Abstract

Topic: Movements and habitat use


Influence of landscape composition and structure on habitat selection of a large herbivore in managed forests along a latitudinal gradient

Desirée Guidobaldi Stenbacka1, Matteo L. Bastianelli2, Navinder J Singh1, Marco Heurich2, Göran Ericsson1, Wiebke Neumann1

  1. Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
  2. Department of National Park Monitoring and Animal Management, Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany

Large herbivores are keystone species in forest ecosystems, influencing forest structure and biodiversity through selective browsing. In managed forest landscapes, understanding herbivores’ habitat selection across spatiotemporal scales is crucial for wildlife and forest management. This study examines how landscape structure (patch size and contiguity, distance to the nearest road) and composition (habitat type and heterogeneity) influence the seasonal habitat selection of moose (Alces alces) across five ecological zones. Using GPS data from 392 adult moose across 21 study sites (56-67⁰N) in Sweden, we combined Hidden Markov Models and Integrated Step-Selection Analysis, we applied a patch-landscape approach that considers animals’ behavior-specific response at the individual habitat patch and the broader landscape matrix scale. This approach allowed us to assess the role of small-scale habitat features and their spatial arrangement within the larger landscape context for moose movement and patch selection, thereby considering both, landscape structure and composition. We found a dominance of landscape composition (i.e. habitat type) shaping moose selection at the patch scale, but also, context-specific relevance of landscape structure (e.g., distance to the nearest road, patch size, and contiguity). Moose showed a strong preference for deciduous-mixed and young forests and generally avoided proximity to roads. Individuals occasionally selected for large and well-connected forest patches. Our findings highlight that forest management should prioritize preserving and connecting young and mixed-deciduous forest patches, thereby facilitating moose access and selection of their preferred habitats, helping to distribute moose (and thus browsing pressure) across forest patches within the managed landscape.