4. Space-use of wildlife and the terminology describing spatial activity of animals.

Question 1

Scaling of space and time-use

Answer 1

Every animal uses space/habitat differently, depending on their biological characteristics,
habitat quality, and geographical preferences

Animals need their habitats to provide food, water, shelter, and space(?)

Scaling of space and time use:

*population level:
-distribution area and dynamics
-distribution in space
-migration

*individual level:
-home range: Area used regularly by individual for longer time (yearly/ seasonal home rage)
-territory: Exclusively used area protected from other individuals
habitat preference: Habitat and individual requirements, hierarchy, territoriality, HR size, individual characteristics (age, sex, etc.)
-activity cycles: adaptation to environmental changes - everything must happen in good time (seasonal - breeding, hibernation; yearly, daily cycles)
-roaming: individual behavior, which is not cyclic and regular, the timing and distance is not stable, and it’s not predictable

Question 2

Distribution (area)

Answer 2

A geological area where a viable population of species exist

Distribution and abundance are influenced by:
-Abiotic factors (temp, climate, pollution)
-Biotic factors (plants, competition, predation, hunting)
-Human activities
-Tolerance
-Upper and lower limits of conditions
-Interaction of factors

Variation inside the area cause non-even distribution (aggregations of the indiv in the better patches - habitat preference and sexual segregation)

Question 3

Shelfards’s law of tolerance

Answer 3

An organism’s success is based on a complex set of conditions and each organism has a set of min, max, and optimal environmental factors or a combination of factors that determine their success

Question 4

Liebig’s law of minimum:

Answer 4

Growth is dictated not by total resources available, but by the scarcest resource (limiting factor)

Question 5

Dynamics and population distribution in space

Answer 5

Dynamics:
-slow, predictable, not very controllable
-invasion is important for management actions
-Must be monitored and considered in long term management plans

*Population Distribution in space:

Ideal despotic and ideal free distribution

• ideal: individuals are equal, choose with equal chance and behave optimally

-Ideal despotic distribution: distribution theory that predicts that the equality of habitat controlled by territorial animals should vary depending on their competitive ability and the availability of resources
=territorial species
=determined by the distribution and quality of territories

-ideal free distribution: is the theoretical way in which a population’s individuals distribute themselves among several patches of resources within their environment, to minimize resource competition and maximize fitness
=no territory defence
=indiv chose freely
achieve maximal profit
profit is determined by the quality of patch and the number of competitors (cost of competition)
= ind occupy better patch first
=profit decreases by competition
=at a threshold the profit become equal in the good patch with many competitors and the poor patch without competitors
=parallel filling up the two patches
the profit remains equal on the good and poor habitat

Question 6

Migration, home range, territory

Answer 6

Migration:
a cyclic behaviour, when the entire population or the majority of that moves far distances (at least one order larger than the HR) on the same route and at the same time of the year. It is caused by some ecological constraints and it has genetic background usually

-it is predictable behaviour, so it can be involved in wildlife management plan

Home Range:
is an area which is regularly used by an individual for a longer time (yearly or seasonal HR)

-HR is one of the basic behaviours of ind. Every animal has a HR
-HR is not protected against others - ind HR can overlap
-Edge of HR is not clearly defined - estimation of HR size is difficult
-HR is not used evenly, rather a network of patches and tracks. core HR
-HR size depends on the typical requirements and body weight of a species

Factors influencing the size:
-features of the habitat:
=productivity: the more productive habitat the smaller the HR
=heterogeneity decreases the HR size

-Individual differences: like sex and age
-different behavioural strategies
-physiological status etc. can fine tune it
-the seasonal changes and disturbances also influence the HR size

*territory
-a well-known kind of spatial behaviour
-differences from HR
=exclusively used area
=is protected against the other territorial indivuals
=the occupation and the maintenance of a territory have high cost
=the exclusive use of resources and the safe reproduction provides the benefit from the territory
=territory can cover the whole HR or a part of it
-territory can be permanent or temporary
-sexual differences are frequent in territorial behaviour
-territoriality regulates the population size and restricts the habitat use of the ind

Question 7

Dispersal and dispersion

Answer 7

Dispersal:
movement of ind from birthplace to reproductive place
-not migration

Dispersion:
pattern of spatial distribution. how individuals are spaced apart from each other within their habitat
-Aggregated/ clumped dispersion: ind are concentrated in specific portions of the habitat –> most common
-Uniform dispersion: all ind are evenly spaced
-Random dispersion: Spaced in unpredictable and random fashion