Human impact on wildlife even in protected areas
Largest survey of its kind could inform biodiversity policy

Date:
June 26, 2023
Source:
Rice University
Summary:
The largest long-term standardized camera-trap survey to date finds
that human activity impacts tropical mammals living in protected
areas and sheds light on how different species are affected based
on their habitat needs and anthropogenic stressors.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
By 2030, if the 30 by 30 initiative supported by more than 100 countries
is successful, 30% of our land and ocean ecosystems will be designated protected areas meant to safeguard biodiversity and help limit the
impacts of climate change.

However, a study by Rice University ecologist Lydia Beaudrot and
collaborators reports for the first time that tropical mammals living
inside protected areas are not spared the effects of human activity even
when it occurs outside of the protected boundaries.

Based on the largest long-term camera-trap wildlife survey of its
kind to date, the research sheds light on how anthropogenic stressors
such as human population density and habitat fragmentation impact
159 mammal species in 16 protected areas across three biogeographic
regions. The study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, could
inform biodiversity policymaking decisions by 30 by 30 participants.

Composed of millions of images collected over multiple years from over
1,000 camera-trap sites, the data set was assembled by a large-scale
network of research stations that agreed to implement a consistent data-collection protocol as part of a partnership between Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Smithsonian Institution.

"This data set is just phenomenal -- it was a herculean effort unlike
anything attempted before," said Beaudrot, an assistant professor of biosciences.

The study found that specialist species -- which occupy specific habitats
only -- thrive when habitat fragmentation is low and are generally more susceptible to the negative impacts of human activities like hunting
and land use than generalist species, which are able to live in more
diverse habitats. Thus, a white-bellied pangolin living in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda should shuffle closer to its center,
since specialists are likely to fare better the farther inward they are
from the edge of a protected area.

"Habitats are more varied at the edge of the protected area," said
Asuncio'n Semper-Pascual, a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian
University for Life Sciences and the lead author on the study. "There
is usually this difference between forest cover and open landscape,
such as an area used for agriculture, etc. Some generalist species
thrive in this kind of diverse setting because it provides access
to different resources." Generalist species, such as the tayra --
a dog-sized omnivore in the weasel family that is at home both under
forest cover and in grasslands or cropland, only thrive near the edge
of protected areas if human population density there is low.

Understanding species-specific responses to different anthropogenic
stressors can help set conservation priorities and guide protected-area management - - locally by focusing on the most vulnerable species in a
region and globally by highlighting how landscape-scale factors impact biodiversity beyond the protected perimeter.

"We have to think about the situation holistically," Beaudrot said.

"Conservation is going to work best when it's tackled in specific contexts
and in concert with the people who live there so as to create win-win situations for both the people and the wildlife." "As more protected
areas are created, we need to think carefully about the factors both
within and outside protected areas that influence biodiversity,"
Semper-Pascual said.

The Research Council of Norway (NFR301075) and the National Science
Foundation (2213568) supported the research.

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========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Rice_University. Original written
by Silvia Cernea Clark.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Asuncio'n Semper-Pascual, Douglas Sheil, Lydia Beaudrot, Pierre
Dupont,
Soumen Dey, Jorge Ahumada, Emmanuel Akampurira, Robert Bitariho,
Santiago Espinosa, Patrick A. Jansen, Marcela Guimara~es Moreira
Lima, Emanuel H.

Martin, Badru Mugerwa, Francesco Rovero, Fernanda Santos,
Eustrate Uzabaho, Richard Bischof. Occurrence dynamics
of mammals in protected tropical forests respond to human
presence and activities. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2023; DOI:
10.1038/s41559-023-02060-6 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230626163159.htm

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