10.5061/DRYAD.8T0M6V7
Klaassen, Britt
Leiden University
Broekhuis, Femke
University of Oxford
Data from: Living on the edge: multiscale habitat selection by cheetahs in
a human-wildlife landscape
Dryad
dataset
2019
human-wildlife landscape
GPS radio-collars
Multiscale
Acinonyx jubatus
cheetah
2019-05-30T00:00:00Z
2019-05-30T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4269
2464965 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Animals select habitats that will ultimately optimise their fitness
through access to favourable resources, such as food, mates, and breeding
sites. However, access to these resources may be limited by bottom-up
effects, such as availability, and top-down effects such as risk avoidance
and competition, including that with humans. Competition between wildlife
and people over resources, specifically over space, has played a
significant role in the worldwide decrease of large carnivores. The goal
of this study was to determine the habitat selection of cheetahs (Acinonyx
jubatus) in a human-wildlife landscape at multiple spatial scales.
Cheetahs are a wide-ranging, large carnivore, whose significant decline is
largely attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation. It is believed that
77% of the global cheetah population ranges outside protected areas, yet
little is known about cheetahs’ resource use in areas where they co-occur
with people. The selection, or avoidance, of three anthropogenic variables
(human footprint density, distance to main roads and wildlife areas) and
five environmental variables (open habitat, semi-closed habitat, edge
density, patch density and slope), at multiple spatial scales, was
determined by analysing collar data from six cheetahs. Cheetahs selected
variables at different scales; anthropogenic variables were selected at
broader scales (720m - 1440m) than environmental variables (90m-180m),
suggesting that anthropogenic pressures affect habitat selection at a
home-range level, whilst environmental variables influence site-level
habitat selection. Cheetah presence was best explained by human presence,
wildlife areas, semi-closed habitat, edge density and slope. Cheetahs
showed avoidance for humans and steep slopes and selected for wildlife
areas and areas with high proportions of semi-closed habitat and edge
density. Understanding a species’ resource requirements, and how these
might be affected by humans, is crucial for conservation. Using a
multiscale approach, we provide new insights into the habitat selection of
a large carnivore living in a human-wildlife landscape.
Cheetah_habitat_data
Maasai Mara
Kenya