Though the importance of surface water to desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) is assumed by many local wildlife managers, the scientific literature suggests that bighorn sometimes fulfill their water requirements from forage alone. To investigate the relationship between environmental variation and animal resource utilization, we compared bighorn surface water use to bighorn movement patterns and local meteorological variation in California’s Mojave Desert. The GPS tracks of 28 collared bighorn were compared to camera data collected at point water sources in 5 desert mountain ranges. Meteorological and topographic data were acquired using remote sensing. Bighorn locations were taken every hour, then analyzed in terms of step length, tortuosity, relative distance to water, and relative angle of movement.
Results/Conclusions
Visitation to water significantly differed between mountain ranges, and increased throughout the summer. Bighorn located in higher elevation, cooler habitat did not visit water as often as bighorn located in lower elevation, hotter habitat. Bighorn in cooler habitat did not visit water sources at all during the beginning of the summer, suggesting the ability of bighorn to fulfill their water requirements from forage alone under less extreme meteorological conditions. Bighorn movement patterns reflected the rate of water visitation, directly linking environment, metabolism, and behavior.