Effects of Different Variables on Habitat Selection and Temporal Activities of Wild Animals; The Case of Central Anatolia
Emir Özay Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, Art Vocational Training Courses, 26100 Eskişehir
Nuri Kaan Özkazanç University of Bartin, Faculty of Forestry, Departmet of Foret Engineer 74100 Bartin
Correspondence: Nuri Kaan Özkazanç University of Bartin, Faculty of Forestry, Departmet of Foret Engineer 74100 Bartin.nozkazanc@bartin.edu.tr
ABSTRACT In this study, which was carried out between 2015-2019, were taken 3730 photographs and video recordings with the number of 6380 camera trap days at 142 different points with the camera traps. At the end of the study, 13 different large mammal wild animal species were identified. In the study area, wild boar (Sus scrofa ) 845, hare (Lepus europaeus ) 634, red fox (Vulpes vulpes ) 565, gray wolf (Canis lupus ) 549, golden jackal (Canis aureus ) 322, red deer (Cervus elaphus ) 224, stone marten (Martes foina ) 174, European badger (Meles meles ) 89, brown bear (Ursus arctos ) 86, Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra ) 84, jungle cat (Felis chaus ) 69, wildcat (Felis silvestris ) 52 and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx ) 28 times have been observed. The distribution of the identified species according to altitude and stand type, and their activities according to months and hours of the day were evaluated. It has been determined that the determined species prefer mixed and degraded stand types, they are more intense between 1200-1400 meters, daily activities are more frequent at night and they are more active in the spring and autumn seasons.
KEYWORDS: activities, habitat, mammal, wild animal, variable, Central Anatolia
Among wild animals, which are one of the most basic components of the ecosystem, mammals are a very important group. However, many mammalian wild animal species continue to exist in limited numbers and the region due to local or global scale ecosystem degradation. Mammals are distributed in 108 different geographical regions in the world (Morrisonet. al ., 2007). One of these regions, the Palearctic region, is divided into 16 sub-regions and three of these 16 sub-regions are located in Anatolia (Turkish Caucasus region, Muş-Şırnak-Van region, and Western Black Sea region). For this reason, the biodiversity of the Anatolian geography is very rich.
Many of the large mammalian wild animals tend to decline and disappear on a global scale. Especially in Europe, this decrease has accelerated due to the increase in the use of natural resources. It is thought that 10-25% of the habitats of these species will disappear by 2050 in Europe alone (Rondinini and Visconti 2015).
Mammals with 3 subclasses, 29 orders, 153 families, 1229 genera, and 6495 species in the world (Burgin et al. 2018) are represented by 171 species, 141 of which are documented in Turkey (Özkazanç, 2012).
Habitat selection for wild animals is a complex and hierarchical process. This selection varies between individuals, mostly on spatial and temporal scales. Although the habitat preferences of many mammal species change according to the seasons, they also vary depending on altitude, land structure, and vegetation. An important factor affecting the habitat selection of the species is the pressure of the predators in that area (Bose et. al. 2018).
Differences in habitat selection are also observed among different individuals of the same species. These differences are under the influence of some factors such as spatial distribution of individuals, resource use, and dominance-recession. While many wild animals can tolerate some factors that influence the selection of large habitats, such as living areas, smaller-scale areas such as nesting sites are more affected by less important factors (Dussault et. al. 2005).
Suitable habitat for a species is an important factor affecting the distribution and abundance of that species. Because the habitats suitable for the species affect the continuity of the population of that species. The main behavioral and welfare factors of wildlife depend on the amount of food, water, shelter, and site security provided by the habitat used. However, many wildlife habitats are being destroyed by human population growth, increasing food demand, expansion of human settlements, anthropogenic developments, and increases in natural resource use. As a result, wild animal populations are decreasing due to the deterioration of natural habitats. Therefore, a clear understanding of the wildlife-habitat relationship is essential for an effective protected area management (Chabwela et. al. 2017).
Habitat selection in wild animals starts with parental behavior in the early stages of life and is determined by the struggle for survival in the later period. In addition, some habitat selection tactics may be repeatable or changeable throughout the life stages of the species. For example, a species’ response to habitat disturbances is highly reproducible and can variable throughout the year (Larue et. all. 2018). In recent studies, it is seen that the determination of changes in the behavior of wild animals against the changing environment is taken into account on an individual scale. These studies have measured the temporal stability of individual differences in habitat selection patterns or correlated individual differences in habitat selection and land use patterns with individual differences in life-stage characteristics. However, generally in many studies, population-based habitat selection analyzes do not take into account individual variability.
Wild animals tend to minimize the detrimental effects of major limiting factors within their habitats as large as possible. For this purpose, they prefer to choose habitats were limiting factors are less in large areas. The beginning of these factors is natural enemies, predators, food, and climatic conditions (Dussault et. al. 2005). Regarding this issue, Senft et al. (1987) hypothesize that habitat selection decisions at large scales occur less frequently, but that habitat selection decisions at small scales have more of an impact on the suitability of the site. In addition, Rettie and Messier (2000) suggested that the habitat selection pattern of animals at spatial scales should reflect a hierarchy of factors that potentially limit individual fitness.
In short, the individual suitability of the species allows it to avoid important limiting factors in large-scale habitat selections of wild animals (ie, throughout the landscape), while less important factors are more impact on selec of small-scale habitats such as nesting areas.
The forests are the most important wildlife habitats. Different forest types, their sub-vegetations, and many river habitats are favored by wild animals and seasonally affect wildlife mobility. Therefore, the protection of these ecosystem reserves is very important for the protection of wildlife (Salvador et al. 2011). For example, closed forests and the structure of the lower vegetation directly or indirectly affect the habitat selection of a species due to changes in its habitat and prey-food preference. This is particularly more effective in the food habitat selection of predatory species (Tomita and Hiura 2021). In general, closed forest stands are preferred more by a lot of wild mammals, while open stands are less preferred (Hodorff et. al. 1988).
Balakrishnan and Easa (1986) emphasize that twenty-four species found in the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in India prefer certain forests and these preferences are between deciduous and evergreen forests. In a different study, Tsujio and Yumoto (2014) determined that relatively undisturbed broadleaf forest areas in central Japan have the richest mammalian fauna. Again in this study, it has been reported that the mammal fauna decreases with the increase in altitude in mixed forests, coniferous forests with well-developed vegetation are more suitable for some medium-sized mammals, and forests with fruit trees are more preferred.
Intra-species and inter-species competition of wild animals affect habitat choices, and the characteristics of the habitat also affect competition among wild animals in that habitat. For example, changes in water resources or vegetation in the habitat can affect many activities of species such as feeding, sheltering, reproduction and roaming. Constriction in habitats can lead to increased competition and even conflict among species (Lamprey, 1963).
The destruction of habitats used by wild animals by humans is a major threat to wildlife. Habitat selection, which is mainly a result of competition and predation, also allows species to live together. Although terrestrial mammals tend to use different habitats, information on species habitat selection allows for greater efforts to focus on habitats associated with focal species. This too demonstrates the importance of environmental heterogeneity in enabling species to coexist.
The changes that will occur in the habitats of the species may cause their spread to regions with better ecological conditions (forced migration) or extinction in that region, rather than adapting to new conditions (Raia et al. 2011). For example, in a study that stated that the forest cover and the density of the lower vegetation, directly and indirectly, affect the feeding habitat selection of grizzly bears it was determined that the removal of dwarf bamboo which is an important sub-vegetation cover of the region expands the feeding areas of this species (Tomita and Hiura 2021). Again, in a different study, it was determined that wolves mostly prefer high-quality habitats away from humans with high hunting success (Lesmerises et. al. 2012).
An important factor affecting the habitat use and activities of wild animals is time and seasons. For example, seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation in the elephant migration corridors in Kenya significantly affect the availability of water resources and the distribution of elephants in this area (Williams et. al. 2018). Similarly, deer avoid areas with low snowfall in winter avoiding wolves, which are important predators, and prefer surrounded by snow habitats where they can find plenty of food for nesting. Again, many deer species prefer areas that provide protection from snow along the edges of stands where they can find plenty of food during the winter months. On the other hand, female deer with young tend to prefer habitats that provide protection from predators rather than food preference (Dussault et. al. 2005).
In a different study, the habitat preferences and activity patterns of the caracal were investigated and it was emphasized that the species prefers red pine forests up to 450 meters, it is more common in sandstone and volcanic sediment areas, and areas with limestone are not preferred. In the same study, it is reported that although the species is active throughout the day, it reaches the highest level between 24.00 and 06.00 when the activity intensifies in the evening (Ünal et. al. 2019).
In studies on the distribution of wild mammals in different regions of Turkey; Hızal (2008), 32 in Kapıdağ Peninsula, Mengüllüoğlu (2010), 13 in Beypazarı, Çam ve Ölmez (2015) 42 in Sinop, Nabioğlu ve Keten (2016), 10 in Bolu Yedigöller National Park, Karataş (2016), 66 in Hatay, Gözütok (2017), 23 in Bursa, Özkazanç ve ark., (2017), 13 in Bartın, İlemin (2020) 37 in Muğla, Yorulmaz ve Arslan (2020), 41 in Yozgat, Selçuk ve Kefelioğlu (2020), 47 in Samsun, 32 in Amasya, 49 in Tokat and 34 in Eskişehir identified different mammalian wild animals.
However, most of these studies are limited to fauna detection. Habitat preferences of wild animals and the factors affecting their behavior and distribution have not been examined. Only Özkazanç et al. (2017) stated that hours, months and seasons, height, and stand type are effective on habitat preference, distribution, and daily activities of wild animals. In this study, it was concluded that wild animals are more active at night, their activities decrease in winter, and they are more active in spring, summer and autumn. In addition, it was found that the species in the area are denser between 1300-1500 meters altitude, and mixed forest areas are more preferred. Özkazanç (2019) reported that wild animals prefer mixed stands over pure stands, fir and beech mixed stands over other mixed stands, and healthy and old stands more than degraded stands.
In this context, this study was carried out in order to identify large mammal wild animals and to determine their habitat preferences, temporal activities, populations, and ecological demands in Eskişehir which is a very important transition point for wild animals between Central Anatolia, and Marmara, and Aegean geographical regions.