Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.

Few studies have documented fine-scale movements of ungulate species, including white-tailed deer(Odocoileus virginianus), despite the advent of global positioning system (GPS) technology incorporated into tracking devices. We collected fine-scale temporal location estimates (i.e., 15 min/relocation attempt) from 17 female and 15 male white-tailed deer over 7 years and 3 seasons in Oklahoma, USA. Our objectives were to document fine-scale movements of females and males and determine effects of reproductive phase, moon phase, and short-term weather patterns on movements. Female and male movements were primarily crepuscular. Male total daily movements were 20% greater during rut () than postrut (). Female daily movements were greatest during postparturition (), followed by parturition (), and preparturition (). We found moon phase had no effect on daily, nocturnal, and diurnal deer movements and fine-scale temporal weather conditions had an inconsistent influence on deer movement patterns within season. Our data suggest that hourly and daily variation in weather events have minimal impact on movements of white-tailed deer in southern latitudes. Instead, routine crepuscular movements, presumed to maximize thermoregulation and minimize predation risk, appear to be the most important factors influencing movements.

Balancing animal conservation and human use of the landscape is an ongoing scientific and practical challenge throughout the world. We investigated reproductive success in female greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) relative to seasonal patterns of resource selection, with the larger goal of developing a spatially-explicit framework for managing human activity and sage-grouse conservation at the landscape level. We integrated field-observation, Global Positioning Systems telemetry, and statistical modeling to quantify the spatial pattern of occurrence and risk during nesting and brood-rearing. We linked occurrence and risk models to provide spatially-explicit indices of habitat-performance relationships. As part of the analysis, we offer novel biological information on resource selection during egg-laying, incubation, and night. The spatial pattern of occurrence during all reproductive phases was driven largely by selection or avoidance of terrain features and vegetation, with little variation explained by anthropogenic features. Specifically, sage-grouse consistently avoided rough terrain, selected for moderate shrub cover at the patch level (within 90 m²), and selected for mesic habitat in mid and late brood-rearing phases. In contrast, risk of nest and brood failure was structured by proximity to anthropogenic features including natural gas wells and human-created mesic areas, as well as vegetation features such as shrub cover. Risk in this and perhaps other human-modified landscapes is a top-down (i.e., human-mediated) process that would most effectively be minimized by developing a better understanding of specific mechanisms (e.g., predator subsidization) driving observed patterns, and using habitat-performance indices such as those developed herein for spatially-explicit guidance of conservation intervention. Working under the hypothesis that industrial activity structures risk by enhancing predator abundance or effectiveness, we offer specific recommendations for maintaining high-performance habitat and reducing low-performance habitat, particularly relative to the nesting phase, by managing key high-risk anthropogenic features such as industrial infrastructure and water developments.

Ground-nesting birds experience high levels of nest predation. However, birds can make selection decisions related to nest site location and characteristics that may result in physical, visual, and olfactory impediments to predators. We studied daily survival rate [DSR] of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) from 2008 to 2010 in an area in Wyoming experiencing large-scale alterations to the landscape. We used generalized linear mixed models to model fixed and random effects, and a correlation within nesting attempts, individual birds, and years. Predation of the nest was the most common source of nest failure (84.7%) followed by direct predation of the female (13.6%). Generally, landscape variables at the nest site (≤ 30 m) were more influential on DSR of nests than features at larger spatial scales. Percentage of shrub canopy cover at the nest site (15-m scale) and distances to natural gas wells and mesic areas had a positive relationship with DSR of nests, whereas distance to roads had a negative relationship with DSR of nests. When added to the vegetation model, maximum wind speed on the day of nest failure and a 1-day lag in precipitation (i.e., precipitation the day before failure) improved model fit whereby both variables negatively influenced DSR of nests. Nest site characteristics that reduce visibility (i.e., shrub canopy cover) have the potential to reduce depredation, whereas anthropogenic (i.e., distance to wells) and mesic landscape features appear to facilitate depredation. Last, predators may be more efficient at locating nests under certain weather conditions (i.e., high winds and moisture).