Abstract
Endogenous circadian and seasonal activity patterns are adapted to facilitate effective utilisation of environmental resources. Activity patterns are shaped by physiological constraints, evolutionary history, circadian and seasonal changes and may be influenced by other factors, including ecological competition and interspecific interactions. Remote-sensing camera traps allow the collection of species presence data throughout the 24 h period and for almost indefinite lengths of time. Here, we collate data from 10 separate camera trap surveys in order to describe circadian and seasonal activity patterns of 10 mammal species, and, in particular, to evaluate interspecific (dis)associations of five predator-prey pairs. We recorded 8,761 independent detections throughout Northern Ireland. Badgers, foxes, pine martens and wood mice were nocturnal; European and Irish hares and European rabbits were crepuscular; fallow deer and grey and red squirrels were diurnal. All species exhibited significant seasonal variation in activity relative to the timing of sunrise/sunset. Foxes in particular were more crepuscular from spring to autumn and hares more diurnal. Lagged regression analyses of predator-prey activity patterns between foxes and prey (hares, rabbits and wood mice), and pine marten and prey (squirrel and wood mice) revealed significant annual and seasonal cross-correlations. We found synchronised activity patterns between foxes and hares, rabbits and wood mice and pine marten and wood mice, and asynchrony between squirrels and pine martens. Here, we provide fundamental ecological data on endemic, invasive, pest and commercially valuable species in Ireland, as well as those of conservation importance and those that could harbour diseases of economic and/or zoonotic relevance. Our data will be valuable in informing the development of appropriate species-specific methodologies and processes and associated policies.
Highlights
This study describes the first investigation into the activity patterns of a range of mammal species on the island of Ireland, adding to information gathered from across the species’ ranges and to those for which little is recorded
Camera traps allow practitioners to concurrently survey across a wide range of species and habitats, providing data that may be of great utility in informing subsequent investigations and/or answering important ecological questions
We found that focal-species-specific and associated bycatch data derived from camera traps are effective in providing insight into the daily lives of mammals
Summary
Animal activity patterns are influenced by a variety of environmental pressures, including food availability (Larivière, Huot & Samson, 1994; Pereira, 2010), foraging efficiency (Lode, 1995; Prugh & Golden, 2014), predator/prey activity (Fenn & Macdonald, 1995; Middleton et al, 2013), human disturbance (Van Doormaal et al, 2015; Wang, Allen & Wilmers, 2015), mate availability and activity (Thompson et al, 1989; Halle & Stenseth, 2000), and ecological competition (Rychlik, 2005; Monterroso, Alves & Ferreras, 2014). It has been suggested that photic cues are the dominant factor underlying behavioural rhythmicity and that a species’ potential to adapt to non-photic cues (e.g. ecological competitors, predators) may be constrained such that responses are manifest within the normal active period rather than as a shift to a different rhythm (Kronfeld-Schor & Dayan, 2003). The capacity for adaptive behavioural plasticity, while limited in some species (Kronfeld-Schor & Dayan, 2003), is demonstrated in others by observations of intraspecific variation of activity patterns (Ashby, 1972; Hertel et al, 2016) that can result in temporal niche switching (Fenn & Macdonald, 1995; Ensing et al, 2014).
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