Density responses of lesser-studied carnivores to habitat and management strategies in southern Tanzania's Ruaha-Rungwa landscape.

摘要: Compared to emblematic large carnivores, most species of the order Carnivora receive little conservation attention despite increasing anthropogenic pressure and poor understanding their status across much range. We employed systematic camera trapping spatially explicit capture-recapture modelling estimate variation in population density serval, striped hyaena aardwolf mixed-use Ruaha-Rungwa landscape southern Tanzania. selected three sites representative different habitat types, management strategies, levels pressure: Ruaha National Park’s core tourist area, dominated by Acacia-Commiphora bushlands thickets; miombo woodland; neighbouring community-run MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Area, also covered Acacia-Commiphora. The woodlands supported a higher serval (5.56 [Standard Error = ±2.45] individuals per 100 km2) than either area (3.45 [±1.04] or Area (2.08 [±0.74] km2). Taken together, precipitation, abundance apex predators, level likely drive such variation. Striped were detected only at low (1.36 [±0.50] km2), potentially due location surveyed edge species’ global range, high densities sympatric competitors, effects. Finally, captured both with (13.25 [±2.48] versus 9.19 [±1.66] possibly as result lower intraguild predation late fire outbreaks surveyed. By shedding light on understudied African carnivore species, this study highlights importance woodland community-managed conservation, well value by-catch trap data improve ecological knowledge lesser-studied carnivores.