Whittington Jesse, Hebblewhite Mark, Baron Robin W, Ford Adam T, Paczkowski John
Park Canada, Banff National Park Resource Conservation, PO Box 900, Banff, AB, T1L 1K2, Canada.
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, 59801, USA.
Mov Ecol. 2022 Apr 8;10(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s40462-022-00318-5.
Global increases in human activity threaten connectivity of animal habitat and populations. Protection and restoration of wildlife habitat and movement corridors require robust models to forecast the effects of human activity on movement behaviour, resource selection, and connectivity. Recent research suggests that animal resource selection and responses to human activity depend on their behavioural movement state, with increased tolerance for human activity in fast states of movement. Yet, few studies have incorporated state-dependent movement behaviour into analyses of Merriam connectivity, that is individual-based metrics of connectivity that incorporate landscape structure and movement behaviour.
We assessed the cumulative effects of anthropogenic development on multiple movement processes including movement behaviour, resource selection, and Merriam connectivity. We simulated movement paths using hidden Markov movement models and step selection functions to estimate habitat use and connectivity for three landscape scenarios: reference conditions with no anthropogenic development, current conditions, and future conditions with a simulated expansion of towns and recreational trails. Our analysis used 20 years of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and gray wolf (Canis lupus) movement data collected in and around Banff National Park, Canada.
Carnivores increased their speed of travel near towns and areas of high trail and road density, presumably to avoid encounters with people. They exhibited stronger avoidance of anthropogenic development when foraging and resting compared to travelling and during the day compared to night. Wolves exhibited stronger avoidance of anthropogenic development than grizzly bears. Current development reduced the amount of high-quality habitat between two mountain towns by more than 35%. Habitat degradation constrained movement routes around towns and was most pronounced for foraging and resting behaviour. Current anthropogenic development reduced connectivity from reference conditions an average of 85%. Habitat quality and connectivity further declined under a future development scenario.
Our results highlight the cumulative effects of anthropogenic development on carnivore movement behaviour, habitat use, and connectivity. Our strong behaviour-specific responses to human activity suggest that conservation initiatives should consider how proposed developments and restoration actions would affect where animals travel and how they use the landscape.
人类活动的全球增加威胁着动物栖息地和种群的连通性。保护和恢复野生动物栖息地及迁徙廊道需要强大的模型来预测人类活动对动物移动行为、资源选择和连通性的影响。最近的研究表明，动物的资源选择和对人类活动的反应取决于其行为移动状态，在快速移动状态下对人类活动的耐受性增强。然而，很少有研究将依赖状态的移动行为纳入对梅里亚姆连通性的分析中，即基于个体的连通性指标，该指标纳入了景观结构和移动行为。
我们评估了人为开发对包括移动行为、资源选择和梅里亚姆连通性在内的多个移动过程的累积影响。我们使用隐马尔可夫移动模型和步长选择函数模拟移动路径，以估计三种景观情景下的栖息地利用和连通性：无人为开发的参考条件、当前条件以及城镇和休闲步道模拟扩张的未来条件。我们的分析使用了在加拿大班夫国家公园及其周边收集的20年灰熊（棕熊）和灰狼的移动数据。
食肉动物在城镇以及步道和道路密度高的区域附近提高了移动速度，大概是为了避免与人相遇。与移动时相比，它们在觅食和休息时对人为开发表现出更强的回避，与夜间相比，白天表现得更明显。狼比灰熊对人为开发表现出更强的回避。当前的开发使两个山镇之间的高质量栖息地数量减少了超过35%。栖息地退化限制了城镇周围的移动路线，在觅食和休息行为方面最为明显。当前的人为开发使连通性相对于参考条件平均降低了85%。在未来开发情景下，栖息地质量和连通性进一步下降。
我们的结果突出了人为开发对食肉动物移动行为、栖息地利用和连通性的累积影响。我们对人类活动强烈的行为特异性反应表明，保护举措应考虑拟议的开发和恢复行动将如何影响动物的移动地点以及它们对景观的利用方式。
