Among species, coexistence is driven partly by the partitioning of available resources. The mechanisms of coexistence and competition among species have been a central topic within community ecology, with particular focus on mammalian carnivore community research. However, despite growing concern regarding the impact of humans on the behaviour of species, very little is known about the effect of humans on species interactions. The aim of this review is to establish a comprehensive framework for the impacts of human disturbance on three dimensions (spatial, temporal and trophic) of niche partitioning within carnivore communities and subsequent effects on both intraguild competition and community structure. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on carnivore niche partitioning (246 studies) and extracted 46 reported effects of human disturbance. We found evidence that human disturbance impacts resource partitioning, either positively or negatively, in all three niche dimensions. The repercussions of such variations are highly heterogeneous and differ according to both the type of human disturbance and how the landscape and/or availability of resources are affected. We propose a theoretical framework of the three main outcomes for the impacts of human disturbance on intraguild competition and carnivore community structure: (i) human disturbance impedes niche partitioning, increasing intraguild competition and reducing the richness and diversity of the community; (ii) human disturbance unbalances niche partitioning and intraguild competition, affecting community stability; and (iii) human disturbance facilitates niche partitioning, decreasing intraguild competition and enriching the community. We call for better integration of the impact of humans on carnivore communities in future research on interspecific competition.

Managing natural resources often depends on influencing people's behaviour, however effectively targeting interventions to discourage environmentally harmful behaviours is challenging because those involved may be unwilling to identify themselves. Non-sensitive indicators of sensitive behaviours are therefore needed. Previous studies have investigated people's attitudes, assuming attitudes reflect behaviour. There has also been interest in using people's estimates of the proportion of their peers involved in sensitive behaviours to identify those involved, since people tend to assume that others behave like themselves. However, there has been little attempt to test the potential of such indicators. We use the randomized response technique (RRT), designed for investigating sensitive behaviours, to estimate the proportion of farmers in north-eastern South Africa killing carnivores, and use a modified logistic regression model to explore relationships between our best estimates of true behaviour (from RRT) and our proposed non-sensitive indicators (including farmers' attitudes, and estimates of peer-behaviour). Farmers' attitudes towards carnivores, question sensitivity and estimates of peers' behaviour, predict the likelihood of farmers killing carnivores. Attitude and estimates of peer-behaviour are useful indicators of involvement in illicit behaviours and may be used to identify groups of people to engage in interventions aimed at changing behaviour.

Global urbanisation is rapidly increasing and can have profound impacts on wild flora and fauna. For many species, the impacts are detrimental and irreversible, whereas others are able to colonise and apparently thrive in these novel, human-made environments. Raptors are particularly susceptible to changes in the environment due to their position at the end of the food chain, yet some species are increasingly associated with towns and cities. To explore the impact of urbanisation on raptors, we reviewed the literature and compared breeding performance in urban and rural populations globally. In general, raptors began breeding earlier and had larger brood sizes in urban compared to rural environments. However, some of these raptors also fledged fewer young in urban habitats, apparently caused largely by a lack of prey and, in some cases, increased human disturbance. As such, urban environments may act as ecological traps for some raptor species. Species differed in their response to urbanisation. In particular, specialist bird predators such as Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) had a higher breeding performance (clutch size, brood size, number to fledge and nest success) and showed a positive response to urbanisation compared to those that predate on small mammals, such as Eurasian Kestrels (F. tinnunculus), which showed a negative response. This suggests that prey availability is one of the most important determinants of the success of urban-nesting raptors. We demonstrate a need for continued research into the breeding performance of raptors that live in urban environments, and stress the importance of focusing on the reasons for any differences in breeding performance between urban and non-urban environments in order to aid conservation and management efforts for this iconic bird group. Brutleistung von Greifvögeln in städtischen Landschafen: Überblick und Meta-Analyse Global nimmt die Urbanisierung rapide zu und kann wesentlichen Einfluss haben auf Flora und Fauna. Für viele Arten sind die Auswirkungen schädlich und unumkehrbar, während andere in der Lage sind, sich anzusiedeln und in diesen neuen anthropogenen Umgebungen aufzublühen. Greifvögel sind aufgrund ihrer Position am Ende der Nahrungskette besonders empfindlich für Veränderungen in der Umwelt, und trotzdem sind manche Arten zunehmend typisch für städtische Umgebungen. Um den Einfluss der Urbanisierung auf Greifvögel zu untersuchen, gingen wir die Literatur durch und verglichen die Brutleistung in urbanen und ländlichen Populationen weltweit. Insgesamt begannen Greifvögel früher zu brüten und hatten größere Bruten in städtischen im Vergleich zu ländlichen Umgebungen. Allerdings wurden bei einigen der Greifvögel weniger Jungtiere flügge in urbanen Umgebungen, anscheinend größtenteils aufgrund von Beutemangel und, in manchen Fällen, stärkerer Störung durch Menschen. Insofern könnten städtische Umgebungen als ökologische Falle für manche Greifvogelarten wirken. Die Arten unterschieden sich in ihrer Reaktion auf die Urbanisierung. Insbesondere hatten Arten wie der Wanderfalke (Falco peregrinus), deren Hauptbeute Vögel sind, eine höhere Brutleistung (Gelegegröße, Brutgröße, Anzahl von flüggen Jungvögeln und Bruterfolg) und zeigten eine positive Reaktion auf die Urbanisierung, im Gegensatz zu Arten, die im wesentlich auf Kleinsäuger jagen wie der Turmfalke (F. tinnunculus), die eine negative Reaktion zeigten. Das legt nahe, dass die Verfügbarkeit von Beute eine der wichtigsten Determinanten ist für den Erfolg von stadtbrütenden Greifvögeln. Wir zeigen die Notwendigkeit einer fortgesetzten Erforschung der Brutleistung von Greifvögeln in Städten auf und betonen die Notwendigkeit, sich auf die Gründe für jegliche Unterschiede in der Brutleistung zwischen urbanen und ländlichen Umgebungen zu konzentrieren, um die Bemühungen um Schutz und Management dieser Vogelarten zu unterstützen.

Satellite telemetry is an increasingly utilized technology in wildlife research, and current devices can track individual animal movements at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. However, as we enter the golden age of satellite telemetry, we need an in-depth understanding of the main technological, species-specific and environmental factors that determine the success and failure of satellite tracking devices across species and habitats. Here, we assess the relative influence of such factors on the ability of satellite telemetry units to provide the expected amount and quality of data by analyzing data from over 3,000 devices deployed on 62 terrestrial species in 167 projects worldwide. We evaluate the success rate in obtaining GPS fixes as well as in transferring these fixes to the user and we evaluate failure rates. Average fix success and data transfer rates were high and were generally better predicted by species and unit characteristics, while environmental characteristics influenced the variability of performance. However, 48% of the unit deployments ended prematurely, half of them due to technical failure. Nonetheless, this study shows that the performance of satellite telemetry applications has shown improvements over time, and based on our findings, we provide further recommendations for both users and manufacturers.

Agricultural landscapes have become increasingly intensively managed resulting in population declines across a broad range of taxa, including insectivores such as the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Hedgehog declines have also been attributed to an increase in the abundance of badgers (Meles meles), an intra-guild predator. The status of hedgehogs across the rural landscape at large spatial scales is, however, unknown. In this study, we used footprint tracking tunnels to conduct the first national survey of rural hedgehog populations in England and Wales. Single and two-species occupancy modelling was used to quantify hedgehog occupancy in relation to habitat and predator covariates. Hedgehog occupancy was low (22% nationally), and significantly negatively related to badger sett density and positively related to the built environment. Hedgehogs were also absent from 71% of sites that had no badger setts, indicating that large areas of the rural landscape are not occupied by hedgehogs. Our results provide the first field based national survey of hedgehogs, providing a robust baseline for future monitoring. Furthermore, the combined effects of increasing badger abundance and intensive agriculture may have provided a perfect storm for hedgehogs in rural Britain, leading to worryingly low levels of occupancy over large spatial scales.