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Very excited to finally see this paper online with @GeorgeWittemyer @science_action and Chuck Anderson. We analyzed a large-scale and long-term dataset on mule deer movement and demography in relation to natural gas development on winter range in CO. 1/7 https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wmon.1060
We show amazing behavioral plasticity among deer in response to a massive gradient in development, with apparently no individual-level effects on demographic or physiological measures (survival, reproduction, condition). 2/7
Absent the demographic information, we would typically think the behavioral responses we documented would come at a cost, but we saw none, even with a large sample size: > 300 adult deer. 3/7
But, we did see likely differences in deer density between areas of light and heavy development, with less deer in the more heavily developed area. These differences reflect effects that took place before our study, or on summer range, for which we have incomplete data. 4/7
Overall, this shows that demographic effects of land-use change are complex and clearly monitoring behavioral responses alone can be insufficient. But, some individuals show behavioral plasticity that allows them to adjust to development with apparently limited consequence. 5/7
What we don't know is if there has been a permanent shift to a lower capacity for deer in the more heavily developed area, or if more sensitive individuals have emigrated. 6/7
Another interesting part of this work is that it contrasts strongly with results found in Wyoming, in a different landscape (flatter and less treed). Probably good evidence of context-dependent responses to land-use change, which will complicate effective land-use planning. 7/7
