Biology subjects

Goheen, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Goheen, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

The search behavior of terrestrial mammals

Animals moving through landscapes need to strike a balance between finding sufficient resources to grow and reproduce while minimizing encounters with predators 1,2. Because encounter rates are determined by the average distance over which directed motion persists 1,3-5, this trade-off should be apparent in individuals movement. Using GPS data from 1,396 individuals across 62 species of terrestrial mammals, we show how predators maintained directed motion ~7 times longer than for similarly-sized prey, revealing how prey species must trade off search efficiency against predator encounter rates. Individual search strategies were also modulated by resource abundance, with prey species forced to risk higher predator encounter rates when resources were scarce. These findings highlight the interplay between encounter rates and resource availability in shaping broad patterns mammalian movement strategies.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Roost selection by male northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) at their western range edge

Conservation in multi-use landscapes requires identifying and conserving critical resources for imperiled species because those resources may otherwise be destroyed or degraded by human activity. Summer day-roost sites are critical resources for bats, so conserving roost sites is thus an important component of many bat conservation plans. We used VHF telemetry to identify and characterize summer day-roost selection by male northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) at the western edge of their range in South Dakota, USA. We tracked 18 bats to 43 tree roosts and used an information theoretic approach to determine the relative importance of tree- and plot-level characteristics on roost site selection. Bats selected roost trees that were larger in diameter, more decayed, closer to more snags, and under denser canopy than other trees available on the landscape. Protecting large-diameter snags within intact forest is important for the conservation of this federally threatened species, particularly along the western edge of its range where it may be subject to range contraction and local extinction. Protecting short ([≤] 3 m) snags in particular may be a low-risk, high-reward strategy for conservation of resources important to male northern long-eared bats.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2018

The Portal Project: a long-term study of a Chihuahuan desert ecosystem

This is a data paper for the Portal Project, a long-term ecological study of rodents, plants, and ants located in southeastern Arizona, U.S.A. This paper contains an overview of methods and information about the structure of the data files and the relational structure among the files. This is a living data paper and will be updated with new information as major changes or additions are made to the data. All data - along with more detailed data collection protocols and site information - is archived at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1215988.

ecology↗