Background Animal communities have complex patterns of ecological segregation at different levels according to food resources, habitats, behavior, and activity patterns. Understanding these patterns among the community is essential for the conservation of the whole ecosystem. However, these networks are difficult to study nowadays, due to anthropic disturbances and local extinctions, making it difficult to conclude if segregation patterns are natural or human-induced. We studied ecological segregation in a community of large and mid-sized mammals in the Great Gobi Desert, a remote arid area free from recent extinctions and human disturbances. Activity patterns of 10 sympatric mammal species were monitored around 6 waterholes through camera-trapping over a two-year period, and analyzed them primarily through circular statistics. Results Complex patterns of spatial, seasonal, and daily segregation were found. Overlap in seasonal activity was detected in only 3 of the 45 possible pairs of species. Four species used the waterholes all-year-round, while others peaked their activity during different periods. The Bactrian camel showed continuous daily activity, the grey wolf had bimodal activity, and the argali and Siberian ibex were diurnal, while the others had nocturnal peaks during different hours. Daily and spatial overlap were both detected in only 6 of the 45 pairs. Only one species pair (snow leopard and Eurasian lynx) showed an overlap at two levels: seasonal and daily. Climate and moon phase significantly affected the activity of certain species. Conclusions Altogether, the results showed complex patterns of ecological segregation at different levels in the use of the key resource in arid environments: waterholes. These results are important for understanding the biology of these species under natural conditions, as well as potential changes in altered ecosystems, and may help to design conservation strategies.
Biodiversity assessments are indispensable tools for planning and monitoring conservation strategies. Camera traps (CT) are widely used to monitor wildlife and have proven their usefulness. Environmental DNA (eDNA)‐based approaches are increasingly implemented for biomonitoring, combining sensitivity, high taxonomic coverage and resolution, non‐invasiveness and easiness of sampling, but remain challenging for terrestrial fauna. However, in remote desert areas where scattered water bodies attract terrestrial species, which release their DNA into the water, this method presents a unique opportunity for their detection. In order to identify the most efficient method for a given study system, comparative studies are needed. Here, we compare CT and DNA metabarcoding of water samples collected from two desert ecosystems, the Trans‐Altai Gobi in Mongolia and the Kalahari in Botswana. We recorded with CT the visiting patterns of wildlife and studied the correlation with the biodiversity captured with the eDNA approach. The aim of the present study was threefold: (a) to investigate how well waterborne eDNA captures signals of terrestrial fauna in remote desert environments, which have been so far neglected in terms of biomonitoring efforts; (b) to compare two distinct approaches for biomonitoring in such environments; and (c) to draw recommendations for future eDNA‐based biomonitoring. We found significant correlations between the two methodologies and describe a detectability score based on variables extracted from CT data and the visiting patterns of wildlife. This supports the use of eDNA‐based biomonitoring in these ecosystems and encourages further research to integrate the methodology in the planning and monitoring of conservation strategies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.