The impacts of anthropogenic linear features on the space-use patterns of two sympatric ungulates

TL;DR

This study examines how roads and fences affect the movement patterns of mule deer and pronghorn, showing that each species is impacted differently by human-made structures.

Contribution

The study reveals species-specific and seasonal responses to anthropogenic linear features, emphasizing the need for dynamic habitat analysis.

Findings

Mule deer space-use is more affected by roads than by fences.

Pronghorn are more impacted by fences, especially during winter when snow limits their ability to cross.

The study highlights the importance of dynamic availability domains in habitat selection analyses.

Abstract

As human activity increases worldwide, many ecologists have focused on how anthropogenic linear features (ALFs) such as roads and fences impact and disrupt animal space-use behavior and how this disruption could potentially affect population viability. The properties of an animal’s occurrence distribution (OD), namely its size, shape, and habitat associations, reflect the animal’s balance of costs and benefits and thus can act as indirect indicators of behavioral optimality. Measuring deviations from theoretical space-use optimality can provide insight into the non-lethal effects of ALFs on wildlife in different environmental contexts. Here, we focused on the seasonal space-use patterns of two wide-ranging, highly mobile species of great cultural and economic value: mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; n = 3105) and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana; n = 320). We calculated the average use of six environmental and three ALF attributes, weighted by their intensity of use within the OD, and contrasted those with their respective average availability within a 100-km2 reference area centered on each animal’s OD. We show that mule deer space-use is more impacted by roads, while pronghorn space-use is affected more by fences, specifically in the winter when snow depth may hinder their ability to cross fences. Our results highlight the dynamic nature of the availability domain and the importance of properly accounting for this dynamism in habitat selection analyses. This research expands on the theoretical literature of animal space use and their response to ALFs in a rapidly changing world and further provides practical strategies for wildlife managers to take when mitigating ALF impacts on their target species.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40462-026-00628-y.

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