Abstract
Diurnal human activity and domestic dogs in agro-forestry mosaics should theoretically modify the diurnal habitat use patterns of native carnivores, with these effects being scale-dependent. We combined intensive camera trapping data with Bayesian occurrence probability models to evaluate both diurnal and nocturnal patterns of space use by carnivores in a mosaic of land-use types in southern Chile. A total of eight carnivores species were recorded, including human-introduced dogs. During the day the most frequently detected species were the culpeo fox and the cougar. Conversely, during the night, the kodkod and chilla fox were the most detected species. The best supported models showed that native carnivores responded differently to landscape attributes and dogs depending on both the time of day as well as the spatial scale of landscape attributes. The positive effect of native forest cover at 250m and 500 m radius buffers was stronger during the night for the Darwin's fox and cougar. Road density at 250m scale negatively affected the diurnal occurrence of Darwin´s fox, whereas at 500m scale roads had a stronger negative effect on the diurnal occurrence of Darwin´s foxes and cougars. A positive effect of road density on dog occurrence was evidenced during both night and day. Patch size had a positive effect on cougar occurrence during night whereas it affected negatively the occurrence of culpeo foxes and skunks during day. Dog occurrence had a negative effect on Darwin's fox occurrence during day-time and night-time, whereas its negative effect on the occurrence of cougar was evidenced only during day-time. Carnivore occurrences were not influenced by the proximity to a conservation area. Our results provided support for the hypothesis that diurnal changes to carnivore occurrence were associated with human and dog activity. Landscape planning in our study area should be focused in reducing both the levels of diurnal human activity in native forest remnants and the dispersion rates of dogs into these habitats.
Highlights
Spatial distribution and habitat use of wildlife is a dynamic process involving species-specific responses at differing spatial and temporal scales [1,2,3]
Eight carnivore species were recorded during camera-trapping surveys, with occurrence rates differing between day and night (Table 2 and S3 Table)
We found that diurnal occurrence of native carnivores were predicted by both native forest availability at different spatial scales and patch size
Summary
Spatial distribution and habitat use of wildlife is a dynamic process involving species-specific responses at differing spatial and temporal scales [1,2,3]. Understanding habitat use by highly mobile species such as carnivores may be complex. These species exhibit marked diurnal fluctuations in a variety of activities such as movement, feeding, resting, hiding, vigilance, defending territory and mating [4,5,6]. Carnivore studies are usually based on the premise that anthropogenic landscape-scale processes that influence the persistence of carnivore populations are invariant over time, at least in the short-term [11]. The assessment of human disturbances at the landscape-scale requires consideration of the diurnal responses of carnivores to varying anthropogenic activity, including the presence of canids such as dogs that affect carnivore behaviour [10], [12]
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