To monitor the extent and impact of human disturbances on landscapes and wildlife, managers often estimate zones of influence. Traditionally, zones of influence have been defined with constant width buffers around a disturbance; however, the importance of incorporating variation in landscape contexts and species responses is increasingly recognized. One way to better develop and apply these zones of influence is to understand the mechanisms of animal response to disturbance by examining their sensory detection. We explored the role of perception in wildlife responses to disturbances using a case study with grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and roads in Alberta, Canada. Our objectives were, first, to model viewsheds and soundscapes around roads and, second, to determine the effect of road perception on grizzly bear movement patterns and build context-specific zones of influence for grizzly bears around roads. Results indicate that zones of influence varied widely between the standard buffer approach and our novel approach based on animal perception. In addition, response distances of bears to roads were greater in areas where roads were perceptible than areas where roads were imperceptible. Estimating a perceptual zone of influence allows managers to prioritize areas for mitigating human disturbances. Our methods may be applied to new disturbances, areas, and species. We recommend measures of perception be used to create more biologically and geographically relevant zones of influence for wildlife.

中文翻译：

---

建立对野生动植物的感知影响区：描绘道路对灰熊运动的影响

为了监控人为干扰对景观和野生动植物的影响程度和影响，管理人员经常估算影响区域。传统上，影响区域是用扰动周围的恒定宽度缓冲区定义的。但是，人们越来越认识到将变化纳入景观环境和物种响应的重要性。更好地开发和应用这些影响区域的一种方法是通过检查动物的感觉检测来了解动物对干扰的反应机制。我们使用灰熊（Ursus arctos）的案例研究，探讨了感知在野生动植物对干扰的反应中的作用）和加拿大艾伯塔省的道路。我们的目标是，首先，对道路周围的视场和声景进行建模，其次，确定道路感知对灰熊运动模式的影响，并为道路周围的灰熊建立特定的影响区域。结果表明，在标准缓冲方法和我们基于动物感知的新颖方法之间，影响区域差异很大。此外，在可感知的道路区域，熊对道路的响应距离比在不感知的道路区域更大。估计影响力的感知范围可以使管理者优先考虑可减轻人为干扰的区域。我们的方法可能适用于新的干扰，区域和物种。