The effects of human disturbance represent one of the major threats for wildlife conservation. Many studies have shown that wildlife avoids or reduces direct contact with human activities through changes in activity patterns, and by minimizing spatiotemporal overlap. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of human presence on the temporal activity of medium-to-large mammals using two areas in Myanmar that differ in the intensity of human disturbance. We monitored temporal segregation mechanisms using camera trapping data and with two statistical approaches: daily activity overlaps between humans and wildlife and circular statistics. We did not find a significant difference in overlapping activity between areas but, thanks to circular statistics, we found that some species show changes in activity patterns, suggesting temporal avoidance. We observed that the daily activity of five species differed between areas of Myanmar, likely adopting mechanisms to reduce overlap in areas highly frequented by humans. Interestingly, these species are all threatened by hunting or poaching activities, four of which have been described in literature as “cathemeral”, or species that are active through day and night. This study suggests that some species adapt their behavior, at least partially, to avoid human presence in habitats with higher anthropic occurrence and increase our knowledge on the status of medium–large mammals in a poorly studied country as Myanmar.

Tropical forests comprise a critically impacted habitat, and it is known that altered forests host a lower diversity of mammal communities. In this study, we investigated the mammal communities of two areas in Myanmar with similar environmental conditions but with great differences in habitat degradation and human disturbance. The main goal was to understand the status and composition of these communities in an understudied area like Myanmar at a broad scale. Using camera trap data from a three-year-long campaign and hierarchical occupancy models with a Bayesian formulation, we evaluated the biodiversity level (species richness) and different ecosystem functions (diet and body mass), as well as the occupancy values of single species as a proxy for population density. We found a lower mammal diversity in the disturbed area, with a significantly lower number of carnivores and herbivores species. Interestingly, the area did not show alteration in its functional composition. Almost all the specific roles in the community were present except for apex predators, thus suggesting that the effects of human disturbance are mainly effecting the communities highest levels. Furthermore, two species showed significantly lower occupancies in the disturbed area during all the monitoring campaigns: one with a strong pressure for bushmeat consumption and a vulnerable carnivore threatened by illegal wildlife trade.

Human activities are affecting habitats and wildlife populations worldwide. Tropical forests are one of the most affected environments, mainly due to deforestation and poaching. Since high levels of anthropogenic pressure on forest ecosystems, including illegal logging and hunting, occur in southwest Myanmar (Rakhine State), we analyzed the effects of human disturbance on medium to large mammals in this region. We used camera‐trapping data collected over three consecutive years to investigate occurrence probabilities of 10 species: five common species exploited for bushmeat consumption, and five threatened species targeted by the illegal wildlife trade. We used a hierarchical single‐species multi‐season occupancy model implemented in a Bayesian framework to evaluate the effects of human disturbances and persistent habitat characteristics, such as the proportion of remaining pristine evergreen forest and the elevation, on occurrence probabilities. We found that occupancy probabilities of three out of five target species for the illegal wildlife trade were positively linked to forest habitats, whereas among common species hunted for bushmeat consumption the Northern red muntjak and the Malayan porcupine were negatively affected by human presence. The effects of human and habitat covariates were varied for other species of both groups. We confirmed results from previous studies that human disturbance is a driver of occurrence probabilities for some species in tropical areas. Our findings suggest that as protection of rainforest habitat is fundamental to the conservation of tropical ecosystems, law enforcement, patrolling, and local engagement activities are also recommended to mitigate forest and species exploitation. Finally, camera trapping could be a first step to identify areas where human presence affects species occupancy and help local authorities to develop more fine‐tuned conservation plans.

Wild bovids provide important ecosystem functions as seed dispersers and vegetation modifiers. Five wild bovids remain in Thailand: gaur ( Bos gaurus ), banteng ( Bos javanicus ), wild water buffalo ( Bubalus arnee ), mainland serow ( Capricornis sumatraensis ) and Chinese goral ( Naemorhedus griseus ). Their populations and habitats have declined substantially and become fragmented by land-use change. We use ecological niche models to quantify how much potential suitable habitat for these species remains within protected areas in Asia and then specifically Thailand. We combined species occurrence data from several sources (e.g. mainly camera traps and direct observation) with environmental variables and species-specific and single, large accessible areas in ensemble models to generate suitability maps, using out-of-sample predictions to validate model performance against new independent data. Gaur, banteng and buffalo models showed reasonable model accuracy throughout the entire distribution (greater than or equal to 62%) and in Thailand (greater than or equal to 80%), whereas serow and goral models performed poorly for the entire distribution and in Thailand, though 5 km movement buffers markedly improved the performance for serow. Large suitable areas were identified in Thailand and India for gaur, Cambodia and Thailand for banteng and India for buffalo. Over 50% of suitable habitat is located outside protected areas, highlighting the need for habitat management and conflict mitigation outside protected areas.

Size and distribution of wild populations are key elements in determining their conservation status, especially for vulnerable and elusive species, therefore choosing the proper monitoring method is fundamental to estimate population indices and consequently address conservation actions. In this...

Wild bovids provide important ecosystem functions throughout their ranges. Five wild bovids remain in Thailand: gaur ( Bos gaurus ), banteng ( Bos javanicus ), wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), mainland serow ( Capricornis sumatraensis ) and Chinese goral ( Naemorhedus griseus ). However, their populations and habitats have declined substantially and become fragmented. Here, we identify potentially suitable habitat for these threatened bovids using ecological niche models and quantify how much suitable area remains within protected areas. We combined species occurrence data with environmental variables and used spatially-restricted Biotic-Abiotic-Mobility frameworks with species-specific and single large accessible areas. We used ensembles from eight algorithms for generating maps and out-of-sample predictions to validate model performance against new data. Gaur, banteng, and buffalo models performed well throughout the entire distribution (≥62%) and in Thailand (≥80%). Mainland serow and Chinese goral performed poorly for the entire distribution and in Thailand, though a 5 km movement buffer markedly improved model performance for serow. Particularly large suitable areas were in Thailand and India for gaur, Cambodia and Thailand for banteng, and India for buffalo. Over 50% of overall suitable habitat is located outside protected areas, with just 9% for buffalo in Thai protected areas, highlighting area for potential habitat management and conflict mitigation.