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Togunov RR, Derocher AE, Lunn NJ, Auger-Méthé M. Drivers of polar bear behavior and the possible effects of prey availability on foraging strategy. Mov Ecol 2022; 10:50. [PMID: 36384775 PMCID: PMC9670556 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00351-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Change in behavior is one of the earliest responses to variation in habitat suitability. It is therefore important to understand the conditions that promote different behaviors, particularly in areas undergoing environmental change. Animal movement is tightly linked to behavior and remote tracking can be used to study ethology when direct observation is not possible. METHODS We used movement data from 14 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Hudson Bay, Canada, during the foraging season (January-June), when bears inhabit the sea ice. We developed an error-tolerant method to correct for sea ice drift in tracking data. Next, we used hidden Markov models with movement and orientation relative to wind to study three behaviors (stationary, area-restricted search, and olfactory search) and examine effects of 11 covariates on behavior. RESULTS Polar bears spent approximately 47% of their time in the stationary drift state, 29% in olfactory search, and 24% in area-restricted search. High energy behaviors occurred later in the day (around 20:00) compared to other populations. Second, olfactory search increased as the season progressed, which may reflect a shift in foraging strategy from still-hunting to active search linked to a shift in seal availability (i.e., increase in haul-outs from winter to the spring pupping and molting seasons). Last, we found spatial patterns of distribution linked to season, ice concentration, and bear age that may be tied to habitat quality and competitive exclusion. CONCLUSIONS Our observations were generally consistent with predictions of the marginal value theorem, and differences between our findings and other populations could be explained by regional or temporal variation in resource availability. Our novel movement analyses and finding can help identify periods, regions, and conditions of critical habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron R. Togunov
- Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4 Canada
| | - Andrew E. Derocher
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Nicholas J. Lunn
- Wildlife Research Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Edmonton, T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Marie Auger-Méthé
- Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Statistics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4 Canada
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Cooke SJ, Bergman JN, Twardek WM, Piczak ML, Casselberry GA, Lutek K, Dahlmo LS, Birnie-Gauvin K, Griffin LP, Brownscombe JW, Raby GD, Standen EM, Horodysky AZ, Johnsen S, Danylchuk AJ, Furey NB, Gallagher AJ, Lédée EJI, Midwood JD, Gutowsky LFG, Jacoby DMP, Matley JK, Lennox RJ. The movement ecology of fishes. J Fish Biol 2022; 101:756-779. [PMID: 35788929 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Movement of fishes in the aquatic realm is fundamental to their ecology and survival. Movement can be driven by a variety of biological, physiological and environmental factors occurring across all spatial and temporal scales. The intrinsic capacity of movement to impact fish individually (e.g., foraging) with potential knock-on effects throughout the ecosystem (e.g., food web dynamics) has garnered considerable interest in the field of movement ecology. The advancement of technology in recent decades, in combination with ever-growing threats to freshwater and marine systems, has further spurred empirical research and theoretical considerations. Given the rapid expansion within the field of movement ecology and its significant role in informing management and conservation efforts, a contemporary and multidisciplinary review about the various components influencing movement is outstanding. Using an established conceptual framework for movement ecology as a guide (i.e., Nathan et al., 2008: 19052), we synthesized the environmental and individual factors that affect the movement of fishes. Specifically, internal (e.g., energy acquisition, endocrinology, and homeostasis) and external (biotic and abiotic) environmental elements are discussed, as well as the different processes that influence individual-level (or population) decisions, such as navigation cues, motion capacity, propagation characteristics and group behaviours. In addition to environmental drivers and individual movement factors, we also explored how associated strategies help survival by optimizing physiological and other biological states. Next, we identified how movement ecology is increasingly being incorporated into management and conservation by highlighting the inherent benefits that spatio-temporal fish behaviour imbues into policy, regulatory, and remediation planning. Finally, we considered the future of movement ecology by evaluating ongoing technological innovations and both the challenges and opportunities that these advancements create for scientists and managers. As aquatic ecosystems continue to face alarming climate (and other human-driven) issues that impact animal movements, the comprehensive and multidisciplinary assessment of movement ecology will be instrumental in developing plans to guide research and promote sustainability measures for aquatic resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Cooke
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and the Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jordanna N Bergman
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and the Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - William M Twardek
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and the Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Morgan L Piczak
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and the Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Grace A Casselberry
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Keegan Lutek
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lotte S Dahlmo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway
| | - Kim Birnie-Gauvin
- Section for Freshwater Fisheries and Ecology, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Silkeborg, Denmark
| | - Lucas P Griffin
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jacob W Brownscombe
- Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Graham D Raby
- Biology Department, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Emily M Standen
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrij Z Horodysky
- Department of Marine and Environmental Science, Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia, USA
| | - Sönke Johnsen
- Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, North Caroline, USA
| | - Andy J Danylchuk
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nathan B Furey
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
| | | | - Elodie J I Lédée
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jon D Midwood
- Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lee F G Gutowsky
- Environmental & Life Sciences Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - David M P Jacoby
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Jordan K Matley
- Program in Aquatic Resources, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Robert J Lennox
- Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
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Whetten AB. Smoothing splines of apex predator movement: Functional modeling strategies for exploring animal behavior and social interactions. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17786-17800. [PMID: 35003639 PMCID: PMC8717279 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The collection of animal position data via GPS tracking devices has increased in quality and usage in recent years. Animal position and movement, although measured discretely, follows the same principles of kinematic motion, and as such, the process is inherently continuous and differentiable. I demonstrate the functionality and visual elegance of smoothing spline models. I discuss the challenges and benefits of implementing such an approach, and I provide an analysis of movement and social interaction of seven jaguars inhabiting the Taiamã Ecological Station, Pantanal, Brazil, a region with the highest known density of jaguars. In the analysis, I derive measures for pairwise distance, cooccurrence, and spatiotemporal association between jaguars, borrowing ideas from density estimation and information theory. These measures are feasible as a result of spline model estimation, and they provide a critical tool for a deeper investigation of cooccurrence duration, frequency, and localized spatio-temporal relationships between animals. In this work, I characterize a variety of interactive relationships between pairs of jaguars, and I particularly emphasize the relationships in movement of two male-female and two male-male jaguar pairs exhibiting highly associative relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Whetten
- Department of Mathematical SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin – MilwaukeeMilwaukeeWisconsinUSA
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