A Functional Response in Resource Selection Links Multiscale Responses of a Large Carnivore to Human Mortality Risk

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Behavioral Ecology
• Wildlife Science

Background:

• Animals make hierarchical, multiscale resource selection decisions influenced by factors affecting fitness.
• Understanding individual-level coarse- and fine-scale selection relationships is crucial but theoretically elusive.
• Human-caused mortality risk is a significant factor influencing wildlife behavior and resource use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the resource selection of mountain lions (Puma concolor) in relation to human-caused mortality risk across multiple spatial scales.
• To test theoretical expectations of how coarse-scale resource selection influences fine-scale decisions at the individual level.
• To demonstrate how functional responses in resource selection link decisions across scales.

Main Methods:

• Utilized GPS-telemetry data from 244 mountain lions in California, USA.
• Analyzed spatial variation in human-caused mortality risk.
• Applied hierarchical resource selection frameworks to link coarse- and fine-scale decision-making.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that coarse-scale home range selection influences resource availability at finer scales.
• Showed that mountain lions proactively avoid mortality risk when selecting home ranges.
• Found that individuals relax risk avoidance within home ranges but exhibit reactive avoidance at the finest movement scales.

Conclusions:

• Hierarchical resource selection functionally links individual decisions across scales.
• Proactive risk avoidance at coarse scales enables relaxed vigilance at finer scales, with reactive avoidance occurring at the smallest scales.
• This study provides empirical evidence for the theoretical link between multiscale resource selection and fitness-related decisions.