Food resources and predation can influence various aspects of the ecology of small mammals, including movement and space-use patterns. We used radiotelemetry to examine experimentally how supplemental feeding and mammalian predator exclusion affected size and exclusivity of hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) home ranges. Supplemental feeding had no effect on home-range size, and exclusivity was not influenced by either treatment. However, predator exclusion was associated with increased home-range sizes, indicating a behavioral response to perceived predation risk. We suggest that this behavioral response reflects a trade-off between predation risk and space-use patterns.
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9 June 2011
Effects of mammalian predator exclusion and supplemental feeding on space use by hispid cotton rats
Gail Morris,
L. Mike Conner,
Madan K. Oli
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Journal of Mammalogy
Vol. 92 • No. 3
June 2011
Vol. 92 • No. 3
June 2011
food supplementation
hispid cotton rat
home range
Nonconsumptive effects
predation
Sigmodon hispidus
space-use pattern