USGS · 70278149
Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals
Abstract
Sustainable human–wildlife coexistence requires a mechanistic understanding of the many ways that humans affect animals. However, progress is hampered by the lack of accessible data measuring the dynamic presence of people. Here, we leverage mobile-device data to disentangle how human presence and landscape modification differentially influence the use of geographic and environmental space for 37 mammal and bird species across the United States. Human presence affected more than 65% of species, with substantial variation across species. For ~60% of species that responded to human activities, the effects were interdependent—animals tended to react more strongly to human presence in less modified habitats. Our results demonstrate that human presence and landscape modification have complex combined effects on wildlife, which need to be considered for effective management.
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Ruth Y. Oliver, Scott W. Yanco, Diego Ellis-Soto, Brett R. Jesmer, Juliet Cohen, Song Gao, Robert Patchett, Tal Avgar, Keith L. Bildstein, Nicholas W. Bakner, David Barber, Kristin J. Barker, Joseph G. Barnes, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Jerrold L. Belant, John F. Benson, Joel Bety, Dean E. Beyer, David Bird, Nathaniel R. Bowersock, Andy J. Boyce, Ben S. Carlson, Michael L. Casazza, Michael J. Chamberlain, Michael J. Cherry, Bret A. Collier, Alyson Courtemanch, Sarah C. Davidson, Darren DeBloois, Vickie DeNicola, Christopher R. Desorbo, Robert C. Dowler, Daniel Dupont, L. Mark Elbroch, John E. Elliott, Betsy A. Evans, W. Mark Ford, David Hancock, Molly Hardesty-Moore, Jason E. Hawley, Mackenzie R. Jeffress, Scott Jennings, Matthew J. Kauffman, Roland Kays, Marcella J. Kelly, Bryan M. Kluever, Myles Lamont, Scott LaPoint, Tayler N. Lasharr, Josee Lefebvre, Pierre Legagneux, Matthias-Claudio Loretto, David Lumpkin, Lindsay A. Martinez, John M. Marzluff, Douglas J. McCauley, Fiona McDuie, Tony W. Mong, Kevin L. Monteith, Thomas Mueller, Levi Newediuk, Anna C. Ortega, Federico Ossi, Cory T. Overton, J. Clint Perkins, Tyler R. Petroelje, Laura R. Prugh, Kimberly A. Sager-Fradkin, Michael Seer, Avery L. Shawler, Shannon Skalos, Rachel A. Smiley, Julia Sommerfield, Daniel R. Stahler, John A. Stephenson, Richard D. Stevens, Nathan J. Svoboda, Jean-Francois Therrien, Philippe J. Thomas, Meredith C. VanAcker, Eric Vander Wal, Dan E. Varland, Tana L. Verzuh, Brittany L. Wagler, Nils Warnock, Stephen L. Webb, Christopher K. Williams, Christopher C. Wilmers, David W. Wolfson, Julie K. Young, Christian Rutz, Walter Jetz. 2026. Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq3396
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