Habitat preference and use by the cougar (Puma concolor)
Abstract
Cougars (Puma concolor) are widespread in the western US, penetrating even into the
edges of inhabited and developed areas. Despite their widespread distribution, many
aspects of their lives remain unquantified and poorly studied. To explain the factors
that influence cougar behavior, I adapted methods used for the African Lion and field
data and movement metrics from USGS to designate behavioral states of cougars to GPS
locations. Fitting a Bayesian multinomial model, I explain cougar behavior based on
vegetation and visibility- the amount of visible area at a point, accounting for the
amount of daylight- as well as elevation and land cover. The model explains a third
of the variation in the data, but considerable individual variation makes differentiating
between behaviors difficult. Visibility likely plays a role in cougar behavior, but
additional research is necessary to fully identify all the factors that drive cougar
behavior.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18385Citation
Bischoff-Mattson, Sky (2019). Habitat preference and use by the cougar (Puma concolor). Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18385.Collections
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