Spatiotemporal habitat dynamics of ungulates in unpredictable environments: The khulan (Equus hemionus) in the Mongolian Gobi desert as a case study

Our analyses showed khulan summer foraging habitat was highly predictable with little spatiotemporal variability making it unlikely that broad scale variability of foraging habitats can explain the high mobility of khulan. The few and small areas that did show khulan habitat variability were related to locations around water sources. In addition, we found that khulan avoided habitats beyond 21 km from water sources. Together these findings suggest that water availability and switching among the sparsely located water bodies rather than broad scale dynamics of foraging habitats may be the key driver for the high mobility of khulan in the Dzungarian Gobi. Our findings highlight the importance of securing access to and connectivity among water bodies for wild ungulates and the need for further studies on possible drivers of nomadic movements in drylands.