Spatial structure of reproductive success infers mechanisms of ungulate
invasion in Nearctic boreal landscapes.
Abstract
1. Landscape change is a key driver of biodiversity declines due to
habitat loss and fragmentation, but spatially shifting resources can
also facilitate range expansion and invasion. Invasive populations are
reproductively successful, and landscape change may buoy this success.
2. We show how modelling the spatial structure of reproductive success
can elucidate the mechanisms of range shifts and sustained invasions for
mammalian species with attendant young. We use an example of
white-tailed deer (deer; Odocoileus virginianus) expansion in the
Nearctic boreal forest, a North American phenomenon implicated in severe
declines of threatened woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus). 3. We
hypothesized that deer reproductive success is linked to forage
subsidies provided by extensive landscape change via resource
extraction. We measured deer occurrence using data from 62 camera-traps
in northern Alberta, Canada, over three years. We weighed support for
multiple competing hypotheses about deer reproductive success using
multi-state occupancy models and generalized linear models in an
AIC-based model selection framework. 4. Spatial patterns of reproductive
success were best explained by features associated with petroleum
exploration and extraction, which offer early seral vegetation resource
subsidies. Effect sizes of anthropogenic features eclipsed natural
heterogeneity by two orders of magnitude. We conclude that deer
populations are likely buffered from overwinter mortality by landscape
change, wherein early seral forage subsidies support high springtime
reproductive success to offset or exceed winter losses. 5. Synthesis and
Applications. Modelling spatial structuring in reproductive success can
become a key goal of remote camera-based global networks, yielding
ecological insights into mechanisms of invasion and range shifts to
inform effective decision-making for global biodiversity conservation.