Habitat selection across movement states in golden jackals: resident, excursionary, and dispersal behaviour in Alpine-Dinaric and Pannonian landscapes

Movement-state-specific habitat selection remains poorly understood in expanding carnivore populations such as the golden jackal (Canis aureus). While space use has been studied, it is unclear how individuals adjust habitat selection across behavioural states or how these responses vary across biogeographic contexts. We pooled GPS data from jackals tracked in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia, comprising seven Alpine-Dinaric and five Pannonian individuals. Tracks were segmented using a cluster-based approach. We fitted integrated step-selection functions using the dynamic+ approach, generating available steps from movement-specific step length and turning angle distributions. Separate regression models were developed for each movement state, incorporating movement parameters and distance-based landscape predictors, with interactions for biogeographic region. The resident model included all 12 individuals; the excursion model included 11 individuals, and the dispersal model included five individuals. Models included 17,847 resident, 1,016 excursionary, and 1,258 dispersal steps, each paired with 30 available steps. Resident movements showed the strongest and most complex selection structure, with responses to movement covariates and multiple landscape features, including roads, urban infrastructure, forest types, arable land, water, pastures, ditches, and transitional woodland. Several effects differed between Alpine-Dinaric and Pannonian jackals, indicating strong regional differences in resident habitat selection. Excursionary movements responded to roads, water, forests, and arable habitats, again with regional differences. Dispersal movements were described by a simpler selection structure, with selection concentrated around peri-urban areas, transitional woodland, and water, suggesting weaker fine-scale habitat specificity during long-distance movement. Our results demonstrate that golden jackals adjust habitat selection according to movement state, shifting from fine-scale habitat use during residency to broader, movement-oriented responses during dispersal. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for behavioural state when studying habitat selection and have implications for understanding the species’ ongoing expansion across heterogeneous European landscapes.