Dall sheep occur in Alaska, USA and western Canada. Dall sheep on the Kenai Peninsula were at the southern extent of their range in Alaska. Numbers of Dall sheep on the Peninsula have declined since the late 1990s. Our specific objective in this work was to use the habitat relationships of Dall sheep to identify their potential movement corridors on the Peninsula so that resource managers could include that information in planning for habitat management, resource development, and infrastructure development (including transportation). Male and female Dall sheep spatially segregated habitats during spring and summer. Males and females began to associate during the rut in the fall and but as winter approached, they separated again. We modeled the relationships among Dall sheep, land cover classes, and other landscape characteristics through a Bayesian network. Using those data, least-cost movement analyses revealed multiple potential corridors for Dall sheep on the Kenai Peninsula. We then identified locations where animals were most likely to cross the Sterling and Steward highways. We considered those areas the most probable sites for successful crossing structures. Placement of structures relative to traditional travel corridors of Dall sheep is likely the most important factor affecting their use.

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Habitat Use, Movement Patterns, and Potential Corridors for Dall Sheep on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, USA

  • Lowell H. Suring,
  • James S. Begley,
  • William L. Gaines

摘要

Dall sheep occur in Alaska, USA and western Canada. Dall sheep on the Kenai Peninsula were at the southern extent of their range in Alaska. Numbers of Dall sheep on the Peninsula have declined since the late 1990s. Our specific objective in this work was to use the habitat relationships of Dall sheep to identify their potential movement corridors on the Peninsula so that resource managers could include that information in planning for habitat management, resource development, and infrastructure development (including transportation). Male and female Dall sheep spatially segregated habitats during spring and summer. Males and females began to associate during the rut in the fall and but as winter approached, they separated again. We modeled the relationships among Dall sheep, land cover classes, and other landscape characteristics through a Bayesian network. Using those data, least-cost movement analyses revealed multiple potential corridors for Dall sheep on the Kenai Peninsula. We then identified locations where animals were most likely to cross the Sterling and Steward highways. We considered those areas the most probable sites for successful crossing structures. Placement of structures relative to traditional travel corridors of Dall sheep is likely the most important factor affecting their use.