Strampelli, P;
Andresen, L;
Everatt, KT;
Somers, MJ;
Rowcliffe, JM;
(2017)
Habitat use responses of the African leopard in a human-disturbed region of rural Mozambique.
Mammalian Biology
, 89
pp. 14-20.
10.1016/j.mambio.2017.12.003.
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Abstract
Leopard (Panthera pardus) populations across Africa are increasingly exposed to high levels of anthropogenic disturbance, and information on habitat use responses of leopards in human-disturbed landscapes can help inform status assessments and guide conservation interventions. Unfortunately, however, few studies have investigated leopard ecology in human-disturbed landscapes, particularly in Africa. We employed camera-trapping and occupancy modelling to provide inferences on leopard habitat use in a National Park in Mozambique impacted by subsistence farming and bushmeat poaching. Replicated detection/non-detection occupancy surveys were used to estimate site use by leopards in a representative area of the park, and to investigate relative impacts of environmental, conspecific and anthropogenic factors on leopard occurrence. The proportion of sites used by leopards was estimated at 0.814 (SE = 0.093), which is approximately twice the occupancy previously reported for lion (44%) and cheetah (40%) in the same area. Leopard presence was not strongly predicted by any of the covariates, indicating there were no strong limiting factors. While leopards generally avoided human settlements and were positively predicted by prey, results suggest that there was sufficient prey and space for the species to use most available habitats. The greatest contributing factor to leopard habitat use was a positive correlation with bushmeat poachers and lions. It is possible that these other predators provide a more accurate indicator of prey availability than our single-species indicator based on camera trap data. This study provides important novel information on habitat use by leopards in a system disturbed by rural human subsistence activities in Africa.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Habitat use responses of the African leopard in a human-disturbed region of rural Mozambique |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.mambio.2017.12.003 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.12.003 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Zoology, Camera traps, Human disturbance, Bushmeat poaching, Occupancy, Panthera pardus, SITE-OCCUPANCY MODELS, PANTHERA-PARDUS, LARGE CARNIVORES, NATIONAL-PARK, SOUTH-AFRICA, PREY, PROBABILITIES, SELECTION, PREDATOR, RANGE |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10055533 |
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