Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Justin P Suraci¹, Kaitlyn M Gaynor², Maximilian L Allen^{3

4}, Peter Alexander⁵, Justin S Brashares⁶, Sara Cendejas-Zarelli⁷, Kevin Crooks⁸, L Mark Elbroch⁹, Tavis Forrester¹⁰, Austin M Green¹¹, Jeffrey Haight¹², Nyeema C Harris¹³, Mark Hebblewhite¹⁴, Forest Isbell¹⁵, Barbara Johnston¹⁶, Roland Kays^{17

18}, Patrick E Lendrum¹⁹, Jesse S Lewis²⁰, Alex McInturff²¹, William McShea²², Thomas W Murphy²³, Meredith S Palmer²⁴, Arielle Parsons¹⁸, Mitchell A Parsons²⁵, Mary E Pendergast²⁶, Charles Pekins²⁷, Laura R Prugh²⁸, Kimberly A Sager-Fradkin⁷, Stephanie Schuttler¹⁷, Çağan H Şekercioğlu^{11

29}, Brenda Shepherd³⁰, Laura Whipple⁴, Jesse Whittington¹⁶, George Wittemyer⁸, Christopher C Wilmers¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Integrated Spatial Research, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
² National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
³ Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA.
⁴ Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
⁵ Craighead Beringia South, Kelly, WY, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁷ Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Port Angeles, WA, USA.
⁸ Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
⁹ Panthera, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, La Grande, OR, USA.
¹¹ School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
¹² School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
¹³ Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Science, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
¹⁶ Parks Canada Agency, Banff, AB, Canada.
¹⁷ North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
¹⁹ World Wildlife Fund, Northern Great Plains Program, Bozeman, MT, USA.
²⁰ College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, USA.
²¹ University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
²² Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA.
²³ Edmonds College, Lynnwood, WA, USA.
²⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
²⁵ Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA.
²⁶ Wild Utah Project, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
²⁷ Fort Hood Natural Resources Management Branch, United States Army Garrison, Fort Hood, TX, USA.
²⁸ School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
²⁹ Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
³⁰ Parks Canada Agency, Jasper, AB, Canada.

PMID: 33887083
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15650

Free article

Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Justin P Suraci et al. Glob Chang Biol. 2021 Aug.

Free article

. 2021 Aug;27(16):3718-3731.

doi: 10.1111/gcb.15650. Epub 2021 May 20.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center for Integrated Spatial Research, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
² National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
³ Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA.
⁴ Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
⁵ Craighead Beringia South, Kelly, WY, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁷ Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Port Angeles, WA, USA.
⁸ Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
⁹ Panthera, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, La Grande, OR, USA.
¹¹ School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
¹² School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
¹³ Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Science, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
¹⁶ Parks Canada Agency, Banff, AB, Canada.
¹⁷ North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
¹⁹ World Wildlife Fund, Northern Great Plains Program, Bozeman, MT, USA.
²⁰ College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, USA.
²¹ University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
²² Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA.
²³ Edmonds College, Lynnwood, WA, USA.
²⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
²⁵ Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA.
²⁶ Wild Utah Project, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
²⁷ Fort Hood Natural Resources Management Branch, United States Army Garrison, Fort Hood, TX, USA.
²⁸ School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
²⁹ Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
³⁰ Parks Canada Agency, Jasper, AB, Canada.

PMID: 33887083
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15650

Abstract

Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human-dominated landscapes such that only species with "winning" combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty-three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species' capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human-dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster-reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human-modified landscapes.

Keywords: anthropogenic disturbance; carnivore; conservation; environmental filter; human footprint index; human-wildlife coexistence; occupancy; traits; ungulate; wildlife.

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References

REFERENCES

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Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

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Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Authors

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Abstract

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REFERENCES

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