Understanding the distribution and fine-scale habitat selection of mesocarnivores along a habitat quality gradient in western Himalaya

Abstract

Background: Human activities have resulted in a rapid increase of modified habitats in proximity to wildlife habitats in the Himalaya. However, it is crucial to understand the extent to which human habitat modification affects wildlife. Mesocarnivores generally possess broader niches than large carnivores and adapt quickly to human activities. Here, we use a case study in the western Himalaya to test the hypothesis that human disturbance influenced mesocarnivore habitat use. Methods: We used camera trapping and mitochondrial DNA-based species identification from faecal samples to obtain mesocarnivore detections. We then compared the responses of mesocarnivores between an anthropogenic site and a less disturbed park along a contiguous gradient in habitat quality. The non-linear pattern in species-specific habitat selection and factors responsible for space usage around villages was captured using hierarchical generalized additive modelling (HGAM) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination. Results: Wildlife occurrences along the gradient varied by species. Leopard cat and red fox were the only terrestrial mesocarnivores that occurred in both anthropogenic site and park. We found a shift in habitat selection from less disturbed habitat in the park to disturbed habitat in anthropogenic site for the species detected in both the habitat types. For instance, red fox showed habitat selection towards high terrain ruggedness (0.5 to 0.7 TRI) and low NDVI (−0.05 to 0.2) in the park but no such specific selection in anthropogenic site. Further, leopard cat showed habitat selection towards moderate slope (20°) and medium NDVI (0.5) in park but no prominent habitat selections in anthropogenic site. The results revealed their constrained behaviour which was further supported by the intensive site usage close to houses, agricultural fields and human trails in villages. Conclusions: Our results indicate shifts in habitat selection and intensive site usage by mesocarnivores in the human-modified habitat. In future, this suggests the possibility of conflict and disease spread affecting both the people and wildlife. Therefore, this study highlights the requisite to test the wildlife responses to rapidly growing human expansions in modified habitats to understand the extent of impact. The management strategies need to have an integrated focus for further expansions of modified habitat and garbage disposal strategies, especially in the human-wildlife interface area.

Fine-Scale Interactions between Leopard Cats and Their Potential Prey with Contrasting Diel Activities in a Livestock-Dominated Nature Reserve

“…Conversely, other studies, such as Mohamed et al [ 47 ] and Wu et al [ 19 ], found that leopard cats had a strong tendency to use and adapt to habitats near areas of human settlement. Whereas, wildlife will also shift their habitat selection due to habitat modification [ 23 ]. In the present study, we found the site-use of the diurnal squirrels and the nocturnal rats was strongly influenced by the forest cover and aspect, respectively.…”

“…This cat often uses opportunistic feeding strategies and exhibits plasticity in its habitat use and temporal activity to accommodate to habitat modification. For example, leopard cats may show a shift in habitat selection from their natural habitat to highly disturbed areas [ 23 ], and exhibit different diel activity among habitats and across seasons [ 24 , 25 ], including nocturnal-crepuscular activity [ 8 , 26 ], or even arrhythmic activity [ 27 , 28 ]. The plasticity of habitat use and temporal activity by leopard cats can optimize the exploitation of a diverse range of nocturnal and diurnal prey.…”