Space-use patterns of Malay civets (Viverra tangalunga) persisting within a landscape fragmented by oil palm plantations

Meaghan N Evans,Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar,Sergio Guerrero-Sanchez,Peter Kille,Carsten T Müller,Gregory P Asner,Benoit Goossens

doi:10.1007/s10980-020-01187-2

Meaghan N Evans, Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01187-2

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Abstract

ContextAgricultural land use is expanding and is a major driver of the biodiversity crisis. Land use planning initiatives seeking to optimize wildlife conservation are hindered by a lack of baseline data quantifying species’ tolerance to human-modified landscapes.ObjectivesWe explored the influence of landscape characteristics on the fine-scale space-use patterns of a model generalist carnivore, the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga), within degraded tropical forests and oil palm plantations.MethodsWe collected over 20,000 GPS locations from 21 male civets in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo to evaluate the species’ space-use patterns and habitat utilization processes. We used movement-based modeling to determine home ranges, and combined the results with high-resolution remotely sensed habitat characteristics. We developed resource utilization functions to determine individual and population-level functional responses to proximity to plantation edge, distance to water, terrain ruggedness, forest structure, and functional diversity.ResultsCivets foraged within oil palm plantations, yet all animals utilized forests. Home ranges scaled with proportion of plantation within both total and core ranges. Resource utilization functions reported individualism in the species’ responses to habitat characteristics. At the population-scale, civets consistently and more intensely used habitats closer to plantation edges and taller tree canopies.ConclusionsAlthough plantations did not pose an inhospitable matrix, oil palm agriculture is a less suitable habitat than remnant forests for civets. Proximity measures and forest structure influenced the spatial behaviors of this adaptable generalist, highlighting the importance of protected areas. We recommend land-sparing and -sharing approaches to facilitate carnivore persistence across oil palm degraded landscapes.

Highlights

Land cover change is extensive, with over 40% of global terrestrial land converted to human-dominated uses (Foley et al 2005; Ellis and Ramankutty 2008)
We explored the influence of landscape characteristics on the fine-scale space-use patterns of a model generalist carnivore, the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga), within degraded tropical forests and oil palm plantations
Civets foraged within oil palm plantations, yet all animals utilized forests

Summary

Introduction

Land cover change is extensive, with over 40% of global terrestrial land converted to human-dominated uses (Foley et al 2005; Ellis and Ramankutty 2008). Through the quantification of carnivore movements within heterogeneous landscapes, scientists, resource managers, Landscape Ecol (2021) 36:915–930 and conservationists gain explicit and mechanistic insights into the habitat requirements of species persisting alongside agriculture (Nathan et al 2008; van Moorter et al 2016). These insights, in turn, inform more effective management actions, such as establishment of protected areas (Desmet 2018), implementation of land-sharing schemes within agriculture itself (Perfecto and Vandermeer 2008), or creation of functionally optimized wildlife corridors (Chetkiewicz and Boyce 2009)

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