Temporal patterns and behavioural states of mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) movements to hotspots in the Rocky Mountains by Laura Kroesen B.Sc., University of Victoria, 2014 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science © Laura Kroesen 2020 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2020 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Declaration of Committee Name: Laura Kroesen Degree: Master of Science (Biological Sciences) Thesis title: Temporal patterns and behavioural states of mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) movements to hotspots in the Rocky Mountains Committee: Chair: Leithen M’Gonigle Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences David Hik Supervisor Professor, Biological Sciences Seth Cherry Committee Member Ecologist Parks Canada David Green Committee Member Professor, Biological Sciences John Reynolds Examiner Professor, Biological Sciences ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract Concentrated resources, or hotspots, can influence movement behaviour of many species. I studied the movement ecology of two groups of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) and their relationship with hotspots in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. First, I investigated fidelity to two roadside mineral licks. Movement patterns to mineral licks were documented over several temporal scales and I found that mountain goats have strong trans-generational, seasonal and daily movements to these mineral licks. Second, I investigated movements to foraging, travelling, and bedding areas in summer ranges, using hidden Markov models (HMMs) and predicted behavioural states. These behavioural states were ground validated and the results showed that HMMs can be used as a proxy for habitat hotspots. Understanding how animals adjust their movement behaviour to hotspots can provide valuable information for the management of these critical habitat features and the wider conservation of mountain goats. Keywords: Mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus, habitat hotspot, mineral lick, temporal patterns, hidden Markov models, Rocky Mountains iv Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the mountains and all the creatures who make a living amongst the rock and ice. “Mountains are the closest our planet reaches towards the heavens. The purest air, the purest water, and the purest light on earth are found amidst these uplifted forms. They are the source of awesome natural power, shaping winds, weather and the rivers that flow across the land. And they are the home of very special living creatures… one large animal that belongs almost entirely to the realm of towering rock and unmelting snow. Pressing hard against the upper limit of life’s possibilities, it exists higher and steeper through the year than any other big beast. It is possibly the best and most complete mountaineer that ever existed on any continent: the mountain goat.” Douglas H. Chadwick – A beast the color of winter 2002 v Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my two supervisors Dr. David Hik and Dr. Seth Cherry for their support over the past two years. David, thank you for your support, your trust in me, and keeping me on target when I floundered. Seth, thank you for your guidance, enthusiasm, kind words and letting me take this project on. I am grateful to my committee member Dr. David Green for contributing to my project with thoughtful feedback. Thank you, Dr. John Reynolds, for acting as the internal examiner on my committee. I am grateful for financial and in-kind support provided by the Parks Canada Agency, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Simon Fraser University Grad Fellowships and Travel Awards. This project, especially the fieldwork, would not have been possible without the financial support from Parks Canada and the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks Unit. Thank you to Jón Stuart- Smith and Adam Sherriff for operational support. Thank you, Trevor Kinley and Shelagh Wrajez, for helping me untangle the history of the Trans-Canada highway and retrieving information from wildlife databases. Thank you to Sidney Rintoul and Meshwell Boschmann for fieldwork help. Special thanks to my field technician, Simon Campbell, who was a terrific trail companion, sanded over a hundred dendrochronology roots, and followed me over hundreds of off-trail kilometers along mountaintops, summits and ridges. This thesis would not have been possible without the feedback and support from my friends, classmates and family. Thank you to my makeshift lab “The Super Grads”, Tess Forshner, Rachel Munger, Lena Ware, Sonya Patterson, Gwyn Case and Joanna Enns for screen-free lunches and virtual lab meetings, you were my at-school family even when I lived away. Thank you to the Hik lab, Tara Malloy, Sherry Young, Scott Williamson, and Jamie Varney for hashing out ideas and keeping all my plants alive. I would especially like to thank my partner, Casey Engstrom for (literally) working along-side me as my impromptu lab mate, making a full-days’ work fun, brainstorming ideas and giving me critical feedback. Finally, I would like to thank my family, Judy, Jake, and Andrew Kroesen for sparking my love for the natural world and cheering me on from day one. vi Table of Contents Declaration of Committee ................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................ iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ....................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... vii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures.................................................................................................................. x Image ............................................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1. General Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Habitat hotspots..................................................................................................... 1 Mineral licks as resource hotspots ............................................................................... 2 High-value features as habitat hotspots ....................................................................... 2 Mountain Goats ..................................................................................................... 3 Study area ................................................................................................................... 4 Mineral licks and mountain goats ................................................................................. 5 Overview of thesis chapters ................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2. Patterns of decadal, seasonal and daily visitation to mineral licks a critical resource hotspot for mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in the Rocky Mountains ................................................................................................. 8 Abstract ................................................................................................................. 8 Keywords ..................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 9 Methods .............................................................................................................. 12 Study Area ................................................................................................................. 12 Characteristics of Mineral Licks ................................................................................. 12 Long-term evidence for use of mineral licks ............................................................... 14 Seasonal Use of Mineral Licks ................................................................................... 16 Daily Use of Mineral Licks .......................................................................................... 17 Results ................................................................................................................ 18 Soil Characteristics .................................................................................................... 18 Long-term evidence for the use of mineral licks ......................................................... 19 Seasonal Use of Mineral Licks ................................................................................... 20 Daily Use of Mineral Licks .......................................................................................... 21 Discussion ..........................................................................................................