Stay on trails – effects of human recreation on the spatiotemporal behavior of red deer <i>Cervus elaphus</i> in a German national park

Westekemper, Katharina; Reinecke, Horst; Signer, Johannes; Meißner, Marcus; Herzog, S.; Balkenhol, Niko

doi:10.2981/wlb.00403

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Here, the costs of Type I over-response to humans stem from a mis-assessment of passive recreation activities as risky, suggesting that habituating animals to hikers may help reconcile outdoor recreation with wildlife conservation (Larson et al, 2016). The predictability of recreational activity can facilitate such habituation; red deer (Cervus elaphus) exhibit minimal responses to hikers on wellused trails while strongly avoiding off-trail hikers (Westekemper et al, 2018) and northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are less likely to flush when people remain on trails (Smith-Castro and Rodewald, 2010). Increasing predictability of human activity by enforcing "stay on trail" rules in protected areas may therefore decrease recreation impacts on wildlife by accelerating habituation (Figure 3).…”

Section: Mitigating Non-lethal Impacts Of Recreation Through Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatch Between Risk and Response May Amplify Lethal and Non-lethal Effects of Humans on Wild Animal Populations

2021

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Human activity has rapidly transformed the planet, leading to declines of animal populations around the world through a range of direct and indirect pathways. Humans have strong numerical effects on wild animal populations, as highly efficient hunters and through unintentional impacts of human activity and development. Human disturbance also induces costly non-lethal effects by changing the behavior of risk-averse animals. Here, we suggest that the unique strength of these lethal and non-lethal effects is amplified by mismatches between the nature of risk associated with anthropogenic stimuli and the corresponding response by wild animals. We discuss the unique characteristics of cues associated with anthropogenic stimuli in the context of animal ecology and evolutionary history to explore why and when animals fail to appropriately (a) detect, (b) assess, and (c) respond to both benign and lethal stimuli. We then explore the costs of over-response to a benign stimulus (Type I error) and under-response to a lethal stimulus (Type II error), which can scale up to affect individual fitness and ultimately drive population dynamics and shape ecological interactions. Finally, we highlight avenues for future research and discuss conservation measures that can better align animal perception and response with risk to mitigate unintended consequences of human disturbance.

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Section: Mitigating Non-lethal Impacts Of Recreation Through Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatch Between Risk and Response May Amplify Lethal and Non-lethal Effects of Humans on Wild Animal Populations

2021

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“…Human presence can alter wildlife species’ movement patterns but also pose a risk to their survival and reproduction success [ 34 ]. In Kellerwald-Edersee National Park in Germany, off-trail hiking induced flight of the red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), and the animals avoided trails during the day but not at nighttime when hikers are absent [ 42 ]. In line with these findings, the results of this study suggest that giraffes were avoiding human observers, as the hourly distance walked by giraffes increased with human presence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Influences on Distance Traveled and Vigilance Behavior and Stress-Related Endocrine Correlates in Free-Roaming Giraffes

Scheijen

Merwe

Ganswindt

et al. 2021

Animals

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Giraffes are an important tourist attraction, and human presence to wildlife is increasing. This has an impact on an animal’s behavior and its endocrine correlates. Studies on other species show alterations in movement patterns, vigilance, and stress-related hormone levels in the presence of humans. Limited information is available on how anthropogenic activities alter giraffe’s behavior, social structure, and related endocrine parameters. The purpose of this study was to obtain insight into anthropogenic influences on giraffe’s behavior and adrenal activity. We used GPS devices mounted onto giraffes to compare the distance walked in the presence or absence of human observers. We also conducted behavioral observations to assess their vigilance and collected fecal samples to analyze their fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations. Giraffes walked significantly further distances in the presence of humans, but the cumulative time that observers were present decreased the hourly distance walked with an observer present, suggesting that the giraffes were becoming habituated. The number of observers present significantly increased the percentage of time spent on observing an observer as well as the number of unhabituated individuals present in the herd. The percentage of time spent observing a human observer did not decrease with the increase of habituation. Last, fGCM concentrations increased with human presence but decreased when individuals became habituated to human presence. More research is needed to understand the effect of anthropogenic influences in different scenarios (e.g., tourism, vehicles, hunting, etc.).

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“…Roads can negatively impact the biodiversity in urban forests through fragmentation and increased mortality as a result of vehicle collisions (Cole et al 1997;Fahrig 2003;Melbourne et al 2004;Coffin 2007;Boston 2016). The noise and disturbance associated with the human activities while using roads and hiking trails put pressure on animals by increasing their energy expenditures and reducing their fecundity (Phillips and Alldredge 2000;Westekemper et al 2018). Roads and hiking trails have also shown to affect the spatiotemporal habitat use of wildlife (Coppes et al 2017;Scholten et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Roads and hiking trails have also shown to affect the spatiotemporal habitat use of wildlife (Coppes et al 2017;Scholten et al 2018). For instance, some species change their behavior spatially (remaining far from roads and hiking trails) and temporally (being less active during the day time and weekend) (Coppes et al 2017;Westekemper et al 2018). Moreover, anthropogenic noise from roads and hiking trails can provoke antipredator behavior of species, which, in turn, negatively affect other ecological and physiological processes such as foraging and reproduction (Frid and Dill 2002;Shannon et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relationship between landscape features and domestic species on the occupancy of native mammals in urban forests

2021

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Landscape features such as roads, hiking trails, and forest edge are prevalent features of urban forests. These features can negatively influence biodiversity through fragmentation and facilitate the penetration of invasive species, particularly predators such as domestic dogs and cats. This study examined how these landscape features affect the distribution of native and domestic mammals and how domestic species affect the occupancy and activity patterns of native mammals. To this end, we conducted camera trap surveys in forested urban and suburban parks in Indiana and Kentucky, USA, to record the presence of native species (deer, raccoons, coyote, and opossums) and non-native predators (domesticated cats and dogs) in relation to distance to nearest roads, hiking trails, and forest edge. We found negative correlations between proximity to roads, hiking trails, and forest edge and the occupancy of the native species with this effect extending up to 300 m. We also found evidence that the presence of dog and cat was negatively correlated with the occupancy for all native species. We recommend park management consider the impact of roads, hiking trails, and forest edge when designing parks and the enforcement of dog leash regulations for the conservation of large mammals in urban parks.

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Stay on trails – effects of human recreation on the spatiotemporal behavior of red deer Cervus elaphus in a German national park

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 25 publications

References 43 publications

Mismatch Between Risk and Response May Amplify Lethal and Non-lethal Effects of Humans on Wild Animal Populations

Mismatch Between Risk and Response May Amplify Lethal and Non-lethal Effects of Humans on Wild Animal Populations

Anthropogenic Influences on Distance Traveled and Vigilance Behavior and Stress-Related Endocrine Correlates in Free-Roaming Giraffes

The relationship between landscape features and domestic species on the occupancy of native mammals in urban forests

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