Mesopredator spatial and temporal response to large-predators and anthropogenic activities in a Central Indian Reserve
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The survival and long-term persistence of mammalian carnivores is a key conservation challenge in developing countries like India. Many species of carnivores are forced to inhabit unprotected human-dominated landscapes given the miniscule proportion of land designated to protected areas. Differential human activity across a landscape grossly influences the activity patterns of both predator and prey species, depending on their degree of specialisation in feeding habits and habitat use. There lies a dearth of studies addressing the spatio-temporal dynamics of large and meso-predators in such disturbed landscapes. We conducted camera trap studies in dry deciduous forests of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Central India hypothesizing that temporal and spatial partitioning among meso- and apex predators would be affected across landscapes with differential anthropogenic activities. Motion-detecting camera traps were systematically deployed across an area of 1700 sq.km following a systematic grid sampling with a gradient of human use. Temporal activity overlap for different species was calculated from photo-capture timings using non-parametric kernel density distribution. We found that spatial and temporal partitioning between apex-predators and meso-predators decreased with increase in difference in body sizes. Tigers and leopards showed pronounced spatial partitioning. Dholes avoided tigers through temporal segregation, their activity peaks following plummets in the activity of the apex carnivore of this landscape. Species altered their activities temporally at sites with higher human activities. This was reflected as higher temporal overlap between the activities of predators at such locations. Results from our study provide insights on the ecology of a spectrum of carnivore species varying markedly in their body-sizes and feeding habits. Planning effective conservation strategies require a holistic understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics between large predators, mesopredators and prey at multiple scales in the backdrop of varying anthropogenic influences. Marking of prioritisation areas could facilitate persistence of carnivores in this multi-use landscape.