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Young, J.K.; Mahoney, P.J.
Cougar space use on a landscape with high levels of anthropogenic disturbance in southcentral Utah
2014  Conference Proceeding

We evaluated cougar (_Puma concolor_) space use in relation to general patterns of human landscape use on Monroe Mountain in southcentral Utah. Cougars on Monroe Mountain are exposed to heavy human pressure both directly during chase, limited-entry, and harvest objective seasons during the winter and spring and more indirectly due to traffic associated with recreational OHV activity and game hunter use throughout the summer and fall. To assess how cougars respond to human activity, we evaluated relative selection (RSF with a used vs. available design) using Bayesian generalized linear mixed models with weakly informative priors and a random effect of individual to account for differences in individual sampling intensity. Seasonal home ranges (99% isopleths) were generated for each individual within our dataset using a kernel density estimator with a plugin bandwidth estimation algorithm. Availability was estimated systematically using a complete census of 30 meter pixels within each home range. Distance to secondary and tertiary roads, distance to water, distance to nearest human residence, ruggedness, aspect, slope, and vegetative cover were calculated for each used and available point within the data set and utilized as explanatory fixed effects in the RSF model. We compared cougar response to roads and human residence across seasons and between night and day in an effort to identify patterns of cougar response to human activity. Our results suggest illustrate the indirect impacts humans have on cougars and the need for more studies that directly account for human activity when evaluating spatial and habitat use.

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