Temperature shapes movement and habitat selection by a heat-sensitive ungulate
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Temperature shapes movement and habitat selection by a heat-sensitive ungulate Jesse M. Alston
. Michael J. Joyce . Jerod A. Merkle
. Ron A. Moen
Received: 11 March 2020 / Accepted: 13 July 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Context Warmer weather caused by climate change poses increasingly serious threats to the persistence of many species, but animals can modify behavior to mitigate at least some of the threats posed by warmer temperatures. Identifying and characterizing how animals modify behavior to avoid the negative consequences of acute heat will be crucial for understanding how animals will respond to warmer temperatures in the future.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01072-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. J. M. Alston (&) Program in Ecology and Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. J. Joyce Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota –Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA J. A. Merkle Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Objectives We studied the extent to which moose (Alces alces), a species known to be sensitive to heat, mitigates heat on hot summer days via multiple different behaviors: (1) reduced movement, (2) increased visitation to shade, (3) increased visitation to water, or (4) a combination of these behaviors. Methods We used GPS telemetry and a step-selection function to analyze movement and habitat selection by moose in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Results Moose reduced movement, used areas of the landscape with more shade, and traveled nearer to mixed forests and bogs during periods of heat. Moose used shade far more than water to ameliorate heat, and the most pronounced changes in behavior occurred between 15 and 20 °C. Conclusions Research characterizing the behaviors animals use to facilitate thermoregulation will aid conservation of heat-sensitive species in a warming world. The modeling framework presented in this study is a promising method for evaluating the influence of temperature on movement and habitat selection. Keywords Climate change Habitat selection Habitat use Lidar Moose (Alces alces) Resource selection Step-selection function Thermal refugia
R. A. Moen Department of Biology and Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota –Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA
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Landscape Ecol
Introduction Physiological performance peaks within a limited range of body temperatures in which molecular, cellular, and systemic processes operate optimally. Body temperatures outside this range impose functional constraints on these processes, including reductions in growth, reproduction, activity, and immune function (Po¨rtner and Farrell 2008). Nevertheless, animals routinely operate in environmental conditions that trigger suboptimal body temperatures (Boyles et al. 2011;
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