IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
| Lendrum, P.E.; Crooks, K.R.; Wittemyer, G. | |
| Changes in circadian activity patterns of a wildlife community post high-intensity energy development | |
| 2017 Journal of Mammalogy (98): 1265-1271 | |
In rapidly changing environments, assessing the degree to which animals behaviorally respond to human disturbance can help identify activities of concern or populations at risk. We examined circadian activity patterns of bobcats (_Lynx rufus_), coyotes (_Canis latrans_), mule deer (_Odocoileus hemionus_), elk (_Cervus canadensis_), lagomorphs, and rodents during crepuscular, day, and night periods using data captured from 40 remote cameras distributed across a 162 km2 area with starkly different levels of current and historical energy development. During the winter of 2015-2016, we obtained 3,067 independent detections from 7,185 camera days of our 6 target species. In mixed support of our hypotheses, bobcats, coyotes, and mule deer were less active during the day in the developed site compared to the undeveloped site, as were rodents, which was unexpected. In contrast, elk and lagomorphs did not show differences across sites. Bobcats demonstrated the greatest reduction in diurnal activity, with nearly 3 times less activity in the developed site. Coyotes and mule deer appeared to compensate for reduced activity during the day by increasing their activity during other periods, though bobcats did not. The mammal species captured in this study demonstrated strong differences in their plasticity and sensitivity to energy development approximately 4 years post high-intensity disturbance, which likely influences their susceptibility to human-driven landscape changes. |
|
 |
PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here |
(c) IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group ( IUCN - The World Conservation Union) |