Journal Article

Behaviorally Explicit Demographic Model Integrating Habitat Selection and Population Dynamics in California Sea Lions

GONZÁLEZ-SUÁREZ, MANUELA, GERBER, LEAH R

2008

Overview

Although there has been a call for the integration of behavioral ecology and conservation biology, there are few tools currently available to achieve this integration. Explicitly including information about behavioral strategies in population viability analyses may enhance the ability of conservation biologists to understand and estimate patterns of extinction risk. Nevertheless, most behavioral-based PVA approaches require detailed individual-based data that are rarely available for imperiled species. We present a mechanistic approach that incorporates spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models used for conservation. We developed a stage-structured matrix model that includes the costs and benefits of movement associated with 2 habitat-selection strategies (philopatry and direct assessment). Using a life table for California sea lions ( Zalophus californianus), we explored the sensitivity of model predictions to the inclusion of these behavioral parameters. Including behavioral information dramatically changed predicted population sizes, model dynamics, and the expected distribution of individuals among sites. Estimated population sizes projected in 100 years diverged up to 1 order of magnitude among scenarios that assumed different movement behavior. Scenarios also exhibited different model dynamics that ranged from stable equilibria to cycles or extinction. These results suggest that inclusion of behavioral data in viability models may improve estimates of extinction risk for imperiled species. Our approach provides a simple method for incorporating spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models and may be easily extended to other species and behaviors to understand the mechanisms of population dynamics for imperiled populations.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc,Blackwell Publishing, Inc,Wiley-Blackwell
• Subject: Animal and plant ecology / Animal, plant and microbial ecology / Animals / Applied ecology / AVP / Behavior, Animal / Behavior, Animal - physiology / behavioral ecology / Biological and medical sciences / biologists / biología de la conservación / California / Conservation biology / Conservation of Natural Resources / Conservation of Natural Resources - methods / Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife / Demecology / Demography / Ecological modeling / ecología del comportamiento / Ecosystem / extinction / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / General aspects / Habitat conservation / Habitat selection / habitats / Life Tables / Marine / methods / modelos demográficos de dos sexos / modelos poblacionales / Models, Biological / Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking / philopatry / physiology / Population Density / Population Dynamics / Population ecology / population models / Population size / PVA / risk / Sea Lions / Sea Lions - physiology / Sensitivity and Specificity / two-sex demographic models / Viability / Zalophus / Zalophus californianus