Species differences in temporal response to urbanization alters predator-prey and human overlap in northern Utah

Green, Austin M.; Pendergast, Mary E.; Barnick, Kelsey A.; Şekercioğlu, Çağan H.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02127

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…There is extensive evidence that many species of wildlife alter their activity patterns when in the presence of humans or human development [4,7,50]. However, there has been less attention paid to how these changes alter interspecies interactions [25]. We predicted that human development could either increase overlap in the timing of mesocarnivore activity by constraining activity to periods when animals avoided interactions with humans or it could reduce overlap between some species as those that are more tolerant of humans would be able to be active during daytime whereas others were more sensitive and would only be active at night [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, both raccoons and opossums shifted activity to crepuscular hours when in proximity to humans [54]. Coyotes have been found to avoid being active during the day and to shift to nocturnal activity in the presence of human activity [7,16,23,25,32]. Other species, like striped skunk and bobcat have shown to be less flexible in their activity patterns in regard to development or to respond to environmental factors such as temperature rather than humans [7,24,25].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, not all urban-adapted wildlife species respond to human presence in the same manner even within taxa groups such as mesocarnivores (medium-sized mammalian predators [7,24]). Thus, species that are more tolerant of human activity may not switch to a nocturnal existence to avoid humans; thereby reducing interactions with competitors or predators that do so [7,25]. Furthermore, changes in activity patterns may vary based on the intensity of human development such that changes in activity patterns may vary along a gradient of development [7,14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does daily activity overlap of seven mesocarnivores vary based on human development?

McTigue,

Lassiter,

Shaw

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Many species of wildlife alter their daily activity patterns in response to co-occurring species as well as the surrounding environment. Often smaller or subordinate species alter their activity patterns to avoid being active at the same time as larger, dominant species to avoid agonistic interactions. Human development can complicate interspecies interactions, as not all wildlife respond to human activity in the same manner. While some species may change the timing of their activity to avoid being active when humans are, others may be unaffected or may benefit from being active at the same time as humans to reduce predation risk or competition. To further explore these patterns, we used data from a coordinated national camera-trapping program (Snapshot USA) to explore how the activity patterns and temporal activity overlap of a suite of seven widely co-occurring mammalian mesocarnivores varied along a gradient of human development. Our focal species ranged in size from the large and often dominant coyote (Canis latrans) to the much smaller and subordinate Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Some species changed their activity based on surrounding human development. Coyotes were most active at night in areas of high and medium human development. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) were more active at dusk in areas of high development relative to areas of low or medium development. However, because most species were primarily nocturnal regardless of human development, temporal activity overlap was high between all species. Only opossum and raccoon (Procyon lotor) showed changes in activity overlap with high overlap in areas of low development compared to areas of moderate development. Although we found that coyotes and red fox altered their activity patterns in response to human development, our results showed that competitive and predatory pressures between these seven widespread generalist species were insufficient to cause them to substantially alter their activity patterns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does daily activity overlap of seven mesocarnivores vary based on human development?

McTigue,

Lassiter,

Shaw

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…A plausible explanation would be intraspecific competition or aggression (e.g., Newsome et al, 2019), or it could more generally suggest coyotes are more plastic in their time use than raccoons in urban systems (McClennen et al, 2001). The latter is supported by the higher sensitivity of coyotes to human activity; although both species are cosmopolitan, raccoons are more human-tolerant than coyotes (Crooks, 2002;Green et al, 2022;Randa & Yunger, 2006). seasons (Elmhagen & Rushton, 2007).…”

Section: Coyote Spatial Use On Raccoon Temporal Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal refuges of a subordinate carnivore vary across rural–urban gradient

Malhotra

Lima

Harris

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Animals exhibit variation in their space and time use across an urban–rural gradient. As the top‐down influences of apex predators wane due to human‐driven declines, landscape‐level anthropogenic pressures are rising. Human impacts can be analogous to apex predators in that humans can drive increased mortality in both prey species and carnivores, and impact communities through indirect fear effects and food subsidies. Here, we evaluate the time use of a common mesocarnivore across an urban–rural gradient and test whether it is influenced by the intensity of the use of a larger carnivore. Using multiple camera‐trap surveys, we compared the temporal response of a small carnivore, the raccoon (Procyon lotor), to the larger coyote (Canis latrans) in four study areas across Michigan that represented a gradient of pressure from humans. We found that raccoon time use varied by study area and was most unique at the rural extreme. Raccoons consistently did not shift their activity pattern in response to coyotes in the study area with the highest anthropogenic pressures despite the considerable interannual variation, and instead showed stronger responses to coyotes in more rural study areas. Temporal shifts were characterized by raccoons being more diurnal in areas of high coyote activity. We conclude that raccoons may shift time use in the presence of coyotes, dependent on the level of anthropogenic pressure. Our results highlight that the variation in raccoon time use across the entirety of the urban–rural gradient needed to be considered, as anthropogenic pressures may dominate and obscure the dynamics of this interaction.

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“…Variation among or within traits may reflect a species' capacity to adapt to meet the dynamic pressures of urban living and, thus, explain the non‐generality of species‐trait relationships in urban environments better than the average values of the traits themselves (Thompson et al, 2022). For example, a mammal species' ability to be more active at night in developed compared to wildland areas (Gaynor et al, 2018) suggests underlying variation in within‐species temporal activity that is flexible to urban conditions (e.g., Gallo et al, 2022; Green et al, 2022; Lamb et al, 2020). Further, intraspecific variation influences interactions between species, and this relationship, in some cases, is more significant in defining community structure than direct species effects (Des Roches et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of species‐level trait variation on urban exploitation in mammals

Weiss

Green

Herrera

et al. 2023

Ecology

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Identifying drivers of urban association in wildlife is a central challenge in conservation biology. Traits facilitating access to novel resources and avoiding humans often correspond with urban exploitation in mammal species, but these relationships differ by taxa and trophic guild. Variation among or within traits may be a yet untested explanation for the non-generality of species-trait relationships in cities. Using camera trap data from 1492 sites throughout the contiguous USA in 2019, we investigated if mammal species with greater intraspecific trait variation have higher degrees of urban occupancy. We hypothesized that intraspecific trait variation would correspond with urban occupancy, but that the strength of these relationships would vary by taxonomic order due to expected phylogenetic constraints. Mean trait values (average home range size, body mass, group size, weaning age, litter size, and diet composition) varied widely across orders. The only traits that affected urban association across all species corresponded with demography (litter size), while responses across orders were more variable and informative. Mean trait values associated with home range and body size had informative relationships with urbanization for Cetartiodactyla, Rodentia, and Carnivora, while intraspecific variation in traits corresponding with diet (Carnivora), demography (Cetartiodactyla, Carnivora, Rodentia), and temporal responses to humans (Carnivora) had informative relationships to urbanization. This is the first study investigating mammalian species-level trait variation and its relationship to urban exploitation across many traits and taxa. Since natural selection requires trait variation, the variation of demographic traits, like litter size, can have significant implications for wildlife management and conservation. Our results also provide further evidence for omnivory as a form of dietary plasticity supporting urban accessibility in higher trophic guilds (e.g., Carnivora). Using this information, we can better manage and understand which species occupy and adapt to cities, thereby promoting human-wildlife coexistence.

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Species differences in temporal response to urbanization alters predator-prey and human overlap in northern Utah

Cited by 14 publications

References 61 publications

Does daily activity overlap of seven mesocarnivores vary based on human development?

Does daily activity overlap of seven mesocarnivores vary based on human development?

Temporal refuges of a subordinate carnivore vary across rural–urban gradient

Effect of species‐level trait variation on urban exploitation in mammals

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