Influence of forest disturbance on bobcat resource selection in the central Appalachians

Similar to trends across the eastern United States, the central Appalachian Mountains were nearly entirely deforested by the early 20th century, then regenerated with a drastically altered disturbance regime. Forests found across much of the region today share little resemblance to the forest communities in which native wildlife evolved, including bobcats (Lynx rufus), a species adapted to stalking and ambushing prey in dense concealment cover. Managers implement efforts to restore historical forest structure and create wildlife habitat using prescribed fire, timber harvest, and maintained clearings. We developed resource selection functions utilizing GPS telemetry data from 9 bobcats (6 male, 3 female) monitored in 2018-2019 to investigate how prescribed fire, timber harvest, and forest edge may influence 3rd order (i.e. within home range) resource selection of bobcats in the Appalachian Mountains of western Virginia, USA. We found that bobcats selected for forest-edge, fire-created canopy openings, and recently harvested forest stands, and avoided the forest interior. Bobcats are likely selecting for these areas because of increased prey and cover. The comparatively widespread use of fire in this study area has allowed novel insight into the effects of prescribed fire on bobcat space use and demonstrates the ecological importance of future efforts to restore historical fire cycles in the Appalachians. As one of the largest carnivores in Appalachian ecosystems and the only wild felid remaining in the region, we suggest managers consider bobcat ecology when planning habitat management strategies and communicate those strategies to the public. Our results demonstrate that silvicultural practices that aim to mimic historical forest disturbance likely benefit native wildlife, as evident from selection of these treatments by bobcats in this system.