Spatiotemporal patterns of lion space use in a human-dominated landscape

摘要: The African lion, Panthera leo, is threatened throughout much of its remaining range by human impacts such as loss prey, habitat fragmentation and direct human-caused mortality, often in response to livestock predation. Lions' ability adjust their behaviour reduce contact with humans may affect survival. We used fine-scale GPS data measure lions' at two scales: between land use types (commercial ranches versus pastoral lands) proximity human-occupied locations (i.e. enclosures: ‘bomas’) within commercial ranch land. Study lions on reacted the location activity levels local scale, showing no overall spatial avoidance but temporal partitioning areas close bomas, being closest times when was lowest 2300 0500 hours). At however, showed significant (but not total) land, despite similar prey densities structure both types, indicating that utilize limited people. When did they were more likely do so during dark hours, people confined than daylight hours. Lions moved faster straighter lands ‘how’ move humans. They found closer bomas increasing rainfall decreasing moonlight. Overall, lion movements suggested an partition activities spatiotemporally those risk mortality minimized while a human-dominated landscape maximized.