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Spatiotemporal responses of ungulates to hunting in a fenced multi-use area

Koen van Roekel, Lysanne Snijders, Darcy Visscher

Abstract

Context Human activities, such as tourism and hunting, impact the spatiotemporal behavior of wildlife. For example, it is well documented that ungulates change their spatiotemporal behavior as a response to hunting pressure, but less is known about ungulate responses to hunting in areas where human activity is common throughout the year and ungulates are constrained by fences. Aims In this camera trap study, we analysed the change in spatiotemporal behavior of wild ungulates (elk, Cervus canadensis (3519 events), moose, Alces alces (1153 events), and white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (2708 events)) in response to the hunting period in a recreational and fenced park, the Cooking Lake – Blackfoot Provincial Area, Canada. Methods We use general linear models to compare species specific patterns of intensity of use, calculated as events per week, in response to changes in the nature of human disturbance, namely a shift from recreation to hunting activity. In particular, we compared intensity of use in and out of the hunting season to determine whether species engaged in spatial patterns of avoidance with respect to hunting. We use daily and seasonal patterns of activity to determine how ungulates shifted their temporal use in response to hunting activity and whether they became more nocturnal as a result. Key results We found that ungulates responded temporally to the hunting period by generally shifting their activity to more nocturnal hours, with white-tailed deer showing the biggest temporal shift, suggesting the ungulates distinguish between consumptive and non-consumptive human activities. Nevertheless, temporal overlap between humans and all ungulate species increased during the hunting period as humans targeted times of increased ungulate activity. Spatially, the response was less distinctive and was species-specific. Elk showed little change in spatial behavior in response to the hunting period. In contrast, moose decreased the use of trail areas and other areas frequented by humans, while deer, counterintuitively, increased the use of trail areas, albeit their use became much more nocturnal. Conclusions We show that responses of ungulates to hunting exceeds that of non-consumptive recreational use and while temporal responses (increased nocturnality) were consistent across ungulate species, spatial responses were species-specific. Implications Management in small fenced multi-use areas need to account for shifts in the intensity of disturbance resulting from a change in human disturbance from recreational activity to hunting. Providing spatial opportunities for avoidance of humans is key for most species if hour of operation in these areas already limit the timing of human activity

WR24027  Accepted 10 September 2024

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