When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals
Abstract Protected areas (PAs) in the tropics are vulnerable to human encroachment, and, despite formal protection, they do not fully mitigate anthropogenic threats to habitats and biodiversity. However, attempts to quantify the effectiveness of PAs and to understand the status and changes of wildli...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6048 |
| _version_ | 1818428441333071872 |
|---|---|
| author | Valentina Oberosler Simone Tenan Elise F. Zipkin Francesco Rovero |
| author_facet | Valentina Oberosler Simone Tenan Elise F. Zipkin Francesco Rovero |
| author_sort | Valentina Oberosler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Protected areas (PAs) in the tropics are vulnerable to human encroachment, and, despite formal protection, they do not fully mitigate anthropogenic threats to habitats and biodiversity. However, attempts to quantify the effectiveness of PAs and to understand the status and changes of wildlife populations in relation to protection efficiency remain limited. Here, we used camera‐trapping data collected over 8 consecutive years (2009–2016) to investigate the yearly occurrences of medium‐to‐large mammals within the Udzungwa Mountains National Park (Tanzania), an area of outstanding importance for biological endemism and conservation. Specifically, we evaluated the effects of habitat and proxies of human disturbance, namely illegal hunting with snares and firewood collection (a practice that was banned in 2011 in the park), on species' occurrence probabilities. Our results showed variability in species' responses to disturbance: The only species that showed a negative effect of the number of snares found on occurrence probability was the Harvey's duiker, a relatively widespread forest antelope. Similarly, we found a moderate positive effect of the firewood collection ban on only the suni, another common antelope, and a negative effect on a large opportunistic rodent, the giant‐pouched rat. Importantly, we found evidence of temporal stability in occurrence probability for all species over the 8‐year study period. Our findings suggest that well‐managed PAs can sustain mammal populations in tropical forests. However, variability among species in their responses to anthropogenic disturbance necessitates consideration in the design of conservation action plans for multiple taxa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:01:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41384fe4381648f694e5c1a269cf11ef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:01:40Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-41384fe4381648f694e5c1a269cf11ef2022-12-21T22:56:49ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582020-05-011093881389410.1002/ece3.6048When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammalsValentina Oberosler0Simone Tenan1Elise F. Zipkin2Francesco Rovero3Tropical Biodiversity Section MUSE – Museo delle Scienze Trento ItalyVertebrate Zoology Section MUSE – Museo delle Scienze Trento ItalyDepartment of Integrative Biology and Ecology Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program Michigan State University East Lansing MichiganTropical Biodiversity Section MUSE – Museo delle Scienze Trento ItalyAbstract Protected areas (PAs) in the tropics are vulnerable to human encroachment, and, despite formal protection, they do not fully mitigate anthropogenic threats to habitats and biodiversity. However, attempts to quantify the effectiveness of PAs and to understand the status and changes of wildlife populations in relation to protection efficiency remain limited. Here, we used camera‐trapping data collected over 8 consecutive years (2009–2016) to investigate the yearly occurrences of medium‐to‐large mammals within the Udzungwa Mountains National Park (Tanzania), an area of outstanding importance for biological endemism and conservation. Specifically, we evaluated the effects of habitat and proxies of human disturbance, namely illegal hunting with snares and firewood collection (a practice that was banned in 2011 in the park), on species' occurrence probabilities. Our results showed variability in species' responses to disturbance: The only species that showed a negative effect of the number of snares found on occurrence probability was the Harvey's duiker, a relatively widespread forest antelope. Similarly, we found a moderate positive effect of the firewood collection ban on only the suni, another common antelope, and a negative effect on a large opportunistic rodent, the giant‐pouched rat. Importantly, we found evidence of temporal stability in occurrence probability for all species over the 8‐year study period. Our findings suggest that well‐managed PAs can sustain mammal populations in tropical forests. However, variability among species in their responses to anthropogenic disturbance necessitates consideration in the design of conservation action plans for multiple taxa.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6048bushmeat huntingcamera trappinghierarchical modelingsnaresTanzaniaUdzungwa |
| spellingShingle | Valentina Oberosler Simone Tenan Elise F. Zipkin Francesco Rovero When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals Ecology and Evolution bushmeat hunting camera trapping hierarchical modeling snares Tanzania Udzungwa |
| title | When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals |
| title_full | When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals |
| title_fullStr | When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals |
| title_full_unstemmed | When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals |
| title_short | When parks work: Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals |
| title_sort | when parks work effect of anthropogenic disturbance on occupancy of tropical forest mammals |
| topic | bushmeat hunting camera trapping hierarchical modeling snares Tanzania Udzungwa |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6048 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT valentinaoberosler whenparksworkeffectofanthropogenicdisturbanceonoccupancyoftropicalforestmammals AT simonetenan whenparksworkeffectofanthropogenicdisturbanceonoccupancyoftropicalforestmammals AT elisefzipkin whenparksworkeffectofanthropogenicdisturbanceonoccupancyoftropicalforestmammals AT francescorovero whenparksworkeffectofanthropogenicdisturbanceonoccupancyoftropicalforestmammals |