Inferring wildlife population trends from hierarchical habitat selection: a case study with boreal caribou

Inferring wildlife population trends from hierarchical habitat selection: a case study with boreal caribou | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 8 September 2025 V2 Latest version Share on Inferring wildlife population trends from hierarchical habitat selection: a case study with boreal caribou Authors : Julie Turner 0000-0001-5449-5449 [email protected] , Samuel Haché , James Hodson , Philip McLoughlin , Tatiane Micheletti 0000-0003-4838-8342 , Michael Peers 0000-0002-3014-2056 , Agnès Pelletier , and Eliot McIntire Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175103842.25221138/v2 516 views 172 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Habitat selection is context dependent and varies across space and time. Therefore, habitat selection models built from declining or highly disturbed populations may not accurately represent the optimal behavior of species and would perform poorly predicting across space and time. Here, we performed an integrated step selection analysis to predict caribou habitat use in: 1) each of five jurisdictions in the western boreal forest of Canada and 2) one global model. We found the global model had better predictive performance across space than jurisdictional models and also performed well when projected across time. Furthermore, the difference in intensity of selection between jurisdictional models and the global model provided a metric of deviation from “optimal” habitat selection that corresponded with known herd population statuses. This result shows that by working together, jurisdictions can build better predictive models of both habitat and population trends to better inform strategic management. Supplementary Material File (wbi_caribou_issa_preprint.pdf) Download 2.21 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 27 June 2025 V2 Version 2 08 September 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords animal behavior demography integrated step selection analysis out-of-sample validation rangifer tarandus Authors Affiliations Julie Turner 0000-0001-5449-5449 [email protected] Memorial University of Newfoundland View all articles by this author Samuel Haché Environment and Climate Change Canada Canadian Wildlife Service View all articles by this author James Hodson Government of the Northwest Territories View all articles by this author Philip McLoughlin University of Saskatchewan View all articles by this author Tatiane Micheletti 0000-0003-4838-8342 TU Dresden View all articles by this author Michael Peers 0000-0002-3014-2056 University of Alberta Faculty of Science View all articles by this author Agnès Pelletier Government of British Columbia View all articles by this author Eliot McIntire Canadian Forest Service View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 516 views 172 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Julie Turner, Samuel Haché, James Hodson, et al. Inferring wildlife population trends from hierarchical habitat selection: a case study with boreal caribou. Authorea . 08 September 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175103842.25221138/v2 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . Format Please select one from the list RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks Direct import Tips for downloading citations document.getElementById('citMgrHelpLink').addEventListener('click', function() { popupHelp(this.href); return false; }); $(".js__slcInclude").on("change", function(e){ if ($(this).val() == 'refworks') $('#direct').prop("checked", false); $('#direct').prop("disabled", ($(this).val() == 'refworks')); }); Cited by Loading... 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