Human-caused mortality influences spatial population dynamics: Pumas in landscapes with varying mortality risks

Jesse R. Newby; L. Scott Mills; Toni K. Ruth; Daniel H. Pletscher; Michael S. Mitchell; Howard B. Quigley; Kerry M. Murphy; Rich DeSimone

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.018

Human-caused mortality influences spatial population dynamics: Pumas in landscapes with varying mortality risks

Jesse R. Newby
, L. Scott Mills
, Toni K. Ruth
, Daniel H. Pletscher
, Michael S. Mitchell
, Howard B. Quigley
, Kerry M. Murphy
, Rich DeSimone

Wildlife Biology

University of Montana
Craighead Beringia South
Wildlife Conservation Society
Panthera Foundation
United States Department of Agriculture
State of Montana

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

An understanding of how stressors affect dispersal attributes and the contribution of local populations to multi-population dynamics are of immediate value to basic and applied ecology. Puma (Puma concolor) populations are expected to be influenced by inter-population movements and susceptible to human-induced source-sink dynamics. Using long-term datasets we quantified the contribution of two puma populations to operationally define them as sources or sinks. The puma population in the Northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (NGYE) was largely insulated from human-induced mortality by Yellowstone National Park. Pumas in the western Montana Garnet Mountain system were exposed to greater human-induced mortality, which changed over the study due to the closure of a 915km² area to hunting. The NGYE's population growth depended on inter-population movements, as did its ability to act as a source to the larger region. The heavily hunted Garnet area was a sink with a declining population until the hunting closure, after which it became a source with positive intrinsic growth and a 16× increase in emigration. We also examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of individual dispersal attributes (emigration, dispersal distance, establishment success) of subadult pumas (N=126). Human-caused mortality was found to negatively impact all three dispersal components. Our results demonstrate the influence of human-induced mortality on not only within population vital rates, but also inter-population vital rates, affecting the magnitude and mechanisms of local population's contribution to the larger metapopulation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	230-239
Number of pages	10
Journal	Biological Conservation
Volume	159
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.018
State	Published - Mar 2013

Funding

Research was supported by Craighead Beringia South, Hornocker Wildlife Research Institute, Montana Department of Fish Wildlife & Parks, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Panthera, Panthera-Kaplan Graduate Awards Program, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Summerlee Foundation, University of Montana, U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Yellowstone National Park. LSM acknowledges support from NSF DEB (0841884) and USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. Our thanks to L. Anderson, S. Ard, B. Chapman, D. Chapman, R. Gipe, S. Monger, D. Powell, D. Stradley, and R. Stradley for flying services. Successful data collection was made possible by the efforts of D. Beaver, P. Buotte, S. Carsen, T. Chilton, J. Cole, T. Coleman, R. Cooper, W. Craddock, V. Edwards, G. Felzien, T. Fredrickson, M. Graf, G. Hedrick, T. Hollow, B. Holmes, J. Husseman, R. Jaffe, A. Jakes, M. Johnson, C. Kelly, T. Knuchel, M. Maples, S. McGee, D. Powell, J. Powers, S. Powers, S. Relyea, M. Sawaya, B. Semmens, E. Shanahan, B. Sheppard, B. Shinn, S. Shrout, B. Shultz, J. Sikich, D. Stahler, M. Trapkus, B. Wiesner. M. Hornocker and L. Hunter provided steadfast support. Special thanks to H. Robinson and P. Buotte for their insightful advice concerning analytical approaches and puma ecology. Thanks to D. Smith and D. Thompson for reviewing the manuscript. The use of trade names or products does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Funders	Funder number
Craighead Beringia South
0841884
Hornocker Wildlife Institute/Wildlife Conservation Society

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Dispersal
Population contribution
Puma concolor
Source-sink
Spatially structured populations

Access to Document

10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.018

Cite this

@article{8bd92ff61680406482f1f0a13b35ce1f,

title = "Human-caused mortality influences spatial population dynamics: Pumas in landscapes with varying mortality risks",

abstract = "An understanding of how stressors affect dispersal attributes and the contribution of local populations to multi-population dynamics are of immediate value to basic and applied ecology. Puma (Puma concolor) populations are expected to be influenced by inter-population movements and susceptible to human-induced source-sink dynamics. Using long-term datasets we quantified the contribution of two puma populations to operationally define them as sources or sinks. The puma population in the Northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (NGYE) was largely insulated from human-induced mortality by Yellowstone National Park. Pumas in the western Montana Garnet Mountain system were exposed to greater human-induced mortality, which changed over the study due to the closure of a 915km2 area to hunting. The NGYE's population growth depended on inter-population movements, as did its ability to act as a source to the larger region. The heavily hunted Garnet area was a sink with a declining population until the hunting closure, after which it became a source with positive intrinsic growth and a 16× increase in emigration. We also examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of individual dispersal attributes (emigration, dispersal distance, establishment success) of subadult pumas (N=126). Human-caused mortality was found to negatively impact all three dispersal components. Our results demonstrate the influence of human-induced mortality on not only within population vital rates, but also inter-population vital rates, affecting the magnitude and mechanisms of local population's contribution to the larger metapopulation.",

keywords = "Dispersal, Population contribution, Puma concolor, Source-sink, Spatially structured populations",

author = "Newby, \{Jesse R.\} and \{Scott Mills\}, L. and Ruth, \{Toni K.\} and Pletscher, \{Daniel H.\} and Mitchell, \{Michael S.\} and Quigley, \{Howard B.\} and Murphy, \{Kerry M.\} and Rich DeSimone",

note = "Funding Information: Research was supported by Craighead Beringia South, Hornocker Wildlife Research Institute, Montana Department of Fish Wildlife \& Parks, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Panthera, Panthera-Kaplan Graduate Awards Program, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Summerlee Foundation, University of Montana, U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Yellowstone National Park. LSM acknowledges support from NSF DEB (0841884) and USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. Our thanks to L. Anderson, S. Ard, B. Chapman, D. Chapman, R. Gipe, S. Monger, D. Powell, D. Stradley, and R. Stradley for flying services. Successful data collection was made possible by the efforts of D. Beaver, P. Buotte, S. Carsen, T. Chilton, J. Cole, T. Coleman, R. Cooper, W. Craddock, V. Edwards, G. Felzien, T. Fredrickson, M. Graf, G. Hedrick, T. Hollow, B. Holmes, J. Husseman, R. Jaffe, A. Jakes, M. Johnson, C. Kelly, T. Knuchel, M. Maples, S. McGee, D. Powell, J. Powers, S. Powers, S. Relyea, M. Sawaya, B. Semmens, E. Shanahan, B. Sheppard, B. Shinn, S. Shrout, B. Shultz, J. Sikich, D. Stahler, M. Trapkus, B. Wiesner. M. Hornocker and L. Hunter provided steadfast support. Special thanks to H. Robinson and P. Buotte for their insightful advice concerning analytical approaches and puma ecology. Thanks to D. Smith and D. Thompson for reviewing the manuscript. The use of trade names or products does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government. ",

year = "2013",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.018",

language = "English",

volume = "159",

pages = "230--239",

journal = "Biological Conservation",

issn = "0006-3207",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Human-caused mortality influences spatial population dynamics

T2 - Pumas in landscapes with varying mortality risks

AU - Newby, Jesse R.

AU - Scott Mills, L.

AU - Ruth, Toni K.

AU - Pletscher, Daniel H.

AU - Mitchell, Michael S.

AU - Quigley, Howard B.

AU - Murphy, Kerry M.

AU - DeSimone, Rich

N1 - Funding Information: Research was supported by Craighead Beringia South, Hornocker Wildlife Research Institute, Montana Department of Fish Wildlife & Parks, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Panthera, Panthera-Kaplan Graduate Awards Program, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Summerlee Foundation, University of Montana, U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Yellowstone National Park. LSM acknowledges support from NSF DEB (0841884) and USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. Our thanks to L. Anderson, S. Ard, B. Chapman, D. Chapman, R. Gipe, S. Monger, D. Powell, D. Stradley, and R. Stradley for flying services. Successful data collection was made possible by the efforts of D. Beaver, P. Buotte, S. Carsen, T. Chilton, J. Cole, T. Coleman, R. Cooper, W. Craddock, V. Edwards, G. Felzien, T. Fredrickson, M. Graf, G. Hedrick, T. Hollow, B. Holmes, J. Husseman, R. Jaffe, A. Jakes, M. Johnson, C. Kelly, T. Knuchel, M. Maples, S. McGee, D. Powell, J. Powers, S. Powers, S. Relyea, M. Sawaya, B. Semmens, E. Shanahan, B. Sheppard, B. Shinn, S. Shrout, B. Shultz, J. Sikich, D. Stahler, M. Trapkus, B. Wiesner. M. Hornocker and L. Hunter provided steadfast support. Special thanks to H. Robinson and P. Buotte for their insightful advice concerning analytical approaches and puma ecology. Thanks to D. Smith and D. Thompson for reviewing the manuscript. The use of trade names or products does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government.

PY - 2013/3

Y1 - 2013/3

N2 - An understanding of how stressors affect dispersal attributes and the contribution of local populations to multi-population dynamics are of immediate value to basic and applied ecology. Puma (Puma concolor) populations are expected to be influenced by inter-population movements and susceptible to human-induced source-sink dynamics. Using long-term datasets we quantified the contribution of two puma populations to operationally define them as sources or sinks. The puma population in the Northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (NGYE) was largely insulated from human-induced mortality by Yellowstone National Park. Pumas in the western Montana Garnet Mountain system were exposed to greater human-induced mortality, which changed over the study due to the closure of a 915km2 area to hunting. The NGYE's population growth depended on inter-population movements, as did its ability to act as a source to the larger region. The heavily hunted Garnet area was a sink with a declining population until the hunting closure, after which it became a source with positive intrinsic growth and a 16× increase in emigration. We also examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of individual dispersal attributes (emigration, dispersal distance, establishment success) of subadult pumas (N=126). Human-caused mortality was found to negatively impact all three dispersal components. Our results demonstrate the influence of human-induced mortality on not only within population vital rates, but also inter-population vital rates, affecting the magnitude and mechanisms of local population's contribution to the larger metapopulation.

AB - An understanding of how stressors affect dispersal attributes and the contribution of local populations to multi-population dynamics are of immediate value to basic and applied ecology. Puma (Puma concolor) populations are expected to be influenced by inter-population movements and susceptible to human-induced source-sink dynamics. Using long-term datasets we quantified the contribution of two puma populations to operationally define them as sources or sinks. The puma population in the Northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (NGYE) was largely insulated from human-induced mortality by Yellowstone National Park. Pumas in the western Montana Garnet Mountain system were exposed to greater human-induced mortality, which changed over the study due to the closure of a 915km2 area to hunting. The NGYE's population growth depended on inter-population movements, as did its ability to act as a source to the larger region. The heavily hunted Garnet area was a sink with a declining population until the hunting closure, after which it became a source with positive intrinsic growth and a 16× increase in emigration. We also examined the spatial and temporal characteristics of individual dispersal attributes (emigration, dispersal distance, establishment success) of subadult pumas (N=126). Human-caused mortality was found to negatively impact all three dispersal components. Our results demonstrate the influence of human-induced mortality on not only within population vital rates, but also inter-population vital rates, affecting the magnitude and mechanisms of local population's contribution to the larger metapopulation.

KW - Dispersal

KW - Population contribution

KW - Puma concolor

KW - Source-sink

KW - Spatially structured populations

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84872699912

U2 - 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.018

DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.10.018

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84872699912

SN - 0006-3207

VL - 159

SP - 230

EP - 239

JO - Biological Conservation

JF - Biological Conservation

ER -

Human-caused mortality influences spatial population dynamics: Pumas in landscapes with varying mortality risks

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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