Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests

Forests

Alessandra Gagliardi¹  LucasA. Wauters¹  Giacomo Cremonesi¹  DamianoG. Preatoni¹  Francesco Bisi¹  Adriano Martinoli¹  Lorenzo Gaffi²  Thet Zaw²  Zarni Aung³  Hla Naing³  Kyaw Moe³ 

[1] Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, Italy;Istituto Oikos, Via Crescenzago 1, 20134 Milano, Italy;Wildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar Program, No. 12 (B-21,22) Narnattaw Road, Shwe Kainnayi Housing, Kamayut Township, Yangon 11041, Myanmar;

关键词: activity patterns;    camera trapping;    human disturbance;    mammals;    spatial overlap;    temporal segregation;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f12030290

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The effects of human disturbance represent one of the major threats for wildlife conservation. Many studies have shown that wildlife avoids or reduces direct contact with human activities through changes in activity patterns, and by minimizing spatiotemporal overlap. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of human presence on the temporal activity of medium-to-large mammals using two areas in Myanmar that differ in the intensity of human disturbance. We monitored temporal segregation mechanisms using camera trapping data and with two statistical approaches: daily activity overlaps between humans and wildlife and circular statistics. We did not find a significant difference in overlapping activity between areas but, thanks to circular statistics, we found that some species show changes in activity patterns, suggesting temporal avoidance. We observed that the daily activity of five species differed between areas of Myanmar, likely adopting mechanisms to reduce overlap in areas highly frequented by humans. Interestingly, these species are all threatened by hunting or poaching activities, four of which have been described in literature as “cathemeral”, or species that are active through day and night. This study suggests that some species adapt their behavior, at least partially, to avoid human presence in habitats with higher anthropic occurrence and increase our knowledge on the status of medium–large mammals in a poorly studied country as Myanmar.

【 授权许可】

Unknown