Zamuda Kimberly M, Duguid Marlyse C, Schmitz Oswald J
School of the Environment Yale University New Haven Connecticut USA.
Ecol Evol. 2022 Jul 3;12(7):e9015. doi: 10.1002/ece3.9015. eCollection 2022 Jul.
Mammalian mesopredators-mid-sized carnivores-are ecologically, economically, and socially important. With their adaptability to a variety of habitats and diets, loss of apex predators, and forest regrowth, many of these species are increasing in number throughout the northeastern United States. However, currently the region is seeing extensive landscape alterations, with an increase in residential and industrial development, especially at the expense of existing forest and small-scale farmland. We sought to understand how important an existing mosaic of working lands (timberland and farmland) in a forested landscape is to mesopredator species. We did this by studying mesopredator occupancy across three land uses (or habitat types): forest reserve (protected), timber harvest (shelterwood cuts), and field (both crop yielding and fallow) in and around a 3200-ha forest in northeastern Connecticut. We examined coyote (), bobcat (), fisher (), and raccoon () occupancy using paired camera traps across juxtaposed reserve, shelterwood, and field units from April 2018 to March 2019. We created a priori habitat variable models for each species and season, as well as analyzed the impact of habitat types on each species. Throughout the year bobcats were positively associated with foliage height diversity and had the highest use in shelterwoods and lowest use in fields. Land use utilization varied seasonally for coyotes and raccoons, with higher use of fields than reserves and shelterwoods for half the year and no difference between land uses and the other half. Both species were not strongly associated with any particular habitat variables. Reserve forest was moderate to highly used by all species for at least half the year, and highly use year-round by fishers. Our findings reveal that a mosaic of intact forest and working lands, timber harvest, and agriculture can support mesopredator diversity.
哺乳动物中的中型食肉动物在生态、经济和社会方面都很重要。由于它们能适应各种栖息地和饮食，顶级食肉动物的减少以及森林的再生，这些物种中的许多在美国东北部的数量正在增加。然而，目前该地区正经历着广泛的景观变化，住宅和工业发展不断增加，尤其是以牺牲现有的森林和小规模农田为代价。我们试图了解森林景观中现有的林地（林地和农田）镶嵌体对中型食肉动物物种有多重要。我们通过研究康涅狄格州东北部一个3200公顷森林及其周边三种土地利用类型（或栖息地类型）中的中型食肉动物占有率来做到这一点：森林保护区（受保护）、木材采伐区（渐伐林）和农田（产粮和休耕）。我们在2018年4月至2019年3月期间，使用成对的相机陷阱，对相邻的保护区、渐伐林和农田单元中的郊狼、山猫、渔貂和浣熊的占有率进行了调查。我们为每个物种和季节创建了先验栖息地变量模型，并分析了栖息地类型对每个物种的影响。全年来看，山猫与叶高多样性呈正相关，在渐伐林中的使用率最高，在农田中的使用率最低。郊狼和浣熊的土地利用利用率随季节变化，一年中有半年对农田的利用率高于保护区和渐伐林，而在另一半时间里，不同土地利用类型之间没有差异。这两个物种与任何特定的栖息地变量都没有很强的关联。至少半年时间里，所有物种对保留林的使用率都处于中等至高的水平，而渔貂全年对其使用率都很高。我们的研究结果表明，完整的森林、林地、木材采伐区和农业的镶嵌体能够支持中型食肉动物的多样性。
