Competition alters seasonal resource selection and promotes use of invasive shrubs by an imperiled native cottontail.

ABSTRACT: Many ecosystems face multiple invaders, and interactions among invasive and native species may complicate conservation efforts for imperiled species. Examination of fine-scale resource selection can be used to detect patterns in habitat selection resulting from species interactions and assess the value of specific resources, including invasive plants, to wildlife. We used animal location data with mixed-effects resource selection models to examine seasonal competitive interactions and species-specific selection for forage and cover resources by an imperiled native lagomorph, the New England cottontail Sylvilagus transitionalis and its nonnative competitor, the eastern cottontail S. floridanus in the eastern Hudson Valley, NY. We found evidence that resource selection by New E

SUBMITTER: Cheeseman AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6262724 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature