A functional response in resource selection links multi-scale responses of a large carnivore to human mortality risk

Authors

Kyle Duncan Dougherty, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
J. A. Dellinger, Wyoming Game and Fish Department
B. Cristescu, University of California, Santa Cruz
D. J. Gammons, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bishop, California
D. K. Garcelon, Institute for Wildlife Studies, Arcata, California
J. M. Higley, Hoopa Tribal Council, Forestry Division, Hoopa, CA
Q. E. Martins, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Stinson Beach, CA
S.P.D. Riley, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, National Park Service
J. A. Sikich, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, National Park Service
T. R. Stephenson, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bishop, California
T. W. Vickers, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
G. M. Wengert, Integral Ecology Research Center, Blue Lake, CA
C. C. Wilmers, University of California, Santa Cruz
H. U. Wittmer, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ
John F. Benson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2024

Citation

Dougherty, K.D., Dellinger, J.A., Cristescu, B., Gammons, D.J., Garcelon, D.K., Higley, J.M., Martins, Q.E., Riley, S.P.D., Sikich, J.A., Stephenson, T.R.,Vickers, T.W., Wengert, G.M., Wilmers, C.C., Wittmer, H.U., Benson, J.F. 2025. A functional response in resource selection links multi-scale responses of a large carnivore to human mortality risk. Ecology Letters, 2025; 28:e70035. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70035

Comments

RS-5019

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License

Abstract

Theory suggests that animals make hierarchical, multiscale resource selection decisions to address the hierarchy of factors limiting their fitness. Ecologists have developed tools to link population-level resource selection across scales; yet, theoretical expectations about the relationship between coarse-and fine-scale selection decisions at the individual level remain elusive despite their importance to fitness. With GPS-telemetry data collected across California, USA, we evaluated resource selection of mountain lions (Puma concolor; n = 244) relative to spatial variation in human-caused mortality risk. With hierarchical resource selection, coarse-scale selection determines availability at finer scales. This simple relationship allowed us to demonstrate that functional responses in resource selection explicitly link individual-level resource selection decisions across scales. We show that individuals proactively avoiding risk when selecting home ranges are freed to relax this avoidance when making decisions within home ranges. However, individuals also exhibit reactive avoidance of risk at the finest scales along movement paths.