EFFECTS OF DISTURBANCE ON MIGRATION BEHAVIOR OF A LARGE MIGRATORY UNGULATE

Jerrod L Merrell; University of Nevada, Reno; jmerrell@cabnr.unr.edu; Kelley, M, Stewart, Shelley, D, Blair

Many animal species use migration behavior as an adaptive strategy to access favorable forage conditions, increase fitness, and avoid predators. For ungulates in temperate areas migration consists of movements between high-elevation summer range and low-elevation winter range. Anthropogenic and natural disturbance of migration routes alters resource selection and can lead to population decline. A population of migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and black tail deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains navigate a range of disturbances during migration. These disturbances include recreational pressures associated with developed campsites, OHV trails, and a hunting season that temporally overlaps the onset of migration. Sierra Pacific Timber company (SPI) has operations in this area as does Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) with its Upper American River hydroelectric system. Paved and unpaved roads are ubiquitous throughout this area. We will use a Brownian Bridge Movement Model to identify the migration corridor. We will then evaluate how movement speed and tortuosity is effected when encountering different types of disturbance patches. This is a work-in-progress

Poster Session     Student Paper