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When species’ ranges meet: assessing differences in habitat selection between sympatric large carnivores

  • Behavioral ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Differentiation in habitat selection among sympatric species may depend on niche partitioning, species interactions, selection mechanisms and scales considered. In a mountainous area in Sweden, we explored hierarchical habitat selection in Global Positioning System-collared individuals of two sympatric large carnivore species; an obligate predator, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), and a generalist predator and scavenger, the wolverine (Gulo gulo). Although the species’ fundamental niches differ widely, their ranges overlap in this area where they share a prey base and main cause of mortality. Both lynx and wolverines selected for steep and rugged terrain in mountainous birch forest and in heaths independent of scale and available habitats. However, the selection of lynx for their preferred habitats was stronger when they were forming home ranges and they selected the same habitats within their home ranges independent of home range composition. Wolverines displayed a greater variability when selecting home ranges and habitat selection also varied with home range composition. Both species selected for habitats that promote survival through limited encounters with humans, but which also are rich in prey, and selection for these habitats was accordingly stronger in winter when human activity was high and prey density was low. We suggest that the observed differences between the species result primarily from different foraging strategies, but may also depend on differences in ranging and resting behaviour, home range size, and relative density of each species. Our results support the prediction that sympatric carnivores with otherwise diverging niches can select for the same resources when sharing main sources of food and mortality.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas), the World Wide Fund for Nature (Sweden), and the private foundations Olle och Signhild Engkvists Stiftelser and Marie-Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse. We thank Peter Segerström and Tom Wiklund for field assistance and Jon Arnemo for veterinary assistance. We thank Gustaf Samelius, Johan Månsson, Tomas Willebrand, and an anonymous reviewer for valuable comments on earlier drafts.

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  1. Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, 730 91, Riddarhyttan, Sweden

    Geir Rune Rauset, Henrik Andrén, Guillaume Chapron & Jens Persson

  2. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 7484, Trondheim, Norway

    Jenny Mattisson

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  1. Geir Rune Rauset
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Correspondence to Geir Rune Rauset.

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Communicated by Ilpo Kojola.

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Rauset, G.R., Mattisson, J., Andrén, H. et al. When species’ ranges meet: assessing differences in habitat selection between sympatric large carnivores. Oecologia 172, 701–711 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2546-y

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