GPS radio tracking has fundamentally changed the way many biologists and land managers view animal habitat use and movement. We can now acquire a startling abundance of location-based data on many species, including many with characteristics that make them difficult to study; for example, the tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes), a wide-ranging ungulate endemic to California. Tule elk are sensitive to habitat loss, though they live in a landscape characterized by steady human development and disturbance. Despite this, research on home range and anthropogenic effects on this subspecies is relatively rare. This study used the non-parametric home range algorithm T-LoCoH to construct tule elk home ranges with time-stamped GPS location data. I then compared home range metrics in conjunction with proximity to fences and highways. Using ArcMap, I analyzed point location density across the landscape and constructed movement paths to identify and assess potential barriers to movement for tule elk. Results suggest that proximity to barriers had a marked effect on home range size, and that barriers such as highways and barbed wire fences also hindered tule elk movements in general. This study highlights the need to account for the effects that movement barriers and landscape features have on habitat use when designing projects to promote habitat connectivity for wide-ranging species like tule elk.
Link to Story Map:
https://arcg.is/14OLC4