Quantifying microhabitat selection of snowshoe hares using forest metrics from UAS-based LiDAR

This dataset and code was used to evaluate the influence of forest structure (mapped using high-resolution light detection and ranging [LiDAR] data, collected on unoccupied aerial systems [UAS]) on snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) microhabitat use within the temperate-boreal forests of northern New England. We mapped 14 forested stands (each 20 ha) using UAS-LiDAR (>300 returns/m2) and conducted fecal pellet surveys to estimate snowshoe hare microhabitat selection during the leaf-off and leaf-on seasons of 2022. We used the LiDAR point cloud data to generate traditional forest metrics (canopy closure, sapling prevalence, and shrub prevalence) that are often used in snowshoe hare habitat studies and three-dimensional metrics that we hypothesized to represent predator exposure (viewshed and lacunarity) and food availability (lacunarity). The data and code herein was used to evaluate which of these most influenced snowshoe hare microhabitat use during the leaf-off and leaf-on seasons.

Methods
See materials and methods in 10.1002/wlb3.01529.