Effect of human influence on Carnivore presence in a Mediterranean human-modified area in the Southwestern Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The pressure exerted by man on natural areas can affect wild species due to the transformation of their habitats. Species such as carnivores are more greatly impacted because they have large home ranges and low densities. To examine if human pressure affects carnivores, we studied their presence and richness in relation to different environmental variables and indicators of humanization in an area of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park (southwestern Spain). Camera trapping was conducted between the months of March and August 2013, using four different bait types. Cameras were active for 1,220 days, covering a total of 1,400 ha and 45 sampling points. 713 photos and videos of five species of wild carnivores: Common genet (Genetta Genetta), Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), Stone marten (Martes foina), Eurasian badger (Meles meles) and Red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and two domestic species: Dog (Canis familiaris) and Cat (Felis catus) were taken. The two different levels of humanization showed a similar carnivore richness. The fox and the domestic dog were the most frequently detected species, and the badger was the least detected, but in the latter case the detection method did not seem to work properly. Genets were more frequently detected in the more humanized locations.