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96 results for “human disturbance”
Data from: Human disturbance and the activity patterns and temporal overlap of tapirs and jaguars in reserves of NW Belize.
<p>Human disturbance from tourism and other non-consumptive activities in protected areas may be stressful to wildlife. Animals may move away in space or time to avoid human interaction. For species of particular conservation concern, such as Baird's tapirs (<i>Tapirus bairdii)</i> and jaguars (<i>Panthera onca</i>), a better understanding of how they respond to different levels and types of disturbance is needed in order to manage human visitation to parks in ways that minimize negative outcomes for wildlife. We describe the overlap of activity patterns of tapirs, jaguars, and humans at logged and unlogged sites and at places with low versus high human visitation using camera survey data from protected areas of northwest Belize, 2013-2016. Tapirs were nocturnal in all study sites, with >80 percent of all tapir detections occurring between 1900 h and 0500 h. Their activity patterns were not different in unlogged versus logged sites and did not change with increased human traffic. Jaguars were cathemeral across sites, but had more nocturnal activity at the site with the most human impact. Activity pattern overlap between tapirs and jaguars did not differ significantly between logged and unlogged sites, nor between areas with low and high human activity. Human traffic increased from 2013-2016 at most of the study locations. In conclusion, this camera trap dataset suggests that non-consumptive human disturbance does not alter the activity patterns of tapirs and jaguars in protected areas lacking hunting pressure.</p>
Supplementary material from "Experimental evidence of human recreational disturbance effects on bird-territory establishment"
<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>The worldwide increase in human outdoor activities raises concerns for wildlife. Human disturbances, even at low levels, are likely to impact species during sensitive periods of the annual cycle. However, experimental studies during the putative sensitive period of territory establishment of birds which not only investigate low disturbance levels, but which also exclude the effect of habitat modification (e.g. walking trails) are lacking. Here, we experimentally disturbed birds in forest plots by walking through twice a day during territory establishment. Later we compared the breeding bird community of experimentally disturbed plots with that of undisturbed control plots. We discovered that the number of territories (−15.0%) and species richness (−15.2%) in disturbed plots were substantially reduced compared with control plots. Species most affected included those sensitive to human presence (assessed by flight-initiation distances), open-cup nesters and above-ground foragers. Long-distance migrants, however, were unaffected due to their arrival after experimental disturbance took place. These findings highlight how territory establishment is a sensitive period for birds, when even low levels of human recreation may be perceived as threatening, and alter settlement decisions. This can have important implications for the conservation of species, which might go unnoticed when focusing only on already established birds.</p>
Functional organization of woody plant assemblages along precipitation and human disturbance gradients in a seasonally dry tropical forest
<p>Chronic anthropogenic disturbances (CAD) and rainfall are important drivers of plant community assembly, but little is known about the role played by inter and intraspecific trait variation as communities respond to these pervasive forces. Here we examined the hypothesis that lower precipitation and higher CAD reduce both intra and interspecific trait variation in Caatinga dry forests. We sampled woody plants across 15 plots along precipitation and CAD gradients and measured resource-use traits. Effects of precipitation and CAD on RaoQ functional diversity were decomposed into species turnover and intraspecific variability. We used "T-statistics" to assess the trait sorting from the regional pool to local communities (i.e. external filtering), and within-community forces leading to low trait overlap (i.e. internal filtering) at individual- and species-level. Intraspecific variability explained at least one third of the total trait variation and 46% of variation in multitrait diversity across communities. Increasing disturbance reduced multitrait diversity, while precipitation affected some particular traits, such as wood density. Overall, precipitation determined species sorting across communities, while disturbance relaxed internal filters, leading to higher trait overlap within communities due to higher intraspecific variability.<b> </b>Our results suggest that<b> </b>the woody Caatinga flora contains a substantial amount of both inter and intraspecific trait variation. This variation is not randomly distributed within and across communities, but varies according to rainfall conditions and disturbance intensity. These findings reinforce the emerging idea that human-disturbances can reorganize plant communities at multiple scales and highlight trait variability as a key biological asset for the resilience of dry forests.</p>
Data from: Human disturbance causes the formation of a hybrid swarm between two naturally sympatric fish species
Most evidence for hybrid swarm formation stemming from anthropogenic habitat disturbance comes from the breakdown of reproductive isolation between incipient species, or introgression between allopatric species following secondary contact. Human impacts on hybridization between divergent species that naturally occur in sympatry has received considerably less attention. Theory predicts that reinforcement should act to preserve reproductive isolation under such circumstances, potentially making reproductive barriers resistant to human habitat alteration. Using 15 microsatellites we examined hybridization between sympatric populations of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis) to test whether the frequency of hybridization and pattern of introgression have been impacted by the construction of a dam that isolated formerly anadromous populations of both species in a landlocked freshwater reservoir. The frequency of hybridization and pattern of introgression differed markedly between anadromous and landlocked populations. The range-wide frequency of hybridization among anadromous populations was generally 0-8%, whereas all landlocked individuals were hybrids. Although neutral introgression was observed among anadromous hybrids, directional introgression leading to increased prevalence of alewife genotypes was detected among landlocked hybrids. We demonstrate that habitat alteration can lead to hybrid swarm formation between divergent species that naturally occur sympatrically, and provide empirical evidence that reinforcement does not always sustain reproductive isolation under such circumstances.
Data from: Sex differences in risk perception in deep-diving bottlenose dolphins leads to decreased foraging efficiency when exposed to human disturbance
1. Individuals make behavioural decisions by weighing potential advantages and costs (e.g. increased food intake vs. increased risk of predation). When animals change their activities in response to a perceived threat, their energetic input may decline. Marine ecotourism, including whale and dolphin watching, is growing globally and cetaceans perceive interactions with tour vessels as a form of risk. Observable behavioural changes need to be linked to bioenergetic effects to determine the potential population consequences of this disturbance. 2. We developed a theoretical optimal dive model for bottlenose dolphins under three potential types of perceived risk resulting from human interactions at the surface (decreasing instantaneous risk, increasing instantaneous risk and no risk). We compared the predictions of these theoretical models to observed dive cycles of foraging male and female dolphins in the presence and absence of tour vessels. We used mixture models to classify dive types and mixed effects models to analyse changes in the interbreath interval of surface and bottom dives and the frequency of estimated bottom dives. 3. Males significantly increased bottom time and performed fewer bottom dives when boats were present, matching predictions of our theoretical model for perceived decreasing instantaneous risk. In contrast, females significantly decreased bottom times and increased the frequency of bottom dives, matching predictions from the model for perceived increasing instantaneous risk. Therefore, our empirical results suggest differences in the perception of risk between sexes. 4. Synthesis and applications. By comparing theoretical predictions with observed dive data, our study suggests that boat interactions during foraging can cause decreased net energy gain over a foraging bout for both sexes, with females being more impacted. The population under study is currently listed as critically endangered. Understanding whether these predicted energetic impacts affect an individual's vital rates will provide a link to the population-level consequences of this disturbance. Previous analytical approaches have failed to capture the costs associated with disturbance during foraging, leading to management recommendations that only protect animals from increased energetic expenditure. We suggest that the current management scheme should be revised to include foraging areas in order to secure the energy intake of animals.
Data from: Human-mediated disturbance in multitrophic interactions results in outbreak levels of North America's most venomous caterpillar
Abstract Anthropogenic environmental change is predicted to disrupt multitrophic interactions, which may have drastic consequences for population-level processes. Here, we investigate how a large-scale human-mediated disturbance affects the abundance of North America's most venomous caterpillar species, Megalopyge opercularis. Specifically, we used a natural experiment where netting was deployed to cover the entire canopies of a subset of mature southern live oak trees (Quercus virginiana) to exclude urban pest birds (grackles and pigeons), throughout an 8.1-km2 area encompassing a medical center in Houston, Texas. We used this experimental exclusion to test the following hypothesis: release from avian predators increases caterpillar abundance to outbreak levels, which increases the risk to human health. Results from a multi-year survey show that caterpillar abundance increased, on average, >7300% on netted versus non-netted trees. Thus, increases in caterpillar abundance, due to anthropogenic enemy release, increase human exposure to this venomous pest, and should be considered a health threat in the area. This study emphasizes the unforeseen consequences of ecological disturbance for species interactions and highlights the importance of considering ecology in urban planning.
Supplementary material 1 from: Sosa-López JR, Díaz Bernal NN, Padilla E, Briones-Salas M (2023) Analysis of the effects of habitat characteristics, human disturbance and prey on felids presence using long-term community monitoring information. Nature Conservation 53: 279-295. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.53.104135
Sampling sites and dates on which the camera-traps were installed and Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) for Puma, Bobcat and Margay
Demo data and models for: Automated speech detection in eco-acoustic data enables privacy protection and human disturbance quantification
<p>Folder containing a <strong>demo dataset</strong> and the <strong>model weights</strong> resulting from the ecoVAD pipeline. The data contained in this folder allows for full reproducibility of the pipeline described on the <a href="https://github.com/NINAnor/ecoVAD">ecoVAD GitHub repository</a>.</p> <p>If you have any questions or issues with the dataset, please open an issue on the ecoVAD GitHub repository.</p>
Density survey of apex predators, their main prey and human disturbance in the eastern Central African Republic
<p>Summary of all density estimates as described in Aebischer et al. 2020, Biological Conservation.</p>
Data from: Human disturbance increases functional but not structural variability of stream fungal communities
Temporal stability of ecosystem functions is often regulated by the same environmental factors that also shape diversity. Therefore, species diversity, ecosystem functions and their environmental regulators should be considered together to understand and predict the consequences of anthropogenic disturbances on ecosystems. We studied the influence of land-use disturbance (agriculture) and a natural stressor (low pH due to specific geology) on the temporal variability (variability among successive years) of fungal decomposer communities and leaf decomposition rates in streams. We used next-generation sequencing techniques (pyrosequencing) to determine the composition of fungal assemblages. Temporal variability of leaf decomposition was higher in human-disturbed streams than in circumneutral reference or naturally acidic sites, whereas the latter two did not differ. Fungal operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness and evenness were lower in human-impacted sites than in circumneutral reference sites. However, there were no significant differences between stream types in the temporal variability of fungal community composition. Fungal OTU evenness was negatively and among-year variability of water chemistry positively related to temporal variability in leaf decomposition. Partial regressions showed that these two factors had independent effects on decomposition rates. Although the dominant OTUs in the disturbed streams were temporally stable, they did not maintain stable ecosystem functions, suggesting that variability in decomposition was driven mainly by changes in the metabolic responses of dominant taxa to environmental fluctuations. Our results show that leaf decomposition rates in reference sites vary little through time, supporting the use of leaf decomposition assays in bioassessment. Our results also highlight the importance of measuring not only the mean rates, but also temporal variability of process rates when assessing the influence of human disturbance on ecosystem functioning.
Data from: Population genetics reveals high connectivity of giant panda populations across human disturbance features in key nature reserve
The giant panda is an example of a species that has faced extensive historical habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance, and is assumed to be isolated in numerous subpopulations with limited gene flow between them. To investigate the population size, health and connectivity of pandas in a key habitat area, we noninvasively collected a total of 539 fresh wild giant panda fecal samples for DNA extraction within Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China. Seven validated tetra-microsatellite markers were used to analyze each sample, and a total of 142 unique genotypes were identified. Non-spatial and spatial capture-recapture models estimated the population size of the reserve at 164 and 137 individuals (95% confidence intervals 153-175 and 115-163), respectively. Relatively high levels of genetic variation and low levels of inbreeding were estimated, indicating adequate genetic diversity. Surprisingly, no significant genetic boundaries were found within the population despite the national road G350 that bisects the reserve, which is also bordered with patches of development and agricultural land. We attribute this to high rates of migration, with 4 giant panda road-crossing events confirmed within a year based on repeated captures of individuals. This likely means that giant panda populations within mountain ranges are better connected than previously thought. Increased development and tourism traffic in the area and throughout the current panda distribution poses a threat of increasing population isolation, however. Maintaining and restoring adequate habitat corridors for dispersal is thus a vital step for preserving the levels of gene flow seen in our analysis and the continued conservation of the giant panda meta-population in both Wolong and throughout their current range.
Figure 3 in Across-shore distribution of Ocypode quadrata burrows in relation to beach features and human disturbance
Figure 3. Linear regression fitting for the across-shore distribution of ghost crabs by size. Dashed lines represents ±95% confidence intervals. Note that x axes are not the same for the three beaches.
Figure 5 in Across-shore distribution of Ocypode quadrata burrows in relation to beach features and human disturbance
Figure 5. Temporal variations (mean ± SE) of the ghost crab habitat envelope at the three studied beaches.
Figure 4 in Across-shore distribution of Ocypode quadrata burrows in relation to beach features and human disturbance
Figure 4. Temporal variations of the first burrow location (mean ± SE) at the three studied beaches.
Figure 2 in Across-shore distribution of Ocypode quadrata burrows in relation to beach features and human disturbance
Figure 2. Across-shore distribution of ghost crab density fitted using polynomial models. Dashed lines represents ±95% confidence intervals. Note that x and y axes are not the same for the three beaches.
Figure 1 in Across-shore distribution of Ocypode quadrata burrows in relation to beach features and human disturbance
Figure 1. Location and Google Earth images of study sites. Map data: Google, Digital Globe and INEGI.
Drought and coyotes mediate mesopredator response to human disturbance
<p>Mesopredators in western North America are facing major changes to their ecosystems, including drought and the expansion of human disturbance. To balance resource needs and risk-taking on the landscape, mesopredators are likely shifting their habitat use as well as their interspecies interactions. As part of a large-scale study to help evaluate responses of terrestrial wildlife <span>to severe drought, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife surveyed mesopredator presence across 585 sites in the Mojave Desert and Central Valley ecoregions of California. This study spanned a drought year (2016) and a post-drought year (2017), providing the opportunity to investigate how drought and interspecific interactions may mediate </span>spatial patterns of mesopredator occurrence across a continuum of human disturbance levels. We used <span>single-season, single-species, and conditional two-species occupancy models to elucidate these relationships in both ecoregions. </span>We examined occupancy and detection of coyotes (<i>Canis latrans</i>) and smaller mesopredators, including<i> </i>bobcats (<i>Lynx rufus</i>) in both ecoregions, raccoons<i> (Procyon lotor</i>) in the Central Valley, and desert kit foxes in the Mojave Desert (<i>Vulpes macrotis arsipus</i>)<i>.</i> The presence of coyotes influenced the detection probability of all other mesopredator species, and the impacts of drought varied by species and ecoregion. Detection<span> of mesopredators in the Central Valley was typically higher in 2016, especially at low disturbance sites, suggesting species may have become more active during the drought to meet resource needs. However, detection of mesopredators in the Mojave Desert tended to increase after the drought, suggesting a response to an increase in resources (e.g., prey). Coyotes in the Mojave Desert became more detectable in high human disturbance in 2016 and less detectable in 2017, possibly increasing activity during the drought in human-disturbed areas to obtain anthropogenic resources. Drought not only affects individual species and their relationships to human disturbance, but it can also impact their interspecies interactions and use of different landscape features.</span></p>
Data for Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs
<p>Percent cover of macroalgae data used in the analyses described in the Global Change Biology publication, <em>Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs (</em>DOI: 10.1111/GCB.16694)</p>
Time-restricted Feeding as a Dietary Strategy Against Metabolic Disturbances in Humans
ClinicalTrials.gov study NCT04351672. IPD Sharing: Not stated. Countries: 1. Publications: 1.
Data from: Human disturbance and the activity patterns and temporal overlap of tapirs and jaguars in reserves of NW Belize.
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