Quiet islands in a world of fear: Wolves seek core zones of protected areas to escape human disturbance

Smith, A. F.; Ciuti, Simone; Shamovich, Dmitry; Fenchuk, Viktar; Zimmermann, Barbara; Heurich, Marco

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109811

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Cougar activity centers were more likely to occur within productive, vegetated areas, and cougar density was positively associated with increased vegetation productivity (Table 1). These results corroborate previous research that shows cougars are often associated with contiguous vegetation cover where they can pursue prey (Williams et al, 2014) and avoid humans or other large predators (LaBarge et al, 2022; Nickel et al, 2021; Smith et al, 2022). We posited productive vegetation may correlate with the occurrence of prey, such as mule deer, which often occur in vegetated areas that provide sufficient forage (e.g., Torstenson et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

An integrated spatial capture–recapture approach reveals the distribution of a cryptic carnivore in a protected area

Martin

Green

Garrison³

et al. 2023

Ecosphere

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Quantifying animal abundance, density, and distributions affords the opportunity to understand the effects of landscape structure and change on species of conservation interest, but estimating these parameters can be difficult for rare and cryptic species. Noninvasive sampling methods, such as remote cameras or scat DNA, can mitigate the challenges of studying rare and cryptic species while also minimizing effects on species of conservation interest or concern. Data derived from these methods can be integrated into robust, contemporary quantitative methods, including spatial capture–recapture (SCR) models, which provide a hierarchical framework for jointly estimating animal abundance, distribution, and, consequently, density. Herein, we developed an integrated SCR model to estimate the abundance, density, and distribution of a large carnivore of conservation interest, the cougar (Puma concolor), in a rugged and remote protected area, Yosemite National Park, California, USA. We combined spatial encounter data from DNA‐based individual identification of scats with detection count data derived from remote cameras to estimate cougar density and detection probability in Yosemite. We further estimated how cougar density and detection probability varied as a result of vegetation, topography, anthropogenic and natural linear features, and survey effort. Using data collected in 2019 and 2020, we estimated a median of 31 (SD = 3.96, 95% credible intervals = 24–39) cougars in Yosemite across the two years, with higher densities associated with productive, vegetated areas. We found detection probability by scent detection teams was higher for females than males and positively correlated with survey effort, proximity to trails, and distance farther from roads and streams. Our study illustrates the utility of noninvasive survey methods that yield individual identities in rugged and remote environments, where capture and handling of cryptic, low‐density animals is logistically challenging and cost prohibitive. Integrated modeling approaches, as used here, allow ecologists to leverage empirical data using a robust quantitative framework that can effectively address conservation objectives. Through this work, we demonstrate the importance of large, contiguous, and heterogeneous ecosystems to the ecology of wide‐ranging species that occur in dynamic landscapes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

An integrated spatial capture–recapture approach reveals the distribution of a cryptic carnivore in a protected area

Martin

Green

Garrison³

et al. 2023

Ecosphere

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“…Although we detected wolves on forest roads, they appeared to avoid paved roads, as detection increased farther from these areas. Wolves generally avoid main roads, where the risk of encounters with humans is high, while they often use forest roads for traveling, but with a preference towards the night hours to avoid human disturbance [67,71]. We also found that the detection of wolves was positively related to an increased activity of hunters, which might reflect that both wolves and hunters exploit wild ungulates.…”

Section: Factors Affecting Spatial Detection Patterns Of Wild Mammalsmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…The wolf is an adaptable species exploiting food and shelter resources across heterogeneous landscapes, and even co-occurring with hunters in our study area. Wolves have adopted a strategy of avoiding humans in space and time in response to increased disturbance on contemporary landscapes shared with humans [67,71]. This was reflected by the shift to increased nocturnal activity and the avoidance of paved roads in our study area in Greece.…”

Section: Implications For Wolf Conservationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Wolves, and Sympatric Predators and Prey Relative to Human Disturbance in Northwestern Greece

et al. 2023

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In an era of increasing human pressure on nature, understanding the spatiotemporal patterns of wildlife relative to human disturbance can inform conservation efforts, especially for large carnivores. We examined the temporal activity and spatial patterns of wolves and eight sympatric mammals at 71 camera trap stations in Greece. Grey wolves temporally overlapped the most with wild boars (Δ = 0.84) and medium-sized mammals (Δ > 0.75), moderately with brown bears (Δ = 0.70), and least with roe deer (Δ = 0.46). All wild mammals were mainly nocturnal and exhibited low temporal overlap with human disturbance (humans, vehicles, livestock, and dogs; Δ = 0.18–0.36), apart from roe deer, which were more diurnal (Δ = 0.80). Six out of nine species increased their nocturnality at sites of high human disturbance, particularly roe deer and wolves. The detection of wolves was negatively associated with paved roads, the detection of roe deer was negatively associated with human disturbance, and the detection of wild boars was negatively associated with dogs. The detection of bears, boars, and foxes increased closer to settlements. Our study has applied implications for wolf conservation and human–wildlife coexistence.

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“…Protected area boundaries are not frontiers to the distributions of large carnivores in Europe (Cimatti et al., 2021; Terraube et al., 2020) and are often insufficient for effectively protecting large carnivores (Diserens et al., 2017). However, they provide key refugia and important islands of protection in fragmented, dangerous landscapes (Müller et al., 2014; Smith et al., 2022). Each protected area where we conducted monitoring adjoins other areas with landscape protection, ensuring some degree of connectivity is possible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shining a light on elusive lynx: Density estimation of three Eurasian lynx populations in Ukraine and Belarus

Palmero,

Smith,

Kudrenko

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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The Eurasian lynx is a large carnivore widely distributed across Eurasia. However, our understanding of population status is heterogeneous across their range, with some populations isolated that are at risk of reduced genetic variation and a complete lack of information about others. In many European countries, Eurasian lynx are monitored through demographic studies crucial for their conservation and management. Even so, there are only rough and fragmented population assessments from Ukraine and Belarus, despite strict protection in both countries and their importance for lynx connectivity across Europe. We monitored lynx from October 2020 to March 2021 and used camera trapping in combination with spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods in a Bayesian framework to provide the first SCR density estimation of three lynx populations across Ukraine and Belarus, including the Ukrainian Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, southern Belarus and the Ukrainian Carpathians. Our density estimates varied within our study areas ranging from 0.45 to 1.54 individuals/100 km2. This work provides a substantial scientific component to the overall understanding of lynx conservation for a region where only broad information is available and opens the doors for further large‐scale monitoring and trend assessments. The crucial information we provide can greatly enhance the range‐wide assessments of the status of this protected species. We also discuss the implications for Eurasian lynx conservation, despite the geopolitical realities impacting species monitoring in the region. Our work serves as a baseline, not only for future conservation interventions but also to evaluate the effects of disturbance and threats to these protected populations.

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Quiet islands in a world of fear: Wolves seek core zones of protected areas to escape human disturbance

Cited by 12 publications

References 74 publications

An integrated spatial capture–recapture approach reveals the distribution of a cryptic carnivore in a protected area

An integrated spatial capture–recapture approach reveals the distribution of a cryptic carnivore in a protected area

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Wolves, and Sympatric Predators and Prey Relative to Human Disturbance in Northwestern Greece

Shining a light on elusive lynx: Density estimation of three Eurasian lynx populations in Ukraine and Belarus

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