TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hofman, Maarten P. G.
A1  - Hayward, M. W.
A1  - Heim, M.
A1  - Marchand, P.
A1  - Rolandsen, C. M.
A1  - Mattisson, Jenny
A1  - Urbano, F.
A1  - Heurich, M.
A1  - Mysterud, A.
A1  - Melzheimer, J.
A1  - Morellet, N.
A1  - Voigt, Ulrich
A1  - Allen, B. L.
A1  - Gehr, Benedikt
A1  - Rouco Zufiaurre, Carlos
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Holand, O.
A1  - Jorgensen, n H.
A1  - Steinheim, G.
A1  - Cagnacci, F.
A1  - Kroeschel, M.
A1  - Kaczensky, P.
A1  - Buuveibaatar, B.
A1  - Payne, J. C.
A1  - Palmegiani, I
A1  - Jerina, K.
A1  - Kjellander, P.
A1  - Johansson, O.
A1  - LaPoint, S.
A1  - Bayrakcismith, R.
A1  - Linnell, J. D. C.
A1  - Zaccaroni, M.
A1  - Jorge, M. L. S.
A1  - Oshima, J. E. F.
A1  - Songhurst, A.
A1  - Fischer, C.
A1  - Mc Bride, R. T.
A1  - Thompson, J. J.
A1  - Streif, S.
A1  - Sandfort, R.
A1  - Bonenfant, Christophe
A1  - Drouilly, M.
A1  - Klapproth, M.
A1  - Zinner, Dietmar
A1  - Yarnell, Richard
A1  - Stronza, A.
A1  - Wilmott, L.
A1  - Meisingset, E.
A1  - Thaker, Maria
A1  - Vanak, A. T.
A1  - Nicoloso, S.
A1  - Graeber, R.
A1  - Said, S.
A1  - Boudreau, M. R.
A1  - Devlin, A.
A1  - Hoogesteijn, R.
A1  - May-Junior, J. A.
A1  - Nifong, J. C.
A1  - Odden, J.
A1  - Quigley, H. B.
A1  - Tortato, F.
A1  - Parker, D. M.
A1  - Caso, A.
A1  - Perrine, J.
A1  - Tellaeche, C.
A1  - Zieba, F.
A1  - Zwijacz-Kozica, T.
A1  - Appel, C. L.
A1  - Axsom, I
A1  - Bean, W. T.
A1  - Cristescu, B.
A1  - Periquet, S.
A1  - Teichman, K. J.
A1  - Karpanty, S.
A1  - Licoppe, A.
A1  - Menges, V
A1  - Black, K.
A1  - Scheppers, Thomas L.
A1  - Schai-Braun, S. C.
A1  - Azevedo, F. C.
A1  - Lemos, F. G.
A1  - Payne, A.
A1  - Swanepoel, L. H.
A1  - Weckworth, B.
A1  - Berger, A.
A1  - Bertassoni, Alessandra
A1  - McCulloch, G.
A1  - Sustr, P.
A1  - Athreya, V
A1  - Bockmuhl, D.
A1  - Casaer, J.
A1  - Ekori, A.
A1  - Melovski, D.
A1  - Richard-Hansen, C.
A1  - van de Vyver, D.
A1  - Reyna-Hurtado, R.
A1  - Robardet, E.
A1  - Selva, N.
A1  - Sergiel, A.
A1  - Farhadinia, M. S.
A1  - Sunde, P.
A1  - Portas, R.
A1  - Ambarli, Hüseyin
A1  - Berzins, R.
A1  - Kappeler, P. M.
A1  - Mann, G. K.
A1  - Pyritz, L.
A1  - Bissett, C.
A1  - Grant, T.
A1  - Steinmetz, R.
A1  - Swedell, Larissa
A1  - Welch, R. J.
A1  - Armenteras, D.
A1  - Bidder, O. R.
A1  - Gonzalez, T. M.
A1  - Rosenblatt, A.
A1  - Kachel, S.
A1  - Balkenhol, N.
T1  - Right on track?
BT  - Performance of satellite telemetry in terrestrial wildlife research
JF  - PLoS one
N2  - Satellite telemetry is an increasingly utilized technology in wildlife research, and current devices can track individual animal movements at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. However, as we enter the golden age of satellite telemetry, we need an in-depth understanding of the main technological, species-specific and environmental factors that determine the success and failure of satellite tracking devices across species and habitats. Here, we assess the relative influence of such factors on the ability of satellite telemetry units to provide the expected amount and quality of data by analyzing data from over 3,000 devices deployed on 62 terrestrial species in 167 projects worldwide. We evaluate the success rate in obtaining GPS fixes as well as in transferring these fixes to the user and we evaluate failure rates. Average fix success and data transfer rates were high and were generally better predicted by species and unit characteristics, while environmental characteristics influenced the variability of performance. However, 48% of the unit deployments ended prematurely, half of them due to technical failure. Nonetheless, this study shows that the performance of satellite telemetry applications has shown improvements over time, and based on our findings, we provide further recommendations for both users and manufacturers.
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216223
SN  - 1932-6203
VL  - 14
IS  - 5
PB  - PLoS
CY  - San Fransisco
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mayer, Martin
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Heinrich, Rebecca
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Sunde, Peter
T1  - Seasonal effects of habitat structure and weather on the habitat selection and home range size of a mammal in agricultural landscapes
JF  - Landscape ecology
N2  - Context Human land use intensified over the last century and simultaneously, extreme weather events have become more frequent. However, little is known about the interplay between habitat structure, direct short-term weather effects and indirect seasonal effects on animal space use and behavior. Objectives We used the European hare (Lepus europaeus) as model to investigate how habitat structure and weather conditions affect habitat selection and home range size, predictors for habitat quality and energetic requirements. Methods Using > 100,000 GPS positions of 60 hares in three areas in Denmark and Germany, we analyzed habitat selection and home range size in response to seasonally changing habitat structure, measured as vegetation height and agricultural field size, and weather. We compared daily and monthly home ranges to disentangle between direct short-term weather effects and indirect seasonal effects of climate. Results Habitat selection and home range size varied seasonally as a response to changing habitat structure, potentially affecting the availability of food and shelter. Overall, habitat structure and seasonality were more important in explaining hare habitat selection and home range size compared to direct weather conditions. Nevertheless, hares adjusted habitat selection and daily home range size in response to temperature, wind speed and humidity, possibly in response to thermal constrains and predation risk. Conclusions For effective conservation, habitat heterogeneity should be increased, e.g. by reducing agricultural field sizes and the implementation of set-asides that provide both forage and shelter, especially during the colder months of the year.
KW  - European hare
KW  - GPS
KW  - Habitat selection
KW  - Home range
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - Weather
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00878-9
SN  - 0921-2973
SN  - 1572-9761
VL  - 34
IS  - 10
SP  - 2279
EP  - 2294
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Mayer, Martin
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Sunde, Peter
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Blaum, Niels
T1  - Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes
BT  - the importance of small‐scale habitat structure for conservation
T2  - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe
N2  - Agricultural land‐use practices have intensified over the last decades, leading to population declines of various farmland species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In many European countries, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes. Compared to pastures, arable land is highly variable, resulting in a large spatial variation of food and cover for wildlife over the course of the year, which potentially affects habitat selection by hares. Here, we investigated within‐home‐range habitat selection by hares in arable areas in Denmark and Germany to identify habitat requirements for their conservation. We hypothesized that hare habitat selection would depend on local habitat structure, that is, vegetation height, but also on agricultural field size, vegetation type, and proximity to field edges. Active hares generally selected for short vegetation (1–25 cm) and avoided higher vegetation and bare ground, especially when fields were comparatively larger. Vegetation >50 cm potentially restricts hares from entering parts of their home range and does not provide good forage, the latter also being the case on bare ground. The vegetation type was important for habitat selection by inactive hares, with fabaceae, fallow, and maize being selected for, potentially providing both cover and forage. Our results indicate that patches of shorter vegetation could improve the forage quality and habitat accessibility for hares, especially in areas with large monocultures. Thus, policymakers should aim to increase areas with short vegetation throughout the year. Further, permanent set‐asides, like fallow and wildflower areas, would provide year‐round cover for inactive hares. Finally, the reduction in field sizes would increase the density of field margins, and farming different crop types within small areas could improve the habitat for hares and other farmland species.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1076 
KW  - agriculture
KW  - arable land
KW  - conservation
KW  - GPS
KW  - habitat selection
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - vegetation height
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-467891
SN  - 1866-8372
IS  - 1076
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mayer, Martin
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Sunde, Peter
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Blaum, Niels
T1  - Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes
BT  - The importance of small-scale habitat structure for conservation
JF  - Ecology and Evolution
N2  - Agricultural land-use practices have intensified over the last decades, leading to population declines of various farmland species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In many European countries, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes. Compared to pastures, arable land is highly variable, resulting in a large spatial variation of food and cover for wildlife over the course of the year, which potentially affects habitat selection by hares. Here, we investigated within-home-range habitat selection by hares in arable areas in Denmark and Germany to identify habitat requirements for their conservation. We hypothesized that hare habitat selection would depend on local habitat structure, that is, vegetation height, but also on agricultural field size, vegetation type, and proximity to field edges. Active hares generally selected for short vegetation (1-25 cm) and avoided higher vegetation and bare ground, especially when fields were comparatively larger. Vegetation >50 cm potentially restricts hares from entering parts of their home range and does not provide good forage, the latter also being the case on bare ground. The vegetation type was important for habitat selection by inactive hares, with fabaceae, fallow, and maize being selected for, potentially providing both cover and forage. Our results indicate that patches of shorter vegetation could improve the forage quality and habitat accessibility for hares, especially in areas with large monocultures. Thus, policymakers should aim to increase areas with short vegetation throughout the year. Further, permanent set-asides, like fallow and wildflower areas, would provide year-round cover for inactive hares. Finally, the reduction in field sizes would increase the density of field margins, and farming different crop types within small areas could improve the habitat for hares and other farmland species.
KW  - agriculture
KW  - arable land
KW  - conservation
KW  - GPS
KW  - habitat selection
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - vegetation height
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4613
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 8
IS  - 23
SP  - 11619
EP  - 11633
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Noonan, Michael J.
A1  - Tucker, Marlee A.
A1  - Fleming, Christen H.
A1  - Akre, Thomas S.
A1  - Alberts, Susan C.
A1  - Ali, Abdullahi H.
A1  - Altmann, Jeanne
A1  - Antunes, Pamela Castro
A1  - Belant, Jerrold L.
A1  - Beyer, Dean
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Boehning-Gaese, Katrin
A1  - Cullen Jr, Laury
A1  - de Paula, Rogerio Cunha
A1  - Dekker, Jasja
A1  - Drescher-Lehman, Jonathan
A1  - Farwig, Nina
A1  - Fichtel, Claudia
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Ford, Adam T.
A1  - Goheen, Jacob R.
A1  - Janssen, Rene
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
A1  - Kauffman, Matthew
A1  - Kappeler, Peter M.
A1  - Koch, Flavia
A1  - LaPoint, Scott
A1  - Markham, A. Catherine
A1  - Medici, Emilia Patricia
A1  - Morato, Ronaldo G.
A1  - Nathan, Ran
A1  - Oliveira-Santos, Luiz Gustavo R.
A1  - Olson, Kirk A.
A1  - Patterson, Bruce D.
A1  - Paviolo, Agustin
A1  - Ramalho, Emiliano Estero
A1  - Rosner, Sascha
A1  - Schabo, Dana G.
A1  - Selva, Nuria
A1  - Sergiel, Agnieszka
A1  - da Silva, Marina Xavier
A1  - Spiegel, Orr
A1  - Thompson, Peter
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Zieba, Filip
A1  - Zwijacz-Kozica, Tomasz
A1  - Fagan, William F.
A1  - Mueller, Thomas
A1  - Calabrese, Justin M.
T1  - A comprehensive analysis of autocorrelation and bias in home range estimation
JF  - Ecological monographs : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.
N2  - Home range estimation is routine practice in ecological research. While advances in animal tracking technology have increased our capacity to collect data to support home range analysis, these same advances have also resulted in increasingly autocorrelated data. Consequently, the question of which home range estimator to use on modern, highly autocorrelated tracking data remains open. This question is particularly relevant given that most estimators assume independently sampled data. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of autocorrelation on home range estimation. We base our study on an extensive data set of GPS locations from 369 individuals representing 27 species distributed across five continents. We first assemble a broad array of home range estimators, including Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) with four bandwidth optimizers (Gaussian reference function, autocorrelated‐Gaussian reference function [AKDE], Silverman's rule of thumb, and least squares cross‐validation), Minimum Convex Polygon, and Local Convex Hull methods. Notably, all of these estimators except AKDE assume independent and identically distributed (IID) data. We then employ half‐sample cross‐validation to objectively quantify estimator performance, and the recently introduced effective sample size for home range area estimation ( N̂ area
) to quantify the information content of each data set. We found that AKDE 95% area estimates were larger than conventional IID‐based estimates by a mean factor of 2. The median number of cross‐validated locations included in the hold‐out sets by AKDE 95% (or 50%) estimates was 95.3% (or 50.1%), confirming the larger AKDE ranges were appropriately selective at the specified quantile. Conversely, conventional estimates exhibited negative bias that increased with decreasing N̂ area. To contextualize our empirical results, we performed a detailed simulation study to tease apart how sampling frequency, sampling duration, and the focal animal's movement conspire to affect range estimates. Paralleling our empirical results, the simulation study demonstrated that AKDE was generally more accurate than conventional methods, particularly for small N̂ area. While 72% of the 369 empirical data sets had >1,000 total observations, only 4% had an N̂ area >1,000, where 30% had an N̂ area <30. In this frequently encountered scenario of small N̂ area, AKDE was the only estimator capable of producing an accurate home range estimate on autocorrelated data.
KW  - animal movement
KW  - kernel density estimation
KW  - local convex hull
KW  - minimum convex polygon
KW  - range distribution
KW  - space use
KW  - telemetry
KW  - tracking data
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1344
SN  - 0012-9615
SN  - 1557-7015
VL  - 89
IS  - 2
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Stiegler, Jonas
A1  - Kiemel, Katrin
A1  - Eccard, Jana
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Hering, Robert
A1  - Ortmann, Sylvia
A1  - Strigl, Lea
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Blaum, Niels
T1  - Seed traits matter
BT  - endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker
JF  - Ecology and evolution
N2  - Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
KW  - agricultural landscapes
KW  - endozoochory
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - mobile links
KW  - seed dispersal
KW  - seed dispersal syndrome
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8440
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 11
IS  - 24
SP  - 18477
EP  - 18491
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tucker, Marlee A.
A1  - Boehning-Gaese, Katrin
A1  - Fagan, William F.
A1  - Fryxell, John M.
A1  - Van Moorter, Bram
A1  - Alberts, Susan C.
A1  - Ali, Abdullahi H.
A1  - Allen, Andrew M.
A1  - Attias, Nina
A1  - Avgar, Tal
A1  - Bartlam-Brooks, Hattie
A1  - Bayarbaatar, Buuveibaatar
A1  - Belant, Jerrold L.
A1  - Bertassoni, Alessandra
A1  - Beyer, Dean
A1  - Bidner, Laura
A1  - van Beest, Floris M.
A1  - Blake, Stephen
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Bracis, Chloe
A1  - Brown, Danielle
A1  - de Bruyn, P. J. Nico
A1  - Cagnacci, Francesca
A1  - Calabrese, Justin M.
A1  - Camilo-Alves, Constanca
A1  - Chamaille-Jammes, Simon
A1  - Chiaradia, Andre
A1  - Davidson, Sarah C.
A1  - Dennis, Todd
A1  - DeStefano, Stephen
A1  - Diefenbach, Duane
A1  - Douglas-Hamilton, Iain
A1  - Fennessy, Julian
A1  - Fichtel, Claudia
A1  - Fiedler, Wolfgang
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Fischhoff, Ilya
A1  - Fleming, Christen H.
A1  - Ford, Adam T.
A1  - Fritz, Susanne A.
A1  - Gehr, Benedikt
A1  - Goheen, Jacob R.
A1  - Gurarie, Eliezer
A1  - Hebblewhite, Mark
A1  - Heurich, Marco
A1  - Hewison, A. J. Mark
A1  - Hof, Christian
A1  - Hurme, Edward
A1  - Isbell, Lynne A.
A1  - Janssen, Rene
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
A1  - Kaczensky, Petra
A1  - Kane, Adam
A1  - Kappeler, Peter M.
A1  - Kauffman, Matthew
A1  - Kays, Roland
A1  - Kimuyu, Duncan
A1  - Koch, Flavia
A1  - Kranstauber, Bart
A1  - LaPoint, Scott
A1  - Leimgruber, Peter
A1  - Linnell, John D. C.
A1  - Lopez-Lopez, Pascual
A1  - Markham, A. Catherine
A1  - Mattisson, Jenny
A1  - Medici, Emilia Patricia
A1  - Mellone, Ugo
A1  - Merrill, Evelyn
A1  - Mourao, Guilherme de Miranda
A1  - Morato, Ronaldo G.
A1  - Morellet, Nicolas
A1  - Morrison, Thomas A.
A1  - Diaz-Munoz, Samuel L.
A1  - Mysterud, Atle
A1  - Nandintsetseg, Dejid
A1  - Nathan, Ran
A1  - Niamir, Aidin
A1  - Odden, John
A1  - Oliveira-Santos, Luiz Gustavo R.
A1  - Olson, Kirk A.
A1  - Patterson, Bruce D.
A1  - de Paula, Rogerio Cunha
A1  - Pedrotti, Luca
A1  - Reineking, Bjorn
A1  - Rimmler, Martin
A1  - Rogers, Tracey L.
A1  - Rolandsen, Christer Moe
A1  - Rosenberry, Christopher S.
A1  - Rubenstein, Daniel I.
A1  - Safi, Kamran
A1  - Said, Sonia
A1  - Sapir, Nir
A1  - Sawyer, Hall
A1  - Schmidt, Niels Martin
A1  - Selva, Nuria
A1  - Sergiel, Agnieszka
A1  - Shiilegdamba, Enkhtuvshin
A1  - Silva, Joao Paulo
A1  - Singh, Navinder
A1  - Solberg, Erling J.
A1  - Spiegel, Orr
A1  - Strand, Olav
A1  - Sundaresan, Siva
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Voigt, Ulrich
A1  - Wall, Jake
A1  - Wattles, David
A1  - Wikelski, Martin
A1  - Wilmers, Christopher C.
A1  - Wilson, John W.
A1  - Wittemyer, George
A1  - Zieba, Filip
A1  - Zwijacz-Kozica, Tomasz
A1  - Mueller, Thomas
T1  - Moving in the Anthropocene
BT  - global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements
JF  - Science
N2  - Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission.
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam9712
SN  - 0036-8075
SN  - 1095-9203
VL  - 359
IS  - 6374
SP  - 466
EP  - 469
PB  - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - THES
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
T1  - Understanding animal movement behaviour in dynamic agricultural landscapes
T1  - Tierbewegungen in dynamischen Agrarlandschaften
N2  - The movement of organisms has formed our planet like few other processes. Movements shape populations, communities, entire ecosystems, and guarantee fundamental ecosystem functions and services, like seed dispersal and pollination. Global, regional and local anthropogenic impacts influence animal movements across ecosystems all around the world. In particular, land-use modification, like habitat loss and fragmentation disrupt movements between habitats with profound consequences, from increased disease transmissions to reduced species richness and abundance. However, neither the influence of anthropogenic change on animal movement processes nor the resulting effects on ecosystems are well understood. Therefore, we need a coherent understanding of organismal movement processes and their underlying mechanisms to predict and prevent altered animal movements and their consequences for ecosystem functions. 
In this thesis I aim at understanding the influence of anthropogenically caused land-use change on animal movement processes and their underlying mechanisms. In particular, I am interested in the synergistic influence of large-scale landscape structure and fine-scale habitat features on basic-level movement behaviours (e.g. the daily amount of time spend running, foraging, and resting) and their emerging higher-level movements (home range formation). Based on my findings, I identify the likely consequences of altered animal movements that lead to the loss of species richness and abundances.
The study system of my thesis are hares in agricultural landscapes. European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) are perfectly suited to study animal movements in agricultural landscapes, as hares are hermerophiles and prefer open habitats. They have historically thrived in agricultural landscapes, but their numbers are in decline. Agricultural areas are undergoing strong land-use changes due to increasing food demand and fast developing agricultural technologies. They are already the largest land-use class, covering 38% of the world’s terrestrial surface. To consider the relevance of a given landscape structure for animal movement behaviour I selected two differently structured agricultural landscapes – a simple landscape in Northern Germany with large fields and few landscape elements (e.g. hedges and tree stands), and a complex landscape in Southern Germany with small fields and many landscape elements. 
I applied GPS devices (hourly fixes) with internal high-resolution accelerometers (4 min samples) to track hares, receiving an almost continuous observation of the animals’ behaviours via acceleration analyses. I used the spatial and behavioural information in combination with remote sensing data (normalized difference vegetation index, or NDVI, a proxy for resource availability), generating an almost complete idea of what the animal was doing when, why and where. Apart from landscape structure (represented by the two differently structured study areas), I specifically tested whether the following fine-scale habitat features influence animal movements: resource, agricultural management events, habitat diversity, and habitat structure. 
My results show that, irrespective of the movement process or mechanism and the type of fine-scale habitat features, landscape structure was the overarching variable influencing hare movement behaviour. High resource variability forces hares to enlarge their home ranges, but only in the simple and not in the complex landscape. Agricultural management events result in home range shifts in both landscapes, but force hares to increase their home ranges only in the simple landscape. Also the preference of habitat patches with low vegetation and the avoidance of high vegetation, was stronger in the simple landscape. High and dense crop fields restricted hare movements temporarily to very local and small habitat patch remnants. Such insuperable barriers can separate habitat patches that were previously connected by mobile links. Hence, the transport of nutrients and genetic material is temporarily disrupted. This mechanism is also working on a global scale, as human induced changes from habitat loss and fragmentation to expanding monocultures cause a reduction in animal movements worldwide. 
The mechanisms behind those findings show that higher-level movements, like increasing home ranges, emerge from underlying basic-level movements, like the behavioural modes. An increasing landscape simplicity first acts on the behavioural modes, i.e. hares run and forage more, but have less time to rest. Hence, the emergence of increased home range sizes in simple landscapes is based on an increased proportion of time running and foraging, largely due to longer travelling times between distant habitats and scarce resource items in the landscape. This relationship was especially strong during the reproductive phase, demonstrating the importance of high-quality habitat for reproduction and the need to keep up self-maintenance first, in low quality areas. These changes in movement behaviour may release a cascade of processes that start with more time being allocated to running and foraging, resulting into an increased energy expenditure and may lead to a decline in individual fitness. A decrease in individual fitness and reproductive output will ultimately affect population viability leading to local extinctions.
In conclusion, I show that landscape structure has one of the most important effects on hare movement behaviour. Synergistic effects of landscape structure, and fine-scale habitat features, first affect and modify basic-level movement behaviours, that can scales up to altered higher-level movements and may even lead to the decline of species richness and abundances, and the disruption of ecosystem functions. Understanding the connection between movement mechanisms and processes can help to predict and prevent anthropogenically induced changes in movement behaviour. With regard to the paramount importance of landscape structure, I strongly recommend to decrease the size of agricultural fields and increase crop diversity. On the small-scale, conservation policies should assure the year round provision of areas with low vegetation height and high quality forage. This could be done by generating wildflower strips and additional (semi-) natural habitat patches. This will not only help to increase the populations of European brown hares and other farmland species, but also ensure and protects the continuity of mobile links and their intrinsic value for sustaining important ecosystem functions and services.
N2  - Wenige biologische Prozesse haben unseren Planeten so stark geformt wie die Bewegungen von Organismen. Individuelle Tierbewegungen haben weitreichende Auswirkungen auf ganze Populationen, Artengemeinschaften und Ökosysteme. Tier-bewegungen sind außerdem verantwortlich für fundamentale Ökosystemfunktionen und –leistungen, wie z.B. die Verbreitung von Samen und die Bestäubung von Wild- und Nutzpflanzen. Globale, regionale und lokale Einflüsse durch den Menschen verändern die ursprünglichen Bewegungsmuster von Organismen und damit auch die Auswir-kungen dieser Bewegungen auf die Ökosysteme. Insbesondere Landnutzungs-änderungen, wie z.B. der Verlust und die Fragmentierung von Lebensräumen, stören die Tierbewegungen zwischen verschiedenen Habitaten und können schwerwiegende Folgen nach sich ziehen. Diese Folgen reichen von der Verminderung der biologischen Artenvielfalt bis hin zu einer erhöhten Wahrscheinlichkeit der Krankheitsübertragung. Dennoch sind weder die Auswirkungen von Landnutzungsveränderungen auf die Bewegungsabläufe von Tieren, noch deren Einfluss auf die Ökosysteme bis heute gut verstanden. Um die Veränderungen der Bewegungsprozesse und deren Folgen für die Funktionstüchtigkeit von Ökosystemen vorhersagen zu können oder gar zu verhindern, benötigen wir ein ganzheitliches Verständnis der organismischen Bewegungsprozesse.
Das Ziel meiner Arbeit ist es, den Einfluss von anthropogenen Landnutzungs-änderungen auf tierische Bewegungsprozesse und die zugrundeliegende Mechanismen zu verstehen. Im Speziellen untersuche ich die synergetischen Effekte großflächiger Landschaftsstrukturen und kleinflächiger Habitatmerkmale auf das Bewegungsverhalten von Tieren. Dabei untersuche ich sowohl die Bewegungsprozesse, wie z.B. die Ent-stehung von Streifgebieten, als auch die zugrundeliegenden täglichen Verhaltensweisen wie das Laufen, die Nahrungssuche und das Schlafen. Die hierbei gewonnen Erkennt-nisse ermöglichen es mir, die voraussichtlichen Folgen von veränderten Tierbewe-gungen auf Ökosysteme abzuleiten. 
Das Modelsystem meiner Doktorarbeit ist der Feldhase (Lepus europaeus) in Agrarlandschaften. Feldhasen eignen sich hervorragend zur Untersuchung von Tier-bewegungen in landwirtschaftlich genutzten Gebieten, da sie Kulturfolger sind und offene Lebensräume, wie Agrarlandschaften und Steppen bevorzugen. Sie konnten sich in landwirtschaftlichen Regionen ausbreiten und entfalten. Jedoch sind die Bestände seit den 1960er Jahren stark zurückgegangen. Die Intensivierung der Landwirtschaft stellt einen Grund für diesen Rückgang dar. Aufgrund des steigenden Nahrungsmittelbedarfs und der sich schnell entwickelnden Agrartechnologien unterliegen Agrarlandschaften starken Landnutzungsänderungen. Agrarlandschaften stellen weltweit das flächenmäßig größte Landnutzungssystem dar und bedecken 38% der Erdoberfläche. Um die Auswirkungen großflächiger Landschaftsstrukturen auf das Bewegungsverhalten von Tieren zu untersuchen, habe ich zwei unterschiedlich strukturierte Agrarlandschaften ausgewählt: eine relativ einfach strukturierte Landschaft in Norddeutschland, die sich v.a. durch große Feldern und wenige Landschaftselementen (z.B. Hecken und kleinere Baumbestände) auszeichnet und eine komplexere Landschaft in Süddeutschland, die durch kleinere Felder und vielen dieser Landschaftselementen charakterisiert ist. 
Mit Hilfe von GPS-Halsbändern, die mit internen hochauflösenden Beschleu-nigungssensoren ausgestattet sind, wurden die Bewegungen der Feldhasen aufge-zeichnet. Die Beschleunigungssensoren liefern nahezu kontinuierliche Daten, die mit Hilfe von statistischen Klassifikationsverfahren das Verhalten der Tiere wiedergeben können. Die räumlichen Daten (GPS) und die Informationen über die Verhaltensweisen wurden anschließend mit Fernerkundungsdaten kombiniert, die wiederum Aufschluss über die Ressourcenverfügbarkeit geben. Hierdurch kann ein fast vollständiges Bild davon generiert werden, was das Tier wann, warum und wo getan hat. Neben der Landschaftsstruktur (dargestellt durch die beiden unterschiedlich strukturierten Unter-suchungsgebiete) habe ich getestet, ob die folgenden kleinflächigen Habitatmerkmale einen Einfluss auf die Tierbewegungen ausüben: raum-zeitliche Variabilität in der Ressourcenverfügbarkeit, landwirtschaftliche Managementmaßnahmen, Habitatdiversität und Habitatstruktur. 
Die Ergebnisse meiner Forschungsarbeit zeigen, dass unabhängig vom Bewegungsprozess oder -mechanismus und der Art der Habitatmerkmale, die Land-schaftsstruktur die Bewegungen der Feldhasen am stärksten beeinflusst. Eine hohe Ressourcenvariabilität zwingt die Feldhasen dazu, ihre Streifgebiete zu vergrößern, jedoch nur in der einfachen und nicht in der komplexen Landschaft. Landwirtschaftliche Managementmaßnahmen führen zu einer Verschiebung der Streifgebiete in beiden Landschaftstypen. In der einfachen Landschaft jedoch, vergrößern die Feldhasen zusätzlich ihre Streifgebiete. Feldhasen bevorzugen niedrige und vermeiden hohe Vegetation. Im Vergleich zur komplexen Landschaft ist diese Art der Habitatselektion stärker in der einfachen Landschaft ausgeprägt. Hohe und dichte Feldfrüchte, wie z.B. Raps oder Weizen, beschränken die Bewegungen der Feldhasen vorübergehend auf viel kleinere und lokale Gebiete. Derartige unüberwindbare Barrieren können Habitate voneinander trennen, die vorher durch sogenannte „mobile links“ miteinander verbunden waren. „Mobile links“ transportieren z.B. Nährstoffe oder genetisches Material zwischen entfernten Habitaten. Durch die Trennung wird dieser Transport vorübergehend unterbrochen und stört somit die Funktionstüchtigkeit des Ökosystems. Die Reduktion von „mobile links“ durch die vom Menschen verursachten Landnutzungsänderungen und damit einhergehenden Einschränkungen von Tierbewegungen ist weltweit vorzufinden.
Die Resultate meiner Untersuchungen zeigen zudem, dass Bewegungsprozesse, wie z.B. die Vergrößerung der Streifgebiete, durch die zugrundeliegenden Verhaltens-weisen ausgelöst werden. Eine zunehmende Vereinfachung von Landschaftsstrukturen wirkt sich zunächst auf die Verhaltensweisen aus, d.h. Feldhasen laufen mehr und begeben sich häufiger auf die Suche nach Nahrung und anderen Ressourcen. Demnach verringern sich die Ruhezeiten der Feldhasen. Die Vergrößerung von Streifgebieten in der einfach strukturierten Landschaft beruht daher auf einem erhöhten Anteil an Lauf- und Nahrungssuchzeiten. Dies ist vor allem auf die längeren Wege zwischen den weiter entfernten Habitaten und eine geringere Ressourcenverfügbarkeit in einfach strukturierten Landschaften zurück zu führen. In meinen Untersuchungen zeige ich außerdem, dass die Beziehung zwischen der Landschaftsstruktur und den Verhaltens-weisen während der Fortpflanzungsphase besonders stark ausgeprägt ist. Dies zeigt zum einen die besondere Bedeutung eines qualitativ hochwertigen Lebensraums während der Fortpflanzungsphase und zum anderen, dass sich Tiere in Gebieten mit geringer Habitatqualität erst um das eigene tägliche Überleben kümmern müssen. Erst wenn ausreichend Zeit und Ressourcen verfügbar sind, können die Feldhasen sich erfolgreich fortpflanzen. Veränderungen im Bewegungsverhalten können also eine ganze Kaskade von Prozessen auslösen. Diese Kaskade beginnen mit der Veränderung der Verhaltensweisen durch z.B. weniger strukturierte Habitate und führt zu einem erhöhten Anteil an Laufen und Futtersuche, was wiederum einen erhöhten Energieaufwand bedeutet. Wenn Tiere zu viel Energie aufwenden müssen, um das eigene tägliche Überleben zu sichern, kann dies einen Rückgang ihrer individuellen Fitness bedeuten. Die Abnahme der Fitness und der Reproduktionsleistung wird sich letztendlich auf die Überlebensfähigkeit der Population auswirken und kann zum lokalen Aussterben führen.
Die Struktur der Agrarlandschaft stellt eine der wichtigsten Einflussgrößen für das Bewegungsverhalten von Feldhasen dar. Die synergistischen Effekte der großflächigen Landschaftsstruktur und der kleinflächigen Habitatmerkmale beeinflussen und modifizieren zunächst die täglichen Verhaltensweisen, die dann wiederum zu veränderten Bewegungsprozessen führen und damit zu Störungen der Ökosystem-funktionen und zum Rückgang der biologischen Vielfalt beitragen. Im Hinblick auf die große Bedeutung der Landschaftsstruktur empfehle ich daher dringend die Größe der landwirtschaftlichen Felder zu verringern und die Vielfalt der Anbaukulturen zu erhöhen. Kleinräumige Naturerhaltungsmaßnahmen sollten die ganzjährige Bereitstellung von Habitaten mit geringer Vegetationshöhe und hochwertigem Futter sicherstellen. Dies kann durch den Anbau von Blühstreifen und der Schaffung bzw. dem Erhalt zusätzlicher (halb-)natürlicher Lebensräume erreicht werden. Diese Maßnahmen werden nicht nur dazu beitragen, die Populationen der Feldhasen und anderer Kulturfolgern zu vergrößern, sondern helfen auch dabei das Fortbestehen der „mobile links“ und der damit verbundenen Ökosystemfunktionen und –leistungen zu gewährleisten und zu schützen.
KW  - European hare
KW  - Feldhase
KW  - movemen ecology
KW  - Bewegungsökologie
KW  - agricultural landscapes
KW  - Agrarlandschaft
KW  - telemetry
KW  - Telemetrie
KW  - GPS
KW  - GPS
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427153
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Pirhofer-Walzl, Karin
A1  - Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie
A1  - Blaum, Niels
T1  - Spatiotemporal variability in resources affects herbivore home range formation in structurally contrasting and unpredictable agricultural landscapes
JF  - Landscape ecology
N2  - We investigated whether a given landscape structure affects the level of home range size adaptation in response to resource variability. We tested whether increasing resource variability forces herbivorous mammals to increase their home ranges. In 2014 and 2015 we collared 40 European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) with GPS-tags to record hare movements in two regions in Germany with differing landscape structures. We examined hare home range sizes in relation to resource availability and variability by using the normalized difference vegetation index as a proxy. Hares in simple landscapes showed increasing home range sizes with increasing resource variability, whereas hares in complex landscapes did not enlarge their home range. Animals in complex landscapes have the possibility to include various landscape elements within their home ranges and are more resilient against resource variability. But animals in simple landscapes with few elements experience shortcomings when resource variability becomes high. The increase in home range size, the movement related increase in energy expenditure, and a decrease in hare abundances can have severe implications for conservation of mammals in anthropogenic landscapes. Hence, conservation management could benefit from a better knowledge about fine-scaled effects of resource variability on movement behaviour.
KW  - Resource variability
KW  - Resource availability
KW  - Home range size
KW  - European brown hare
KW  - GPS tracking
KW  - Telemetry
KW  - Lepus europaeus
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0676-2
SN  - 0921-2973
SN  - 1572-9761
VL  - 33
IS  - 9
SP  - 1505
EP  - 1517
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ziege, Madlen
A1  - Hermann, Bernd Timo
A1  - Kriesten, Stefanie
A1  - Merker, Stefan
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Streit, Bruno
A1  - Wenninger, Sandra
A1  - Plath, Martin
T1  - Ranging behavior of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in urban and suburban landscapes
JF  - Mammal research / Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences
N2  - Various mammals, particularly carnivores, reportedly establish smaller home ranges in urban compared with rural areas. This may be because urban environments provide optimal resources within a small area, negating the requirement to range further, or because habitat fragmentation constrains ranging behavior. Comparable information on urban populations of herbivorous mammalian species (such as European rabbits) is scarce. To fill this knowledge gap, we radio-tracked 13 individuals (seven females and six males) equipped with radio collars in a suburban and an urban study site in the city of Frankfurt am Main in Germany during the reproductive season (March to September) of 2012. The study sites differed in levels of habitat fragmentation. We report the smallest home ranges ever described for this species, with mean 95% minimum convex polygons (MCPs) covering 0.50 ha, while no consistent differences between sites were uncovered. We occasionally tracked individuals crossing streets underground (in burrows), suggesting that streets may restrict the ranging behavior of rabbits-and possibly other burrowing species-to a much lesser extent than previously thought. We conclude that heterogeneous landscape structures, made up of a diverse mosaic of buildings, parks, and gardens, provide sufficient food and shelter in close proximity to burrows at both study sites. Therefore, our data support the hypothesis that optimal resources constrain ranges in this case rather than habitat fragmentation.
KW  - Habitat fragmentation
KW  - Home range
KW  - Urbanization
KW  - Urban ecology
KW  - Minimum convex polygons (MCPs)
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-020-00490-2
SN  - 2199-2401
SN  - 2199-241X
VL  - 65
IS  - 3
SP  - 607
EP  - 614
PB  - Springer
CY  - Heidelberg
ER  -