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Food quality, security, and thermal refuge influence the use of microsites and patches by pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) across landscapes and seasons.
Olsoy, Peter J; Milling, Charlotte R; Nobler, Jordan D; Camp, Meghan J; Shipley, Lisa A; Forbey, Jennifer S; Rachlow, Janet L; Thornton, Daniel H.
Afiliação
  • Olsoy PJ; School of the Environment Washington State University Pullman Washington USA.
  • Milling CR; Department of Biological Sciences Boise State University Boise Idaho USA.
  • Nobler JD; School of Environment and Natural Resources Ohio State University Columbus Ohio USA.
  • Camp MJ; Department of Biological Sciences Boise State University Boise Idaho USA.
  • Shipley LA; School of the Environment Washington State University Pullman Washington USA.
  • Forbey JS; School of the Environment Washington State University Pullman Washington USA.
  • Rachlow JL; Department of Biological Sciences Boise State University Boise Idaho USA.
  • Thornton DH; Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho Moscow Idaho USA.
Ecol Evol ; 12(5): e8892, 2022 May.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35600688
ABSTRACT
How intensely animals use habitat features depends on their functional properties (i.e., how the feature influences fitness) and the spatial and temporal scale considered. For herbivores, habitat use is expected to reflect the competing risks of starvation, predation, and thermal stress, but the relative influence of each functional property is expected to vary in space and time. We examined how a dietary and habitat specialist, the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), used these functional properties of its sagebrush habitat-food quality, security, and thermal refuge-at two hierarchical spatial scales (microsite and patch) across two seasons (winter and summer). At the microsite and patch scales, we determined which plant functional traits predicted the number of bites (i.e., foraging) by pygmy rabbits and the number of their fecal pellets (i.e., general habitat use). Pygmy rabbits used microsites and patches more intensely that had higher crude protein and aerial concealment cover and were closer to burrows. Food quality was more influential when rabbits used microsites within patches. Security was more influential in winter than summer, and more at Cedar Gulch than Camas. However, the influence of functional properties depended on phytochemical and structural properties of sagebrush and was not spatiotemporally consistent. These results show function-dependent habitat use that varied according to specific activities by a central-place browsing herbivore. Making spatially explicit predictions of the relative value of habitat features that influence different types of habitat use (i.e., foraging, hiding, and thermoregulating) will improve how we predict patterns of habitat use by herbivores and how we monitor and manage functional traits within habitats for wildlife.
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Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2022 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Base de dados: MEDLINE Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2022 Tipo de documento: Article