Behavioural consistency and plasticity can both benefit fitness. Repeatability in behaviour within a specific context, termed temperament or trait-like behavioural responses, fosters adaptive responses to stimuli. Behavioural plasticity, on the other hand, enables state-like responses, aligning behaviour with internal and external conditions. The nutritional state of an organism significantly impacts behaviours and may interact with temperament. However, the specific contributions of trait- and state-like responses to stimuli remain poorly understood. Using a long-term data set on mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, elk, Cervus canadensis, and bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis, we assessed the interplay of temperament and nutritional state in behavioural responses during handling. We measured the repeatability of kick rates across multiple capture events over time, investigating its association with temperament, nutritional condition, age and capture frequency. Bighorn sheep and mule deer exhibited high repeatability in kicks during capture, while elk did not. State-dependent factors, such as body fat, minimally influenced kick rates during capture. In bighorn sheep and mule deer, trait-like responses were likely related to temperament, whereas elk demonstrated neither state- nor trait-like behavioural responses. Trait-like responses in these species may reflect adaptations to specific ecological niches and site-specific evolutionary pressures. Our findings advance our understanding of these mechanisms, shedding light on the complex interplay between temperament, nutritional state and behaviour. Nevertheless, our results highlight the need for caution when predicting or extrapolating behavioural responses to stressors across closely related species. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Thermal conditions can influence animal behavior and predator–prey dynamics. Understanding the effects of temperature on animals and their interactions is of increasing importance given predictions for global warming. We determined how temperature influenced avoidance of risky areas and habitat selection in a climate generalist, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; hereafter “deer”), and how the effect varied between night and day in a system characterized by extreme heat and high predation risk from Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi). We collected GPS locations of 224 (79 M, 145F) deer from June through September 2015–2018 in southwestern Florida, USA. We fit step-selection functions with interactions between ambient temperature and covariates including landcover and a spatial model of predation risk informed by panther kill sites. Avoidance of high-risk areas decreased with rising temperatures during night and day, indicating deer were less predation risk averse when balancing higher thermoregulatory costs. As temperatures increased during the day, deer increased avoidance of marshes and hardwood hammocks. However, temperature had weaker effects on habitat selection at night with only a moderate increase in selection of marshes with increasing temperatures. In systems characterized by extreme heat, thermal conditions can have strong effects on animal behavior and species interactions. While climate generalists like deer have high tolerances to thermal stress, temperature still influenced predation risk tolerance and habitat selection of deer during both day and night periods. These responses are likely even stronger in species with narrower thermal tolerances (i.e., climate specialists). Thermal conditions are an important and potentially underappreciated driver of species interactions that is likely to become more significant with climate change.

We document the presence of bobcats (Lynx rufus) that demonstrate melanism in the Greater Everglades. The South Florida landscape is driven by a myriad of disturbance regimes particularly that of short fire intervals. We monitored 180 camera traps for 3 years and obtained 9503 photographs of bobcats 25 (<0.5%) of these detections included melanistic individuals. Our observations and historical accounts suggest melanism is a phenotype that persists, albeit it at an exceedingly low frequency, in bobcats in the region. While we do not know if the expression of melanism conferred a fitness benefit in our system, the vegetation structure that was characterized by frequently burned uplands and low-light and densely vegetated swamps produced conditions that may render a benefit from melanism through enhanced crypsis. The investigation of rare phenomenon in ecology is important yet difficult within a given field study, but reporting novel observations, like melanism in bobcats, allows for science to gain insight across studies that would not be otherwise possible.

Predation risk and prey responses exhibit fluctuations in space and time. Seasonal ecological disturbances can alter landscape structure and permeability to influence predator activity and efficacy, creating predictable patterns of risk for prey (seasonal risk landscapes). This may create corresponding seasonal shifts in antipredator behaviour, mediated by species ecology and trade-offs between risk and resources. Yet, how human recreation interacts with seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator behaviour remains understudied. In South Florida, we investigated the impact of a seasonal ecological disturbance, specifically flooding, which is inversely related to human activity, on interactions between Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We hypothesized that human activity and ecological disturbances would interact with panther-deer ecology, resulting in the emergence of two distinct seasonal landscapes of predation risk and the corresponding antipredator responses. We conducted camera trap surveys across southwestern Florida to collect detection data on humans, panthers and deer. We analysed the influence of human site use and flooding on deer and panther detection probability, co-occurrence and diel activity during the flooded and dry seasons. Flooding led to decreased panther detections and increased deer detections, resulting in reduced deer-panther co-occurrence during the flooded season. Panthers exhibited increased nocturnality and reduced diel activity overlap with deer in areas with higher human activity. Supporting our hypothesis, panthers' avoidance of human recreation and flooding created distinct risk schedules for deer, driving their antipredator behaviour. Deer utilized flooded areas to spatially offset predation risk during the flooded season while increasing diurnal activity in response to human recreation during the dry season. We highlight the importance of understanding how competing risks and ecological disturbances influence predator and prey behaviour, leading to the generation of seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator responses. We emphasize the role of cyclical ecological disturbances in shaping dynamic predator-prey interactions. Furthermore, we highlight how human recreation may function as a 'temporal human shield,' altering seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator responses to reduce encounter rates between predators and prey.

Nutrition underpins survival and reproduction in animal populations; reliable nutritional biomarkers are therefore requisites to understanding environmental drivers of population dynamics. Biomarkers vary in scope of inference and sensitivity, making it important to know what and when to measure to properly quantify biological responses. We evaluated the repeatability of three nutritional biomarkers in a large, iteroparous mammal to evaluate the level of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to those traits. During a long-term, individual-based study in a highly variable environment, we measured body fat, body mass, and lean mass of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) each autumn and spring. Lean mass was the most repeatable biomarker (0.72 autumn; 0.61 spring), followed by body mass (0.64 autumn; 0.53 spring), and then body fat (0.22 autumn; 0.01 spring). High repeatability in body and lean mass likely reflects primary structural composition, which is conserved across seasons. Low repeatability of body fat supports that it is the primary labile source of energy that is largely a product of environmental contributions of the previous season. Based on the disparate levels in repeatability among nutritional biomarkers, we contend that body and lean mass are better indicators of nutritional legacies (e.g., maternal effects), whereas body fat is a direct and sensitive reflection of recent nutritional gains and losses.

BACKGROUND:Wildlife conservation often focuses on establishing protected areas. However, these conservation zones are frequently established without adequate knowledge of the movement patterns of the species they are designed to protect. Understanding movement and foraging patterns of species in dynamic and diverse habitats can allow managers to develop more effective conservation plans. Threatened lemurs in Madagascar are an example where management plans and protected areas are typically created to encompass large, extant forests rather than consider the overall resource needs of the target species.METHODS:To gain an understanding of golden-crowned sifaka (Propithecus tattersalli) movement patterns, including space use and habitat selection across their range of inhabited forest types, we combined behavior data with Dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models and Resource Selection Functions. We also examined the influence of abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic factors on home range size, movement rates, and foraging patterns.RESULTS:We found that home range size and movement rates differed between seasons, with increased core area size and movement in the rainy season. Forest type also played a role in foraging behavior with sifaka groups in the humid forest avoiding roads in both seasons, groups in the dry deciduous forest avoiding road networks in the rainy season, and groups in the moderate evergreen forest displaying no selection or avoidance of road networks while foraging.CONCLUSION:Our study illustrates the importance of studying primate groups across seasons and forest types, as developing conservation plans from a single snapshot can give an inaccurate assessment of their natural behavior and resources needs of the species. More specifically, by understanding how forest type influences golden-crowned sifaka movement and foraging behavior, conservation management plans can be made to the individual forest types inhabited (dry deciduous, moderate evergreen, humid, littoral, etc.), rather than the region as a whole.

Large carnivore restoration programs are often promoted as capable of providing ecosystem services. However, these programs rarely measure effects of successful restoration on other economically and ecologically important species. In South Florida, while the endangered Florida panther Puma concolor coryi population has increased in recent years due to conservation efforts, the population of its main prey, the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus, has declined in some regions. The extent to which panther predation has affected deer populations has been difficult to assess because several other factors have changed during this period, including hydrology and hunting regulations. We collected known-fate survival data on 241 GPS-collared adult deer (156 females and 85 males) from 2015 to 2018 in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, USA, to assess effects of panther predation on the deer population, while also evaluating the impacts of hunting and hydrology. Predation was the primary cause of death (110 of 134 mortalities), and 87% of predation events were attributed to panthers, a much greater rate than reported by studies conducted before the panther genetic restoration effort initiated in 1995. One deer was legally harvested, and two were likely killed by poachers. Increasing water depth decreased female survival but had little impact on male survival, and drowning was never a cause of mortality. Females had greater survival probability than males, except during fawning season. From 2015 to 2018, annual survival rates increased from 0.61 (0.52-0.70) to 0.86 (0.79-0.91) for females, and from 0.45 (95% CI: 0.33-0.58) to 0.79 (0.69-0.86) for males. Synthesis and applications. High predation rates, coupled with previous evidence of low recruitment of deer in South Florida, suggest that it will be challenging to meet society's competing demands for large predator restoration and sustainable deer harvest. Deer hunting in the area must remain tightly controlled, for now, if it is to be sustainable, and managers should seek to mitigate effects of high waters and improve deer habitat quality to increase deer population viability. Future work should closely monitor the deer population to assess if management actions can increase vital rates and abundance in the context of high predation rates.

Understanding spatiotemporal variation in habitat quality is essential for guiding wildlife reintroduction and restoration programs. The habitat productivity hypothesis posits that home range size is inversely related to habitat quality. Thus, home range size may be used as a proxy for habitat quality and can identify important land cover features for a recovering species. We sought to quantify variation in home range size across the biological cycle (seasons) for a reintroduced elk (Cervus canadensis) population in southwestern Virginia, USA and quantify habitat quality by linking home range sizes to the land cover types they contain using linear mixed-effects models. We found mean home range size was largest during late gestation for female elk. Additionally, throughout the year, smaller home ranges were associated with larger proportions of non-forested habitats whereas forested habitats were generally the opposite. However, both presumed poor- and high-quality habitats influenced female elk space use. Our approach revealed spatial variation in habitat quality for a recovering elk herd, demonstrated the importance of non-forested habitats to elk, can guide decisions regarding the location of future elk reintroduction programs, and serve as a model for evaluating habitat quality associated with wildlife reintroductions.

Abstract Wildlife strongly alter behaviour in response to human disturbance; however, fundamental questions remain regarding the influence of human infrastructure and activity on animal movement. The Covid‐19 pandemic created a natural experiment providing an opportunity to evaluate wildlife movement during a period of greatly reduced human activity. Speculation in scientific reviews and the media suggested that wildlife might be increasing movement and colonizing urban landscapes during pandemic slowdowns. However, theory predicts that animals should move and use space as efficiently as possible, suggesting that movement might actually be reduced relative to decreased human activity. We quantified space use, movement, and resource‐selection of 12 GPS‐collared mountain lions (eight females, four males) occupying parklands in greater Los Angeles during the Spring 2020 California stay‐at‐home order when human activity was far below normal. We also tested the hypothesis that reduced traffic on Los Angeles area roadways increased permeability of these barriers to animal movement. Contrary to expectations that wildlife roamed more widely during pandemic shutdowns, resident mountain lions used smaller areas and moved shorter distances relative to their historical behaviour in greater Los Angeles. They also relaxed avoidance of anthropogenic landscape features such as trails and development, which likely facilitated increased travelling efficiency. However, there was no detectable change in road‐crossing, despite reduced traffic volume. Our results support the theoretical prediction that animals maximize movement efficiency and suggest that carnivores incur energetic costs while avoiding humans. While mountain lions may restrict movement at the landscape level relative to barriers, they appear to increase distances moved at finer scales when avoiding human activity – highlighting the scale‐dependent nature of animal responses to human disturbance. Avoiding humans can reduce direct mortality of large carnivores and is often suggested to be an important mechanism promoting coexistence in shared landscapes. However, energetic costs incurred by increased movement and space‐use while avoiding human activity may have important consequences for population viability, predator–prey interactions, community structure, and human–wildlife conflict. Management providing sufficient wild prey and education regarding best practices for protection of domestic animals are important for conserving large carnivores in human‐dominated landscapes.

Extreme climatic events (ECEs) are increasing in frequency and intensity and this necessitates understanding their influence on organisms. Animal behaviour may mitigate the effects of ECEs, but field studies are rare because ECEs are infrequent and unpredictable. Hurricane Irma made landfall in southwestern Florida where we were monitoring white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus seminolus) with GPS collars. We report on an opportunistic case study of behavioural responses exhibited by a large mammal during an ECE, mitigation strategies for reducing the severity of the ECE effects, and the demographic effect of the ECE based on known-fate of individual animals. Deer altered resource selection by selecting higher elevation pine and hardwood forests and avoiding marshes. Most deer left their home ranges during Hurricane Irma, and the probability of leaving was inversely related to home range area. Movement rates increased the day of the storm, and no mortality was attributed to Hurricane Irma. We suggest deer mobility and refuge habitat allowed deer to behaviourally mitigate the negative effects of the storm, and ultimately, aid in survival. Our work contributes to the small but growing body of literature linking behavioural responses exhibited during ECEs to survival, which cumulatively will provide insight for predictions of a species resilience to ECEs and improve our understanding of how behavioural traits offset the negative impacts of global climate change.

Efforts to understand population dynamics and identify high-quality habitat require information about spatial variation in demographic parameters. However, estimating demographic parameters typically requires labor-intensive capture-recapture methods that are difficult to implement over large spatial extents. Spatially explicit integrated population models (IPMs) provide a solution by accommodating spatial capture-recapture (SCR) data collected at a small number of sites with survey data that may be collected over a much larger extent. We extended the spatial IPM framework to include a spatio-temporal point process model for recruitment, and we applied the model to 4 yr of SCR and distance-sampling data on Canada Warblers (Cardellina canadensis) near the southern extent of the species' breeding range in North Carolina, USA, where climate change is predicted to cause population declines and distributional shifts toward higher elevations. To characterize spatial variation in demographic parameters over the climate gradient in our study area, we modeled density, survival, and per capita recruitment as functions of elevation. We used a male-only model because males comprised >90% of our point-count detections. Apparent survival was low but increased with elevation, from 0.040 (95% credible interval [Cl]: 0.0032-0.12) at 900 m to 0.29 (95% CI: 0.16-0.42) at 1,500 m. Recruitment was not strongly associated with elevation, yet density varied greatly, from <0.03 males ha -1 below 1,000 m to >0.2 males ha -1 above 1,400 m. Point estimates of population growth rate were <1 at all elevations, but 95% Cls included 1. Additional research is needed to assess the possibility of a long-term decline and to examine the effects of abiotic variables and biotic interactions on the demographic parameters influencing the species' distribution. The modeling framework developed here provides a platform for addressing these issues and advancing knowledge about spatial demography and population dynamics.