Variation in behavioral traits of two frugivorous mammals may lead to differential responses to human disturbance

Autor: Jacob Willie, Nikki Tagg, Luc Lens, Luc Roscelin Dongmo Tédonzong, Sandra Tewamba Makengveu
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
0106 biological sciences
Species distribution
Gorilla
01 natural sciences
Nest
CHIMPANZEES PAN-TROGLODYTES
HABITAT
Original Research
RISK
0303 health sciences
education.field_of_study
FLIGHT
Ecology
biology
CERCOPITHECUS-ALBOGULARIS-LABIATUS
COMMUNITY
Habitat
PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTIONS
NATIONAL-PARK
anthropocene
Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Population
Wildlife
species distribution modeling
010603 evolutionary biology
FEEDING ECOLOGY
03 medical and health sciences
Western lowland gorilla
Central chimpanzee
biology.animal
lcsh:QH540-549.5
SUITABILITY
education
Ecology
Evolution
Behavior and Systematics
SAMANGO MONKEYS
030304 developmental biology
Nature and Landscape Conservation
INITIATION DISTANCE
Biology and Life Sciences
modeling
biology.organism_classification
behavioral adaptations
predator–prey system
Pan
troglodytes troglodytes
predator-prey system
species distribution
lcsh:Ecology
Pan troglodytes troglodytes
Zdroj: ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Ecology and Evolution, Vol 10, Iss 8, Pp 3798-3813 (2020)
Ecology and Evolution
ISSN: 2045-7758
Popis: Human activities can lead to a shift in wildlife species’ spatial distribution. Understanding the specific effects of human activities on ranging behavior can improve conservation management of wildlife populations in human‐dominated landscapes. This study evaluated the effects of forest use by humans on the spatial distribution of mammal species with different behavioral adaptations, using sympatric western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee as focal species. We collected data on great ape nest locations, ecological and physical variables (habitat distribution, permanent rivers, and topographic data), and anthropogenic variables (distance to trails, villages, and a permanent research site). Here, we show that anthropogenic variables are important predictors of the distribution of wild animals. In the resource model, the distribution of gorilla nests was predicted by nesting habitat distribution, while chimpanzee nests were predicted first by elevation followed by nesting habitat distribution. In the anthropogenic model, the major predictors of gorilla nesting changed to human features, while the major predictors of chimpanzee nesting remained elevation and the availability of their preferred nesting habitats. Animal behavioral traits (body size, terrestrial/arboreal, level of specialization/generalization, and competitive inferiority/superiority) may influence the response of mammals to human activities. Our results suggest that chimpanzees may survive in human‐encroached areas whenever the availability of their nesting habitat and preferred fruits can support their population, while a certain level of human activities may threaten gorillas. Consequently, the survival of gorillas in human‐dominated landscapes is more at risk than that of chimpanzees. Replicating our research in other sites should permit a systematic evaluation of the influence of human activity on the distribution of mammal populations. As wild animals are increasingly exposed to human disturbance, understanding the resulting consequences of shifting species distributions due to human disturbance on animal population abundance and their long‐term survival will be of growing conservation importance.
This study explores the influence of human disturbance on the distribution of mammal populations in a human‐dominated landscape and evaluates the behavioral adaptations that condition the response of different animal species to human disturbance, using sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees as focal species. We found that gorillas were more negatively affected by human disturbance than chimpanzees. The differences in behavioral traits, such as dietary specialization/generalization, competitive hierarchy, arboreality/terrestriality, and body size, were associated with different levels of mammal response to human settlements.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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