Habitat Selection and Resource Use in Forest Carnivores
Summary
Forest carnivores exhibit intricate patterns of habitat selection and resource use driven by the interplay of forest structure, prey availability, behavioural state and human modification of landscapes. These species rely on mature stands for resting, denning and concealment, yet often exploit a mosaic of successional stages when foraging or dispersing. Spatial variation in canopy cover, understory complexity and landscape connectivity governs the distribution of prey and shapes carnivore movement decisions. Seasonal shifts in energetics and reproductive demands further modulate use of resources, with individuals adjusting home‐range composition and intensity of use according to life‐history stage. In highly fragmented or managed forests, thresholds in patch size and isolation can critically undermine occupancy, gene flow and demographic persistence. Understanding the mechanisms by which forest carnivores select resources at multiple spatial scales is essential for devising conservation interventions, informing sustainable forestry practices and maintaining ecosystem function across temperate and boreal woodlands worldwide.
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Habitat Selection and Resource Use in Forest Carnivores publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in habitat selection and resource use in forest carnivores across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Habitat selection: The process by which animals use and preferentially occupy certain environments or resources relative to their availability.
Connectivity: The degree to which landscape elements facilitate or impede movement and gene flow among wildlife populations.
Functional response: A change in the strength of selection for a resource as its availability varies within a home range.
Resource Selection Function (RSF): A statistical model that relates animal locations to environmental variables to estimate relative probability of use across a landscape.
References
- Small but connected islands can maintain populations and genetic diversity under climate change. Ecography (2024).
- Fishers (Pekania pennanti) are forest structure specialists when resting and generalists when moving: behavior influences resource selection in a northern Rocky Mountain fisher population. Movement Ecology (2024).
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