Griffin Suzanne C, Valois Tanguy, Taper Mark L, Scott Mills L
Wildlife Biology Program, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812-0004, USA.
Conserv Biol. 2007 Aug;21(4):1070-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00688.x.
If changes in animal behavior resulting from direct human disturbance negatively affect the persistence of a given species or population, then these behavioral changes must necessarily lead to reduced demographic performance. We tested for the effects of human disturbance on Olympic marmots (Marmota olympus), a large ground-dwelling squirrel that has disappeared from several areas where recreation levels are high. We assessed the degree to which antipredator and foraging behavior and demographic rates (survival and reproduction) differed between sites with high recreation levels (high use) and those with little or no recreation (low use). Compared with the marmots at low-use sites, marmots at high-use sites displayed significantly reduced responses to human approach, which could be construed as successful accommodation of disturbance or as a decrease in predator awareness. The marmots at high-use sites also looked up more often while foraging, which suggests an increased wariness. Marmots at both types of sites had comparable reproductive and survival rates and were in similar body condition. Until now, the supposition that marmots can adjust their behavior to avoid negative demographic consequences when confronted with heavy tourism has been based on potentially ambiguous behavioral data. Our results support this hypothesis in the case of Olympic marmots and demonstrate the importance of considering demographic data when evaluating the impacts of recreation on animal populations.
如果由人类直接干扰导致的动物行为变化对特定物种或种群的存续产生负面影响，那么这些行为变化必然会导致种群统计学表现下降。我们测试了人类干扰对奥林匹克旱獭（Marmota olympus）的影响，奥林匹克旱獭是一种大型地栖松鼠，在一些娱乐活动频繁的地区已经消失。我们评估了在娱乐活动频繁的高使用量地点和娱乐活动很少或没有娱乐活动的低使用量地点之间，反捕食和觅食行为以及种群统计学指标（生存和繁殖）的差异程度。与低使用量地点的旱獭相比，高使用量地点的旱獭对人类靠近的反应显著降低，这可以被解释为对干扰的成功适应或对捕食者警惕性的降低。高使用量地点的旱獭在觅食时抬头的频率也更高，这表明它们更加警觉。两种类型地点的旱獭繁殖率和生存率相当，身体状况也相似。到目前为止，关于旱獭在面对大量游客时能够调整行为以避免负面种群统计学后果的假设一直基于可能模糊的行为数据。我们的结果在奥林匹克旱獭的案例中支持了这一假设，并证明了在评估娱乐活动对动物种群的影响时考虑种群统计学数据的重要性。
