1
|
Weterings MJA, Ebbinge EYC, Strijker BN, Spek G, Kuipers HJ. Insights from a 31-year study demonstrate an inverse correlation between recreational activities and red deer fecundity, with bodyweight as a mediator. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11257. [PMID: 38654717 PMCID: PMC11035974 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Human activity is omnipresent in our landscapes. Animals can perceive risk from humans similar to predation risk, which could affect their fitness. We assessed the influence of the relative intensity of recreational activities on the bodyweight and pregnancy rates of red deer (Cervus elaphus) between 1985 and 2015. We hypothesized that stress, as a result of recreational activities, affects the pregnancy rates of red deer directly and indirectly via a reduction in bodyweight. Furthermore, we expected non-motorized recreational activities to have a larger negative effect on both bodyweight and fecundity, compared to motorized recreational activities. The intensity of recreational activities was recorded through visual observations. We obtained pregnancy data from female red deer that were shot during the regular hunting season. Additionally, age and bodyweight were determined through a post-mortem examination. We used two Generalized-Linear-Mixed Models (GLMM) to test the effect of different types of recreation on (1) pregnancy rates and (2) bodyweight of red deer. Recreation had a direct negative correlation with the fecundity of red deer, with bodyweight, as a mediator as expected. Besides, we found a negative effect of non-motorized recreation on fecundity and bodyweight and no significant effect of motorized recreation. Our results support the concept of humans as an important stressor affecting wild animal populations at a population level and plead to regulate recreational activities in protected areas that are sensitive. The fear humans induce in large-bodied herbivores and its consequences for fitness may have strong implications for animal populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martijn J. A. Weterings
- Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied SciencesLeeuwardenThe Netherlands
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation GroupWageningen UniversityWageningenThe Netherlands
| | | | - Beau N. Strijker
- Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied SciencesLeeuwardenThe Netherlands
| | - Gerrit‐Jan Spek
- Vereniging Wildbeheer Veluwe/FBE Gelderland/Natuurlijk Fauna Advies MtsVaassenThe Netherlands
| | - Henry J. Kuipers
- Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied SciencesLeeuwardenThe Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zong X, Wang T, Skidmore AK, Heurich M. Habitat visibility affects the behavioral response of a large herbivore to human disturbance in forest landscapes. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 348:119244. [PMID: 37864942 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife can perceive humans as predators and human disturbance, whether lethal (e.g., hunting) or non-lethal (e.g., hiking, biking, and skiing), triggers antipredator behavior among prey. Visibility is the property that relates habitat structure to accessibility of visual information that allows animals to detect predators and evaluate predation risk. Thus, the visibility of a habitat (hereafter referred to as habitat visibility) for prey species alters the perceived risk of predation and therefore has a strong influence on their antipredator behavior. Yet, knowledge of how habitat visibility affects the response of animals to different types of human disturbance is limited, partly, because it is challenging to measure habitat visibility for animals at a fine spatial scale over a landscape, particularly in highly heterogeneous landscapes (e.g., forests). In this study, we employed a newly described approach that combines terrestrial and airborne LiDAR to contiguously measure fine-scale habitat visibility in a forested landscape. We applied the LiDAR-derived habitat visibility to examine how habitat visibility in forests affects the summer space use of 20 GPS-collared female red deer (Cervus elaphus) modeled with integrated step-selection functions in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany when exposed to various types of human disturbance including recreational activities, forest roads, hiking trails, and hunting. We found that red deer in our study area avoided areas with higher all types of human disturbance, especially during daylight hours. Furthermore, habitat visibility significantly modified the use of space by red deer in response to human recreational activities, forest roads, and hiking trails, but not to the hunting area. Red deer tended to tolerate a higher intensity of human recreational activities and to use areas closer to forest roads or hiking trails when they have lower habitat visibility (i.e., more cover). Our findings highlight the importance of considering visual perception when studying the response of wild animals to human disturbance. We emphasize the potential to mitigate negative consequences of human disturbance on wildlife, through measures such as maintaining vegetative buffers around recreational infrastructure (e.g., roads and skiing tracks) in order to reduce habitat visibility around areas frequented by humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zong
- School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China; Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
| | - Tiejun Wang
- Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
| | - Andrew K Skidmore
- Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands; Department of Environmental Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Marco Heurich
- Department of National Park Monitoring and Animal Management, Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany; Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Institute for Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Science, Koppang, Norway.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Granados A, Sun C, Fisher JT, Ladle A, Dawe K, Beirne C, Boyce MS, Chow E, Heim N, Fennell M, Klees van Bommel J, Naidoo R, Procko M, Stewart FEC, Burton AC. Mammalian predator and prey responses to recreation and land use across multiple scales provide limited support for the human shield hypothesis. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10464. [PMID: 37720065 PMCID: PMC10500421 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Outdoor recreation is widespread, with uncertain effects on wildlife. The human shield hypothesis (HSH) suggests that recreation could have differential effects on predators and prey, with predator avoidance of humans creating a spatial refuge 'shielding' prey from people. The generality of the HSH remains to be tested across larger scales, wherein human shielding may prove generalizable, or diminish with variability in ecological contexts. We combined data from 446 camera traps and 79,279 sampling days across 10 landscapes spanning 15,840 km2 in western Canada. We used hierarchical models to quantify the influence of recreation and landscape disturbance (roads, logging) on ungulate prey (moose, mule deer and elk) and carnivore (wolf, grizzly bear, cougar and black bear) site use. We found limited support for the HSH and strong responses to recreation at local but not larger spatial scales. Only mule deer showed positive but weak landscape-level responses to recreation. Elk were positively associated with local recreation while moose and mule deer responses were negative, contrary to HSH predictions. Mule deer showed a more complex interaction between recreation and land-use disturbance, with more negative responses to recreation at lower road density or higher logged areas. Contrary to HSH predictions, carnivores did not avoid recreation and grizzly bear site use was positively associated. We also tested the effects of roads and logging on temporal activity overlap between mule deer and recreation, expecting deer to minimize interaction with humans by partitioning time in areas subject to more habitat disturbance. However, temporal overlap between people and deer increased with road density. Our findings highlight the complex ecological patterns that emerge at macroecological scales. There is a need for expanded monitoring of human and wildlife use of recreation areas, particularly multi-scale and -species approaches to studying the interacting effects of recreation and land-use change on wildlife.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alys Granados
- Department of Forest Resources ManagementUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Catherine Sun
- Department of Forest Resources ManagementUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Jason T. Fisher
- Institute for Resources, Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Andrew Ladle
- Institute for Resources, Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Kimberly Dawe
- School of Environmental StudiesUniversity of VictoriaVictoriaBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Christopher Beirne
- Department of Forest Resources ManagementUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Mark S. Boyce
- Quest University CanadaSquamishBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Emily Chow
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Nicole Heim
- British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural DevelopmentCranbrookBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Mitchell Fennell
- Department of Forest Resources ManagementUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Joanna Klees van Bommel
- Department of Forest Resources ManagementUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
- Ktunaxa Nation GovernmentCranbrookBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Robin Naidoo
- Institute for Resources, Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
- World Wildlife Fund‐USWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Michael Procko
- Department of Forest Resources ManagementUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - A. Cole Burton
- Department of Forest Resources Management and Biodiversity Research CentreUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ellis-Soto D, Oliver RY, Brum-Bastos V, Demšar U, Jesmer B, Long JA, Cagnacci F, Ossi F, Queiroz N, Hindell M, Kays R, Loretto MC, Mueller T, Patchett R, Sims DW, Tucker MA, Ropert-Coudert Y, Rutz C, Jetz W. A vision for incorporating human mobility in the study of human-wildlife interactions. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1362-1372. [PMID: 37550509 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02125-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
As human activities increasingly shape land- and seascapes, understanding human-wildlife interactions is imperative for preserving biodiversity. Habitats are impacted not only by static modifications, such as roads, buildings and other infrastructure, but also by the dynamic movement of people and their vehicles occurring over shorter time scales. Although there is increasing realization that both components of human activity substantially affect wildlife, capturing more dynamic processes in ecological studies has proved challenging. Here we propose a conceptual framework for developing a 'dynamic human footprint' that explicitly incorporates human mobility, providing a key link between anthropogenic stressors and ecological impacts across spatiotemporal scales. Specifically, the dynamic human footprint integrates a range of metrics to fully acknowledge the time-varying nature of human activities and to enable scale-appropriate assessments of their impacts on wildlife behaviour, demography and distributions. We review existing terrestrial and marine human-mobility data products and provide a roadmap for how these could be integrated and extended to enable more comprehensive analyses of human impacts on biodiversity in the Anthropocene.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diego Ellis-Soto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Ruth Y Oliver
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Vanessa Brum-Bastos
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
- Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics, Wroclaw University of Environmental Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Urška Demšar
- School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Brett Jesmer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Jed A Long
- Department of Geography & Environment, Centre for Animals on the Move, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Francesca Cagnacci
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
- National Biodiversity Future Center S.C.A.R.L., Palermo, Italy
| | - Federico Ossi
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Nuno Queiroz
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado/BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK
| | - Mark Hindell
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Roland Kays
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA
- Dept Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Matthias-Claudio Loretto
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
- Berchtesgaden National Park, Berchtesgaden, Germany
- Department of Migration, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Frankfurt (Main), Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt (Main), Germany
| | - Robert Patchett
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - David W Sims
- Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Marlee A Tucker
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université - CNRS, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Walter Jetz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Weiss F, Michler FU, Gillich B, Tillmann J, Ciuti S, Heurich M, Rieger S. Displacement Effects of Conservation Grazing on Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Spatial Behaviour. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 70:763-779. [PMID: 35994055 PMCID: PMC9519651 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-022-01697-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Conservation grazing uses semi-feral or domesticated herbivores to limit encroachment in open areas and to promote biodiversity. However, we are still unaware of its effects on wild herbivores. This study investigates the influence of herded sheep and goats on red deer (Cervus elaphus) spatial behavior by testing three a-priori hypotheses: (i) red deer are expected to avoid areas used by livestock, as well as adjacent areas, when livestock are present, albeit (ii) red deer increase the use of these areas when sheep and goats are temporarily absent and (iii) there is a time-lagged disruption in red deer spatial behavior when conservation grazing practice ends. Using GPS-telemetry data on red deer from a German heathland area, we modelled their use of areas grazed by sheep and goats, using mixed-effect logistic regression. Additionally, we developed seasonal resource selection functions (use-availability design) to depict habitat selection by red deer before, during, and after conservation grazing. Red deer used areas less during conservation grazing throughout all times of the day and there was no compensatory use during nighttime. This effect mostly persisted within 21 days after conservation grazing. Effects on habitat selection of red deer were detectable up to 3000 meters away from the conservation grazing sites, with no signs of either habituation or adaption. For the first time, we demonstrate that conservation grazing can affect the spatio-temporal behavior of wild herbivores. Our findings are relevant for optimizing landscape and wildlife management when conservation grazing is used in areas where wild herbivores are present.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Weiss
- Biosphere Reserves Institute, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany.
- Department Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany.
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany.
| | - Frank Uwe Michler
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
| | - Benjamin Gillich
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
- Institute of Zoology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Simone Ciuti
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, SBES, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Marco Heurich
- Department Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany
- Department of Conservation and Research, Bavarian Forest National Park, Bavaria, Germany
- Institute for Forest and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University for Applied Science, Hamar, Norway
| | - Siegfried Rieger
- Biosphere Reserves Institute, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
- Department of Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Management and Hunting Practice, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Spatial and temporal variations in interspecific interaction: impact of a recreational landscape. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-022-01584-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAnthropogenic activities, such as outdoor recreation, have the potential to change complex interactions between wildlife and livestock, with further consequences for the management of both animals, the environment, and disease transmission. We present the interaction amongst wildlife, livestock, and outdoor recreationists as a three-way interaction. Little is known about how recreational activities alter the interaction between herbivores in areas extensively used for recreational purposes. We investigate how hiking activity affects spatio-temporal co-occurrence between domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). We used camera traps to capture the spatio-temporal distribution of red deer and sheep and used the distance from the hiking path as a proxy of hiking activity. We used generalized linear models to investigate the spatial distribution of sheep and deer. We analysed the activity patterns of sheep and deer and then calculated their coefficients of temporal overlap for each camera trap location. We compared these coefficients in relation to the distance from the hiking path. Finally, we used a generalized linear mixed-model to investigate which factors influence the spatio-temporal succession between deer and sheep. We do not find that sheep and red deer spatially avoid each other. The coefficient of temporal overlap varied with distance from the hiking trail, with stronger temporal co-occurrence at greater distances from the hiking trail. Red deer were more likely to be detected further from the path during the day, which increased the temporal overlap with sheep in these areas. This suggests that hiking pressure influences spatio-temporal interactions between sheep and deer, leading to greater temporal overlap in areas further from the hiking path due to red deer spatial avoidance of hikers. This impact of recreationists on the wildlife and livestock interaction can have consequences for the animals’ welfare, the vegetation they graze, their management, and disease transmission.
Collapse
|
7
|
Marion S, Demšar U, Davies AL, Stephens PA, Irvine RJ, Long JA. Red deer behavioural response to hiking activity: A study using camera traps. J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Solène Marion
- School of Geography & Sustainable Development, Irvine Building University of St Andrews St Andrews UK
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler Aberdeen UK
| | - Urška Demšar
- School of Geography & Sustainable Development, Irvine Building University of St Andrews St Andrews UK
| | - Althea L. Davies
- School of Geography & Sustainable Development, Irvine Building University of St Andrews St Andrews UK
| | - Philip A. Stephens
- Conservation Ecology Group Department of Biosciences Durham University Durham UK
| | - R. Justin Irvine
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler Aberdeen UK
- Frankfurt Zoological Society Addis Ababa Ethiopia
| | - Jed A. Long
- School of Geography & Sustainable Development, Irvine Building University of St Andrews St Andrews UK
- Department of Geography & Environment Western University London Ontario Canada
| |
Collapse
|