Roads elicit negative movement and habitat-selection responses by wolverines (Gulo gulo luscus)

Wildlife behavior when crossing roads is likely to mirror natural responses to predation risk including not responding, pausing, avoiding, or increasing speed during crossing. We generated coarse-scale behavioral predictions based on these expectations that could be assessed with GPS radiotelemetry. We evaluated our predictions using an integrated step-selection analysis of wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) space use in relation to spatially and temporally dynamic vehicle traffic on industrial roads in northern Alberta. We compared support for alternative models of road avoidance, increased speed near roads, and road avoidance and increased speed near roads. We predicted that wolverines would avoid roads and increase their speed near roads and that these behaviors would increase with traffic volume. We found that vehicle traffic was relatively low (0 – 30 vehicles/12 hours) but important for explaining wolverine space use. Top winter and summer models indicated that wolverines avoided ...