Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Authors: A Cole Burton, Christopher Beirne, Kaitlyn M Gaynor, Catherine Sun, Alys Granados, Maximilian L Allen, Jesse M Alston, Guilherme C Alvarenga, Francisco Samuel Álvarez Calderón, Zachary Amir, Christine Anhalt-Depies, Cara Appel, Stephanny Arroyo-Arce, Guy Balme, Avi Bar-Massada, Daniele Barcelos, Evan Barr, Erika L Barthelmess, Carolina Baruzzi, Sayantani M Basak, Natalie Beenaerts, Jonathan Belmaker, Olgirda Belova, Branko Bezarević, Tori Bird, Daniel A Bogan, Neda Bogdanović, Andy Boyce, Mark Boyce, LaRoy Brandt, Jedediah F Brodie, Jarred Brooke, Jakub W Bubnicki, Francesca Cagnacci, Benjamin Scott Carr, João Carvalho, Jim Casaer, Rok Černe, Ron Chen, Emily Chow, Marcin Churski, Connor Cincotta, Duško Ćirović, T D Coates, Justin Compton, Courtney Coon, Michael V Cove, Anthony P Crupi, Simone Dal Farra, Andrea K Darracq, Miranda Davis, Kimberly Dawe, Valerie De Waele, Esther Descalzo, Tom A Diserens, Jakub Drimaj, Martin Duľa, Susan Ellis-Felege, Caroline Ellison, Alper Ertürk, Jean Fantle-Lepczyk, Jorie Favreau, Mitch Fennell, Pablo Ferreras, Francesco Ferretti, Christian Fiderer, Laura Finnegan, Jason T Fisher, M Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Elizabeth A Flaherty, Urša Fležar, Jiří Flousek, Jennifer M Foca, Adam Ford, Barbara Franzetti, Sandra Frey, Sarah Fritts, Šárka Frýbová, Brett Furnas, Brian Gerber, Hayley M Geyle, Diego G Giménez, Anthony J Giordano, Tomislav Gomercic, Matthew E Gompper, Diogo Maia Gräbin, Morgan Gray, Austin Green, Robert Hagen, Robert (Bob) Hagen, Steven Hammerich, Catharine Hanekom, Christopher Hansen, Steven Hasstedt, Mark Hebblewhite, Marco Heurich, Tim R Hofmeester, Tru Hubbard, David Jachowski, Patrick A Jansen, Kodi Jo Jaspers, Alex Jensen, Mark Jordan, Mariane C Kaizer, Marcella J Kelly, Michel T Kohl, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Miha Krofel, Andrea Krug, Kellie M Kuhn, Dries P J Kuijper, Erin K Kuprewicz, Josip Kusak, Miroslav Kutal, Diana J R Lafferty, Summer LaRose, Marcus Lashley, Richard Lathrop, Thomas E Lee Jr, Christopher Lepczyk, Damon B Lesmeister, Alain Licoppe, Marco Linnell, Jan Loch, Robert Long, Robert C Lonsinger, Julie Louvrier, Matthew Scott Luskin, Paula MacKay, Sean Maher, Benoît Manet, Gareth K H Mann, Andrew J Marshall, David Mason, Zara McDonald, Tracy McKay, William J McShea, Matt Mechler, Claude Miaud, Joshua J Millspaugh, Claudio M Monteza-Moreno, Dario Moreira-Arce, Kayleigh Mullen, Christopher Nagy, Robin Naidoo, Itai Namir, Carrie Nelson, Brian O’Neill, M Teague O’Mara, Valentina Oberosler, Christian Osorio, Federico Ossi, Pablo Palencia, Kimberly Pearson, Luca Pedrotti, Charles E Pekins, Mary Pendergast, Fernando F Pinho, Radim Plhal, Xochilt Pocasangre-Orellana, Melissa Price, Michael Procko, Mike D Proctor, Emiliano Esterci Ramalho, Nathan Ranc, Slaven Reljic, Katie Remine, Michael Rentz, Ronald Revord, Rafael Reyna-Hurtado, Derek Risch, Euan G Ritchie, Andrea Romero, Christopher Rota, Francesco Rovero, Helen Rowe, Christian Rutz, Marco Salvatori, Derek Sandow, Christopher M Schalk, Jenna Scherger, Jan Schipper, Daniel G Scognamillo, Çağan H Şekercioğlu, Paola Semenzato, Jennifer Sevin, Hila Shamon, Catherine Shier, Eduardo A Silva-Rodríguez, Magda Sindicic, Lucy K Smyth, Anil Soyumert, Tiffany Sprague, Colleen Cassady St Clair, Jennifer Stenglein, Philip A Stephens, Kinga Magdalena Stępniak, Michael Stevens, Cassondra Stevenson, Bálint Ternyik, Ian Thomson, Rita T Torres, Joan Tremblay, Tomas Urrutia, Jean-Pierre Vacher, Darcy Visscher, Stephen L Webb, Julian Weber, Katherine C B Weiss, Laura S Whipple, Christopher A Whittier, Jesse Whittington, Izabela Wierzbowska, Martin Wikelski, Jacque Williamson, Christopher C Wilmers, Todd Windle, Heiko U Wittmer, Yuri Zharikov, Adam Zorn, and Roland Kays

Published in: Nature Ecology and Evolution

Abstract

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts.

We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality.

Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.

Burton AC, Beirne C, Gaynor KM, Sun C, Granados A, Allen ML, Alston JM, Alvarenga GC, Calderón FSÁ, Amir Z, Anhalt-Depies C, Appel C, Arroyo-Arce S, Balme G, Bar-Massada A, Barcelos D, Barr E, Barthelmess EL, Baruzzi C, Basak SM, Beenaerts N, Belmaker J, Belova O, Bezarević B, Bird T, Bogan DA, Bogdanović N, Boyce A, Boyce M, Brandt L, Brodie JF, Brooke J, Bubnicki JW, Cagnacci F, Carr BS, Carvalho J, Casaer J, Černe R, Chen R, Chow E, Churski M, Cincotta C, Ćirović D, Coates TD, Compton J, Coon C, Cove MV, Crupi AP, Farra SD, Darracq AK, Davis M, Dawe K, De Waele V, Descalzo E, Diserens TA, Drimaj J, Duľa M, Ellis-Felege S, Ellison C, Ertürk A, Fantle-Lepczyk J, Favreau J, Fennell M, Ferreras P, Ferretti F, Fiderer C, Finnegan L, Fisher JT, Fisher-Reid MC, Flaherty EA, Fležar U, Flousek J, Foca JM, Ford A, Franzetti B, Frey S, Fritts S, Frýbová Š, Furnas B, Gerber B, Geyle HM, Giménez DG, Giordano AJ, Gomercic T, Gompper ME, Gräbin DM, Gray M, Green A, Hagen R, Hagen R, Hammerich S, Hanekom C, Hansen C, Hasstedt S, Hebblewhite M, Heurich M, Hofmeester TR, Hubbard T, Jachowski D, Jansen PA, Jaspers KJ, Jensen A, Jordan M, Kaizer MC, Kelly MJ, Kohl MT, Kramer-Schadt S, Krofel M, Krug A, Kuhn KM, Kuijper DPJ, Kuprewicz EK, Kusak J, Kutal M, Lafferty DJR, LaRose S, Lashley M, Lathrop R, Lee TE Jr, Lepczyk C, Lesmeister DB, Licoppe A, Linnell M, Loch J, Long R, Lonsinger RC, Louvrier J, Luskin MS, MacKay P, Maher S, Manet B, Mann GKH, Marshall AJ, Mason D, McDonald Z, McKay T, McShea WJ, Mechler M, Miaud C, Millspaugh JJ, Monteza-Moreno CM, Moreira-Arce D, Mullen K, Nagy C, Naidoo R, Namir I, Nelson C, O’Neill B, O’Mara MT, Oberosler V, Osorio C, Ossi F, Palencia P, Pearson K, Pedrotti L, Pekins CE, Pendergast M, Pinho FF, Plhal R, Pocasangre-Orellana X, Price M, Procko M, Proctor MD, Ramalho EE, Ranc N, Reljic S, Remine K, Rentz M, Revord R, Reyna-Hurtado R, Risch D, Ritchie EG, Romero A, Rota C, Rovero F, Rowe H, Rutz C, Salvatori M, Sandow D, Schalk CM, Scherger J, Schipper J, Scognamillo DG, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Semenzato P, Sevin J, Shamon H, Shier C, Silva-Rodríguez EA, Sindicic M, Smyth LK, Soyumert A, Sprague T, St. Clair CC, Stenglein J, Stephens PA, Stępniak KM, Stevens M, Stevenson C, Ternyik B, Thomson I, Torres RT, Tremblay J, Urrutia T, Vacher J-P, Visscher D, Webb SL, Weber J, Weiss KCB, Whipple LS, Whittier CA, Whittington J, Wierzbowska I, Wikelski M, Williamson J, Wilmers CC, Windle T, Wittmer HU, Zharikov Y, Zorn A, Kays R (2024) Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape. Nature Ecology and Evolution PDF DOI