Open Collections

Abstract

Wildlife populations face unprecedented threats from habitat loss, climate change, and human activities, requiring innovative approaches to understand and manage complex ecological systems. This thesis examines predator-prey dynamics and spatial ecology across multiple scales via theoretical modeling, methodological development, and empirical analysis. Chapter 2 establishes the theoretical foundation by developing dynamical predator-prey models to evaluate wildlife management strategies across multiple timescales. I analytically demonstrate that management effectiveness depends critically on temporal scale. Wolf reductions deliver immediate benefits to caribou but can become counterproductive in the longer term as abundant prey rebound and impose greater competitive pressure. Moose reductions initially harm caribou through prey-switching effects but provide long-term benefits as predator populations decline. These contrasting dynamics emphasize the importance of matching management tools to the timescales on which different ecological pressures operate. Chapter 3 addresses methodological gaps in spatial ecology by developing novel coefficient of variation (CV) metrics for characterizing population spatial structure. These threshold-free methods distinguish between population elongation and fragmentation using simple summary statistics derived from location data, providing early warning signals for conservation. Mathematical derivation and simulations demonstrate robustness across diverse scenarios, while an R package implementation makes these tools easily accessible and implementable. Chapter 4 applies these methods to 30 years of Bathurst caribou data, revealing scale-dependent expression of spatial responses to population decline. Individual space use exhibited weaker and more variable temporal trends than herd-level metrics: individual area use and daily movement distances remained largely stable despite substantial declines in herd area and abundance. Although seasonal changes were more consistently detectable at the herd scale, confidence intervals for individual- and herd-level trends overlapped, indicating statistically compatible rates of change. These patterns suggest that local neighbor interactions buffer individual space requirements, while changes in cohesion and spatial configuration at broader scales emerge through aggregation of individual movement behavior as population size declines. This integrated approach provides a comprehensive framework for understanding multi-scale ecological processes. Effective conservation requires recognizing mechanisms that vary across scales; these findings offer essential tools and insights for wildlife conservation in an era of rapid environmental change.