Where do we manage? Uncovering the hidden impact of human presence on mammal conservation in northern Myanmar

Abstract

Species spatiotemporal responses to human presence and prioritizing conservation areas are essential for effective management and conservation planning. To address this information, we conducted a long-term large mammal survey in both protected areas (PAs) and outside of PAs (non-PA) in Northern Mountain Forest Complex (NMFC), Myanmar by using 174 camera traps from 2015 to 2019. We selected 14 common species for the single species occupancy model and activity pattern analysis to evaluate their spatiotemporal responses to different anthropogenic and environmental variables. Results showed that human presence did not have a significant impact on mammal occupancy, whereas at the community level, it had a significant influence on mammal abundance. Some variables, including distance to settlements, proximity to water sources and forest cover, shaped the habitat occupancy of mammals in NMFC. Regarding the temporal axis, only three out of 14 species had higher temporal activity overlap with humans, while the remaining species showed lower to medium overlap in both PAs and non-PA, confirming that most mammals avoided human presence through temporal rather than spatial scale. Moreover, our priority analysis revealed that non-PA supported a significant proportion of medium- to high-priority areas, particularly in the south-eastern part of NMFC. We concluded that preserving both PAs and non-PA are crucial and human activities have an implicit influence on large mammal conservation in NMFC. The government should prioritize the south-eastern region of outside of the current PAs network and adopt community-based conservation strategies to ensure the efficacy of PA networks and biodiversity conservation in NMFC.