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Marion S, Curveira Santos G, Herdman E, Hubbs A, Kearney SP, Burton AC. Mammal responses to human recreation depend on landscape context. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300870. [PMID: 39024232 PMCID: PMC11257333 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Rapid growth in outdoor recreation may have important and varied effects on terrestrial mammal communities. Few studies have investigated factors influencing variation in observed responses of multiple mammal species to recreation. We used data from 155 camera traps, in western Alberta (Canada), and a hierarchical Bayesian community modelling framework to document 15 mammal species responses to recreation, test for differential responses between predators and prey, and evaluate the influence of local context. Factors characterizing context were trail designation (i.e., use by motorized vs non-motorized), management type, forest cover, landscape disturbance, and season. We used three measures to characterize variation in recreation pressure: distance to trail, trail density, and an index of recreation intensity derived from the platform Strava. We found limited evidence for strong or consistent effects of recreation on mammal space use. However, mammal space use was better explained by an interaction between recreation and the influencing factors than by either on their own. The strongest interaction was between trail density and management type; mammals were more likely to avoid sites near a higher density of trails in areas with more restrictive management. We found that responses to recreation varied with the trail designation, although there were not clear or consistent differences between responses to trails designated for motorized vs. non-motorized use. Overall, we found that responses were species- and context-dependent. Limiting the density of trails may be important for reducing negative impacts to mammals within conservation areas. We show that using multiple measures of recreation yields more insight into the varied effects of human disturbances on wildlife. We recommend investigating how different characteristics of recreation (noise, speed, and visibility) influence animal behaviors. Multispecies monitoring and modelling across multiple landscapes that vary in recreation pressure can lead to an adaptive management approach to ensuring outdoor recreation coexistence with wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solène Marion
- Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- JNCC, Inverdee House, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Gonçalo Curveira Santos
- Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- CIBIO—Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO Associated Laboratory, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal
| | | | - Anne Hubbs
- Resource Stewardship, Environment and Protected Areas, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sean Patrick Kearney
- Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - A. Cole Burton
- Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Gump KM, Thornton DH. Trucks versus treks: The relative influence of motorized versus nonmotorized recreation on a mammal community. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2916. [PMID: 37635645 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2916] [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: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Outdoor recreation is increasing rapidly on public lands, with potential consequences for wildlife communities. Recreation can induce shifts in wildlife activity and habitat use, but responses vary widely even within the same species, suggesting mitigating factors that remain poorly understood. Both the type of recreation-motorized or nonmotorized-and the distance of wildlife from human disturbance may be important in developing a general understanding of recreation impacts on wildlife and making more informed management decisions. We conducted a camera-trapping survey in the Colville National Forest (CNF) of northeastern Washington in the summers of 2019 and 2020. We collected ~11,000 trap nights of spatially extensive data on nine mid-large mammalian species, simultaneously recording the presence and activity patterns of motorized (primarily vehicles on roads) and nonmotorized (primarily hikers on trails) recreation and wildlife both along trails and roads and off trails and off roads (away from most recreation). We used diel overlap analysis, time lag analysis, and single-season single-species occupancy modeling to examine the impact of recreation on the focal species. Species temporally avoided recreationists either by shifting to more nocturnal hours or delaying return to recently used recreation sites. Most species also responded spatially by altering the use or the intensity of use of camera sites due to recreation, although both positive and negative associations with recreation were documented. Species responded to nonmotorized recreation (e.g., hikers on trails) more often than motorized recreation (e.g., vehicles on roads). Most effects of recreation extended off the trail or road, although in three instances the spatiotemporal response of species to recreation along trails/roads disappeared a short distance away from those features. Our work suggests that a better understanding of landscape-scale impacts of recreation, including fitness consequences, will require additional work to disentangle the effects of different types of recreation and estimate the effective distance at which wildlife responds. Moreover, these results suggest that quiet, nonconsumptive recreation may warrant increased attention from land managers given its potential to influence the spatiotemporal ecology of numerous species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey M Gump
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Daniel H Thornton
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
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Ortiz-Jiménez L, Iglesias-Merchan C, Martínez-Salazar AI, Barja I. Effect of intensity and duration of anthropic noises on European mink locomotor activity and fecal cortisol metabolite levels. Curr Zool 2022; 68:688-699. [PMID: 36743224 PMCID: PMC9892796 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human activities involving noise emission can affect wild animals. European mink was exposed to road noise and human voice playbacks to analyze how sound intensity level and duration of both noises altered the time that individuals were active and if their fecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) levels varied. A Hierarchical Analysis Cluster was performed to establish 2 mink groups with respect to both noise source type: short duration/low intensity (SL) and long duration/high intensity (LH). We performed general linear mixed models to evaluate the variation in locomotor activity duration (s) and FCM (nanogram per gram) levels, respectively. The results showed both road noise and human voices decreased locomotor activity duration in SL more sharply compared with LH, and human voices were the triggers that induced the most pronounced response to both exposure conditions. FCM (ng/g) levels increased in SL compared with LH during road noise while the opposite happened during human voices. Differences based on sex and age of individuals were observed. In conclusion, noise characteristics given by the sound type determined the variations in locomotor activity duration while noise exposure level determined the variations in FCM (ng/g) levels. Attention should be paid to noisy activities (e.g., recreational activities for visitors in protected natural areas) and loud groups of people to conserve wildlife, especially noise sensitive species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlos Iglesias-Merchan
- Department of Forest and Environmental Engineering and Management, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alba Itzel Martínez-Salazar
- Geographic Information Systems Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México
| | - Isabel Barja
- Department of Biology, Zoology Unit, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain,Biodiversity and Global Change Research Centre (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Andrasi B, Jaeger JA, Heinicke S, Metcalfe K, Hockings KJ. Quantifying the road‐effect zone for a critically endangered primate. Conserv Lett 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Balint Andrasi
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Cornwall UK
| | - Jochen A.G. Jaeger
- Department of Geography, Planning and Environment Concordia University Montreal Montréal Québec Canada
| | - Stefanie Heinicke
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) Member of the Leibniz Association Potsdam Germany
| | - Kristian Metcalfe
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Cornwall UK
| | - Kimberley J. Hockings
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Cornwall UK
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Carnahan AM, van Manen FT, Haroldson MA, Stenhouse GB, Robbins CT. Quantifying energetic costs and defining energy landscapes experienced by grizzly bears. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:224/6/jeb241083. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.241083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Animal movements are major determinants of energy expenditure and ultimately the cost–benefit of landscape use. Thus, we sought to understand those costs and how grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) move in mountainous landscapes. We trained captive grizzly bears to walk on a horizontal treadmill and up and down 10% and 20% slopes. The cost of moving upslope increased linearly with speed and slope angle, and this was more costly than moving horizontally. The cost of downslope travel at slower speeds was greater than the cost of traveling horizontally but appeared to decrease at higher speeds. The most efficient walking speed that minimized cost per unit distance was 1.19±0.11 m s−1. However, grizzly bears fitted with GPS collars in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem moved at an average velocity of 0.61±0.28 m s−1 and preferred to travel on near-horizontal slopes at twice their occurrence. When traveling uphill or downhill, grizzly bears chose paths across all slopes that were ∼54% less steep and costly than the maximum available slope. The net costs (J kg−1 m−1) of moving horizontally and uphill were the same for grizzly bears, humans and digitigrade carnivores, but those costs were 46% higher than movement costs for ungulates. These movement costs and characteristics of landscape use determined using captive and wild grizzly bears were used to understand the strategies that grizzly bears use for preying on large ungulates and the similarities in travel between people and grizzly bears that might affect the risk of encountering each other on shared landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony M. Carnahan
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
| | - Frank T. van Manen
- US Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA
| | - Mark A. Haroldson
- US Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA
| | | | - Charles T. Robbins
- School of the Environment and School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
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Goodbody TR, Coops NC, Srivastava V, Parsons B, Kearney SP, Rickbeil GJ, Stenhouse GB. Mapping recreation and tourism use across grizzly bear recovery areas using social network data and maximum entropy modelling. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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