Wildlife Behavior Research Articles

Identification and prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth eggs in Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) and Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus) at Petungkriyono Forest, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Kharismawan MYK, Maula I, Astuti P, Setyawan A. 2022. Identification and prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth eggs in Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) and Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus) at Petungkriyono Forest, Central Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 4501-4509. Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) and Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus) are arboreal primates found at Petungkriyono Forest, Central Java, Indonesia. An increase in ecotourism activity in Petungkriyono Forest affected wildlife behavior and forest landscape along the road. Canopy connections separated by the main road is essential for both of these primates They were spotted foraging food and moved across the separated habitat using available canopy. Based on their activity and habitat along the main road, this research is conducted to identify and count the prevalance of soil-transmitted helminth eggs in their gastrointestinal through their feces. A total of 72 Javan gibbon and 46 Javan langur fecal samples were collected under 10% formalin preservation. Fecal samples were examined using the mini-FLOTAC method for Javan gibbon and the flotation method for Javan langur. The results indicate three orders, including Enoplida, Strongylida, and Rhabditida, were found and the prevalence of helminthiasis is 31.94% for Javan gibbon and 47.82% for Javan langur. Eventhough both of these primates helminthiasis prevalance is considered to be low, higher prevalance in Javan langur was caused by its behavior to be less arboreal than Javan gibbon.

Plateau pikas near roads are bold and silent when facing a potential predator.

Human disturbance, particularly road traffic, is one of the greatest threats to wildlife. Considering the association between alerting behavior and the survival of animals, it is important to study the effects of road traffic on alerting behavior of wildlife. Previous studies assessing the short-term impact of road traffic on alerting behavior of wildlife have focused on vigilance distances. However, studies on the use of alarm calls are scarce, and it is unclear whether such behavioral responses change after repeated exposure to road traffic. We assessed the alerting behavior of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) who were near or far from roads when facing a potential predator. We found that pikas near roads exhibited shorter vigilance and tolerance distances, and produced fewer alarm calls than those relatively far away from roads. Furthermore, both vigilance and tolerance distances of plateau pikas were significantly positively correlated with the distance from the burrow to the road. Road traffic reduced antipredator responses and shaped alerting behavior; that is, pikas near roads were bolder and more silent compared to those far away from roads. Our findings suggest that increasing urbanization will have corresponding effects on animal behavior, which may have significant fitness effects in the future.

Physiological state predicts space use of sharks at a tourism provisioning site

While a growing body of literature has shown that tourism provisioning can influence the behaviour of wildlife, how physiological state might be related to the nature and magnitude of these effects remains poorly understood. Physiological state, including reproductive and nutritional status, can have profound effects on an individual's behaviour and decision making. In the present study, we used multiple physiological markers related to reproductive (testosterone, 17β-oestradiol and progesterone), metabolic (corticosteroids) and nutritional ecology (stable isotopes and fatty acids), integrated with ultrasonography and passive acoustic telemetry to explore the possible relationship between physiological condition and space use of tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, exposed to dive tourism provisioning. Large, nongravid female tiger sharks, with higher plasma steroid levels (i.e. testosterone, 17β-oestradiol, relative corticosteroid), enriched δ15N and elevated nutritional status (in terms of fatty acids) spent proportionally more time at food provisioning sites compared to conspecifics. Testosterone levels also were positively correlated with the proportion of time spent at provisioning sites. Based on these results, we speculate that physiological condition plays a role in shaping the spatial behaviour of female tiger sharks within the context of food provisioning, whereby larger individuals, exhibiting higher testosterone levels and elevated nutritional status, show selective preferences for provisioning dive sites, where they outcompete conspecifics of relatively smaller size, lower testosterone levels and depressed nutritional state. While more studies are needed to explore whether sharks are making these decisions because of their physiological state or whether spending more time at provisioning sites results in altered physiological state, our findings highlight the importance of considering animal life stage, endocrine regulation, and nutritional condition when evaluating the biological impacts of provisioning tourism.

Cultivating scientific literacy and a sense of place through course-based urban ecology research.

Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to increase engagement, improve learning outcomes, and enhance career development for students in ecology. However, these opportunities may not be accessible to all students, and incorporating inquiry‐based research directly into undergraduate curricula may help overcome barriers to participation and improve representation and inclusion in the discipline. The shift to online instruction during the COVID‐19 pandemic has imposed even greater challenges for providing students with authentic research experiences, but the pandemic may also provide a unique opportunity for creative projects conducted remotely. In this paper, I describe a course‐based undergraduate research experience (CURE) designed for an upper‐level ecology course at California State University, Dominguez Hills during remote learning. The primary focus of student‐led research activities was to explore the potential impacts of the depopulation of campus during the pandemic on urban coyotes (Canis latrans), for which there were increased sightings reported during this time. Students conducted two research studies, including an evaluation of urban wildlife activity, behavior, and diversity using camera traps installed throughout campus and analysis of coyote diet using data from scat dissections. Students used the data they generated and information from literature reviews, class discussions, and meetings with experts to develop a coyote monitoring and management plan for our campus and create posters to educate the public. Using the campus as a living laboratory, I aimed to engage students in meaningful research while cultivating a sense of place, despite being online. Students’ research outcomes and responses to pre‐ and post‐course surveys highlight the benefits of projects that are anchored in place‐based education and emphasize the importance of ecological research for solving real‐world problems. CUREs focused on local urban ecosystems may be a powerful way for instructors to activate ecological knowledge and capitalize on the cultural strengths of students at urban universities.

Environmental Occurrence and Predicted Pharmacological Risk to Freshwater Fish of over 200 Neuroactive Pharmaceuticals in Widespread Use.

There is a growing concern that neuroactive chemicals released into the environment can perturb wildlife behaviour. Among these chemicals, pharmaceuticals such as antidepressants and anxiolytics have been receiving increasing attention, as they are specifically prescribed to modify behavioural responses. Many laboratory studies have demonstrated that some of these compounds can affect various aspects of the behaviour of a range of aquatic organisms; however, these investigations are focused on a very small set of neuroactive pharmaceuticals, and they often consider one compound at a time. In this study, to better understand the environmental and toxicological dimension of the problem, we considered all pharmaceuticals explicitly intended to modulate the central nervous system (CNS), and we hypothesised that these compounds have higher probability of perturbing animal behaviour. Based on this hypothesis, we used the classification of pharmaceuticals provided by the British National Formulary (based on their clinical applications) and identified 210 different CNS-acting pharmaceuticals prescribed in the UK to treat a variety of CNS-related conditions, including mental health and sleep disorders, dementia, epilepsy, nausea, and pain. The analysis of existing databases revealed that 84 of these compounds were already detected in surface waters worldwide. Using a biological read-across approach based on the extrapolation of clinical data, we predicted that the concentration of 32 of these neuroactive pharmaceuticals in surface waters in England may be high enough to elicit pharmacological effects in wild fish. The ecotoxicological effects of the vast majority of these compounds are currently uncharacterised. Overall, these results highlight the importance of addressing this environmental challenge from a mixture toxicology and systems perspective. The knowledge platform developed in the present study can guide future region-specific prioritisation efforts, inform the design of mixture studies, and foster interdisciplinary efforts aimed at identifying novel approaches to predict and interpret the ecological implications of chemical-induced behaviour disruption.

Livestock displace European mouflon from optimal foraging sites

The conflict between free-ranging livestock and wildlife is a serious conservation concern across rural communities worldwide. Livestock may affect wild herbivores via direct competition for resources due to spatial and diet overlap or via behavioural interference. It is imperative that we disentangle the effects of livestock on wildlife behaviour to obtain an empirical basis able to stir management and conservation decisions. Here, we studied the effect of livestock presence on the habitat selection in a free-ranging European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) population in Sardinia, where the species is under strict protection. We collected spatial data on mouflon and livestock during two consecutive years to investigate whether the mouflon selection of key feeding grassland sites was negatively impacted by the livestock presence. We found that mouflon preferably selected grassland, and its selection significantly increased when grass was of better quality (greener). We showed that livestock presence led to the displacement of mouflon from such preferred feeding sites, an effect clearly exacerbated by livestock proximity. We indeed found that the selection of grassland by mouflon dropped significantly when the distance between livestock and mouflon was below ~ 650 m, providing a useful management threshold indication. Livestock presence in close proximity displaced mouflon to sub-optimal habitat, and its effects may have negative impact on the population dynamic of this species which is already characterized by low female productivity within harsh Mediterranean environment. Our results give clear management indications aimed at better managing livestock grazing within natural areas to ultimately improve wildlife conservation.

The influence of anthropogenic noise on the behavior of male mantled howler monkeys.

Anthropogenic noise is increasingly disturbing natural soundscapes and affecting the physiology, behavior, and fitness of wildlife. However, our knowledge about the impact of anthropogenic noise on wild primates is scant. Here, we assess the effects of anthropogenic noise on the behavior of male mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Specifically, we describe the types, rates, and sound pressure level (SPL) of anthropogenic noise that occurs in areas inhabited by mantled howler monkeys and determine if the behavioral responses of males to anthropogenic noise are influenced by noise attributes. For 1 year (1753 h), we characterized anthropogenic noise in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Veracruz, Mexico) and studied the behavior of males belonging to five groups. Anthropogenic noise was common, diverse, and varied among areas in terms of rate, type, and SPL. Males did not display behavioral responses toward most (60%) anthropogenic noises, but were more likely to respond to certain noise types (e.g., aerial traffic) and toward noise with high SPL. Group identity influenced the likelihood of displaying behavioral responses to noise. The most common behavioral responses were vocalizations and vigilance. Males vocalized in response to noise with high SPL, although this relationship depended on group identity. The effect of the number of noises on vocalizations also varied among groups. Males were more likely to display vigilance toward high SPL and infrequent noise, but, again, these relationships varied among groups. In sum, anthropogenic noise is pervasive in areas inhabited by mantled howler monkeys and influences male behavior. Experience and frequency of exposure may modulate the behavioral responses of male mantled howler monkeys to noise and explain the group differences.

Genetic population structure defines wild boar as an urban exploiter species in Barcelona, Spain

Urban wildlife ecology is gaining relevance as metropolitan areas grow throughout the world, reducing natural habitats and creating new ecological niches. However, knowledge is still scarce about the colonisation processes of such urban niches, the establishment of new communities, populations and/or species, and the related changes in behaviour and life histories of urban wildlife. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) has successfully colonised urban niches throughout Europe.The aim of this study is to unveil the processes driving the establishment and maintenance of an urban wild boar population by analysing its genetic structure. A set of 19 microsatellite loci was used to test whether urban wild boars in Barcelona, Spain, are an isolated population or if gene flow prevents genetic differentiation between rural and urban wild boars. This knowledge will contribute to the understanding of the effects of synurbisation and the associated management measures on the genetic change of large mammals in urban ecosystems.Despite the unidirectional gene flow from rural to urban areas, the urban wild boars in Barcelona form an island population genotypically differentiated from the surrounding rural ones. The comparison with previous genetic studies of urban wild boar populations suggests that forest patches act as suitable islands for wild boar genetic differentiation. Previous results and the genetic structure of the urban wild boar population in Barcelona classify wild boar as an urban exploiter species.These wild boar peri-urban island populations are responsible for conflict with humans and thus should be managed by reducing the attractiveness of urban areas. The management of peri-urban wild boar populations should aim at reducing migration into urban areas and preventing phenotypic changes (either genetic or plastic) causing habituation of wild boars to humans and urban environments.

Long-term ecological research and the COVID-19 anthropause: A window to understanding social-ecological disturbance.

The period of disrupted human activity caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic, coined the “anthropause,” altered the nature of interactions between humans and ecosystems. It is uncertain how the anthropause has changed ecosystem states, functions, and feedback to human systems through shifts in ecosystem services. Here, we used an existing disturbance framework to propose new investigation pathways for coordinated studies of distributed, long‐term social‐ecological research to capture effects of the anthropause. Although it is still too early to comprehensively evaluate effects due to pandemic‐related delays in data availability and ecological response lags, we detail three case studies that show how long‐term data can be used to document and interpret changes in air and water quality and wildlife populations and behavior coinciding with the anthropause. These early findings may guide interpretations of effects of the anthropause as it interacts with other ongoing environmental changes in the future, particularly highlighting the importance of long‐term data in separating disturbance impacts from natural variation and long‐term trends. Effects of this global disturbance have local to global effects on ecosystems with feedback to social systems that may be detectable at spatial scales captured by nationally to globally distributed research networks.

Unravelling negative interactions between humans, mammalian carnivores and raptors in South America

Human-wildlife interactions can be negative when the needs and behavior of wildlife negatively influence human goals, or vice-versa, and management of these interactions may lead to conflict. Here, we review information on negative interactions between humans and wildlife in South America contained in 136 scientific publications, focusing on terrestrial mammalian predators and raptors. We found that most studies were conducted in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. The methodology most commonly used to investigate negative interactions was interviews with rural inhabitants. Studies were performed mainly on interactions involving large felids such as Panthera onca and Puma concolor, and —to a lesser extent— on other mammalian predators and raptors such as eagles or scavenger birds. The main drivers of negative interactions involved perceived or actual impacts on human economy (material) (e.g., livestock or crop losses) or were based on non-material (intangible) aspects (e.g., fear, myths, and religious beliefs). The studies showed that negative attitudes and perceptions toward terrestrial mammalian predators and raptors are widespread in South America. Although non-lethal strategies for mitigation of negative interactions have been proposed, most are not widely used and lethal controls are still very common. A multidisciplinary approach is required, based on multiple actions (e.g., improving livestock practices, running educational programs, increasing stakeholder involvement, providing farmers with solutions), which would minimize negative interactions and promote coexistence between humans and wildlife. This is key to maintaining threatened species, ecological interactions and healthy environments in the anthropized landscapes of biodiverse South America.

Environmental variability as a predictor of behavioral flexibility in urban environments

AbstractGlobal urbanization processes have highlighted the importance of understanding the effects of urban habitats on animal behavior. Behavioral changes are usually evaluated along an urbanization gradient, comparing urban and rural populations. However, this metric fails to consider heterogeneity between urban habitats that can differ significantly in their characteristics, such as their level of environmental variability. We suggest incorporating dimensions of environmental variability into the urbanization metric when evaluating behavioral changes. We tested the importance of both level of urbanization and level of urban change (i.e., the rate of anthropogenic changes measured as the change in the level of urbanization over time) on animals’ behavioral flexibility by comparing reversal learning abilities in house sparrows from sites differing in the rate of urbanization and urban change levels. We show that at least for males, urban change better explains levels of behavioral flexibility than urbanization level. We further show that urban change corresponds to other behavioral traits such as scrounging behavior and foraging activity. Thus, considering environmental stability and predictability in the form of urban changes can help better understand the mechanisms allowing behavioral changes and adaptations to urban environments. Evaluating the dynamics of the urban built environment could provide a better metric with which to understand urbanization effects on wildlife behavior and an important next step in urban ecology.

Permeability of artificial barriers (fences) for wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Mediterranean mixed landscapes.

BACKGROUNDFences are one of the most widespread manmade features in nature, constituting an artificial limitation to the movement of wildlife. To date, their effects on wildlife behavior have been understudied but this knowledge is required to design effective management procedures. Using 21 GPS‐monitored wild boar, we evaluated the permeability of different types of fences and described temporal patterns and spatial hotspots for crossing events. A fence's permeability was inferred by the crossing success, i.e., the number of times that animals crossed a barrier vs the number of times they did not cross. The vulnerability of fences at watercourses was explored by assessing whether the frequency of crossings was higher around watercourse intersections than expected by chance.RESULTSWell‐maintained big game proof fences were the most effective in reducing successful wild boar crossings; they were, on average, 30% more efficient than livestock type fences. Crossing success was higher for males than females and during the food shortage period than in the food abundance period. The frequency of crossings around watercourses was higher than expected by chance, especially in moderately and well‐maintained big game proof type fences.CONCLUSIONWhile no fence type was 100% wild boar proof, well‐maintained big game proof fences substantially constrained the movement of boar. However, they are vulnerable around watercourses. Managing the conflicts in which this species is involved, such as shared infections and agricultural damage, would require fences that are even more effective than the ones analyzed here, ideally in conjunction with other preventive actions. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

CONTRASTING ACTIVITY TIMES BETWEEN RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR) AND VIRGINIA OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA) IN URBAN GREEN SPACES

As urbanization increases, impacts on urban wildlife behavior are becoming more apparent. Using camera traps, we compared activity times of Raccoons (Procyon lotor) with those of Virginia Opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in natural areas of Seattle, Washington. Previous studies found that Virginia Opossums and Raccoons are significantly more active at night than at any other time. However, these studies occurred exclusively in forested or agricultural landscapes. We deployed motion-triggered camera traps in greenspaces of Seattle to test the hypothesis that Raccoons and Virginia Opossums are both primarily active at night in an urban environment. Our results demonstrated a statistically significant difference in activity time distributions between the species. Virginia Opossums were exclusively nocturnal, whereas Raccoons allocated their activity between nocturnal and crepuscular periods. This study provides a snapshot of mesopredator behavior in an environment heavily influenced by humans and informs the effective management of Raccoons in urban areas.

Frontiers in quantifying wildlife behavioural responses to chemical pollution.

ABSTRACTAnimal behaviour is remarkably sensitive to disruption by chemical pollution, with widespread implications for ecological and evolutionary processes in contaminated wildlife populations. However, conventional approaches applied to study the impacts of chemical pollutants on wildlife behaviour seldom address the complexity of natural environments in which contamination occurs. The aim of this review is to guide the rapidly developing field of behavioural ecotoxicology towards increased environmental realism, ecological complexity, and mechanistic understanding. We identify research areas in ecology that to date have been largely overlooked within behavioural ecotoxicology but which promise to yield valuable insights, including within‐ and among‐individual variation, social networks and collective behaviour, and multi‐stressor interactions. Further, we feature methodological and technological innovations that enable the collection of data on pollutant‐induced behavioural changes at an unprecedented resolution and scale in the laboratory and the field. In an era of rapid environmental change, there is an urgent need to advance our understanding of the real‐world impacts of chemical pollution on wildlife behaviour. This review therefore provides a roadmap of the major outstanding questions in behavioural ecotoxicology and highlights the need for increased cross‐talk with other disciplines in order to find the answers.

Behavioural reactions to oncoming vehicles as a crucial aspect of wildlife-vehicle collision risk in three common wildlife species

Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) strongly impact road safety. While technical aspects of collision risk and the effects of roads on animal populations are well studied, knowledge about wildlife behaviour prior to and during contact with oncoming vehicles as a crucial aspect of collision risk is still lacking. We analysed 28,400 hours of video data (thermal network cameras at 14 road sections in south-west Germany) with 2,841 animal-vehicle encounters (1,960 roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, 696 red fox, Vulpes vulpes and 185 wild boar, Sus scrofa) and classified animal behaviour before and during contact with a vehicle. We fitted two sets of models to the data. In the first step, we modelled the intensity of the behavioural reaction exhibited by the animals as a function of behavioural and environmental predictors using ordinal Bayesian mixed-effect regression models. In a second step, we modelled the probability of a positive vs. a negative behavioural response in terms of WVC risk using binomial mixed-effect regression models. Both the intensity of behavioural reactions as well as the degree of risk during the interaction with oncoming vehicles differed among the species and as a function of road section layout. Our results showed that animal attentiveness, the behaviour a priori, access to cover, vehicle type and biological seasonality were important predictors of an animal’s response to oncoming vehicles. More specifically, roe deer reacted to oncoming vehicles mostly with short movements away from the road, foxes often reacted unpredictably and wild boar behaviour appeared to be least affected by oncoming vehicles. Thus, we suggest that collision risk for common European mammals is shaped by the interplay of vehicle type, the road layout as well as the species-specific behavioural repertoire including the attentiveness of the animal and the behavioural state prior to an approaching vehicle. In addition, wildlife warning reflectors, a frequently used technique in WVC mitigation, did not alter behavioural reactions and thus failed to reduce WVC risk.

Optimal Land Use Regulation for Human–Coyote Conflicts in the Denver Metropolitan Area

While human–wildlife conflicts are an emerging problem in urban areas, wildlife conservation is needed to sustain human life. Because the degree of conflict depends on land cover types and housing density classes, land-use policies intended to influence both resident and wildlife behavior are needed. This paper numerically simulates the optimal urban boundary regulation to reduce human–coyote conflicts and conserve the ecosystem. Given the parameters of the Denver Metropolitan Area, the optimal location of the urban boundary is estimated as 1 km farther away from the market city boundary. As a result of the optimization more coyotes emerge in urban areas, while fewer herbivores and plants emerge in natural habitats. Because of a “cascade effect”, that is, secondary-and-later effects on the number of certain species through a food chain, the optimal result sees the number of plants increase with a smaller natural habitat than the market size. This indicates that because both direct and cascade effects are affected by the degree of land-use policies, it is necessary to consider the cascade effect when designing these policies.

Mesopredators retain their fear of humans across a development gradient

Abstract Anthropogenic impacts on wildlife behavior arise both from the immediate presence of people, which induces fear responses in many species, and the human footprint (i.e., landscape modification such as residential development), which affects animal movement and habitat use. Where both disturbance types co-occur, disentangling their impacts remains a challenge. Disturbance effects may interact such that species respond to increased human footprint by either reducing (habituation) or increasing (sensitization) avoidance of human presence. We experimentally manipulated perceived human presence, using playbacks of people talking, across a gradient of human footprint in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains and used camera traps to quantify the behavioral responses of bobcats (Lynx rufus), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), mesopredators known to exhibit strong fear response to human presence but which vary in their use of developed areas. Bobcats and skunks reduced activity in response to human playbacks but showed no change in responsiveness to playbacks across the gradient of human footprint, suggesting that these species are similarly fearful of humans at all development levels tested. Opossums exhibited a significant interaction between human footprint and playback treatment such that reductions in activity level in response to human playbacks were strongest at higher levels of building density. Our results indicate that, rather than habituating to human presence, some mesopredators retain a strong fear of humans or become more fearful when inhabiting more developed areas. We suggest that consistently high responsiveness to immediate human presence may benefit mesopredators living in human-dominated landscapes by mitigating the risk of anthropogenic mortality.

Breeding and Post-Breeding Behavior of the Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas) at Perth Zoo

Understanding the behavior of wildlife in zoo environments is necessary to determine species’ welfare states and minimize stress whilst optimizing social groupings, particularly where breeding programs are being undertaken. This observational study investigated the behavior and welfare of six groupings of ghost bats (Macroderma gigas) across the breeding and post-breeding seasons within Perth Zoo, Western Australia. Scan sampling was used to record behavioral states and interactions along with spatial preferences within enclosures for 198 hours of observations. A total of 11,895 interval observations were conducted during the study period. Exploratory behavior was correlated with enclosure size, with 18.7% of the total observations in the largest enclosure compared with only 7.1% of them in the smallest enclosure. Male ghost bats engaged in negative behaviors in 40.2% of observed male-male interactions, regardless of the season. Non-breeding females engaged in more female-female negative behaviors during the breeding season, while negative behaviors increased in the breeding female group after the end of the breeding season. This study highlights areas where management practice may be optimized in a zoo setting and provides evidence to consider revising standards of enclosure size for chiropteran species. An increase in heating structures and feeding platforms could also reduce the number of negative interactions between individuals. Given that ghost bats in the wild are listed as Vulnerable, zoo population management and breeding may form an integral part of conservation planning for this species in the near future. As the first published study of zoo-housed ghost bats, these findings help provide insight into the behaviors and interactions of ghost bats in different social groupings across the breeding and post-breeding seasons.

Spatial responses of long-eared bats Plecotus auritus to forestry practices: Implications for forest management in protected areas

Landscape management is a key tool for wildlife conservation. This is especially important in protected areas, where conservation, local resource harvesting such as timber harvesting, and public accessibility are potentially conflicting needs that eventually influence wildlife ecology and behaviour. We studied the spatial behaviour of a forest specialist, the brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), and tested how this species copes with: i) habitat structure shaped by forest management practices (past coppice, high forest and conifer plantations), and ii) the occurrence of gaps within the forest matrix opened by people to make space for pastures and hiking trails. We radio-tagged 17 bats for 3 consecutive nights each, to track their movements in a beech-dominated forest landscape in central Italy, and assessed their spatial behaviour in relation to the landscape by adopting two different approaches. First, we applied habitat selection analyses to test whether specific land use classes were disproportionately used by bats over land class availability within the landscape. Second, we related individual-based foraging and commuting locations to landscape structure, predicting activity-specific probabilities in response to land use composition and spatial patterning. Brown long-eared bats most preferred high forest stands, whereas all other land classes were least preferred such as coppice, conifer stands, and pastures. Predictive models indicate that commuting and foraging, besides being both more likely to occur within high forest, were differently affected by landscape features. Commuting long-eared bats flew along and closer to trails and open areas compared to random sites, while such habitat features were barely used for foraging. On such bases, due to the great importance of high forest, we highlight that long time may be needed to functionally convert coppice into high forest, and that previous forest management may have long-lasting effects on forest-specialist taxa. Similarly, the use of non-native conifers, once favoured for their high timber productivity, should be avoided within protected areas aiming at conserving forest bats. Trails and clearings might also be planned strategically to exploit their potential role of ecological corridor between core forest areas and favour bat commuting.

Monitoring of small rock pools reveals differential effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on birds and mammals in the Calakmul region, southern Mexico

AbstractGreat attention has been drawn to the impacts of habitat deforestation and fragmentation on wildlife species richness. In contrast, much less attention has been paid to assessing the impacts of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife species composition and behaviour. We focused on natural small rock pools (sartenejas), which concentrate vertebrate activity due to habitat’s water limitation, to assess the impact of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on the species richness, diversity, composition, and behaviour of medium and large-sized birds and mammals in the highly biodiverse forests of Calakmul, southern Mexico. Camera trapping records of fauna using sartenejas within and outside the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR) showed that there were no effects on species richness, but contrasts emerged when comparing species diversity, composition, and behaviour. These effects differed between birds and mammals and between species: (1) bird diversity was greater outside the CBR, but mammal diversity was greater within and (2) the daily activity patterns of birds differed slightly within and outside the CBR but strongly contrasted in mammals. Our study highlights that even in areas supporting extensive forest cover, small-scale chronic anthropogenic disturbances can have pervasive negative effects on wildlife and that these effects contrast between animal groups.