Using GPS telemetry to validate least-cost modeling of gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) movement within a fragmented landscape

Stevenson-Holt, Claire D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3635-5404 , Ferryman, Mark, Nevin, Owen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-8053 , Ramsey, Andrew D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5550-9977 , Bailey, Sallie and Watts, Kevin (2013) Using GPS telemetry to validate least-cost modeling of gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) movement within a fragmented landscape. Ecology and Evolution, 3 (7). pp. 2350-2361.

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Abstract

In Britain, the population of native red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris has suffered population declines and local extinctions. Interspecific resource competition and disease spread by the invasive gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis are the main factors behind the decline. Gray squirrels have adapted to the British landscape so efficiently that they are widely distributed. Knowledge on how gray squirrels are using the landscape matrix and being able to predict their movements will aid management. This study is the first to use global positioning system (GPS) collars on wild gray squirrels to accurately record movements and land cover use within the landscape matrix. This data were used to validate Geographical Information System (GIS) least-cost model predictions of movements and provided much needed information on gray squirrel movement pathways and network use. Buffered least-cost paths and least-cost corridors provide predictions of the most probable movements through the landscape and are seen to perform better than the more expansive least-cost networks which include all possible movements. Applying the knowledge and methodologies gained to current gray squirrel expansion areas, such as Scotland and in Italy, will aid in the prediction of potential movement areas and therefore management of the invasive gray squirrel. The methodologies presented in this study could potentially be used in any landscape and on numerous species.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Ecology and Evolution
Publisher:	Wiley Open Access
ISSN:	2045-7758
Departments:	Research Centres > Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas (CNPPA)
Additional Information:	© 2013 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2016 12:10
Last Modified:	12 Jan 2024 11:32
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/1985

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