Quantifying animal movement behavior and landscape utilization of a managed bison herd in the Nebraska sandhills

Quantifying grazing behavior and locations of free-ranging animals can be difficult, especially on extensive rangelands. Remote tracking with GPS technology has tremendous potential for studying bison grazing selection and use patterns in extensive, complex landscapes. Commercially available wildlife tracking devices have traditionally been used to monitor wildlife movement but are expensive and often cost-prohibitive for researchers and managers, often at the expense of limiting sample size and thus knowledge gained.  Most studies in bison have examined movement patterns and resource selection using GPS fix intervals of one to several hours; GPS collars with higher temporal resolution (30-minute) have been used to study bison habitat selection and spatial variability in Yellowstone National Park.  While these studies highlight the benefit of studying movement and selection across larger landscapes to better understand bison ecology, these devices lack the temporal precision necessary to accurately predict behavior (e.g., grazing, resting, walking). In addition, the majority of bison tracking research has focused on wild free or semi-free ranging animals with little work conducted on selection of more intensively managed bison such as at the Institute.  Most grazing management recommendations are based on observing cattle behavior and use with little to no information specific to bison. Understanding spatial variability of bison grazing patterns within pastures and seasonal shifts in selection can help better develop grazing strategies unique to bison producers to improve rangeland health and animal production. The objective of this study was to study daily and seasonal individual movement and topographic land use at various temporal scales in pastures of varying size.