Granados Alys, Sun Catherine, Fisher Jason T, Ladle Andrew, Dawe Kimberly, Beirne Christopher, Boyce Mark S, Chow Emily, Heim Nicole, Fennell Mitchell, Klees van Bommel Joanna, Naidoo Robin, Procko Michael, Stewart Frances E C, Burton A Cole
Department of Forest Resources Management University of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada.
Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability University of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada.
Ecol Evol. 2023 Sep 14;13(9):e10464. doi: 10.1002/ece3.10464. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Outdoor recreation is widespread, with uncertain effects on wildlife. The human shield hypothesis (HSH) suggests that recreation could have differential effects on predators and prey, with predator avoidance of humans creating a spatial refuge 'shielding' prey from people. The generality of the HSH remains to be tested across larger scales, wherein human shielding may prove generalizable, or diminish with variability in ecological contexts. We combined data from 446 camera traps and 79,279 sampling days across 10 landscapes spanning 15,840 km in western Canada. We used hierarchical models to quantify the influence of recreation and landscape disturbance (roads, logging) on ungulate prey (moose, mule deer and elk) and carnivore (wolf, grizzly bear, cougar and black bear) site use. We found limited support for the HSH and strong responses to recreation at local but not larger spatial scales. Only mule deer showed positive but weak landscape-level responses to recreation. Elk were positively associated with local recreation while moose and mule deer responses were negative, contrary to HSH predictions. Mule deer showed a more complex interaction between recreation and land-use disturbance, with more negative responses to recreation at lower road density or higher logged areas. Contrary to HSH predictions, carnivores did not avoid recreation and grizzly bear site use was positively associated. We also tested the effects of roads and logging on temporal activity overlap between mule deer and recreation, expecting deer to minimize interaction with humans by partitioning time in areas subject to more habitat disturbance. However, temporal overlap between people and deer increased with road density. Our findings highlight the complex ecological patterns that emerge at macroecological scales. There is a need for expanded monitoring of human and wildlife use of recreation areas, particularly multi-scale and -species approaches to studying the interacting effects of recreation and land-use change on wildlife.
户外休闲活动广泛存在，对野生动物的影响尚不确定。人类庇护假说（HSH）表明，休闲活动可能对捕食者和猎物产生不同影响，捕食者对人类的回避会形成一个空间避难所，“庇护”猎物免受人类侵扰。HSH的普遍性仍有待在更大尺度上进行检验，在这种尺度下，人类庇护可能被证明具有普遍性，或者会因生态环境的变化而减弱。我们整合了来自加拿大西部10个景观区域的446个相机陷阱数据以及79279个采样日的数据，这些景观区域跨度达15840公里。我们使用分层模型来量化休闲活动和景观干扰（道路、伐木）对有蹄类猎物（驼鹿、骡鹿和麋鹿）以及食肉动物（狼、灰熊、美洲狮和黑熊）栖息地利用的影响。我们发现对HSH的支持有限，且在局部而非更大空间尺度上，休闲活动会产生强烈影响。只有骡鹿在景观层面上对休闲活动表现出积极但微弱的反应。麋鹿与局部休闲活动呈正相关，而驼鹿和骡鹿的反应则为负相关，这与HSH的预测相反。骡鹿在休闲活动和土地利用干扰之间表现出更复杂的相互作用，在道路密度较低或伐木区域较高的情况下，对休闲活动的负面反应更多。与HSH的预测相反，食肉动物并未回避休闲活动，且灰熊的栖息地利用呈正相关。我们还测试了道路和伐木对骡鹿与休闲活动时间活动重叠的影响，预计鹿会通过在受更多栖息地干扰的区域划分时间来尽量减少与人类的互动。然而，人与鹿之间的时间重叠随着道路密度的增加而增加。我们的研究结果凸显了在宏观生态尺度上出现的复杂生态模式。有必要扩大对休闲区域人类和野生动物利用情况的监测，特别是采用多尺度和多物种方法来研究休闲活动和土地利用变化对野生动物的相互作用影响。
