Elk resource selection and space use interactions in the presence of low-intensity human recreation

Understanding wildlife behavior and species interactions in the presence of human activity is integral to the management of game species in the Anthropocene epoch. Nature-based recreation is a global public interest, with 8 billion visits to protected areas worldwide and 3.3 billion visits in the United States documented annually. Therefore, studying wildlife behavior response and interspecific interactions in the presence of human recreation is integral to successful wildlife management. The Ruby Mountain Range in southwest Montana provides a unique opportunity to evaluate behavioral responses of ungulates in an area of low human use, with few human access points and roads and no established trail system. Our objectives were to use GPS-collar data to quantify spatial and temporal differences in elk resource selection across human recreation seasons and to use detection data from camera traps to create conditional co-occurrence models to test for interactions between elk (Cervus canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). To quantify elk resource selection, we used GPS-collar data from 43 female elk and employed population-level resource selection functions to assess third-order selection during summer recreation seasons, archery hunting seasons, and general firearm hunting seasons. While results regarding landscape covariates were consistent with behavioral expectations during our study periods, our distance to human access variable continuously appeared in the most-supported model, indicating the importance of low-intensity human recreational use on elk resource selection. To test elk-mule deer interactions, we used 94 camera traps to collect data in summer and fall of 2020–2022, resulting in three summer recreation, archery hunting, and general hunting seasons of sampling. Results from our study indicated that in an area of low-intensity human use, presence or absence of both species affects the probability of detecting the other. However, effects are species- and survey-specific. Overall, results indicated that identifying levels of intensity in human use is an important consideration, as even low-intensity human activity affected elk resource selection and elk-mule deer interactions. To ensure conservation and management remains effective in the Anthropocene, future studies should account for intensity of human recreation when evaluating species interactions and resource selection, especially across dynamic landscapes.