HIERARCHICAL HABITAT SELECTION BY TUNDRA WOLVES

Using resource selection functions, we examined habitat selection patterns of tundra wolves (Canis lupus) in the central Canadian Arctic at the level of the home range and within the home range. Esker habitat was relatively preferred by wolves at the home range level of selection, possibly indicating the importance of denning habitat as a limiting factor for tundra wolves. We failed to conclusively tie vegetation communities to movements of wolves within the home range. Eskers make up only about 1-2% of the landscape; hence, a potential conflict between wolf conservation and industrial development in the region may occur as eskers are targeted as a source of granular material for road construction. Results of this study underline the importance of scale dependence in habitat selection. Failure to view habitat selection as a hierarchical process may result in a narrow and possibly misleading notion of the value of habitats to animals.