No abstract

As the human footprint upon the landscape expands, wildlife seeking to avoid human contact are losing the option of altering their spatial distribution and instead are shifting their daily activity patterns to be active at different times than humans. In this study, we used game cameras to evaluate how human development and activity were related to the daily activity patterns of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) along an urban to rural gradient in Arkansas, USA during the winter of 2020-2021. We found that armadillos had substantial behavioral plasticity in regard to the timing of their activity patterns; >95% of armadillo activity was nocturnal at six of the study sites, whereas between 30% and 60% of activity occurred during the day at three other sites. The likelihood of diurnal armadillo activity was best explained by the distance to downtown Fayetteville (the nearest population center) and estimated ambient sound level (both indices of human activity) with armadillos being most active during the day at quiet sites far from Fayetteville. Furthermore, armadillo activity occurred later during the night period (minutes after sunset) at sites near downtown and with higher anthropogenic sound. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the observed activity shift may be in response to not only human activity but also the presence of domestic dogs. Our results provide further evidence that human activity has subtle nonlethal impacts on even common, widespread wildlife species. Because armadillos have low body temperatures and basal metabolism, being active during cold winter nights likely has measurable fitness costs. Nature reserves near human population centers may not serve as safe harbors for wildlife as we intend, and managers could benefit from considering these nonlethal responses in how they manage recreation and visitation in these natural areas.

Northern bobwhite Colinus virginianus populations have been rapidly declining in the eastern, central, and southern United States for decades. Declines have been driven by land use change and an incompatibility between northern bobwhite resource needs and human land use practices. Here, we applied occupancy analyses on two spatial scales (state-level and ecoregion-level) to more than 5,000 northern bobwhite surveys conducted over six years across the entire state of Arkansas to explore patterns in occupancy and land use variables, and to identify priority areas for management and conservation. At the state level, northern bobwhite occupied 29% of sites and northern bobwhite were most likely to occur in areas with a high percentage of early successional habitat (grassland, pasture, and shrubland). The statewide model predicted that northern bobwhite were likely to occur (≥75% predicted occupancy) in <20% of the state. Arkansas is comprised of five distinct ecoregions, and analyses at the ecoregion spatial scale showed that habitat associations of northern bobwhite could vary between ecoregions. For example, northern bobwhite occupancy in both the Arkansas River Valley and Ozark Mountains ecoregions was best predicted by early successional habitat, but was further refined by other habitat associations such as the proportion of herbaceous habitat and hay-pasture habitat, respectively. Contrastingly, northern bobwhite occupancy in the Ouachita Mountains ecoregion was best predicted by richness of landcover classes alone. Ecoregion-level models were thus more discerning than the state level model and should be more helpful to managers in identifying priority conservation areas. However, in 2 of 5 ecoregions, northern bobwhite were too rarely encountered to accurately predict their occurrence. We found that likely occupied northern bobwhite habitat lay primarily on private properties (95%), but that numerous public entities own and manage land identified as suitable or likely occupied. We conclude that management of northern bobwhite in Arkansas could benefit from cooperation among state, federal, and military partners, as well as surrounding private landowners and that ecoregion-specific models may be more useful in identifying priority areas for management. Our approach incorporates multiple landscape scales when using remote sensing technology in conjunction with monitoring data and could have important application for the management of northern bobwhite and other grassland bird species.

Context Understanding the temporal and spatial scales at which wildlife move is vital for conservation and management. This is especially important for semi-aquatic species that make frequent inter-wetland movements to fulfil life-history requirements. Aims We aimed to investigate the drivers of movement and space-use of the imperilled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a seasonal wetland specialist, in three large, isolated wetland complexes in Virginia, USA. Methods We used VHF radio-transmitters to radio-locate adult and juvenile turtles, and estimated movement and space-use during their active and aestivation seasons (March–August). We then used generalised linear mixed models to examine how movement and space-use varied, based on intrinsic turtle characteristics and extrinsic wetland and climatic factors. Key results We show that, on average, individual spotted turtles used five wetlands per year (range 3–13), and that their inter-wetland movement and movement distance varied seasonally in accordance with wetland availability and breeding phenology. Spotted turtle movement and space-use was influenced by the arrangement and size of the wetland complexes, with turtles moving further and occupying larger home-ranges as size and distance between wetlands increased. Inter-wetland movement was not influenced by intrinsic turtle effects but larger adult turtles moved further, used more wetlands, and had larger home-ranges than smaller turtles. Conclusions Turtle responses to variation in season and wetland configuration highlight the need for complex and dynamic landscapes required to sustain this species. Implications This study has important conservation implications showing that spotted turtles rely on a large number of diverse wetlands, as well as upland habitat, to fulfil their resource needs – and that these habitat associations vary seasonally. Results from our study can aid the understanding of spatial and temporal variation in patch characteristics (e.g. quality and extent) and inter-patch movement by organisms, which is critical for the conservation and management of semi-aquatic species and other organisms that occupy patchy habitat complexes.