Oral Presentations

Predators in Paradise: Ecotourism and Predator-Prey Dynamics

Presentation Type

Presentation

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Mark Hebblewhite

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Wildlife Biology

Abstract / Artist's Statement

Predators in Paradise: Ecotourism and Predator-Prey Dynamics

Drew Cremeans, Senior Undergraduate Thesis in Wildlife Biology

The use of camera trap surveys is increasingly common to investigate recurring daily activities of mammals. Investigation into the overlap of mammals’ daily activity patterns can provide unique insights into predator-prey dynamics. Understanding this relationship is essential for the effective management and conservation of both species. Extensive research across the tropics has found that daily activities of mammals were shaped by regulation of body temperature and trophic location in food webs. Although broad scale studies of daily patterns of mammals greatly expand our understanding of these constraints, many study sites included were remote protected areas under strict conservation measures. Such protected areas often had full complements of native species and little human activity. For example, most studies of this kind in the Neotropics include both pumas and jaguars. Thus, Neotropical predator-prey activity patterns may differ in areas of higher human activity, such as private land reserves where pumas are the apex predator. To test these questions, I used remote camera trapping data collected from Monteverde, Costa Rica. The data I used was collected from 16 remote cameras deployed over 819 camera trap nights. Cameras were placed on two private land reserves in the greater Monteverde area in 2021-2022. Both sites differed significantly in their amount of human activity in the form of hikers. I analyzed daily activity patterns and overlap using the R package ‘overlap’ to test whether overlap of predator-prey species differed in areas of high human activity compared to areas of lower human activity. During my study I captured a total of 21 pumas, 23 ocelots, 55 collared peccary, 258 white-nosed coatis, 674 Central American agoutis, and 1507 humans. In general, overlap between predators and prey increased by about 23% at the site with higher human activity. For example, pumas overlapped more with agouti (by 29%) and coati (by 23%) in the site with higher human use. These results support the mutual attraction hypothesis outlined by Van Scoyoc et al. (2023) that predicts human activity will increase predator-prey overlap. My results have potential implications for ecotourism management in Monteverde and other Neotropical locales.

Category

Life Sciences

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Apr 21st, 2:40 PM Apr 21st, 3:00 PM

Predators in Paradise: Ecotourism and Predator-Prey Dynamics

UC 326

Predators in Paradise: Ecotourism and Predator-Prey Dynamics

Drew Cremeans, Senior Undergraduate Thesis in Wildlife Biology

The use of camera trap surveys is increasingly common to investigate recurring daily activities of mammals. Investigation into the overlap of mammals’ daily activity patterns can provide unique insights into predator-prey dynamics. Understanding this relationship is essential for the effective management and conservation of both species. Extensive research across the tropics has found that daily activities of mammals were shaped by regulation of body temperature and trophic location in food webs. Although broad scale studies of daily patterns of mammals greatly expand our understanding of these constraints, many study sites included were remote protected areas under strict conservation measures. Such protected areas often had full complements of native species and little human activity. For example, most studies of this kind in the Neotropics include both pumas and jaguars. Thus, Neotropical predator-prey activity patterns may differ in areas of higher human activity, such as private land reserves where pumas are the apex predator. To test these questions, I used remote camera trapping data collected from Monteverde, Costa Rica. The data I used was collected from 16 remote cameras deployed over 819 camera trap nights. Cameras were placed on two private land reserves in the greater Monteverde area in 2021-2022. Both sites differed significantly in their amount of human activity in the form of hikers. I analyzed daily activity patterns and overlap using the R package ‘overlap’ to test whether overlap of predator-prey species differed in areas of high human activity compared to areas of lower human activity. During my study I captured a total of 21 pumas, 23 ocelots, 55 collared peccary, 258 white-nosed coatis, 674 Central American agoutis, and 1507 humans. In general, overlap between predators and prey increased by about 23% at the site with higher human activity. For example, pumas overlapped more with agouti (by 29%) and coati (by 23%) in the site with higher human use. These results support the mutual attraction hypothesis outlined by Van Scoyoc et al. (2023) that predicts human activity will increase predator-prey overlap. My results have potential implications for ecotourism management in Monteverde and other Neotropical locales.