As humans convert more natural areas to roads, houses, and farms, how do wild animals move and hunt and do the things they need to do to survive? Scientists point out that the solution for most animals is to change their habits.
A group of researchers from the University of Manchester in England and the Ecology and Conservation Laboratory (Laec) at the University of São Paulo used camera traps to monitor the movement of mammals in São Paulo, Brazil. Camera traps were installed in areas with different levels of preservation, including private properties and protected areas such as the Jataí Ecological Station.
The study area has undergone landscape changes for more than 200 years. It started with coffee farms in the 18th and 19th centuries, followed by livestock farming. And it has recently been taken over by sugar cane and forest plantations.
“We have a very interesting design. A landscape with a large block of protected area, another one with a sea of forestry where there is only a sliver of forest, and a third landscape with a mixture of the other two, where you have forestry, sugar cane and protected areas,” Adriano Chiarello describes.
The aim was to compare the active hours of animals that belong to the same species, but live in places with different levels of forest protection and distance from the presence of humans, dogs, and homes.
The camera traps recorded the movement of six mammals: pumas, ocelots, giant anteaters, brown brocket deer, agoutis, and crab-eating foxes. Five of these animals showed changes in their behavior in areas that are close to human occupation. Four of these species responded to living near humans by becoming more nocturnal (active at night).
In their natural habitat, pumas are active 24 hours a day, but they began to restrict their movement in areas of human occupation to hours between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The agouti, a rodent that is active throughout the day under normal conditions, only moved during the early hours of the morning.
“They have to be active early in the day because after that there will be people and cars there, and they don’t feel good about it. So it’s a time restriction with consequences for their ecological role,” explains Adriano Chiarello, talking about agoutis.
Giant anteaters, which feed on termites and ants and may have already become extinct in vast areas of Central and South America, are forced by dogs to adopt more nocturnal habits. In rural areas, many dogs roam free and end up chasing or even hunting wild animals during the day.
It was found that the destruction of native vegetation and the nearness of humans end up restricting where and when animals moved. Scientists are not sure how this change in habits will affect the longterm health of the animals.
“It’s like reducing a family’s budget; they will struggle to survive. Animals have to find a way. For example, I can no longer go out all day, only in the evenings. Life becomes more difficult, and in these situations of stress they will reproduce less, live less,” Adriano Chiarello explains.
For the researchers, the study’s findings stress the importance of creating protected areas. “Because this little bit of forest is a stronghold for these animals,” Adriano Chiarello explains. “These protected areas do protect the species, their natural behavior and their natural populations,” says Heather Ewart, another researcher who is part of the study.
David Brown adapted this story for Mongabay Kids. It is based on an article by Fernanda Wenzel, published on Mongabay News:
