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Development of New Methods for Quantifying Fish Density Using Underwater Stereo-video Tools
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Why does animal home range size decrease with population density?

Juliana Balluffi-Fry1, Yasmine N Majchrzak2, Michael J L Peers2

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Ecology
|April 3, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Home range size in snowshoe hares decreases with increasing population density. Food supplementation intensified this effect, suggesting competition, not resource availability, drives smaller home ranges at high densities.

Keywords:
food supplementationhome range sizepopulation cyclesresource availabilitysnowshoe harespace use

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Wildlife Management

Background:

  • Spatial confinement to a home range is theorized to be energetically efficient for resource acquisition.
  • Intraspecific studies show home range size decreases with increasing population density.
  • The mechanism behind this trend (competition vs. resource density confounds) remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between home range size and population density in snowshoe hares.
  • To determine if increased conspecific competition or resource density confounds drive this relationship.
  • To assess the impact of food supplementation on home range size in relation to population density.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a 10-year snowshoe hare population cycle and individual-level food-add experiments.
  • Estimated weekly home range sizes (90% minimum convex polygons) for 88 radio-collared hares over six winters.
  • Compared home range sizes between control and food-supplemented hare groups across a 50-fold change in population density.

Main Results:

  • A negative relationship was observed between home range size and population density in control hares.
  • Home ranges decreased by 2.5 ha as hare density increased from 0.24 to 1.2 ha/ha.
  • Food-supplemented hares exhibited a more pronounced decrease in home range size with increasing population density.

Conclusions:

  • The negative trend between home range size and population density is likely driven by competition, not resource density confounds.
  • At high densities, snowshoe hares may reduce resource sharing to minimize competition and maintain spatial memory.
  • This suggests a trade-off between resource acquisition efficiency and density-driven constraints.