Mammal Community Responses to Human Disturbance and Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) Density in the Romanian Carpathians

Author

• Andrei Dinu, University of Montana, MissoulaFollow

Year of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Name

Wildlife Biology

Other Degree Name/Area of Focus

Ecology

Department or School/College

W.A. FRANKE COLLEGE OF FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION

Committee Chair

Dr. Mark Hebblewhite

Committee Co-chair

Dr. Mahdieh Tourani

Commitee Members

Dr. Hugh Robinson, Dr. Jedediah Brodie, Dr. Viorel Popescu

Keywords

Carpathian Mountains, Eurasian lynx, occupancy modeling, spatial capture-recapture, human disturbance, mammal community

Subject Categories

Biodiversity | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Forest Biology | Forest Management | Population Biology | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Abstract

As human activities expand worldwide, understanding our influence on wildlife communities remains an ongoing research need. We investigated the spatiotemporal responses of a mammalian community to human activities and estimated the density of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the Eastern Romanian Carpathians. First, we used camera trap data and hierarchical community occupancy modeling with temporal overlap analyses to evaluate how human disturbance influences space use, detectability, and activity patterns across seasons. At the community level, occupancy probability declined with increasing logging intensity, indicating a consistent negative effect of timber exploitation on mammal space use. Distance to forest edge showed a weaker, generally positive association with occupancy probability, with stronger responses at the species level for forest-associated carnivores. Road density had a limited influence on space use, but detection probability varied with proximity to roads and time since human activity, highlighting fine-scale behavioral responses. Temporal analyses revealed clear guild-level differences: carnivores exhibited lower diel overlap with humans than herbivores. However, species-level overlap varied within the community but remained relatively stable across seasons, despite higher human activity in summer. All species experienced greater human exposure during summer, suggesting that seasonal increases in human activity do not necessarily translate into shifts in diel patterns. Second, focusing specifically on Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), a species of high conservation relevance in Europe, we used camera trap data and spatial capture– recapture modeling to estimate the density of lynx in a source population for ongoing European reintroduction efforts. Lynx density was estimated at 1.04 individuals/100 km² (95% CI: 0.58– 1.84), comparable with other estimates around Europe. We also found that males have a higher detection probability than females. Together, our results demonstrate that human disturbance influences both spatial and temporal dimensions of wildlife behaviour. This highlights the importance of integrating both dimensions within community-level approaches to better understand wildlife responses in increasingly human-dominated landscapes. Our results also underscore the importance of reliable density estimates and sustained monitoring of lynx source populations in the Romanian Carpathians to inform evidence-based translocation management.

Recommended Citation

Dinu, Andrei, "Mammal Community Responses to Human Disturbance and Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) Density in the Romanian Carpathians" (2026). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12731.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12731