; 64(2):283-90.
• [60]Mech LD. The Wolves of Isle Royale. National parks fauna. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington; 1966.
• [61]Selva N. The role of scavenging in the predator community of Białowieża Primeval Forest (E Poland). University of Sevilla, Sevilla; 2004.
• [62]Paquet PC. Winter spatial relationships of wolves and coyotes in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. J Mammal. 1991; 72:397-401.
• [63]Noyce KV, Garshelis DL. Follow the leader: social cues help guide landscape-level movements of American black bears (Ursus americanus). Can J Zool. 2014; 92(12):1005-17.
• [64]Pöysä H. Group foraging in patchy environments: The importance of coarse-level local enhancement. Ornis Scand. 1992; 23:159-66.
• [65]Kane A, Jackson AL, Ogada DL, Monadjem A, McNally L. Vultures acquire information on carcass location from scavenging eagles. Proc R Soc B. 2014; 281(1793):20141072.
• [66]Hamel S, Killengreen ST, Henden J-A, Eide NE, Roed-Eriksen L, Ims RA et al.. Towards good practice guidance in using camera-traps in ecology: influence of sampling design on validity of ecological inferences. Methods Ecol Evol. 2013; 4(2):105-13.
• [67]Roth JD. Variability in marine resources affects arctic fox population dynamics. J Anim Ecol. 2003; 72(4):668-76.
• [68]Davies NB, Houston AI. Time allocation between territories and flocks and owner-satellite conflict in foraging pied wagtails, Motacilla alba. J Anim Ecol. 1983; 52(2):621-34.
• [69]Krebs JR. Territorial defence in the great tit (Parus major): do residents always win? Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 1982; 11(3):185-94.
• [70]Giuggioli L, Potts JR, Harris S. Animal interactions and the emergence of territoriality. PLoS Comput Biol. 2011; 7(3):e1002008.
• [71]Tsukada H. A division between foraging range and territory related to food distribution in the red fox. J Ethol. 1997; 15(1):27-37.
• [72]Potts JR, Harris S, Giuggioli L. Quantifying behavioral changes in territorial animals caused by sudden population declines. Am Nat. 2013; 182(3):E73-82.
• [73]Rausch R. Some observations on rabies in Alaska, with special reference to wild Canidae. J Wildl Manag. 1958; 22(3):246-60.
• [74]Mørk T, Prestrud P. Arctic rabies - A review. Acta Vet Scand. 2004; 45(1):1-9. BioMed Central Full Text