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II. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Wildlife-Habitat Relationship
Wildlife habitat relationship is one subject under ecological studies that being investigated since long time ago. It was pioneered by the naturalist in the
early 1900 and generates numerous concepts. Even the purpose and concepts behind this study still are growing, the existing concepts are likely significant to
formulate solution over environmental wildlife crisis today Morrison et al., 1992. The most important concept is habitat selection. Before getting into this
topic and the others, some important terms will be briefed first.
2.1.1. Wildlife Habitat Definition
Habitat is simply defined as where the species lives Odum, 1971. It provides water, coverage, and food to supports their lives and activities, which
fashioned by the dynamic interaction between physical and biological factors Bailey, 1984. Morrison et al. 1992 give a clear-cut definition which sounds
more spatially based, that is an area with the combination of resources like food, cover, and water and environmental conditions temperature, precipitation,
presence or absence of predators and competitors that promotes occupancy by individuals of a given species or population and allows those individuals to
survive and reproduce. Additionally, they defined the high quality habitat is areas that afford conditions necessary for relatively successful survival and reproduction
over relatively long periods when compared to other similar environments. In short, high quality habitat is related to the rates of survival and reproduction,
vitality of the offspring, length of time the site remains suitable for occupancy.
2.1.2. Wildlife Habitat Selection
The knowledge of biotic and abiotic factors roles to the wildlife survival in general are widely known from analytical biology studies. It is applied to
manipulate and manage wildlife and their habitat see Bailey, 1984. In the
4 scientific side, the questions to wildlife habitat relationship are not stopped but
continue to grow. Habitat selection concept seems taking so much ecologists interest. The
concept which established over the theory of evolution and its evidences was proposed in order to answer why and how the species or the population occupies a
certain space as their habitat which suitable for their survival Morrison et al., 1992. Several ideas emerged from habitat selection studies are briefly described
in the following: • Animals somehow perceive the correct configuration of habitat required for
their survival Morrison et al., 1992. • Different with ultimate factors among environmental gradients such as food,
water, nutrients, etc., proximate factors physical appearance which give a clue to ultimate factor caused the release innate behavior that resulted in a
certain “settling pattern” Hilden, 1965 in Morrison et al., 1992. This idea formed a foundation to the subsequent analysis of habitat selection. Similar to
this idea, Bailey 1984 thought that some vertebrates respond to the life form or physiognomy of their habitat, rather than to the presence of particular plant
species. • Experimental study on deer mice by Wecker 1964 in Morrison et al. 1992
showed that patterns of habitat selection are genetically determined and learning at an early age will enforce these patterns preadaptation.
• Hutchinson 1957 proposed a new theory on species niche that caused a substantial revolution of the niche and thus habitat selection concept. He
viewed niche in geometrical way and defined it as multidimensional hyper volume defined by the sum of all the interactions of an organism and its
abiotic and biotic environment. This perspective caused the extensive use of multivariate statistics in analyzing wildlife habitat.
• The first study using Hutchinson’s theory and multivariate analysis to avian habitat came from James 1971 in Morrison et al. 1992. She thought that
each species has a characteristic perceptual world. The species responds to its perceptual world as an organized whole, and that it has a predetermined set of
5 specific search images. A lot of studies with similar methodology were
emerged after this. • Hutto 1985 in Morrison et al. 1992 thought that habitat selection could best
be viewed as a spatially hierarchical decision making process. At broadest level of habitat selection, i.e. geographic scale, evolutionary process seems
plays role in species distribution, restricts the species to certain geographic boundaries. At this scale, habitat selection is primarily innate. Within that
restricted range, the animal can explore alternatives and make choices based on the cost and benefits associated with the use of each habitat, such as food
availability. At much lower range, the animal must chooses specific site within certain part of habitat which is called microhabitat. Inside this range,
the choices could be affected by mate availability, predators, andor competitors.
It is obvious that the structure of habitat will influence the habitat selection of the species. Based on habitat selection concept, if the habitat variables and
their magnitude can be recognized of certain species where they live at, their distribution in space could be predicted, as long as the logical relationship
between variables and species survival are exist.
2.1.3. Wildlife Habitat Suitability Model
Kategori