10.5061/DRYAD.80GB5MKNJ
Lowrey, Blake
0000-0002-4994-2117
Montana State University
McWhirter, Doug
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Proffitt, Kelly
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Park
Monteith, Kevin
University of Wyoming
Courtemanch, Alyson
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
White, Patrick
Yellowstone National Park
Paterson, John
Montana State University
Dewey, Sarah
Grand Teton National Park
Garrott, Robert
Montana State University
Individual variation creates diverse migratory portfolios in native
populations of a mountain ungulate
Dryad
dataset
2020
Ovis canadensis
Yellowstone
green wave
individual heterogeneity
migratory diversity
mountain ungulate
portfolio effects
2020-02-05T00:00:00Z
2020-02-05T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5435
https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2106
45090 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Ecological theory and empirical studies have demonstrated population‐level
demographic benefits resulting from a diversity of migratory behaviors
with important implications for ecology, conservation, and evolution of
migratory organisms. Nevertheless, evaluation of migratory portfolios
(i.e., the variation in migratory behaviors across space and time among
individuals within populations) has received relatively little attention
in migratory ungulates, where research has focused largely on the
dichotomous behaviors (e.g., resident and migrant) of partially migratory
populations. Using GPS data from 361 female bighorn sheep (Ovis
canadensis) across 17 (restored = 4, augmented = 6, native = 7)
populations in Montana and Wyoming, USA, we: 1) characterized migratory
portfolios based on behavioral and spatial migratory characteristics, and
2) evaluated the relative influence of landscape attributes and management
histories on migratory diversity. Native populations, which had been
extant on the landscape for many generations, had more diverse migratory
portfolios, higher behavioral switching rates, reduced seasonal range
fidelity, and broad dispersion of individuals across summer and winter
ranges. In contrast, restored populations with an abbreviated history on
the landscape were largely non‐migratory with a narrow portfolio of
migratory behaviors, less behavioral switching, higher fidelity to
seasonal ranges, and less dispersion on summer and winter ranges.
Augmented populations were more variable and contained characteristics of
both native and restored populations. Differences in migratory diversity
among populations were associated with management histories (e.g.,
restored, augmented, or native). Landscape characteristics such as the
duration and regularity of green‐up, human landscape alterations,
topography, and snow gradients were not strongly associated with migratory
diversity. We suggest a two‐pronged approach to restoring migratory
portfolios in ungulates that first develops behavior‐specific habitat
models and then places individuals with known migratory behaviors into
unoccupied areas in an effort to bolster migratory portfolios in restored
populations, potentially with synergistic benefits associated with
variation among individuals and resulting portfolio effects. Management
efforts to restore diverse migratory portfolios may increase the
abundance, resilience, and long‐term viability of ungulate populations.
Elevation and geographic distances between individuals core seasonal
ranges These data represent the elevational and geographic distances
between individual core seasonal ranges of bighorn sheep from
17 populations across MT and WY. The IndID field is an individual ID,
which has a different format in each population. The State field denotes
the state (MT, WY) where the population was located. The population name
is shown in the HuntUnit field. Note, populations have been aggregated as
described in Appendix S1. Origin denotes the restored, augmented, or
native classification as described in the methods section of the paper’s
main text. The elevational difference between individual seasonal range
centroids (in meters) is shown in the EleDistM column. The geographic
distance between individual seasonal range centroids is shown in the
GeoDistKM column.