Temporal variation in habitat selection breaks the catch-22 of spatially contrasting predation risk from multiple predators

Predator avoidance depends on prey being able to discern how risk varies in space and time, but this is made considerably more complicated if risk is simultaneously present from multiple predators. This is the situation for an increasing number of mammalian prey species, as large carnivores recover or are reintroduced in ecosystems on several continents. Roe deer Capreolus capreolus in southern Norway illustrate a case in which prey face two predators with contrasting patterns of predation risk. They face a catch-22 situation: spatially avoiding the risk from one predator (lynx Lynx lynx in dense habitat) implies exposure to the other (hunters in open habitat). Using GPS-data from 29 roe deer, we tested for daily and seasonal variation in roe deer selection for habitat with respect to the habitats' year-round average risk level. Generally, roe deer altered their habitat selection between night and day in a pattern consistent with being able to avoid predicted risk from the nocturnal lyn...