Trap Array Configuration Influences Estimates and Precision of Black Bear Density and Abundance

Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models have advanced our ability to estimate population density for wide ranging animals by explicitly incorporating individual movement. Though these models are more robust to various spatial sampling designs, few studies have empirically tested different large-scale trap configurations using SCR models. We investigated how extent of trap coverage and trap spacing affects precision and accuracy of SCR parameters, implementing models using the R package secr. We tested two trapping scenarios, one spatially extensive and one intensive, using black bear (Ursus americanus) DNA data from hair snare arrays in south-central Missouri, USA. We also examined the influence that adding a second, lower barbed-wire strand to snares had on quantity and spatial distribution of detections. We simulated trapping data to test bias in density estimates of each configuration under a range of density and detection parameter values. Field data showed that using multiple arrays with intensive snare coverage produced more detections of more individuals than extensive coverage. Consequently, density and detection parameters were more precise for the intensive design. Density was estimated as 1.7 bears per 100 km² and was 5.5 times greater than that under extensive sampling. Abundance was 279 (95% CI = 193–406) bears in the 16,812 km² study area. Excluding detections from the lower strand resulted in the loss of 35 detections, 14 unique bears, and the largest recorded movement between snares. All simulations showed low bias for density under both configurations. Results demonstrated that in low density populations with non-uniform distribution of population density, optimizing the tradeoff among snare spacing, coverage, and sample size is of critical importance to estimating parameters with high precision and accuracy. With limited resources, allocating available traps to multiple arrays with intensive trap spacing increased the amount of information needed to inform parameters with high precision.     

Comparison of the effectivity of different snare types for collecting and retaining hair from Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)

Genetic methods are increasingly being used as noninvasive tools to survey populations of wild animals. One challenge of these methods is the sampling of genetic material from the target species. Genetic material of various predators, such as bears, canids, and felids, has been successfully obtained from both hair trapped in snares and scat. However, there is currently no standard procedure for sampling genetic material from the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx). We tested established and newly developed hair snares in two near-natural lynx enclosures in the Bavarian Forest National Park. All snares consisted of a wooden post; they differed in the type of material attached to the post for snaring hair: carpet (velour with 40 nails), wildcat (spruce wood with 2–3?mm deep, horizontal and diagonal ridges), wire brush, doormat, or rubber bands (250?g of rubber bands wrapped around the post). We determined the acceptance of the hair snares by the animals by observing their behavior with the aid of video cameras. The number of rubbing events on the different trap types did not significantly differ, but the rubbing duration was longer for the doormat hair snare. The wire brush hair snare collected the highest total amount of hair and — beside the carpet — the highest amount of hair per unit of time. Almost all hair trapped on the wire brush snare were retained during a 2-week exposure to the elements outside of the enclosures. The results of our study may hold for other felid species with hair characteristics similar to those of lynx.     

Winter bait stations as a multispecies survey tool

Winter bait stations are becoming a commonly used technique for multispecies inventory and monitoring but a technical evaluation of their effectiveness is lacking. Bait stations have three components: carcass attractant, remote camera, and hair snare. Our 22,975 km² mountainous study area was stratified with a 5 × 5 km sampling grid centered on northern Idaho and including portions of Washington, Montana, and British Columbia. From 2010–14, we conducted 563 sampling sessions at 497 bait stations in 453 5 × 5 km cells. We evaluated the effectiveness of cameras and hair snare DNA collection at stations to detect species and individual animals, factors affecting DNA viability, the effectiveness of re‐visiting stations, and the influence of elevation, seasonality, and latency on species detections. Cameras were more effective at detecting multiple species than DNA hair snaring. Length of deployment time and elevation increased genetic species ID success but individual ID success rates were increased only by collecting hairs earlier in the season. Re‐visiting stations did not change camera or genetic species detection results but did increase the number of individual genotypes identified. Marten and fisher were detected quickly while bobcat and coyote showed longer latency to detection. Seasonality significantly affected coyote and bobcat detections but not marten, fisher, or weasel. Multispecies bait station study design should incorporate mixed elevation sites with stratified seasonality. Priority should be given to including cameras as components of bait stations over hair snares, unless there is a specific genetic goal to the study. A hair snare component should be added, however, if individual ID or genetic data are necessary. Winter stations should be deployed a minimum of 45–60 days to allow for detection of low density species and species with long latency to detection times. Hair samples should be collected prior to DNA‐degrading late season rain events. Re‐visiting stations does not change which species are detected at stations; therefore, studies with objectives to delineate species presence or distribution will be more effective if they focus on deploying more stations across a broader landscape in lieu of surveying the same site multiple times.     

Deactivation of snares by wild chimpanzees

Snare injuries to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have been reported at many study sites across Africa, and in some cases cause the death of the ensnared animal. However, very few snare injuries have been reported concerning the chimpanzees of Bossou, Guinea. The rarity of snare injuries in this study group warrants further consideration, given the exceptionally close proximity of the Bossou chimpanzees to human settlements and the widespread practice of snare hunting in the area. Herein we report a total of six observations of chimpanzees attempting to break and deactivate snares, successfully doing so on two of these occasions. We observed the behavior in 5 males, ranging in age from juveniles to adults. We argue that such active responses to snares must be contributing to the rarity of injuries in this group. Based on our observations, we suggest that the behavior has transmitted down the group. Our research team at Bossou continues to remove snares from the forest, but the threat of ensnarement still remains. We discuss potential ways to achieve a good balance between human subsistence activities and the conservation of chimpanzees at Bossou, which will increasingly be an area of great concern in the future.     

Viral gut metagenomics of sympatric wild and domestic canids,and monitoring of viruses: Insights from an endangered wolf population

Animal host–microbe interactions are a relevant concern for wildlife conservation, particularly regarding generalist pathogens, where domestic host species can play a role in the transmission of infectious agents, such as viruses, to wild animals. Knowledge on viral circulation in wild host species is still scarce and can be improved by the recent advent of modern molecular approaches. We aimed to characterize the fecal virome and identify viruses of potential conservation relevance of diarrheic free‐ranging wolves and sympatric domestic dogs from Central Portugal, where a small and threatened wolf population persists in a highly anthropogenically modified landscape. Using viral metagenomics, we screened diarrheic stools collected from wolves (n = 8), feral dogs (n = 4), and pet dogs (n = 6), all collected within wolf range. We detected novel highly divergent viruses as well as known viral pathogens with established effects on population dynamics, including canine distemper virus, a novel bocavirus, and canine minute virus. Furthermore, we performed a 4‐year survey for the six wolf packs comprising this endangered wolf population, screening 93 fecal samples from 36 genetically identified wolves for canine distemper virus and the novel bocavirus, previously identified using our metagenomics approach. Our novel approach using metagenomics for viral screening in noninvasive samples of wolves and dogs has profound implications on the knowledge of both virology and wildlife diseases, establishing a complementary tool to traditional screening methods for the conservation of threatened species.     

Effects of restriction of wild herbivore movement on woody and herbaceous vegetation in the Okavango Delta Botswana

We conducted herbaceous and woody vegetation surveys across Botswana's southern Okavango Buffalo Fence, which separates wildlife management from tribal grazing areas, to determine whether the restriction of herbivore movement by fencing has influenced vegetation composition, diversity and structure. We sampled herbaceous and woody vegetation at twenty paired sites every 2 km along the fence. For the herbaceous layer, ten 0.25 m² quadrats were laid every 10 m perpendicular to the fence; while for the woody vegetation, variable quadrat plots were used. Paired t‐tests were run. Results show little difference in forb or grass composition between the two sides. However, the cover and diversity of many woody species were greatly reduced across most height classes on the wildlife management side. Overall woody cover on the wildlife side of the fence was nearly half that of the tribal grazing side (t = 2.83, P = 0.011, df = 19), while overall wood diversity was also significantly less on the wildlife side (t = 3.29, P = 0.004, df = 19). We conclude that the concentration of wildlife due to the fence, while improving habitat for some herbivore species, is having a detrimental effect on plant diversity in general.     

Spatial density estimates of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the French Jura and Vosges Mountains

Obtaining estimates of animal population density is a key step in providing sound conservation and management strategies for wildlife. For many large carnivores however, estimating density is difficult because these species are elusive and wide‐ranging. Here, we focus on providing the first density estimates of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the French Jura and Vosges mountains. We sampled a total of 413 camera trapping sites (with two cameras per site) between January 2011 and April 2016 in seven study areas across seven counties of the French Jura and Vosges mountains. We obtained 592 lynx detections over 19,035 trap days in the Jura mountains and 0 detection over 6,804 trap days in the Vosges mountains. Based on coat patterns, we identified a total number of 92 unique individuals from photographs, including 16 females, 13 males, and 63 individuals of unknown sex. Using spatial capture–recapture (SCR) models, we estimated abundance in the study areas between 5 (SE = 0.1) and 29 (0.2) lynx and density between 0.24 (SE = 0.02) and 0.91 (SE = 0.03) lynx per 100 km². We also provide a comparison with nonspatial density estimates and discuss the observed discrepancies. Our study is yet another example of the advantage of combining SCR methods and noninvasive sampling techniques to estimate density for elusive and wide‐ranging species, like large carnivores. While the estimated densities in the French Jura mountains are comparable to other lynx populations in Europe, the fact that we detected no lynx in the Vosges mountains is alarming. Connectivity should be encouraged between the French Jura mountains, the Vosges mountains, and the Palatinate Forest in Germany where a reintroduction program is currently ongoing. Our density estimates will help in setting a baseline conservation status for the lynx population in France.     

Obtaining high-quality DNA from elusive small mammals using low-tech hair snares

Noninvasive sampling approaches are becoming increasingly important for enabling genetic studies of wildlife populations. While a number of methods have been described to noninvasively sample hair from carnivores and medium-sized mammals, they have largely remained untested in elusive small mammals. Here we describe a novel and inexpensive noninvasive hair snare targeted at an elusive small mammal, the American pika (Ochotona princeps). We explore the quality of the sample by assessing PCR amplification success of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA fragments across four commercially available DNA isolation kits and two different quantities of hair in a factorial design. Additionally, we determined the sex of the individual samples using PCR–RFLP of ZFX/ZFY loci. We found that our snare is effective in obtaining hair that yield DNA of sufficient quality and quantity to successfully amplify a range of mitochondrial and nuclear fragment sizes. Specifically, we found the greatest success in amplifying mitochondrial DNA, nuclear microsatellites and ZFX/ZFY loci using at least 25 hairs as starting material and the DNA IQ™ system. The hair snares thus provide a cost-effective and minimally intrusive approach to sample elusive or rare small mammals. We anticipate that this approach will be useful to obtain samples for molecular studies of the ecology, evolution and conservation of small, elusive mammals.     

太行山东北部区域野生动物损害及损害补偿

人兽冲突是生物多样性保护的重要研究主题,合理的损害补偿有助于野生动物可持续保护及管理。为探究太行山东北部区域野生动物损害及损害补偿,于2019年与2020年7—9月对区域内主要肇事野生动物(野猪Sus scrofa和狗獾Meles leucurus)进行了种群及损害调查;2021年7—8月基于访谈,对区域的损害赔偿及社区的受偿意愿进行了量化计测和分析。结果表明,太行山东北部区域的野猪(密度为(6.283±1.274)只/km²)及狗獾(密度为(4.855±1.610)只/km²)种群较大,对区域内的农业生产带来了较大损害,且肇事频率呈上升趋势;已有的防控手段效果有限,当地社区对野生动物保护支持度较高,但对肇事动物保护的态度相对消极;区域内的野生动物损害补偿已普遍施行,有效补偿了受损农户的部分经济损失,但也存在补偿覆盖不全面、补偿标准模糊及补偿数额偏低等问题。当地农户的受偿意愿((10962.60±1751.55)元/hm²)与其文化程度、损害补偿满意度和野生动物保护态度负相关,与保护政策支持度正相关。根据调研结果,建议加...     

Edge effects: impact of anthropogenic activities on vegetation structure and diversity in western Umfurudzi Park,Zimbabwe

Understanding the patterns and intensity of anthropogenic impacts on habitats is important in the conservation of tropical ecosystems. The aim of the study was to establish the associated edge effects of anthropogenic disturbances on vegetation in western Umfurudzi Park, Zimbabwe. Three study strata were established using distance from the boundary into the park. Vegetation attributes and anthropogenic disturbance levels data were collected in 2012. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were noted on tree and shrub density, woody plant height, woody plant diversity, grass height and grass sward width across the three strata. Land clearing, livestock grazing and firewood collection were the most frequent and pronounced disturbances occurring along the park boundary. These disturbances decreased in intensity as distance from the boundary increased. We recommend the following: (i) the need to revisit the buffer zone concept and policy measures associated with ecosystem services and goods provision for communities surrounding protected areas, (ii) engaging neighbouring communities on sustainable ways of deriving ecosystem goods and services from buffer zones and protected areas and (iii) further studies on the regeneration and recovery of cleared patches along the boundary and their use by wildlife species in the park.     

Protective management of trees against debarking by deer negatively impacts bryophyte diversity

When wildlife populations become too large, they impact other flora and fauna within the ecosystems that they inhabit. For example, the recent rise in population numbers of sika deer in Japan has led to the stripping of bark from tree overstories in forested areas. This has led to protective management actions, such as wrapping the trunks of trees in wire mesh. The present study investigates the impact of this management action on epiphytic diversity at Mt. Ohdaigahara, which is one of the hotspots for bryophyte diversity in Japan. The correlation between the diversity of epiphytic bryophytes and environmental variables was examined, including the presence/absence of wire mesh protection. A generalized linear model showed that species richness and bryophyte cover was significantly correlated with both tree diameter (at 1.5 m height) and tree density (P < 0.01), but negatively correlated with wire mesh protection. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysis showed a significant 3- to 6-fold higher concentration of zinc in bryophytes occupying tree bark under wire mesh protection than for those without wire mesh. Hence, the high sensitivity of bryophytes to zinc accumulation, as a result of toxicity caused by galvanized iron mesh, has led to the loss of species richness and bryophyte cover on tree trunks. Furthermore, other heavy metals found in wire mesh may also contribute to the negative effect on bryophytes. Therefore, to establish best practices for biodiversity conservation that include bryophytes, materials that are free of heavy metals should be preferentially used for tree protection.     

Illegal hunting and law enforcement during a period of economic decline in Zimbabwe: A case study of northern Gonarezhou National Park and adjacent areas

Illegal hunting of wildlife, or top-down harvesting, is a major issue in today's society, particularly in tropical ecosystems. There has been widespread concern about increasing illegal hunting of wildlife in most conservation areas in Zimbabwe following the political instability and economic decline the country faced since 2000. In this study, we focused on the northern Gonarezhou National Park (GNP), a large and unfenced protected area, and adjacent communal areas in southern Zimbabwe. We hypothesised that illegal hunting activities would (1) be perceived to have increased due to economic collapse and (2) vary with law enforcement efforts. A total of 236 local residents from eight villages adjacent to the northern GNP were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires from December 2010 to May 2011, and law enforcement data for northern GNP between 2000 and 2010 were retrieved from the park law enforcement database. A total of 26 animal species were reportedly hunted. Bushmeat consumption and the need for local trade to raise income were reported as the main reasons behind illegal hunting. Contrary to the first hypothesis, the majority of respondents (n = 156, 66%) reported that illegal hunting activities had declined between 2000 and 2010 largely due to increased park protection as also supported by law enforcement data. A total of 22 animal species were recorded as having been illegally hunted in northern GNP. The number of illegal hunters arrested declined with increased law enforcement efforts although the number of wire snares recovered and hunting dogs shot appeared to increase following increased law enforcement efforts. These results partly support the second hypothesis that illegal hunting activities would vary with law enforcement efforts.     

High site fidelity and restricted ranging patterns in southern Australian bottlenose dolphins

Information on site fidelity and ranging patterns of wild animals is critical to understand how they use their environment and guide conservation and management strategies. Delphinids show a wide variety of site fidelity and ranging patterns. Between September 2013 and October 2015, we used boat‐based surveys, photographic identification, biopsy sampling, clustering analysis, and geographic information systems to determine the site‐fidelity patterns and representative ranges of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops cf. australis) inhabiting the inner area of Coffin Bay, a highly productive inverse estuary located within Thorny Passage Marine Park, South Australia. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) of individuals’ site‐fidelity index and sighting rates indicated that the majority of dolphins within the inner area of Coffin Bay are “regular residents” (n = 125), followed by “occasional residents” (n = 28), and “occasional visitors” (n = 26). The low standard distance deviation indicated that resident dolphins remained close to their main center of use (range = 0.7–4.7 km, X ± SD = 2.3 ± 0.9 km). Representative ranges of resident dolphins were small (range = 3.9–33.5 km², X ± SD = 15.2 ± 6.8 km²), with no significant differences between males and females (Kruskal–Wallis, χ² = 0.426, p = .808). The representative range of 56% of the resident dolphins was restricted to a particular bay within the study area. The strong site fidelity and restricted ranging patterns among individuals could be linked to the high population density of this species in the inner area of Coffin Bay, coupled with differences in social structure and feeding habits. Our results emphasize the importance of productive habitats as a major factor driving site fidelity and restricted movement patterns in highly mobile marine mammals and the high conservation value of the inner area of Coffin Bay for southern Australian bottlenose dolphins.     

Impact of land use and tenure changes on the Kitenden wildlife corridor,Amboseli Ecosystem,Kenya

This study assesses the ecological pressure exerted by changing land use and tenure on the Kitenden wildlife corridor, a critical cross‐border link between the Amboseli and Kilimanjaro national parks. The implications on viability of the two high‐value protected areas and their respective dispersal areas are both negative and serious. The extent of land use change and its impacts were assessed through household and vegetation surveys, while wildlife abundance was measured using transect walks. Approximately 30% of the study area has shifted from community to private land ownership over the last two decades. Except for baboon and vervet monkey, most wildlife avoided the cultivated area. Vegetation composition on the noncultivated area has been greatly altered by intense wildlife and livestock use, where mean herbaceous vegetation cover differed significantly among range‐plant categories (F_{3, 524} = 29.015, p < 0.05). The frequency of increaser I (21.4%) differs greatly from that of decreaser and forbs, at 8.3% and 7.4%, respectively Tree recruitment was low, with a significant difference in mean density among age classes (F_{2, 110} = 3.663, p < 0.05). Only through land leasing agreements between landowners and conservation organisations, and a widely supported land use plan, can the spread of cultivation be controlled and complete cessation of wildlife movement be prevented.     

Climatically driven changes in primary production propagate through trophic levels

Climate and land‐use change are the major drivers of global biodiversity loss. Their effects are particularly acute for wide‐ranging consumers, but little is known about how these factors interact to affect the abundance of large carnivores and their herbivore prey. We analyzed population densities of a primary and secondary consumer (mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, and mountain lion, Puma concolor) across a climatic gradient in western North America by combining satellite‐based maps of plant productivity with estimates of animal abundance and foraging area derived from Global Positioning Systems telemetry data (GPS). Mule deer density exhibited a positive, linear relationship with plant productivity (r² = 0.58), varying by a factor of 18 across the climate‐vegetation gradient (range: 38–697 individuals/100 km²). Mountain lion home range size decreased in response to increasing primary productivity and consequent changes in the abundance of their herbivore prey (range: 20–450 km²). This pattern resulted in a strong, positive association between plant productivity and mountain lion density (r² = 0.67). Despite varying densities, the ratio of prey to predator remained constant across the climatic gradient (mean ± SE = 363 ± 29 mule deer/mountain lion), suggesting that the determinacy of the effect of primary productivity on consumer density was conserved across trophic levels. As droughts and longer term climate changes reduce the suitability of marginal habitats, consumer home ranges will expand in order for individuals to meet basic nutritional requirements. These changes portend decreases in the abundance of large‐bodied, wide‐ranging wildlife through climatically driven reductions in carrying capacity, as well as increased human–wildlife interactions stemming from anthropogenic land use and habitat fragmentation.     

Experimental estimation of snare detectability for robust threat monitoring

Hunting with wire snares is rife within many tropical forest systems, and constitutes one of the severest threats to a wide range of vertebrate taxa. As for all threats, reliable monitoring of snaring levels is critical for assessing the relative effectiveness of management interventions. However, snares pose a particular challenge in terms of tracking spatial or temporal trends in their prevalence because they are extremely difficult to detect, and are typically spread across large, inaccessible areas. As with cryptic animal targets, any approach used to monitor snaring levels must address the issue of imperfect detection, but no standard method exists to do so. We carried out a field experiment in Keo Seima Wildlife Reserve in eastern Cambodia with the following objectives: (1) To estimate the detection probably of wire snares within a tropical forest context, and to investigate how detectability might be affected by habitat type, snare type, or observer. (2) To trial two sets of sampling protocols feasible to implement in a range of challenging field conditions. (3) To conduct a preliminary assessment of two potential analytical approaches to dealing with the resulting snare encounter data. We found that although different observers had no discernible effect on detection probability, detectability did vary between habitat type and snare type. We contend that simple repeated counts carried out at multiple sites and analyzed using binomial mixture models could represent a practical yet robust solution to the problem of monitoring snaring levels both inside and outside of protected areas. This experiment represents an important first step in developing improved methods of threat monitoring, and such methods are greatly needed in southeast Asia, as well as in as many other regions.     

Targeting hunter distribution based on host resource selection and kill sites to manage disease risk

Endemic and emerging diseases are rarely uniform in their spatial distribution or prevalence among cohorts of wildlife. Spatial models that quantify risk‐driven differences in resource selection and hunter mortality of animals at fine spatial scales can assist disease management by identifying high‐risk areas and individuals. We used resource selection functions (RSFs) and selection ratios (SRs) to quantify sex‐ and age‐specific resource selection patterns of collared (n = 67) and hunter‐killed (n = 796) nonmigratory elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) during the hunting season between 2002 and 2012, in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Distance to protected area was the most important covariate influencing resource selection and hunter‐kill sites of elk (AICw = 1.00). Collared adult males (which are most likely to be infected with bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) and chronic wasting disease) rarely selected for sites outside of parks during the hunting season in contrast to adult females and juvenile males. The RSFs showed selection by adult females and juvenile males to be negatively associated with landscape‐level forest cover, high road density, and water cover, whereas hunter‐kill sites of these cohorts were positively associated with landscape‐level forest cover and increasing distance to streams and negatively associated with high road density. Local‐level forest was positively associated with collared animal locations and hunter‐kill sites; however, selection was stronger for collared juvenile males and hunter‐killed adult females. In instances where disease infects a metapopulation and eradication is infeasible, a principle goal of management is to limit the spread of disease among infected animals. We map high‐risk areas that are regularly used by potentially infectious hosts but currently underrepresented in the distribution of kill sites. We present a novel application of widely available data to target hunter distribution based on host resource selection and kill sites as a promising tool for applying selective hunting to the management of transmissible diseases in a game species.     

Living on the edge: Multiscale habitat selection by cheetahs in a human‐wildlife landscape

Animals select habitats that will ultimately optimize their fitness through access to favorable resources, such as food, mates, and breeding sites. However, access to these resources may be limited by bottom‐up effects, such as availability, and top‐down effects, such as risk avoidance and competition, including that with humans. Competition between wildlife and people over resources, specifically over space, has played a significant role in the worldwide decrease in large carnivores. The goal of this study was to determine the habitat selection of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in a human‐wildlife landscape at multiple spatial scales. Cheetahs are a wide‐ranging, large carnivore, whose significant decline is largely attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation. It is believed that 77% of the global cheetah population ranges outside protected areas, yet little is known about cheetahs’ resource use in areas where they co‐occur with people. The selection, or avoidance, of three anthropogenic variables (human footprint density, distance to main roads and wildlife areas) and five environmental variables (open habitat, semiclosed habitat, edge density, patch density and slope), at multiple spatial scales, was determined by analyzing collar data from six cheetahs. Cheetahs selected variables at different scales; anthropogenic variables were selected at broader scales (720–1440 m) than environmental variables (90–180 m), suggesting that anthropogenic pressures affect habitat selection at a home‐range level, whilst environmental variables influence site‐level habitat selection. Cheetah presence was best explained by human presence, wildlife areas, semiclosed habitat, edge density and slope. Cheetahs showed avoidance for humans and steep slopes and selected for wildlife areas and areas with high proportions of semiclosed habitat and edge density. Understanding a species’ resource requirements, and how these might be affected by humans, is crucial for conservation. Using a multiscale approach, we provide new insights into the habitat selection of a large carnivore living in a human‐wildlife landscape.     

Hierarchical foraging by giraffe in a heterogeneous savannah,Tanzania

Understanding foraging decisions made by wildlife at different spatio‐temporal scales is important for wildlife management and conservation. We tested whether foraging decisions by Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi Matschie) differed with scales; habitat, patch and tree in a heterogeneous savannah. We collected data from Arusha National Park, Tanzania, in March–May and August–October 2013. Visual observations were used to collect data on foraging behaviour. Measurements of tree height and stem height and scoring of accumulated browsing were made in 133 patches around trees where the giraffes had been seen browsing, and in a corresponding number of available patches. Giraffes selected Acacia shrub and Dodonea shrub habitats but not for water availability or predator avoidance. For patch use, giraffe selected high quantity of Acacia xanthophloea and Dodonea viscosa. Between plant species, A. xanthophloea was the most preferred and within plant species, tree quality was enhanced by tree height and high score of accumulated browsing. Generally, giraffes selected for A. xanthophloea at all scales.     

Postrelease movement and habitat selection of translocated pine martens Martes martes

Monitoring postrelease establishment and movement of animals is important in evaluating conservation translocations. We translocated 39 wild pine martens Martes martes (19 females, 20 males) from Scotland to Wales. We released them into forested areas with no conspecifics in 2015, followed by a second release in 2016, alongside the previously released animals. We used radio‐tracking to describe postrelease movement and habitat selection. Six martens (15%) were not re‐encountered during the tracking period, of which four undertook long‐distance dispersal. For the remaining individuals, we characterized two phases of movement, “exploration” followed by “settlement,” that differed between releases. In the first release, martens remained in exploration phase for a mean of 14.5 days (SE = 3.9 days) and settled at a mean distance of 8.7 km (SE = 1.8 km) from release sites, whereas martens released in year two, alongside resident conspecifics, traveled away from release sites at a faster rate, settling sooner, at a mean of 6.6 days (SE = 1.8 days), but further, at a mean distance of 14.0 km (SE = 1.7 km) from release sites. Animals released in year one did not exhibit habitat preferences overall but within forests they favored recently felled areas, whereas animals released in year two showed strong selection for forested habitat but did not discriminate between forest types. The presence of conspecifics appeared influential for settlement and site fidelity of translocated martens and was associated with more rapid but more distant dispersal of the later cohort. Releases of animals in close proximity appeared to promote site fidelity and rapid establishment of ranges in the recipient environment.