DeGregorio Brett A, Gale Connor, V Lassiter Ellery, Massey Andrhea, Roberts Caleb P, T Veon John
U.S. Geological Survey Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas USA.
Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas USA.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Nov 3;11(22):15874-15881. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8257. eCollection 2021 Nov.
As the human footprint upon the landscape expands, wildlife seeking to avoid human contact are losing the option of altering their spatial distribution and instead are shifting their daily activity patterns to be active at different times than humans. In this study, we used game cameras to evaluate how human development and activity were related to the daily activity patterns of the nine-banded armadillo ( along an urban to rural gradient in Arkansas, USA during the winter of 2020-2021. We found that armadillos had substantial behavioral plasticity in regard to the timing of their activity patterns; >95% of armadillo activity was nocturnal at six of the study sites, whereas between 30% and 60% of activity occurred during the day at three other sites. The likelihood of diurnal armadillo activity was best explained by the distance to downtown Fayetteville (the nearest population center) and estimated ambient sound level (both indices of human activity) with armadillos being most active during the day at quiet sites far from Fayetteville. Furthermore, armadillo activity occurred later during the night period (minutes after sunset) at sites near downtown and with higher anthropogenic sound. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the observed activity shift may be in response to not only human activity but also the presence of domestic dogs. Our results provide further evidence that human activity has subtle nonlethal impacts on even common, widespread wildlife species. Because armadillos have low body temperatures and basal metabolism, being active during cold winter nights likely has measurable fitness costs. Nature reserves near human population centers may not serve as safe harbors for wildlife as we intend, and managers could benefit from considering these nonlethal responses in how they manage recreation and visitation in these natural areas.
随着人类在这片土地上的足迹不断扩大，那些试图避免与人类接触的野生动物正失去改变其空间分布的选择，转而改变它们的日常活动模式，选择在与人类不同的时间活动。在本研究中，我们使用了狩猎相机来评估人类发展和活动与九带犰狳日常活动模式之间的关系（于2020 - 2021年冬季在美国阿肯色州从城市到农村的梯度区域进行研究）。我们发现，犰狳在活动模式的时间安排上具有很大的行为可塑性；在六个研究地点，超过95%的犰狳活动是在夜间进行的，而在其他三个地点，30%至60%的活动发生在白天。犰狳白天活动的可能性最好由距离费耶特维尔市中心（最近的人口中心）的距离和估计的环境声级（两者都是人类活动的指标）来解释，犰狳在远离费耶特维尔的安静地点白天最为活跃。此外，在靠近市中心且人为声音较高的地点，犰狳夜间活动的时间较晚（日落后的分钟数）。轶事证据表明，观察到的活动变化可能不仅是对人类活动的反应，也是对家犬存在的反应。我们的结果进一步证明，人类活动即使对常见的、分布广泛的野生动物物种也有微妙的非致命影响。由于犰狳体温低且基础代谢率低，在寒冷的冬夜活动可能会带来可衡量的健康成本。靠近人口中心的自然保护区可能无法像我们预期的那样成为野生动物的安全庇护所，管理者在管理这些自然区域的娱乐和参观活动时，考虑这些非致命反应可能会有所帮助。
