Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Mark Hebblewhite
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Wildlife Biology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Diel activity patterns of large mammals are shaped by predator-prey dynamics but can also be adapted to the species’ environment. The avoidance of predation risk by prey in both space and time can affect predator-prey overlap and reduce risk of mortality. Here, I examine if rifle hunting affected the diel activity patterns of ungulates in Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Montana. I deployed 30 infrared wildlife remote cameras across 29 different sites using a stratified random design over three months before, during, and after the Fall 2022 Montana rifle hunting season. Using timestamps from these photos, daily activity patterns were tracked for ungulates, humans, and pumas. Over 41,000 images were classified using artificial intelligence classification software through Wildlife Insights. Because white-tailed deer comprised 83% of the photo captures of ungulates, I focused on white-tailed deer and human hunting. I also tested the consequences of avoiding human hunting for deer-puma overlap to see if mutual avoidance could increase overlap of predator and prey species. I compared peak periods of white-tailed deer activity pre, during, and post rifle season using the R package overlap. Under the predation risk hypothesis, I predicted deer should show a significant shift in time of peak activity during hunting season when compared to before and after hunting season, especially for more heavily hunted males. However, white-tailed deer females only reduced their overlap with human hunters in a slightly statistically significant way (14%). Furthermore, the more heavily hunted male white-tailed deer reduced their overlap with humans during the hunting season by less than half the responseof females (7%), rejecting the sex-based predation-risk hypothesis. Under the alternative hypothesis, I predicted ungulates should show consistent temporal avoidance of humans. However, the amount of overlap between deer and humans was relatively high across the study (Average = 60%). Despite weak evidence for deer avoidance of human hunters, I found that increased overlap of pumas and white-tailed deer could be a result of mutual avoidance of humans. This study implies that deer did not seem to avoid human activity that strongly during the hunting season, but that avoidance of peak human activity hours could potentially increase overlap between deer and their dominant non-human predator, mountain lions.
Category
Life Sciences
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire: How the Presence of Hunters Affects the Diel Activity Patterns of Ungulates in Lubrecht Experimental Forest.
UC South Ballroom
Diel activity patterns of large mammals are shaped by predator-prey dynamics but can also be adapted to the species’ environment. The avoidance of predation risk by prey in both space and time can affect predator-prey overlap and reduce risk of mortality. Here, I examine if rifle hunting affected the diel activity patterns of ungulates in Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Montana. I deployed 30 infrared wildlife remote cameras across 29 different sites using a stratified random design over three months before, during, and after the Fall 2022 Montana rifle hunting season. Using timestamps from these photos, daily activity patterns were tracked for ungulates, humans, and pumas. Over 41,000 images were classified using artificial intelligence classification software through Wildlife Insights. Because white-tailed deer comprised 83% of the photo captures of ungulates, I focused on white-tailed deer and human hunting. I also tested the consequences of avoiding human hunting for deer-puma overlap to see if mutual avoidance could increase overlap of predator and prey species. I compared peak periods of white-tailed deer activity pre, during, and post rifle season using the R package overlap. Under the predation risk hypothesis, I predicted deer should show a significant shift in time of peak activity during hunting season when compared to before and after hunting season, especially for more heavily hunted males. However, white-tailed deer females only reduced their overlap with human hunters in a slightly statistically significant way (14%). Furthermore, the more heavily hunted male white-tailed deer reduced their overlap with humans during the hunting season by less than half the responseof females (7%), rejecting the sex-based predation-risk hypothesis. Under the alternative hypothesis, I predicted ungulates should show consistent temporal avoidance of humans. However, the amount of overlap between deer and humans was relatively high across the study (Average = 60%). Despite weak evidence for deer avoidance of human hunters, I found that increased overlap of pumas and white-tailed deer could be a result of mutual avoidance of humans. This study implies that deer did not seem to avoid human activity that strongly during the hunting season, but that avoidance of peak human activity hours could potentially increase overlap between deer and their dominant non-human predator, mountain lions.