Bonobo nest site selection and the importance of predictor scales in primate ecology

The role of spatial scale in ecological pattern formation such as the geographical distribution of species has been a major theme in research for decades. Much progress has been made on identifying spatial scales of habitat influence on species distribution. Generally, the effect of a predictor variable on a response is evaluated over multiple, discrete spatial scales to identify an optimal scale of influence. However, the idea to identify one optimal scale of predictor influence is misleading. Species‐environment relationships across scales are usually sigmoid increasing or decreasing rather than humped‐shaped, because environmental conditions are generally highly autocorrelated. Here, we use nest count data on bonobos (Pan paniscus) to build distribution models which simultaneously evaluate the influence of several predictors at multiple spatial scales. More specifically, we used forest structure, availability of fruit trees and terrestrial herbaceous vegetation (THV) to reflect environmental constraints on bonobo ranging, feeding and nesting behaviour, respectively. A large number of models fitted the data equally well and revealed sigmoidal shapes for bonobo‐environment relationships across scales. The influence of forest structure increased with distance and became particularly important, when including a neighbourhood of at least 750 m around observation points; for fruit availability and THV, predictor influence decreased with increasing distance and was mainly...
Source: American Journal of Primatology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Research Article Source Type: research