Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests
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 t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/3/290 |
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| author | Giacomo Cremonesi Francesco Bisi Lorenzo Gaffi Thet Zaw Hla Naing Kyaw Moe Zarni Aung Alessandra Gagliardi Lucas A. Wauters Damiano G. Preatoni Adriano Martinoli |
| author_facet | Giacomo Cremonesi Francesco Bisi Lorenzo Gaffi Thet Zaw Hla Naing Kyaw Moe Zarni Aung Alessandra Gagliardi Lucas A. Wauters Damiano G. Preatoni Adriano Martinoli |
| author_sort | Giacomo Cremonesi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:52:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b17100d9269641758b9530250c2f0dd2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:52:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-b17100d9269641758b9530250c2f0dd22023-12-03T12:16:06ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-03-0112329010.3390/f12030290Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical ForestsGiacomo Cremonesi0Francesco Bisi1Lorenzo Gaffi2Thet Zaw3Hla Naing4Kyaw Moe5Zarni Aung6Alessandra Gagliardi7Lucas A. Wauters8Damiano G. Preatoni9Adriano Martinoli10Environment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, ItalyEnvironment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, ItalyIstituto Oikos, Via Crescenzago 1, 20134 Milano, ItalyIstituto Oikos, Via Crescenzago 1, 20134 Milano, ItalyWildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar Program, No. 12 (B-21,22) Narnattaw Road, Shwe Kainnayi Housing, Kamayut Township, Yangon 11041, MyanmarWildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar Program, No. 12 (B-21,22) Narnattaw Road, Shwe Kainnayi Housing, Kamayut Township, Yangon 11041, MyanmarWildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar Program, No. 12 (B-21,22) Narnattaw Road, Shwe Kainnayi Housing, Kamayut Township, Yangon 11041, MyanmarEnvironment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, ItalyEnvironment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, ItalyEnvironment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, ItalyEnvironment Analysis and Management Unit, Guido Tosi Research Group, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, ItalyThe 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.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/3/290activity patternscamera trappinghuman disturbancemammalsspatial overlaptemporal segregation |
| spellingShingle | Giacomo Cremonesi Francesco Bisi Lorenzo Gaffi Thet Zaw Hla Naing Kyaw Moe Zarni Aung Alessandra Gagliardi Lucas A. Wauters Damiano G. Preatoni Adriano Martinoli Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests Forests activity patterns camera trapping human disturbance mammals spatial overlap temporal segregation |
| title | Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests |
| title_full | Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests |
| title_short | Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests |
| title_sort | evaluation of human disturbance on the activity of medium large mammals in myanmar tropical forests |
| topic | activity patterns camera trapping human disturbance mammals spatial overlap temporal segregation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/3/290 |
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