PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #56: Spatial Ecology: Pattern,movement,dispersal.
Presiding: G. Hartvigsen
Wednesday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Grand Ballroom West, Radisson.

Modeling forager behavior in complex landscapes:population level consequences.

Russell, Robin^*,1, Swihart, Robert¹, Feng, Zhilan¹, ¹ Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

ABSTRACT- Home ranges of wildlife in Indiana often consist of a network of habitat patches embedded in an inhospitable, human-dominated landscape. This landscape is characterized by sharp edges between vegetation types that, along with roads, fences, and other non-native structures form psychological or physical barriers to animal movements and create unique challenges for wildlife. We have designed computer simulations that mimic animal movements and predict the ability of a population to persist in a fragmented landscape. Preliminary results suggest that the methods that animals use to select paths between habitat fragments can significantly affect their persistence. Understanding the methods by which animals make movement decisions in fragmented landscapes is vital for inclusion in these models. We are constructing two semi-natural landscapes consisting of 8mx8m habitat patches composed of bluegrass embedded in an inhospitable matrix of bare ground to determine the decision rules of animals in fragmented landscapes. The landscape will be designed to reflect the habitat conditions of two vole species, Microtus pennsylvanicus and M. ochrogaster. Radio telemetry and PIT tags will be used to monitor the frequency and velocity of vole movements along pathways designed to reflect varying levels of risk. We hypothesize that the probability of movement will reflect the level of risk along the path (Behavioral Matching rule). Also, we expect the velocity of movement to be similar along each of the various path types and to approximate closely the maximum velocity of the species. The proposed study provides a design for incorporating behavioral decisions into models for predicting the consequences of fragmentation on wildlife.

KEY WORDS: mammals, simulations, matrix