Seasonal Habitat Selection by a Threatened Ungulate in an Industrializing Boreal Landscape

ABSTRACT Habitat selection by reintroduced and remnant populations of wood bison ( Bison bison athabascae ) in the boreal forest are not well understood, especially in landscapes characterized by anthropogenic disturbance. Yet, this information is key for conservation planning for wood bison, a threatened species in Canada. We used data from GPS‐collared bison in northeastern British Columbia to develop seasonal resource selection function models that quantified selection or avoidance of oil and gas infrastructure, as well as natural disturbances and other ecological factors. We predicted that bison would select a range of early seral habitat types including areas associated with linear features and industrial activities. Consistent with our predictions, resource roads were the most influential disturbance features associated with resource selection of GPS‐collared bison during winter and summer. Across both seasons, bison selected for areas close to most linear disturbance features but avoided areas with relatively greater densities of linear disturbances. Bison may use linear disturbances as travel corridors or as foraging habitat, but there appears to be a threshold above which bison avoid these features. Conversely, bison selected areas closer to polygonal disturbances (e.g., well sites) in both seasons and selected areas with greater densities of these features in the winter. Overall, we found that bison selected for anthropogenic features associated with the oil and gas industry. Although these recently disturbed vegetation communities provide foraging habitat, they also lead to conflict with humans that may result in the mortality of bison. Mitigations such as restoring disturbed habitats to a natural state, management actions that discourage or prevent the use of anthropogenic habitats, and fostering a stewardship ethic within industry will improve human‐bison coexistence on landscapes characterized by anthropogenic disturbance.