Project period:05 06 2025 - 09 30 2026PROJECT title: adaptive resource selection and movements of pronghorn in relation to landscape permeability and rainfall in the chihuahuan desert

Description of project - regardless of movement strategies employed, ungulate populations require landscapes with sufficient forage resources to maintain population vital rates allowing for long-term population persistence as well as functional attributes that allow animals to efficiently exploit the dynamic nutritional landscape. This work will evaluate landscape permeability for pronghorn in the chihuahuan desert of southern new mexico. Activities to be performed - specific objectives are to determine how pronghorn movements and habitat selection change in response to high spatial and temporal variation in monsoon rainfall and to identify any impediments (e.g., fences) to movement that can be targeted for mitigation by management agencies. Pronghorn movements will be monitored with GPS collars and will map the location of linear features that may influence pronghorn movements. Deliverables and expected outcomes -deliverables will include a final report, peer-reviewed publication(s), and a geodatabase with pronghorn telemetry collar data as well as anthropogenic features that influence pronghorn movements. Intended beneficiary(IES) this work will help department of defense, FT. Bliss and new mexico department of game and fish make more informed management decisions for pronghorn and will aid in identifying anthropogenic barriers impeding pronghorn movements so that they can be mitigated. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award -there are no subrecipients on this project