Energy landscape and life-history requirements shape habitat use in an extreme soaring specialist

Abstract

Context Understanding how animals respond to the energy landscape is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of habitat selection, movement strategies, and connectivity dynamics. However, assessing the responses of highly mobile and long-lived species is challenging, as movement behaviors related to distinct life-history requirements may operate at extreme spatial and temporal scales.Objectives We combined movement and genetic data to investigate how energy landscape features influence ecologically and evolutionarily relevant dispersal patterns in an extreme soaring specialist, the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus).Methods We analyzed GPS data via Resource Selection Functions and conducted Landscape Genetic models for Andean condors from southern South America, considering static and dynamic landscape features. Connectivity models were used to identify conservation priority areas by integrating behavioral states critical for ecological (encamped and exploratory movements) and evolutionary processes (gene-flow).Results Topographic features emerged as key determinants of gene-flow patterns, while climatic variables were crucial for exploratory and encamped flights. Condors increased space use and connectivity during summer. While Resource Selection Function failed to predict gene-flow routes via path-based analysis, landscape-wide approaches identified connectivity barriers in flat terrain with poor uplift conditions for soaring.Conclusions Our study revealed the critical role of the energy landscape and life-history requirements in shaping habitat selection and population connectivity in Andean condors. The distinct, yet complementary patterns of habitat usage across various flight behaviors highlight the nuanced and complex use of the landscape. These findings highlight how variation in movement behaviors affects connectivity planning, urging conservation studies to incorporate movement-mode distinctions.