The influence of human recreational trail use has on rodent and predator activity using motion triggered cameras
Abstract
The recreational trails in Gunnison County, Colorado near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) are a valuable resource for the community. RMBL is a prominent field station surrounded by a largely intact ecosystem whose diverse native plants and animals are key to its scientific research and education programs. Human recreation near these areas generates touristic income for the surrounding cities. However, human recreation can lead to behavioral changes in wild animals. Knowing whether the current regulations being implemented on the trails are sufficient to protect the wildlife is imperative. Utilizing methods from RMBL studies conducted in 2019 and 2020, we studied the effects of human use of recreational trails on small mammals and predators. This three-part study used motion triggered cameras to (1) compare the effectiveness of the non-invasive bucket camera traps with live rodent trapping, (2) measure the impact that human activity on trails has on rodents, and (3) measure the impact that human activity on trails has on predators. We found that bucket traps and live-trapping both capture the same nocturnal species, but bucket traps also capture diurnal species. We determined that human recreation (hiking, biking, dogs) had no significant negative impact on rodents (either nocturnal or diurnal) or on the number of predators. There was a marginally significant increase of predators at Deer Creek Trail with human recreation, but no relationship between predator numbers and rodent numbers. We conclude that recreation in the vicinity of RMBL is not having a detectable negative effect on wildlife species diversity or activity.
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References (7)
1 in Knowledge Hub, 6 external