Intensity Of Habitat Use Research Articles

Factors determining the seasonal habitat use of Asian elephants in the Western Ghats of India

AbstractAsian elephants (Elephas maximus) are globally endangered, and their populations persist in several meta‐populations within fragmented landscapes across their distribution. Developing landscape‐level management plans for elephants requires reliable information on the pattern and determinants of their distribution across relevant spatial and temporal scales. The Brahmagiri‐Nilgiri‐Eastern Ghats Landscape (Nilgiri landscape) of peninsular India supports the largest breeding population of Asian elephants globally. The Wayanad Plateau, a wet forest tract in the dry forest‐dominated Nilgiri landscape, witnessed extensive forest fragmentation recently and evolved as a forest‐agriculture matrix. We predicted that habitat use by elephants in the Wayanad Plateau would be high during summer because of the availability of numerous perennial streams and associated swamps that retain water and soil moisture for plant growth over the dry season. We also hypothesized that elephants would use areas with greater forest cover that are removed from human settlements. We used an occupancy‐based approach that accounts for detection probability to understand factors influencing habitat use by elephants in summer (low rainfall, high temperature) and post‐monsoon (largely rainless winter conditions but with abundant forage and water) in 2019 and 2020. As expected, the intensity of habitat use was higher during the summer than during the post‐monsoon season. Elephants used habitats near perennial water sources and with greater forest cover, avoiding areas with high human disturbances. We emphasize the importance of areas that provide key resources for elephants during resource scarcity and the need to prevent habitat degradation for long‐term persistence of elephants and mitigation of human–elephant conflict.

Community structure of medium-large mammals across a tree plantation cycle in natural grasslands of Uruguay

In temperate South America, the conversion of natural grasslands into crops and exotic tree plantations, such as with Eucalyptus sp., has reached outstanding levels, especially in the Río de la Plata Grasslands. The cycle of Eucalyptus plantations for pulp production is a very dynamic phenomenon; however, most of the studies on the impacts on biodiversity have been static and focused on the mature stage of the plantation. We studied the mammal assemblage in a grassland afforestation landscape of Uruguay to address how mammals respond to habitat complexity variation across the plantation cycle and landscape characteristics. We installed 26 camera traps for two years in four different age stages of Eucalyptus plantations and native habitats to assess mammals’ richness, composition, and intensity of habitat use. We registered 16 mammal species, 13 native and three exotics, with a sampling effort of 19,136 camera-nights. Of these species, 11 were found in the Eucalyptus plantations but with significant variability during the production cycle. Only one species was recorded at the beginning (0–2 years) of the cycle and four species at the end (8–10 years). But at intermediate ages (2–4 years), when vegetation complexity resembles a native forest structure, species richness was maximum (11 species) in the plantations and relatively close to forest richness (14 species). Species composition was also determined by habitat structure, but it was further modulated by landscape features, particularly the proximity to native forests and landscape heterogeneity. Our results demonstrated that asynchronous plantations promote spatial heterogeneity that favors mammal diversity in afforested landscapes, but for grassland mammals, additional conservation management measures are needed.

Limited influence of hunting on the activity patterns and habitat use of Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus) in agroecosystems of central Argentina

The Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus) has suffered from hunting and human persecution for decades, both for fur trade or due to conflicts with livestock. However, studies assessing the effects of hunting pressure on this canid population ecology are lacking. In this work, we assessed the influence of several hunting-related variables on the daily activity patterns and habitat use of the Pampas fox. In private farms of central Argentina, we performed two camera-trapping surveys: one during the non-hunting season and other during the hunting season, distinguishing between sites with or without access by hunters. The habitat use of Pampas foxes did not vary between seasons, but their detectability was lower during the hunting season in habitats that allow humans to see foxes easily (i.e., habitats with high visibility). Pampas foxes selected dusk and night-time, increasing their activity at dusk hours on sites with hunting and showed differences in activity patterns related with the level of visibility of the habitat and to season. Hunting pressure may interact with anthropogenic habitat modifications and create ecological traps for the Pampas fox in agroecosystems.

Effects of free-ranging livestock on sympatric herbivores at fine spatiotemporal scales

Livestock grazing is one of the most widespread types of anthropogenic land use, even occurs in many protected areas and has become a threat to wildlife worldwide. Understanding livestock-wildlife interactions is crucial for rare large carnivores conservation. In China, free-ranging cattle within forests degrade the habitat of the tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus), but quantitative assessments of how livestock affect the spatial and temporal use by the major ungulate prey of the two endangered felids are very limited. This study aimed to examine the interactions of several sympatric wildlife species with livestock at a fine spatiotemporal scale in a human-dominated forest landscape. Based on a large-scale camera-trapping data across the China-Russia border, we used N-mixture models, two-species occupancy models and activity pattern overlap to understand the effects of cattle grazing on three ungulate species (sika deer Cervus nippon, wild boars Sus scrofa and roe deer Capreolus pygargus). Spatially, with cattle activity increasing, wild boar and roe deer had different degrees of decline in the intensity of habitat use. Sika deer were displaced as more cattle encroached on forest habitat. Temporally, in the presence of cattle, wild boar and sika deer decreased their activities in the day. In addition, three wild ungulates trend to exhibit lower spatiotemporal overlap with cattle at shared camera sites. Our study shows that wildlife species may reduce the probability of habitat use by spatial avoidance and changing the daily activity patterns. We underscore that fine-scale (i.e. camera-site level) spatiotemporal avoidance is likely a key component of co-occurrence between livestock and the sympatry of competing ungulates inhabiting forest ecosystems. Given prey were depressed, efforts to minimize the livestock disturbance on these species need to be considered to ensure their sustained recoveries.

Patterns of resource use by Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus during pre-hibernation in Kashmir Himalaya, India

ABSTRACT Resource use is the way in which an animal (or population) utilises the available resources, and is known to occur in a hierarchical fashion. The Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus is an opportunistic omnivore whose diet and intensity of habitat use fluctuates with season and availability of resources in the environment. In this study, we assessed the habitat use and food habits of black bears during the autumn season (pre-hibernation) in Dachigam National Park, Kashmir Himalaya, to understand the reasons behind recurrent bear–human conflict in the area. We walked 14 natural trails covering different habitats of the study area. At each bear sign location, we recorded habitat variables in plots of 10 m radius. Black bear diet was assessed from 192 scats using a standard protocol. Black bear scat encounter rate varied significantly between habitats and was highest in forest scrub. Bear habitat use exhibited a significant association with medium canopy cover represented by the forest scrub and riverine habitat, and a negative association with the distance from human habitation, indicating use of forest patches close to nearby villages. Scat analysis revealed the occurrence of 17 plant species, mainly dominated by hard mast fruit species (88.54%) including Celtis australis (55.21%), Quercus robur (39.06%), and Pyrus malus (13.54%), with no evidence of animal food. Overall resource use by black bears showed a strong association with hard mast and fruit-producing trees adjacent to human habitations (i.e. orchard plantations close to forest scrub and riverine habitats), thereby increasing the risk of bear–human conflict. By elucidating the factors affecting bear occurrence and resource use during the autumn season, this study is expected to assist in resolving issues related to bear–human conflict management in the Dachigam landscape, particularly during their pre-hibernation period.

Desert otters: Distribution, habitat use and feeding ecology in arid rivers of Morocco

Some of the most arid environments inhabited by the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) are the river systems draining the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains into the Sahara Desert, where we have studied otter distribution, habitat use and feeding ecology. We found signs of otter presence in 61% of 80 sampled sites. The species was widespread at intermediate elevations within the study area, being rarer at high altitudes (above 2000 m a.s.l.) and, especially, in the arid lowlands. The intensity of habitat use, estimated from spraint counts, also peaked at intermediate elevations. Otter diet, described through the analysis of 554 spraints, was dominated by fish in general (found in 97% of the spraints) and Luciobarbus barbels in particular (86% of spraints). The otter positively selected barbels of intermediate sizes (100–160 mm in length), avoiding the smallest size classes and consuming larger ones according to their availability. Our results suggest that otter may be vulnerable to the harsh environmental conditions in arid areas. This aridity-driven vulnerability is expected to increase in the area and to expand to other peri-Mediterranean regions in the future.

Vegetation characteristics influence fine-scale intensity of habitat use by wild turkey and white-tailed deer in a loblolly pine plantation

Habitat quality is often evaluated based on food availability. However, ecological theory suggests cover should be a more important decision rule when food is not a proximate threat to fitness, as cover mediates predation risk as well as other important factors of fitness. In reality, vegetation characteristics related to food availability and cover are rarely coupled with animal use in the same space and time to determine their relative influences on habitat use. Using an array of 81 camera traps in a matrix of forest management strategies used to deliberately cause a wide disparity in vegetation characteristics, we monitored intensity of use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). We measured vegetation characteristics related to food and cover at each camera trap location then used a generalized additive model to determine how vegetation characteristics specific to the location affected intensity of habitat use by animals at the location. Consistent among both species, cover best explained intensity of habitat use. Contrastingly, food did not explain intensity of habitat use well for either species. Some vegetation simultaneously provides cover and food, and our data indicate that areas with vegetation characteristics providing both resources had the greatest influence on intensity of habitat use by both species. Our results suggest deer and turkey may perceive cover as a more important habitat component when food is not a proximate fitness threat.

Modeling habitat suitability for Yunnan Snub-nosed monkeys in Laojun Mountain National Park.

We provide new information on Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) behavioral ecology, contributing to future conservation efforts within the Laojun Mountain National Park. Habitat evaluation procedures are used to quantify the value of land as a habitat for a species. We analyzed environmental variables hypothesized to influence habitat suitability for Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, and mapped the distribution of suitable habitats across the study area and adjacent areas. Spatial analysis with GPS data was conducted to investigate home-range change of these monkeys. Predictor variables were generated using ArcMap and R programming language. We prepared 34 environmental variables at 30-m spatial resolution. Maxent was used to analyze environmental variables that contributed to suitability. Using satellite remote sensing and GIS, we modeled the distribution of suitable habitat for Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys in the Jinsichang area of the Laojun Mountains in China. This study did not describe the frequency or intensity of habitat use. Habitat suitability was affected by several variables, the most influential, as determined by permutation importance, being mean diurnal temperature range (31.6%), precipitation during the wettest quarter of the year (30.4%), average annual precipitation (17%), normalized difference vegetation index (5%), wetness (4.6%), and aspect (4.5%). This habitat suitability model provides information about the current distribution of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, which is important for appropriate implementation of conservation actions.

Quantifying habitat use of migratory fish across riverscapes using space‐time isotope models

Abstract Migratory animals pose difficult challenges to conservation and management because identifying critical habitats used throughout their lives is rarely possible. Endogenous tracers (e.g. isotope ratios) recorded in sequentially growing biogenic tissues, however, represent a potential source of unique insights at the more elusive temporal and spatial scales central to understanding the ecology of mobile species. To this end, a general probabilistic framework has emerged that quantitatively compares predictive models of isotopic variation across landscapes (called isoscapes) to the isotopic composition recorded in a biological tissue to determine the provenance and movements of animals throughout their lives. Although this spatially continuous approach to isotope‐based geographic assignment is becoming more common across taxa and ecosystems, adopting this framework to take advantage of serial isotope records stored within sequentially growing biogenic tissues (e.g. teeth or otoliths) is less common. Here, we construct a novel space‐time isotope model of provenance (STIMP) that determines the habitat use through time of migratory fish across river basins. To do so, this model integrates: strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) ratios across a riverscape, the serial records of 87Sr/86Sr within otoliths, habitat geomorphology and the directional movement patterns of fish through river networks. To illustrate an application of the model, we applied it to a published dataset from Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) harvested in 2011 during a coastal fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska, U.S.A. Using this model, we show how individuals exploit an array of habitat types to achieve their juvenile growth prior to ocean migration, and that the intensity of habitat use among habitat types across the basin shifts spatially over the course of freshwater residence (e.g. from headwaters to migration corridors). The STIMP presented here integrates diverse information sources to reveal the cryptic juvenile movement patterns of a highly migratory species, providing new insights critical to their conservation. This general framework is applicable to any migratory taxa that use isotopically heterogeneous landscapes during their lives and record such variation in sequentially growing biogenic tissues.

Elephant (Elephas maximus) temporal activity, distribution, and habitat use patterns on the tiger's forgotten trails across the seasonally dry, subtropical, hilly Churia forests of Nepal.

Understanding spatial distribution, habitat use, and temporal activity patterns is important for species conservation planning. This information especially is crucial for mega herbivores like elephants as their ranging patterns encompass a myriad of habitats types. Churia habitat is geological fragile yet important for wildlife in Nepal and India. We used camera trapping and sign surveys covering 536 km2 of Churia and surrounding areas within Chitwan National Park. Across 152 trapping locations, we accumulated 2,097 trap nights in a 60-day survey during the winter season of 2010–11. We used a non-parametric kernel density function to analyze winter activity patterns of elephants detected in camera-traps. Additionally, we walked 643 km over 76 grid cells in two surveys (winter and summer) to estimate elephant distribution and intensity of habitat use using an occupancy framework. Multi-season models allowed us to make seasonal (winter versus summer) inferences regarding changes in habitat use based on covariates influencing use and detection. We photographed 25 mammalian species including elephants with calves with a trapping rate of 2.72 elephant photos events per 100 trap nights. Elephant winter activity pattern was found to be mainly nocturnal, with crepuscular peaks. Covariates such as normalized differential vegetation index and terrain ruggedness positively influenced elephant spatial distribution and habitat use patterns within the Churia habitat. We also found lower elephant habitat use () of Churia in winter 0.51 (0.02) than in summer 0.57 (0.02). Elephants heavily used the eastern portion of Churia in both seasons (67–69%). Overall, Churia habitat, which is often ignored, clearly is used by elephants, with increases in summer use in the west and high use year-round in the east, and thus should no longer be neglected or forgotten in species conservation planning.

Habitat use and activity patterns of Puma concolor in a human-dominated landscape of central Argentina

Habitat loss, poaching, and legal hunting are the main causes of decline in populations of pumas (Puma concolor) globally. We used camera trapping to assess the habitat use and daily activity patterns of pumas, and we identified the major factors affecting this species, in a human-dominated landscape in central Argentina. The intensity of habitat use by pumas was related positively to the presence of woodland, habitat complexity, and richness of wild prey. Pumas also avoided areas with a high concentration of ranches, indicators of more-intense human activity. Although some seasonal variation was detected in the activity patterns, pumas clearly preferred nighttime hours. We conclude that human-related factors strongly affect habitat use and activity of pumas in central Argentina's rangelands.

Space use patterns of the burrowing echimyid rodent, Clyomys laticeps

AbstractSpace use patterns of a population are a result of the set of movements of its individuals, which are directly influenced by their attributes and environmental conditions. Understanding space use patterns and its determinants may give us insights about a species’ ecology, social and mating systems. Although echimyid rodents display a variety of mating and social systems, movements of burrowing species are poorly studied due to their cryptic habits. Hence, in this study, we evaluated the effects of body mass, sex, and palm fruit availability on space use patterns of the burrowing echimyid Clyomys laticeps, by measuring their daily home range (DHR) and intensity of habitat use. In 9 months of study in a “cerrado campo sujo” site, we tracked 14 adults with the spool‐and‐line in a backpack method. Adult males had larger DHR size than females, probably as a response to greater body mass and reproductive behavior. Furthermore, adult females had greater intensity of habitat use, presenting site fidelity, which can be due to offspring care as a response to non‐seasonal reproduction observed in our study and/or due to nest site defense strategy to avoid energetic costs associated with burrow construction. Differently from expected, food availability (i.e., Allagoptera campestris palm fruits) had no influence on the space use patterns of C. laticeps. As in other herbivorous rodents, shifts in proportion of consumed food items according to their availability may explain the lack of this influence in our study. Our findings suggest that space use patterns of C. laticeps are mainly explained by behavioral and physiological differences between sexes, including body mass and reproductive strategies. Additionally, larger male movements and female site fidelity suggest a solitary behavior and a polygynous mating system, although further studies regarding spatial organization and genetic structure are necessary to support these suggestions.

Complexity of searching movement in the European harvester ant Messor wasmanni: effect of temperature and body size

Individual search behavior is an important feature of ant ecology that can be influenced by many factors including environmental constraints, competitive interactions, and morphology. In this study, I investigated the effects of temperature, body size, and leg allometry on search movement in the polymorphic European harvester ant, Messor wasmanni. Temperature is known to increase movement speed, but how it interacts with morphology to influence path sinuosity is unknown. Ants in this study were grouped according to dimension (small, medium, and large) and were filmed moving individually in a neutral arena at three different temperatures: 10, 20, and 30 °C. Movements were analyzed by evaluating mean speed, path length, and path complexity using 5 different indexes to survey tortuosity: Mean Square Displacement (MSD), Straightness (ST), Intensity of Habitat Use (IU), Sinuosity (SI), and Fractal Dimension (Fractal D). Search movement seemed not to be strongly affected by size, even though extreme temperatures faintly diversified the path complexity among castes. Finally, the relationship between body weight and leg length was evaluated to test the ‘size-grain’ hypothesis among dimensional castes. Mean speed was strongly affected by temperature, but not by the size of the ants. Complexity indexes revealed different outcomes through their relationship to speed or path length. Interestingly, leg length and body size were negatively correlated, indicating that legs are proportionally shorter in large rather than in small ants, causing rejection of the ‘size-grain’ hypothesis for this species. Thus, individuals experience a similar roughness of soil surface irrespective of their size.

N-mix for fish: estimating riverine salmonid habitat selection via N-mixture models

Models that formulate mathematical linkages between fish use and habitat characteristics are applied for many purposes. For riverine fish, these linkages are often cast as resource selection functions with variables including depth and velocity of water and distance to nearest cover. Ecologists are now recognizing the role that detection plays in observing organisms, and failure to account for imperfect detection can lead to spurious inference. Herein, we present a flexible N-mixture model to associate habitat characteristics with the abundance of riverine salmonids that simultaneously estimates detection probability. Our formulation has the added benefits of accounting for demographics variation and can generate probabilistic statements regarding intensity of habitat use. In addition to the conceptual benefits, model application to data from the Trinity River, California, yields interesting results. Detection was estimated to vary among surveyors, but there was little spatial or temporal variation. Additionally, a weaker effect of water depth on resource selection is estimated than that reported by previous studies not accounting for detection probability. N-mixture models show great promise for applications to riverine resource selection.

CLIMATE-DRIVEN VARIATION IN SPACE USE BY THE NEOTROPICAL MARSUPIAL Metachirus nudicaudatus

Climatic seasonality affects marsupial space use through changes in food, mate, and nest availability. These effects can be enhanced when population size has an additive effect in the dry season. We tested if daily home range area and intensity of habitat use of the marsupial Metachirus nudicaudatus is affected by population size, climatic (dry and wet), and reproductive (breeding and non-breeding) seasons, and if it differs between genders. Metachirus nudicaudatus space use was affected by climatic seasonality, with individuals exploring larger areas in the dry season, probably in search for food. No effect of population size or differences in space use between sexes was detected. Further studies should test experimentally the effect of food availability on marsupials space use to confirm or rebut this hypothesis.

Relationship between human disturbance and Endangered giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca habitat use in the Daxiangling Mountains

AbstractThe Endangered giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca is one of the most threatened mammals. The species has experienced declines in its population and habitat as a result of human disturbance. We investigated the influence of human disturbance on habitat use by giant pandas in the Daxiangling Mountains, in China's Sichuan Province. We mapped all signs of giant panda and all locations of seven types of human disturbance in the study area. We used correlation analysis, generalized linear models, and Akaike information criteria to analyse the influence of the various types of human disturbances on habitat use by the giant panda. Our results showed that habitat use was positively correlated with elevation and distance from roads, residences, hydropower stations and logging or tree-felling sites, but negatively correlated with distance from bamboo shoot collection sites and trap sites. We found that the road-effect zone spanned a distance of c. 1,200 m and that human residence could affect the intensity of habitat use by giant pandas at distances > 2,500 m. The effect of roads on habitat use was probably influenced by the association of roads with residences, hydropower stations and mines. In the area occupied by giant pandas, we recommend increased regulation to minimize the expansion and impact of roads, residences, hydropower stations and logging activities.

Infectious disease transmission and behavioural allometry in wild mammals.

Animals' social and movement behaviours can impact the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases, especially for pathogens transmitted through close contact between hosts or through contact with infectious stages in the environment. Estimating pathogen transmission rates and R0 from natural systems can be challenging. Because host behavioural traits that underlie the transmission process vary predictably with body size, one of the best-studied traits among animals, body size might therefore also predict variation in parasite transmission dynamics. Here, we examine how two host behaviours, social group living and the intensity of habitat use, scale allometrically using comparative data from wild primate, carnivore and ungulate species. We use these empirical relationships to parameterize classical compartment models for infectious micro- and macroparasitic diseases, and examine how the risk of pathogen invasion changes as a function of host behaviour and body size. We then test model predictions using comparative data on parasite prevalence and richness from wild mammals. We report a general pattern suggesting that smaller-bodied mammal species utilizing home ranges more intensively experience greater risk for invasion by environmentally transmitted macroparasites. Conversely, larger-bodied hosts exhibiting a high degree of social group living could be more readily invaded by directly transmitted microparasites. These trends were supported through comparison of micro- and macroparasite species richness across a large number of carnivore, primate and ungulate species, but empirical data on carnivore macroparasite prevalence showed mixed results. Collectively, our study demonstrates that combining host behavioural traits with dynamical models of infectious disease scaled against host body size can generate testable predictions for variation in parasite risk across species; a similar approach might be useful in future work focused on predicting parasite distributions in local host communities.

Recreation shapes a “landscape of fear” for a threatened forest bird species in Central Europe

Predators can create a “landscape of fear” that influences the spatial distribution of their prey. Understanding whether human activity similarly affects the distribution of species beyond habitat suitability is crucial but difficult to assess for conservation managers. Here, we assessed the effect of recreation and forestry activity on a threatened forest-dwelling umbrella species, the Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). We followed the citizen science approach on the landscape scale in the Bohemian Forest. We analyzed species data non-invasively collected through intensive fieldwork by volunteers and assessed human activity in the entire study area by analyzing expert questionnaires. The study area extends over 119,000 ha and harbors one of the largest relict populations of this grouse species in Central European low mountain ranges. Our statistical models revealed a negative impact of recreational activities on the intensity of habitat use of the birds within suitable habitats, thereby pointing toward a landscape of fear. The influence of forestry activity, in contrast, was not clear. In comparison to existing regional tourism impact studies, we were able to elevate the examination to the landscape scale. Our results underlined the relevance of recreation in limiting the species’ habitat on an entire landscape and allow us to conclude that habitat managers should set aside well-defined zones without recreational activities to preserve the refuge of this umbrella species.

Temporal changes in habitat use by snowshoe hares and red squirrels during post-fire and post-logging forest succession

Ecosystem-based management has taken a central role in the conservation of animal populations in managed landscapes. A fundamental assumption of ecosystem-based management by the emulation of natural disturbances is that logging practices would protect biodiversity by maintaining key ecosystem properties. The hypothesis, however, needs to be tested on a broad range of organisms. We assessed the relative influence of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on habitat use by snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) and red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). We compared the intensity of habitat use by the two species along a chronosequence of succession after fire (20–200years) and clear-cutting (20–80years) in boreal landscapes dominated by old-growth forest stands. We also characterised temporal changes in vegetation along both chronosequences. We found that snowshoe hare preferentially uses cutting-origin stands and that the peak of habitat use by red squirrels occurs about 20years earlier after cutting than after fire. Higher tree density and earlier balsam fir (Abies balsamea) regeneration after clear-cutting than after fire partly explained these differences in animal response to the type of disturbance. As a result, forest fires cannot be simply reproduced by clear-cutting, and ecosystem-based management should take these differences into account whenever the management objective is to alleviate the long-term impact of forestry on forest ecosystems.

Conservation of the Asian Small-Clawed Otter (Aonyx Cinereus) in Human-Modified Landscapes, Western Ghats, India

Conservation in human-modified landscapes is important for riparian animals as their habitats extend linearly beyond adjoining protected areas. We examined occupancy and intensity of habitat use of Asian small-clawed otters in coffee and tea plantations and an adjoining protected area in the Western Ghats. We sampled 66 stream segments of 500 m length, using spraints as an indicator of habitat use. Several variables characterising the stream and shoreline were also measured. Occupancy, corrected for detection of spraints, was >0.75 in all three land use types, indicating widespread use of the riparian ecosystem in human-modified landscapes. Intensity of habitat use, however, was much lower in tea (2.08 spraints/500 m) and coffee (2.42) plantations than in the protected area (3.86). Using GLMs we identified the abundance of potential refuges (such as boulders and fallen trees), which was greater in the protected area, as the major factor influencing intensity of habitat use. Shoreline diversity, which was lowest in the tea plantation, might also be another factor. The retention of much of the riparian vegetation and the presence of forest fragments which provide refuges have led to wide occupancy of the tea and coffee plantations although with less intensive use. Sand mining, fishing and infrequent poaching might be other reasons for the relatively low use of human-modified landscape. This study highlights the need to retain remnant forests and riparian vegetation, and to control some human activities for integrated management of species like the small-clawed otter in both protected areas and adjoining human-modified habitats.