Multi-level thresholds of residential and agricultural land use for elk avoidance across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Laura Christine Gigliotti; M. Paul Atwood; Eric K. Cole; Alyson Courtemanche; Sarah Dewey; Justin A. Gude; Mark Hurley; Matthew J. Kauffman; Kailin Kroetz; Bryan Leonard; Daniel R. MacNulty; Eric Maichak; Douglas McWhirter; Tony W. Mong; Kelly Proffitt; Brandon Scurlock; Daniel Stahler; Arthur D. Middleton

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14401

USGS · 70262165

Multi-level thresholds of residential and agricultural land use for elk avoidance across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Laura Christine Gigliotti·M. Paul Atwood·Eric K. Cole·Alyson Courtemanche·Sarah Dewey·Justin A. Gude·Mark Hurley·Matthew J. Kauffman·Kailin Kroetz·Bryan Leonard·Daniel R. MacNulty·Eric Maichak·Douglas McWhirter·Tony W. Mong·Kelly Proffitt·Brandon Scurlock·Daniel Stahler·Arthur D. Middleton

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

1. Conversion of land for settlements and agriculture is increasing globally and can influence wildlife space use. However, there is limited research to identify the thresholds of land-use change that incur wildlife avoidance and how these thresh-olds might vary across levels of selection. 2. We evaluated multi-level avoidance thresholds of elk Cervus canadensis impacted by residential development and irrigated agriculture across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Using GPS data from765 elk in 21 herds, we estimated habitat selection in relation to development and agriculture at three levels (home range selection, within home range selection and movement path selection). Next, using individual selection covariates and as-sociated measures of land-use availability, we used functional-response models to evaluate how selection varied based on availability, and in turn, to estimate avoidance thresholds. 3. We found individual and level-specific variation in elk responses to environmental factors. Elk exhibited stronger responses (either selection or avoidance) when selecting home range locations (i.e. second-order selection) than when selecting areas within home ranges (i.e. third-order selection) or selecting movement paths (i.e. fourth-order selection). Importantly, elk avoidance of development and agriculture changed as the amount of land in these categories changed. Across all levels of selection elk exhibited neutral selection for human development at low levels of availability (<1.1%–2.2% developed) but avoided areas that were >1.1%–2.2% developed. Conversely, elk selected positively for irrigated agriculture at low to moderate levels of availability (<52.0%–66.2% agriculture) but exhibited neutral selection in areas that were >52.0%–66.2% agriculture. 4. Synthesis and applications . Elk avoidance of low levels of human development suggests conservation efforts such as restrictions on future development or conservation easements could focus on areas that are still below 2% developed. Additionally, because elk selection was strongest at the landscape scale, conservation actions that are based on information about the overall landscape structure may be most impactful. Our results highlight the importance of under-standing variability in wildlife habitat selection at multiple levels, particularly in relation to land-use change, and highlight how functional response modelling can help inform landscape conservation.

Explore related subjects

Journal of Applied Ecology Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 43.83379000138524° to 45.26023090682858° latitude; -111.49834976413001° to -108.63921958902552° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Laura Christine Gigliotti, M. Paul Atwood, Eric K. Cole, Alyson Courtemanche, Sarah Dewey, Justin A. Gude, Mark Hurley, Matthew J. Kauffman, Kailin Kroetz, Bryan Leonard, Daniel R. MacNulty, Eric Maichak, Douglas McWhirter, Tony W. Mong, Kelly Proffitt, Brandon Scurlock, Daniel Stahler, Arthur D. Middleton. 2023-04-04. Multi-level thresholds of residential and agricultural land use for elk avoidance across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14401

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Solar energy development selectively filters avian taxonomic and functional diversity across a perennial agricultural landscape

Solar energy is rapidly expanding across agricultural landscapes, yet its consequences for avian communities remain poorly understood, particularly among heterogeneous land-use matrices. In 2024 and 2025, we surveyed birds across 107 sites in New York State, including conventional solar arrays with mowing or sheep grazing to manage vegetation, solar-adjacent working lands (e.g. hayfields, pastures) and reference working lands independently located from solar arrays. We integrated diversity metrics across four trait dimensions—taxonomic, morphological, ecological and conservation status—and examined interactions between species-level abundance and traits to understand avian community responses to solar energy development. Avian species in solar sites tended to be common, non-migratory (in behaviour and wing morphology) and associated with shrubland or forest. Compared to reference working lands, bird communities in solar and solar-adjacent sites were less taxonomically diverse and were composed of fewer declining and range-restricted species. However, solar and solar-adjacent sites retained comparable diversity of intrinsic traits, suggesting that ecological function may persist despite apparent species filtering and functional reshuffling. While solar energy development can support avian communities with unique functional signatures, our findings suggest that conventional solar arrays sited on agricultural working lands in New York maintain low bird diversity and are unlikely to support conservation-priority species—such as grassland birds characterized by declining populations, migratory tendencies and open-habitat dependence. Synthesis and applications . Our study provides a pathway to leverage functional diversity to quantitatively characterize solar-associated avian communities and the ecological mechanisms that shape them. Our results suggest that meeting biodiversity conservation goals while achieving solar energy targets requires ecologically informed siting and processes, particularly across regions in which co-prioritization of conservation, agriculture and energy presents sustainability trade-offs.

New York↗

USGS2026

Predictability creates vulnerability: Long-term acoustic telemetry reveals hidden threat windows for endangered Atlantic sturgeon

1.Individual movement strategies govern access to important habitats but can expose certain animals to spatially and temporally variable threats, producing consistent, phenotype-specific differences in risk. For endangered Atlantic sturgeon ( Acipenser oxyrinchu s), migration timing shapes exposure risk to vessel strikes, dredging activity, and shifting estuarine conditions, yet management to minimize exposure to these threats is predominantly based on population-average patterns of river occupancy. 2. We analysed a decade of acoustic telemetry data from 195 Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River to quantify individual variation in migration timing. We clustered individuals into distinct behavioural phenotypes and evaluated the consistency of these phenotypes across years to determine whether certain individuals may be present in spatiotemporal areas that are not represented in current conservation frameworks. 3. Results identified two persistent phenotypes: the short-residency phenotype exhibiting synchronized occupancy typical of the prescribed Atlantic sturgeon spawning run and an extended-residency group that migrates into the river later, displays prolonged river occupancy and diffuse outmigration into the fall. Extended-residency individuals were last detected approximately 88 days after short-residency individuals and occupied habitats downriver of the presumed spawning grounds, extending the period of sturgeon presence into riverine habitats outside the current spatiotemporal area of conservation focus. 4. Individual phenotypic membership was repeatable across nearly a decade, indicating that these behaviours reflect stable, consistent phenotypes rather than stochastic variation. 5. Synthesis and applications . Our results reveal persistent intrapopulation movement diversity in the largest remaining Atlantic sturgeon population and highlight predictable periods during which a unique phenotype may experience disproportionate exposure to in-river threats. These findings indicate that environmental reviews, permitting decisions and seasonal work windows may benefit from incorporating phenotype-specific occupancy patterns and percentile-based estimates of river residency rather than relying solely on historical spawning dates or population averages. Expanding telemetry and monitoring designs to include broader spatial and seasonal sampling may further improve detection of overlooked movement strategies and reduce potential biases in demographic and habitat use assessments. More broadly, recognizing behavioural diversity in recovery planning may provide a more complete basis for evaluating habitat use, threat exposure, and conservation priorities across sturgeon populations.

New York↗

USGS2026

Testing the efficacy of industrial mitigation measures for caribou in the Arctic

1. Mitigation measures are commonly employed to reduce the negative effects of industrial development on wildlife but are not often evaluated for their efficacy. For example, oil fields in the Arctic typically incorporate design features intended to increase permeability for migratory, barren-ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus) , even though there is limited empirical evidence of the effectiveness of some of these features. 2. Given expected increases in energy development in the North American Arctic, we examined whether two mitigation measures commonly used for migratory caribou, elevating pipelines and separating roads and pipelines, were effective at increasing the probability caribou would cross infrastructure. 3. We conducted our investigation on adult female caribou in the Central Arctic Herd of Alaska during summer, analyzing movement data from telemetry collars (2015-2020) in conjunction with spatial data on oil field infrastructure. To evaluate whether caribou would cross infrastructure as a function of the mitigation measures, we employed a generalized additive modeling framework capable of detecting non-linear and threshold responses. 4. We found that caribou were more likely to cross a pipeline when the nearest pipeline was elevated (≥1.9-m), a result that supports current mitigation recommendations. We also found that caribou were more likely to cross both a road and pipeline when they were directly adjacent to one another, as opposed to being spatially separated, a result that contradicts recommended mitigation strategies. 5. Synthesis and applications . As new energy projects are designed and implemented in environments around the globe, it is important to ensure that mitigation efforts for wildlife are scientifically validated for their efficacy. In the North American Arctic, such efforts will be critical for minimizing the impacts of expanding industrial development on migratory caribou and on the human communities that rely on them for subsistence.

Alaska↗