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Williams S, Hebblewhite M, Martin H, Meyer C, Whittington J, Killeen J, Berg J, MacAulay K, Smolko P, Merrill EH. Predation risk drives long-term shifts in migratory behaviour and demography in a large herbivore population. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:21-35. [PMID: 37982331 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
Migration is an adaptive life-history strategy across taxa that helps individuals maximise fitness by obtaining forage and avoiding predation risk. The mechanisms driving migratory changes are poorly understood, and links between migratory behaviour, space use, and demographic consequences are rare. Here, we use a nearly 20-year record of individual-based monitoring of a large herbivore, elk (Cervus canadensis) to test hypotheses for changing patterns of migration in and adjacent to a large protected area in Banff National Park (BNP), Canada. We test whether bottom-up (forage quality) or top-down (predation risk) factors explained trends in (i) the proportion of individuals using 5 different migratory tactics, (ii) differences in survival rates of migratory tactics during migration and whilst on summer ranges, (iii) cause-specific mortality by wolves and grizzly bears, and (iv) population abundance. We found dramatic shifts in migration consistent with behavioural plasticity in individual choice of annual migratory routes. Shifts were inconsistent with exposure to the bottom-up benefits of migration. Instead, exposure to landscape gradients in predation risk caused by exploitation outside the protected area drove migratory shifts. Carnivore exploitation outside the protected area led to higher survival rates for female elk remaining resident or migrating outside the protected area. Cause-specific mortality aligned with exposure to predation risk along migratory routes and summer ranges. Wolf predation risk was higher on migratory routes than summer ranges of montane-migrant tactics, but wolf predation risk traded-off with heightened risk from grizzly bears on summer ranges. A novel eastern migrant tactic emerged following a large forest fire that enhanced forage in an area with lower predation risk outside of the protected area. The changes in migratory behaviour translated to population abundance, where abundance of the montane-migratory tactics declined over time. The presence of diverse migratory life histories maintained a higher total population abundance than would have been the case with only one migratory tactic in the population. Our study demonstrates the complex ways in which migratory populations change over time through behavioural plasticity and associated demographic consequences because of individuals balancing predation risk and forage trade-offs.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Williams
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - M Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - H Martin
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - C Meyer
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - J Whittington
- Banff National Park, Parks Canada, Banff, Alberta, Canada
| | - J Killeen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - J Berg
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - K MacAulay
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - P Smolko
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Applied Zoology and Wildlife Management, Technical University in Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovakia
| | - E H Merrill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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2
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Pigeon KE, MacNearney D, Hebblewhite M, Musiani M, Neufeld L, Cranston J, Stenhouse G, Schmiegelow F, Finnegan L. The density of anthropogenic features explains seasonal and behaviour-based functional responses in selection of linear features by a social predator. Sci Rep 2020; 10:11437. [PMID: 32651419 PMCID: PMC7351780 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68151-7] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic linear features facilitate access and travel efficiency for predators, and can influence predator distribution and encounter rates with prey. We used GPS collar data from eight wolf packs and characteristics of seismic lines to investigate whether ease-of-travel or access to areas presumed to be preferred by prey best explained seasonal selection patterns of wolves near seismic lines, and whether the density of anthropogenic features led to functional responses in habitat selection. At a broad scale, wolves showed evidence of habitat-driven functional responses by exhibiting greater selection for areas near low-vegetation height seismic lines in areas with low densities of anthropogenic features. We highlight the importance of considering landscape heterogeneity and habitat characteristics, and the functional response in habitat selection when investigating seasonal behaviour-based selection patterns. Our results support behaviour in line with search for primary prey during summer and fall, and ease-of-travel during spring, while patterns of selection during winter aligned best with ease-of-travel for the less-industrialized foothills landscape, and with search for primary prey in the more-industrialized boreal landscape. These results highlight that time-sensitive restoration actions on anthropogenic features can affect the probability of overlap between predators and threatened prey within different landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karine E Pigeon
- fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, AB, Canada. .,Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Laboratory (GLEL), Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
| | - D MacNearney
- fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, AB, Canada.,Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - M Hebblewhite
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Science, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - M Musiani
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - L Neufeld
- Parks Canada, Jasper National Park, Jasper, AB, Canada
| | - J Cranston
- Arctos Ecological Consultants, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - G Stenhouse
- fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, AB, Canada
| | - F Schmiegelow
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Yukon Research Centre, Yukon University, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
| | - L Finnegan
- fRI Research, 1176 Switzer Drive, Hinton, AB, Canada
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3
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Spitz D, Hebblewhite M, Stephenson T, German D. How plastic is migratory behavior? Quantifying elevational movement in a partially migratory alpine ungulate, the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae). CAN J ZOOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2017-0367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Migratory species face well-documented global declines, but the causes of these declines remain unclear. One obstacle to better understanding these declines is uncertainty surrounding how migratory behavior is maintained. Most migratory populations are partially migratory, displaying both migrant and resident behaviors. Theory only provides two possible explanations for this coexistence of migration and residency: either these behaviors are fixed at the individual level or both behaviors are part of a single conditional strategy in which an individual’s migratory status (adoption of migrant or resident behavior) is plastic. Here we test for plasticity in migratory status and tactics (timing, distance, and duration of migration) in a federally endangered mountain caprid, the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae Grinnell, 1912). We used nonlinear modeling to quantitatively describe migratory behavior, analyzing 262 animal-years of GPS location data collected between 2005 and 2016 from 161 females across 14 subpopulations. Migratory tactics and prevalence varied by subpopulation. On average, individuals from partially migratory subpopulations switched migratory status every 4 years. Our results support the hypothesis that partial migration is maintained through a single conditional strategy. Understanding plasticity in migratory behavior will improve monitoring efforts and provide a rigorous basis for evaluating threats, particularly those associated with changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- D.B. Spitz
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - M. Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - T.R. Stephenson
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220, Bishop, CA 93514, USA
| | - D.W. German
- Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 787 North Main Street, Suite 220, Bishop, CA 93514, USA
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Buchanan GM, Beresford AE, Hebblewhite M, Escobedo FJ, De Klerk HM, Donald PF, Escribano P, Koh LP, Martínez-López J, Pettorelli N, Skidmore AK, Szantoi Z, Tabor K, Wegmann M, Wich S. Free satellite data key to conservation. Science 2018; 361:139-140. [PMID: 30002246 DOI: 10.1126/science.aau2650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G M Buchanan
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Edinburgh, EH12 9DH, UK.
| | - A E Beresford
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Edinburgh, EH12 9DH, UK
| | - M Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - F J Escobedo
- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, DC, 11122, Colombia
| | - H M De Klerk
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
| | - P F Donald
- BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - P Escribano
- CAESCG, University of Almería, Cañada de San Urbano s/n 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - L P Koh
- Betty & Gordon Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
| | - J Martínez-López
- BC3-Basque Centre for Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, 48940, Leioa, Spain
| | - N Pettorelli
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK
| | - A K Skidmore
- University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, 7500 AE Enschede, Netherlands
| | - Z Szantoi
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa
| | - K Tabor
- Betty & Gordon Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
| | - M Wegmann
- Institute of Geography and Geology, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - S Wich
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L33AF, UK
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Proffitt KM, Goldberg JF, Hebblewhite M, Russell R, Jimenez BS, Robinson HS, Pilgrim K, Schwartz MK. Integrating resource selection into spatial capture-recapture models for large carnivores. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es15-00001.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Hervieux D, Hebblewhite M, DeCesare N, Russell M, Smith K, Robertson S, Boutin S. Reply to the comment by Harron on “Widespread declines in woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou) continue in Alberta”. CAN J ZOOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2014-0321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Estimation of demographic trends from vital rates provides a powerful means to estimate population trends in cryptic or difficult to study species such as woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)). Using such methods, Hervieux et al. (2013; Can. J. Zool. 91(12): 872–882) recently showed 11 of 14 woodland caribou populations in Alberta were declining at ∼8%/year following up to 18 years of monitoring. Harron (2015; Can. J. Zool. 93(2): 149–150) critiques our original study, claiming that negative biases in our demographic monitoring exaggerate our conclusions of widespread caribou declines. Here, we systematically review each of Harron’s claims of bias, rejecting each of his claims upon careful review of the mechanisms by which his purported claims would manifest in our population trend estimation. Therefore, we conclude that Harron’s scientific critique was superficial and misleading. Delays in conservation actions raised by Harron’s critique risk diminishing opportunities to conserve and recover this federally and provincially protected species.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Hervieux
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - M. Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - N.J. DeCesare
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - M. Russell
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - K. Smith
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - S. Robertson
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - S. Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Whittington
- Banff National Park Resource Conservation; Parks Canada; Banff Alberta Canada
| | - K. Heuer
- Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative; Canmore Alberta Canada
| | - B. Hunt
- Banff National Park Resource Conservation; Parks Canada; Banff Alberta Canada
| | - M. Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program; Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences; College of Forestry and Conservation; University of Montana; Missoula MT USA
| | - P. M. Lukacs
- Wildlife Biology Program; Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences; College of Forestry and Conservation; University of Montana; Missoula MT USA
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8
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Semeniuk C, Musiani M, Birkigt D, Hebblewhite M, Grindal S, Marceau D. Identifying non-independent anthropogenic risks using a behavioral individual-based model. Ecological Complexity 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecocom.2013.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Hervieux D, Hebblewhite M, DeCesare N, Russell M, Smith K, Robertson S, Boutin S. Widespread declines in woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) continue in Alberta. CAN J ZOOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2013-0123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Nowhere across Canada is the continued persistence of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) more uncertain than in Alberta due to widespread industrial development. A recent Government of Canada critical habitat review determined that habitat conditions within all Alberta boreal ecotype caribou ranges are unlikely or very unlikely to allow for self-sustaining caribou populations. This habitat-based assessment was based only indirectly on empirical population trends. Here, we estimated empirical population trend and growth rate (λ) for 13 of Alberta’s 16 remaining woodland caribou populations (plus one adjacent population from Saskatchewan) from 1994 to 2012 using demographic monitoring of adult female survival and calf recruitment. We captured and radio-collared a total of 1337 adult female caribou in 14 populations and estimated the mean annual adult female survival across all populations as 0.851. We conducted 158 late-winter calf recruitment surveys across the 14 populations classifying 20 872 caribou and estimated mean recruitment of 0.154 calves/cow (i.e., 0.077 female calves/cow). We then combined annual estimates of adult female survival and female calf recruitment within each population in a simple age-structured population model to estimate population trend. Annual population growth rate across caribou populations averaged 0.918, and was significantly declining, λ < 1.0, for 10 of the 14 caribou populations. Our results confirm that woodland caribou are declining rapidly (with a realized decline of approximately 50% every 8 years) across Alberta, and support conclusions from previous habitat-based assessments that the population viability of caribou is currently compromised, supporting development and implementation of recovery actions to reverse trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Hervieux
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - M. Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - N.J. DeCesare
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - M. Russell
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - K. Smith
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - S. Robertson
- Operations Division (Fisheries and Wildlife), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 6J4, Canada
| | - S. Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
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Semeniuk C, Musiani M, Hebblewhite M, Grindal S, Marceau D. Incorporating behavioral–ecological strategies in pattern-oriented modeling of caribou habitat use in a highly industrialized landscape. Ecol Modell 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Hebblewhite M, Zimmermann F, Li Z, Miquelle DG, Zhang M, Sun H, Mörschel F, Wu Z, Sheng L, Purekhovsky A, Chunquan Z. Is there a future for Amur tigers in a restored tiger conservation landscape in Northeast China? Anim Conserv 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00552.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program; Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences; College of Forestry and Conservation; University of Montana; Missoula; MT; USA
| | | | - Z. Li
- Northeast Normal University; Jilin Province; Changchun; China
| | - D. G. Miquelle
- Russia Program; Wildlife Conservation Society; Vladivostok; Russia
| | - M. Zhang
- Northeast Normal University; Heilongjiang Province; Harbin; China
| | - H. Sun
- Heilongjiang Academy of Forestry; Wildlife Conservation Institute; Heilongjiang Province; Harbin; China
| | - F. Mörschel
- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Germany; Frankfurt; Germany
| | - Z. Wu
- Jilin Academy of Forestry; Jilin Province; Changchun; China
| | - L. Sheng
- Northeast Normal University; Jilin Province; Changchun; China
| | - A. Purekhovsky
- Russian Far Eastern Branch; World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); Vladivostok; Russia
| | - Z. Chunquan
- Beijing Office; World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); Beijing; China
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Affiliation(s)
- M Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59802, USA.
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DeCesare NJ, Hebblewhite M, Robinson HS, Musiani M. Endangered, apparently: the role of apparent competition in endangered species conservation. Anim Conserv 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00328.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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14
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Hebblewhite M, Merrill EH, McDonald TL. Spatial decomposition of predation risk using resource selection functions: an example in a wolf-elk predator-prey system. OIKOS 2005. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2005.13858.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 215] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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