Abstract
AbstractHuman activities are affecting habitats and wildlife populations worldwide. Tropical forests are one of the most affected environments, mainly due to deforestation and poaching. Since high levels of anthropogenic pressure on forest ecosystems, including illegal logging and hunting, occur in southwest Myanmar (Rakhine State), we analyzed the effects of human disturbance on medium to large mammals in this region. We used camera‐trapping data collected over three consecutive years to investigate occurrence probabilities of 10 species: five common species exploited for bushmeat consumption, and five threatened species targeted by the illegal wildlife trade. We used a hierarchical single‐species multi‐season occupancy model implemented in a Bayesian framework to evaluate the effects of human disturbances and persistent habitat characteristics, such as the proportion of remaining pristine evergreen forest and the elevation, on occurrence probabilities. We found that occupancy probabilities of three out of five target species for the illegal wildlife trade were positively linked to forest habitats, whereas among common species hunted for bushmeat consumption the Northern red muntjak and the Malayan porcupine were negatively affected by human presence. The effects of human and habitat covariates were varied for other species of both groups. We confirmed results from previous studies that human disturbance is a driver of occurrence probabilities for some species in tropical areas. Our findings suggest that as protection of rainforest habitat is fundamental to the conservation of tropical ecosystems, law enforcement, patrolling, and local engagement activities are also recommended to mitigate forest and species exploitation. Finally, camera trapping could be a first step to identify areas where human presence affects species occupancy and help local authorities to develop more fine‐tuned conservation plans.
Highlights
Tropical forests host an extraordinary diversity of habitats and wildlife and provide fundamental ecosystem services (Laurance, 1999; Myers et al, 2000)
Among the species hunted for meat consumption, the Northern red muntjac and the Malayan porcupine were negatively related to human presence
For the other two commonly hunted species, the large Indian civet and the common palm civet, we found for the former a negative effect of elevation and for the latter a positive effect of evergreen forest
Summary
Tropical forests host an extraordinary diversity of habitats and wildlife and provide fundamental ecosystem services (Laurance, 1999; Myers et al, 2000). About 15% of extant tropical forests are in Southeast Asia (Stibig et al, 2014), where rates of deforestation and forest degradation are among the highest in the tropics (Achard et al, 2002). In these areas, the two main anthropogenic threats are deforestation for land conversion or illegal logging and hunting for bushmeat consumption and wildlife trade. The two main anthropogenic threats are deforestation for land conversion or illegal logging and hunting for bushmeat consumption and wildlife trade These actions can negatively affect wildlife communities with consequences on entire ecosystems (Derheet al., 2018). Animal Conservation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Zoological Society of London. 1
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
