Title
Trade-off between predation risk and behavioural thermoregulation drives resting behaviour in a cold-adapted mesocarnivore
Author(s)
Glass, Thomas W.;Breed, Greg A.;Robards, Martin;Williams, C.T.;Kielland, K.
Published
2021
Publisher
Animal Behaviour
Abstract
Behavioural trade-offs arise when animals must decide to engage in one behaviour at the expense of another, potentially to the animal's detriment. Here, we investigate the existence of such a trade-off by exploring the relative influence of two important behavioural processes, thermoregulation and predation avoidance, on resting behaviour in a cold-adapted mesocarnivore, the wolverine, Gulo gulo. Using animal-borne biologgers, we evaluate the hypothesis that wolverine resting behaviour in both subnivean cavities and on surface snow beds is influenced by a combination of ambient weather conditions and predation risk. Specifically, we posit that although resting on the snow surface is more thermally advantageous in certain weather conditions, it is traded off against heightened predation risk. In support of the importance of thermoregulation, we find that wolverines rest almost exclusively in subnivean cavities at very low temperatures and low levels of solar radiation, and rest almost exclusively on the snow surface at higher temperatures and higher levels of solar radiation. In support of the importance of predation avoidance, we find that wolverines select more topographically concealed sites and are more vigilant while resting on the snow surface. We also find that wolverines are more vigilant at topographically exposed resting sites than at concealed sites. Together, these lines of evidence suggest that wolverines trade security from predators for thermal advantage at warmer ambient temperatures and higher solar radiation levels during winter, but that this trade-off is not necessary at lower temperatures when wolverines preferentially use subnivean cavities to simultaneously meet both demands. Parsing such contextually dependent trade-offs is important to understanding species' habitat selection, energy management and survival.
Keywords
behavioural trade off;biologging;Gulo gulo;intraguild predation;risk effect;thermoregulation;viewshed;wolverine
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PUB26297