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dc.contributor.authorPattison, Colin A
dc.contributor.authorCatterall, Carla P
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-17T01:44:50Z
dc.date.available2019-09-17T01:44:50Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.identifier.issn2167-8359
dc.identifier.doi10.7717/peerj.6504
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/387400
dc.description.abstractLinear clearings for human activities cause internal fragmentation of otherwise intact native forest, with many potential impacts on wildlife. Across a boreal forest region of some 4,000 km2, we investigated how movements and habitat use of ecologically different mammal species are affected by narrow (about eight m) seismic line (SL) clearings associated with fossil fuel extraction, which form extensive networks many kilometers long. We conducted nine repeat snow track surveys during three winters at 14 pairs of one-kilometer transects, each comprising one transect along the SL and a second running perpendicular into adjacent forest. Data for 13 individually-analyzed mammal taxa (species or sets of closely related species) and five mammal groups, categorized based on body size-diet combinations, showed that movements across transects were either unaffected by SL clearings (relative to continuous forest) or restricted only slightly. However, these clearings were favored for linear travel by most species and body size-diet groups (excepting small mammals). The strength of this preference varied in a manner consistent with species’ differing needs to move long distances (associated with their energetic requirements): large predators > large herbivores > mid-sized predators > mid-sized herbivores > small mammals. In terms of overall habitat use, large-bodied predators (e.g., wolves and coyotes) strongly selected SL clearings over forest, medium-sized predators (e.g., mustelids) and medium-sized herbivores (e.g., hares and squirrels) preferred forest, and neither large herbivores nor small mammals had a clear habitat preference. Consequently, there was a net shift in both species and trophic composition within the SL, in favor of large predators and away from medium-sized predators and herbivores. Given the high regional SL density (1.9 km/km2) such shifts are likely to have complex ecological consequences, of currently unknown magnitude.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherPeerJ, Ltd.
dc.relation.ispartofissue2
dc.relation.ispartofjournalPeerJ
dc.relation.ispartofvolume7
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiomedical and clinical sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode31
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode32
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technology
dc.subject.keywordsMultidisciplinary Sciences
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technology - Other Topics
dc.subject.keywordsBarrier
dc.subject.keywordsFragmentation
dc.titleEffects of narrow linear clearings on movement and habitat use in a boreal forest mammal community during winter
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationPattison, CA; Catterall, CP, Effects of narrow linear clearings on movement and habitat use in a boreal forest mammal community during winter, PeerJ, 2019, 7 (2)
dcterms.dateAccepted2019-01-22
dcterms.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated2019-09-17T01:40:04Z
dc.description.versionVersion of Record (VoR)
gro.rights.copyright© 2019 Pattison and Catterall. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorCatterall, Carla P.


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