Form Submission: Participation Entry

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, I compared bighorn surface water use to bighorn movement patterns and local meteorological variation in California’s Mojave Desert. Remote sensing data was compared to the GPS tracks of 28 collared bighorn and camera data collected at water sources in 5 desert mountain ranges. Visitation to water significantly differed between mountain ranges, and increased throughout the summer. 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, linking environment, metabolism, and behavior.