Energetics and fear of humans constrain the spatial ecology of pumas.

ABSTRACT: Energetic demands and fear of predators are considered primary factors shaping animal behavior, and both are likely drivers of movement decisions that ultimately determine the spatial ecology of wildlife. Yet energetic constraints on movement imposed by the physical landscape have only been considered separately from those imposed by risk avoidance, limiting our understanding of how short-term movement decisions scale up to affect long-term space use. Here, we integrate the costs of both physical terrain and predation risk into a common currency, energy, and then quantify their effects on the short-term movement and long-term spatial ecology of a large carnivore living in a human-dominated landscape. Using high-resolution GPS and accelerometer data from collared pumas (Puma concolor

SUBMITTER: Nickel BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7865164 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature