Summer habitat selection by Dall’s sheep in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska

A landscape-scale analysis of Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, reveals minimal sex-specific habitat specialization during summer months. Despite social segregation between males, females, and females with young, resource selection function models indicate that both sexes and reproductive classes share similar preferences for rugged terrain, intermediate vegetation density (NDVI), and open landcover types. This suggests that a single predictive model can effectively estimate habitat selection probabilities across all sheep populations, regardless of sex or reproductive status, streamlining management and monitoring efforts in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Roffler, G. H., Adams, L. G., & Hebblewhite, M. (2016). Summer habitat selection by Dall’s sheep in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Journal of Mammalogy, gyw135. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyw135