Effects of temporary closure of a national park on leopard movement and behaviour in tropical Asia |
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| Institution: | 1. King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Conservation Ecology Program, School of Bioresources and Technology, 49 Thakham, Bangkhuntien, Bangkok 10150, Thailand;2. Wildlife Conservation Society, Center for Global Conservation, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA;1. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 69060-001 Manaus, AM, Brazil;2. Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Brazil;3. Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Departamento de Biologia, Av. Rodrigo Otávio, 69077-000 Japiim, Manaus, AM, Brazil;1. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, U.K.;2. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, U.K.;1. Department of Natural Sciences, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DE22 1GB, UK;2. Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Formosa, Av. Gutnisky 3200, CP 3600, Formosa, Argentina;3. Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem Street, Room 314, New Haven, CT 06511, USA;1. African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), AWF Conservation Centre, Ngong Road, Karen, P.O. Box 310, 00502, Nairobi, Kenya;2. Mammal Research Institute (MRI) and DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (CIB), Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa;3. Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria West, 0001, South Africa;4. Scientific Services, South African National Parks (SANPARKS), Skukuza, 1350, South Africa;1. Department of Endangered Species Management, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India;2. Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India;1. Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 0600810, Japan;2. World Wide Fund for Nature Greater Mekong Program, House #21, Street 322, Boeung Keng Kang I, Phnom Penh, Cambodia;3. Mondulkiri Forestry Administration Cantonment, Forestry Administration, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
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| Abstract: | Across Asia protected areas serve as refuges for carnivores inside human-dominated landscapes. However, the creation of hard edges around reserve boundaries where conflicts with humans arise and disturbance from human activities inside the reserves may affect carnivore behaviour and ecology. Thailand’s largest protected area, Kaeng Krachan National Park (2915 km2) receives >100,000 visitors annually while maintaining an intact assemblage of prey species for large carnivores, making it a potentially important site for population recovery of leopards (Panthera pardus), tigers (Panthera tigris) and dholes (Cuon alpinus). We assessed the abundance of leopards and their prey base, and their response to changes in levels of human activity after an unexpected flooding event that resulted in the park being closed to visitors for >6 months. Using camera-traps, we identified 6 individual leopards and used spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) methods, incorporating humans and prey as covariates, to test for factors affecting the detection probability of leopards before and after the park closure. Leopard density was unchanged between the two periods, however the movement and activity patterns were clearly different. In the absence of tourist activity, leopards tended to move more frequently, leopard detection rates increased by 70% and activity shifted towards being more diurnal. The consequences of these changes in behaviour may include improved health, reproduction and survival. A management strategy involving seasonal closure of parks may serve to alleviate pressure on leopards and other carnivores. We recommend using information on abundance of large carnivores and their prey species, and human disturbance as the key indicators for long-term monitoring and management of protected areas in Southeast Asia. |
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| Keywords: | Human disturbance Protected area management Spatial capture-recapture Activity patterns Mammalian carnivores Thailand |
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