Data from: Temporal scale of habitat selection for large carnivores: Balancing energetics, risk and finding prey

1.    When navigating heterogeneous landscapes,
large carnivores must balance trade-offs between multiple goals, including
minimizing energetic expenditure, maintaining access to hunting
opportunities, and avoiding potential risk from humans. The relative
importance of these goals in driving carnivore movement likely changes
across temporal scales, but our understanding of these dynamics remains
limited.  2.    Here we quantified how
drivers of movement and habitat selection changed with temporal grain for
two large carnivore species living in human-dominated landscapes,
providing insights into commonalities in carnivore movement strategies
across regions.  3.    We used
high-resolution GPS collar data and integrated step selection analyses to
model movement and habitat selection for African lions (Panthera leo) in
Laikipia, Kenya and pumas (Puma concolor) in the Santa Cruz Mountains of
California across eight temporal grains, ranging from 5 minutes to 12
hours. Analyses considered landscape covariates that are related to
energetics, resource acquisition, and anthropogenic risk. 
4.    For both species, topographic slope,
which strongly influences energetic expenditure, drove habitat selection
and movement patterns over fine temporal scales but was less important at
longer temporal grains. In contrast, avoiding anthropogenic risk during
the day, when risk was highest, was consistently important across grains,
but the degree to which carnivores relaxed this avoidance at night was
strongest for longer-term movements. Lions and pumas modified their
movement behavior differently in response to anthropogenic features: lions
sped up while near humans at fine temporal grains, while pumas slowed down
in more developed areas at coarse temporal grains. Finally, pumas
experienced a trade-off between energetically efficient movement and
avoiding anthropogenic risk. 5.    Temporal
grain is an important methodological consideration in habitat selection
analyses, as drivers of both movement and habitat selection changed across
temporal grain. Additionally, grain-dependent patterns can reflect
meaningful behavioral processes, including how fitness-relevant goals
influence behavior over different periods of time. In applying multi-scale
analysis to fine-resolution data, we showed that two large carnivore
species in very different human-dominated landscapes balanced competing
energetic and safety demands in largely similar ways. These commonalities
suggest general strategies of landscape use across large carnivore
species.