Due to the vulnerability of neonatal ungulates, selection of a birth site can have important implications for offspring survival and thus fitness of the mother. We studied parturition site selection in cow Elk in southeastern Kentucky, United States, using a use–availability framework to evaluate the effects of landscape variables sampled at multiple spatial grains on the relative probability of use of parturition sites. We identified 81 Elk parturition sites during May–Aug 2020–2022 and fit several candidate resource selection function models using a sample of 24,314 random locations to characterize habitat availability. Using an information-theoretic approach to rank candidate models, we identified two top-performing models (cumulative ωi = 0.97), which indicated that at fine spatial grains (~10- and 30-m pixels) parturient cow Elk selected for intermediate canopy cover and lower terrain ruggedness compared to available locations. At coarse grains (250–1,000-m buffers/neighborhoods), Elk selected against vegetation greenness/biomass, for higher topographic positions, for closer proximity to major roads, and with higher solar radiation potential. We also found evidence that Elk responded positively to forest/open edge densities at coarse grains, demonstrating that calving habitat throughout the Kentucky Elk Restoration Zone is associated with heterogeneous landscapes resulting from surface mine reclamation. As a result, habitat management actions should aim to increase patchy, early successional shrub cover on gentle topography.

中文翻译：

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破碎的阿巴拉契亚景观中对麋鹿（Cervus canadensis）产犊地点选择的多尺度影响

由于新生儿有蹄类动物的脆弱性，出生地点的选择可能对后代的生存以及母亲的健康产生重要影响。我们研究了美国肯塔基州东南部的牛麋鹿的分娩地点选择，使用使用-可用性框架来评估在多个空间颗粒上采样的景观变量对分娩地点使用相对概率的影响。我们在 2020 年 5 月至 8 月期间确定了 81 个麋鹿分娩地点，并使用 24,314 个随机地点的样本拟合了多个候选资源选择函数模型，以表征栖息地的可用性。使用信息论方法对候选模型进行排名，我们确定了两个表现最好的模型（累积 ωi = 0.97），这表明，在精细的空间颗粒（约 10 米和 30 米像素）下，与可用位置相比，分娩的牛麋鹿选择了中等树冠覆盖和较低的地形崎岖度。在粗粮（250-1,000 米缓冲区/社区）中，麋鹿会根据植被绿度/生物量进行选择，以获得更高的地形位置、更靠近主要道路以及更高的太阳辐射潜力。我们还发现证据表明，麋鹿对粗粮的森林/开放边缘密度有积极的反应，这表明整个肯塔基州麋鹿恢复区的产犊栖息地与地表矿山复垦产生的异质景观有关。因此，栖息地管理行动的目标应是在地势平缓的地区增加零散的、早期演替的灌木覆盖。