Find research datasets worth reusing

Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.

datasets available to search

ShareScore release 0.7.1

Dataset results

96 results for “human disturbance”

Learn how ShareScore rates datasets ↗

dryad36/100

Marbled cats in Southeast Asia: Are diurnal and semi-arboreal felids at greater risk from human disturbances?

Southeast Asia supports the greatest diversity of felids globally, but this felid diversity is likely to be threatened by the severe forest loss and degradation that is occurring in the region. The response of felids to disturbances appears to differ depending on their ecology. For example, the largely terrestrial and nocturnal leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) thrives near forest edges and in oil palm plantations where it hunts rodents (Muridae) at night, thereby avoiding human activity peaks. Conversely, we hypothesized that the sympatric and similar-sized marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) would respond negatively to edges and relatively open oil palm plantations as they are more arboreal than leopard cats, rely on tree connectivity for hunting, and are diurnal so have less potential to temporally avoid humans. Using new and previously published camera-trapping studies from Southeast Asia to test habitat associations at multiple spatial scales using zero-inflated Poission GLMMS and hierarchical occupancy modelling, we examined the habitat associated and diel behaviour of the marbled cat in relation to human disturbances. We found that marbled cats were positively associated with large intact forests and, in contrast to leopard cats, negatively associated with oil palm plantations. Furthermore we found preliminary evidence suggesting marbled cats may adapt their diel behaviour to become more crepuscular in degraded forests, likely shifting their activity to avoid humans. These findings suggest that the marbled cat's IUCN Red List conservation status should be revaluated and potentially upgraded from Near Threatened to Vulnerable, matching other forest-dependent felids in the region. We posit our findings may be generalizable and that semi-arboreal and diurnal felids could face greater threats from habitat degradation than their terrestrial and nocturnal relatives.

opencc-zeroSep 2022View details →

zenodo36/100

Data and R codes from: Effects of human disturbance on risk-taking behavior in painted turtles

Animals are exposed to high levels of anthropogenic disturbance, which has profound consequences for population persistence. Individuals can adjust their behavior plastically when faced with perturbations in their environment and may show consistent differences in the way they perceive and respond to risky situations. Over time, this variability among individuals in response to risk can affect the dynamics of populations exposed to human disturbance. Thus, understanding how animals cope behaviorally with human disturbance is important, especially for species vulnerable to human perturbations, such as turtles. In this context, we evaluated whether risk-taking behaviors are consistent within individual painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) and assessed how these behaviors are related to the extent of human disturbance along the Rideau Canal, Ontario, Canada. Specifically, we conducted repeated measurements of the number of active defensive behaviors used during handling and the time taken to escape a floating platform for a total of 730 painted turtles (1117 observations) from 22 sites varying in human disturbance along the canal. We also quantified the emergence of the turtles from the water after escaping the platform. First, individual painted turtles showed consistent differences in all risk-taking behaviors. Second, painted turtles in areas with high boat activity displayed more active defensive behaviors, while turtles from sites in proximity to more houses with access to the canal used fewer. Our study highlights the importance of studying animal behavior to better understand the impact of human activities on animal populations.

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Non-exploitative human disturbance provides shelter for prey from predator

Human activities can influence behaviors of predators and prey, as well as predator-prey interactions. Using camera trap data, we investigated whether or to what extent human activities influenced behaviors of predators (tigers and leopards) and prey (sambar deer, spotted deer, wild boar, barking deer), and predator-prey interactions in the Barandabhar Corridor Forest (BCF), Chitwan District, Nepal. A multispecies occupancy model revealed that the presence of humans altered the conditional occupancy of both prey and predator species. Specifically, the conditional occupancy probability of prey was substantially higher (ψ = 0.91, CI = 0.89–0.92) when humans were present than when humans were absent (ψ = 0.68, CI = 0.54–0.79). The diel activity pattern of most prey species overlapped strongly with humans, whereas predators were generally more active when humans were absent. Finally, the spatio-temporal overlap analysis revealed that human-prey interactions (i.e., the probability that both humans and prey species being present on the same grid at the same hourly period) was ~3 times higher (10.5%, CI = 10.4%–10.6%) compared to spatio-temporal overlap between humans-predators (3.1%, CI = 3.0%–3.2%). Our findings are consistent with the human-shield hypothesis and suggest that ungulate prey species may reduce predation risk by using areas with high human activities.

opencc-zeroJun 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Rain, recreation, and risk: Human activity and ecological disturbance create seasonal risk landscapes for the prey of an ambush predator

Predation risk and prey responses exhibit fluctuations in space and time. Seasonal ecological disturbances can alter landscape structure and permeability to influence predator activity and efficacy, creating predictable patterns of risk for prey (seasonal risk landscapes). This may create corresponding seasonal shifts in antipredator behavior, mediated by species ecology and trade-offs between risk and resources. Yet, how human recreation interacts with seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator behavior remains understudied. Goals – In South Florida, we investigated the impact of a seasonal ecological disturbance, specifically flooding, which is inversely related to human activity, on interactions between Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We hypothesized that human activity and ecological disturbances would interact with panther-deer ecology, resulting in the emergence of two distinct seasonal landscapes of predation risk and the corresponding antipredator response. We conducted camera trap surveys across southwestern Florida to collect detection data on humans, panthers, and deer. We analyzed the influence of human site use and flooding on deer and panther detection probability, co-occurrence, and diel activity during the flooded and dry seasons. Flooding led to decreased panther detections and increased deer detections, resulting in reduced deer-panther co-occurrence during the flooded season. Panthers exhibited increased nocturnality and reduced diel activity overlap with deer in areas with higher human activity. Supporting our hypothesis, panthers' avoidance of human recreation and flooding created distinct risk schedules for deer, driving their antipredator behavior. Deer utilized flooded areas to spatially offset predation risk during the flooded season while increasing diurnal activity in response to human recreation during the dry season. Significance to the field – We highlight the importance of understanding how competing risks and ecological disturbances influence predator and prey behavior, leading to the generation of seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator responses. We emphasize the role of cyclical ecological disturbances in shaping dynamic predator-prey interactions. Furthermore, we highlight how human recreation may function as a 'temporal human shield,' altering seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator responses to reduce encounter rates between predators and prey.

opencc-zeroJun 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Testing the links between bird diversity, alien species and disturbance within a human-modified landscape

Introduced alien species are associated with lower taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of native communities and negative impacts on ecosystem functioning. This is particularly evident in habitats where human disturbance may favour alien species, posing an additional stressor on native communities. Following the community resistance hypothesis (higher diversity promotes higher resistance to invasion), we predicted: i) higher taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity (TD, FD and PD respectively) in non-invaded bird communities (i.e. no alien bird species); and, ii) higher diversity and resistance to invasion in less human-disturbed areas. We surveyed bird communities in a modified Mediterranean landscape subject to varying levels of human disturbance. We tested whether TD, FD and PD were significantly different between non-invaded and invaded bird communities, and assessed the effect of land classes (forest, agriculture, urban), landscape composition and heterogeneity on these metrics. We found that non-invaded communities retained higher TD and FD, but not PD, than invaded communities. Alien birds occupied marginal niches in invaded communities, and did not fully compensate for the taxonomic and functional diversity loss caused by the absence of native species. These results were consistent across different land classes, suggesting weak environmental filtering of communities. Generally, less human-modified and more heterogeneous areas supported higher TD regardless of the presence of alien species. FD and PD of invaded communities decreased with increases in human-modified areas, whereas non-invaded communities were not affected. Our results suggest that even within a human-modified landscape, invaded community diversity is more affected by, and thus has a lower resilience to, disturbance. Restoring and protecting natural habitats within human-modified landscapes is likely to increase the resilience of native species.

opencc-zeroAug 2023View details →

dryad36/100