Spatial impacts and the characterisation of resource use in a heterogeneous landscape.

Abstract

Highly spatially variable environments pose animals with diet selection decisions that need to account for the patchy nature of their resource. Improved rangeland management would result from being able to predict patterns of animal utilisation of such vegetation. Whilst progress is being made in the comprehension of large scale influences (e.g., location of drinking water, landscape topography), little is known about how these integrate with smaller scales. It is likely that animals view landscapes in differing ways, depending on the scale that processes operate. Identification of the appropriate scale at which a species is affected by the spatial heterogeneity of a resource requires characterisation of the resource spatial structure, independent of our own biases. We tend to view landscapes in terms of vegetation communities, whilst the appropriate unit for animal perception remains unclear. This poster describes a study of foraging behaviour carried out as a method by which to associate animal activity with space use as an independent estimate of spatial heterogeneity.