Wolverine behavior varies spatially with anthropogenic footprint: implications for conservation and inferences about declines

摘要: Understanding a species' behavioral response to rapid environmental change is an ongoing challenge in modern conservation. Anthropogenic landscape modification, or "human footprint," well documented as central cause of large mammal decline and range contractions where the proximal mechanisms are often contentious. Direct mortality obvious cause; alternatively, human-modified landscapes perceived unsuitable by some species may contribute shifts space use through preferential habitat selection. A useful approach tease these effects apart determine whether behaviors potentially associated with risk vary human footprint. We hypothesized wolverine (Gulo gulo) different degrees quantified metrics behavior, which we assumed indicate perception, from photographic images existing camera-trapping dataset collected understand distribution Rocky Mountains Alberta, Canada. systematically deployed 164 camera sites across three study areas covering approximately 24,000 km(2), sampled monthly between December April (2007-2013). Wolverine behavior varied markedly areas. Variation decreased increasing Increasing footprint constrain potential variation either restricting plasticity individual high impact. hypothesize that constraints increase landscapes. Although survival obviously key contributor population loss, also make significant contribution.