Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04469, USA.
Ecol Appl. 2021 Dec;31(8):e02443. doi: 10.1002/eap.2443. Epub 2021 Sep 14.
Ecologists commonly assess ecological patterns at the population level, focusing on the average response of all individuals within a population, but to predict how populations will respond to land-use change we must understand how changes to habitat differentially affect individuals within a population. For example, forest management is a widespread type of land-use that impacts wildlife through the loss of key habitat features, but individuals within a population may vary in their responses to this loss due to differences in habitat selection among individuals. Specifically, intraspecific variation in habitat selection has been linked to animal personalities (i.e., consistent behavioral differences among conspecifics), but previous research has not examined whether the relationship between personality and habitat selection is influenced by land-use change. To address this knowledge gap, we tested the hypothesis that land-use change alters the association between personality and microhabitat selection in small mammals. Specifically, we investigated two main questions: (1) To what extent are personality type and microhabitat selection correlated among conspecifics? (2) Does land-use change alter individual patterns of microhabitat selection? To answer these questions, we conducted a large-scale field experiment over 4 years, contrasting unmanaged forest (control) with managed forest (two silvicultural treatments) in Maine, USA. We examined the relationships between habitat selection and personality traits in deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi). We found that personality traits were correlated with microhabitat selection at multiple spatial scales. Furthermore, land-use change altered these patterns of selection; resulting in either the loss of personality-associated selection or in novel patterns of selection in managed forests. These findings suggest that promoting structural complexity at multiple spatial scales, such as by interspersing stands of mature forest with managed stands, may maintain a variety of intraspecific habitat selection patterns and the associated ecological outcomes.
生态学家通常在种群水平上评估生态模式，关注种群内所有个体的平均反应，但要预测种群将如何对土地利用变化做出反应，我们必须了解栖息地的变化如何对种群内的个体产生不同的影响。例如，森林管理是一种广泛的土地利用方式，通过丧失关键的栖息地特征来影响野生动物，但由于个体之间的栖息地选择存在差异，种群内的个体对这种丧失的反应可能有所不同。具体来说，种内的栖息地选择差异与动物个性（即同种个体之间一致的行为差异）有关，但以前的研究尚未检验个性与栖息地选择之间的关系是否受到土地利用变化的影响。为了解决这一知识空白，我们检验了以下假设：土地利用变化改变了小型哺乳动物个性与微栖息地选择之间的关系。具体来说，我们调查了两个主要问题：（1）同种个体之间个性类型和微栖息地选择的相关性有多大？（2）土地利用变化是否改变了个体的微栖息地选择模式？为了回答这些问题，我们在美国缅因州进行了一项为期 4 年的大规模野外实验，将未管理的森林（对照）与管理的森林（两种造林处理）进行对比。我们研究了鹿鼠（Peromyscus maniculatus）和南部红背田鼠（Myodes gapperi）的栖息地选择与个性特征之间的关系。我们发现个性特征与多个空间尺度的微栖息地选择相关。此外，土地利用变化改变了这些选择模式；导致与个性相关的选择丧失或在管理森林中出现新的选择模式。这些发现表明，通过在成熟林之间穿插管理林等方式在多个空间尺度上提高结构复杂性，可能会维持多种种内栖息地选择模式和相关的生态结果。
