Public perceptions and attitudes toward urban wildlife encounters – A decade of change

Publication history: Accepted - 26 April 2022; Published online - 4 May 2022.Europe is currently undergoing dynamic land use changes causing the expansion of urban habitat, which is driving wildlife species to colonise conurbations, resulting in an increased likelihood of human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Understanding people's attitudes toward wildlife is essential to manage these conflicts. This study assessed people's attitudes toward urban wildlife, the types of conflicts that existed, preferences for managing conflict situations, and determined any changes in perceptions of urban wildlife over a decade. A questionnaire survey of residents of Krakow, the second-largest city in Poland, was conducted in 2010 (n = 721) and repeated in 2020 (n =887). We found that encounters with certain urban wildlife such as wild boars, red squirrels, roe deer, brown hares, and red foxes had increased significantly in 2020 compared to 2010. Respondents reported that wild boar and beavers did not show fear when encountering humans. Stone martens were considered the most nuisance wildlife species in 2010, while in 2020 wild boar were the most conflictual wildlife species. There were additional reports of conflicts with roe deer and red foxes. The most frequent HWC responses were personal anxiety, intrusion into property and destruction of crops, which increased significantly over the decade, independent of respondents' gender. Respondents preferred nonlethal methods to mitigate conflicts. The study provides valuable information and knowledge on changes in people's attitudes toward urban wildlife that can help with wildlife management in urban areas. Incorporating perception and attitude data fromthe public, along with a multi-stakeholder approach that includes wildlife professionals, in the planning and design of future urban environments is critical to minimise HWC.The paper was supported by the project ATUT PhD Programme in Biology. The project is co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund – _Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development Axis III Higher Education for Economy and Development, Action 3.2 PhD Programme. The open-access publication of this article was funded by the programme “Excellence Initiative – Research University” at the Faculty of Biology of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland

Animal-vehicle collisions during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020 in the Krakow metropolitan region, Poland

Publication history: Accepted - 11 April 2022; Published online - 9 May 2022The interrelations between human activity and animal populations are of increasing interest due to the emergence of the novel COVID-19 and the consequent pandemic across the world. Anthropogenic impacts of the pandemic on animals in urban-suburban environments are largely unknown. In this study, the temporal and spatial patterns of urban animal response to the COVID-19 lockdown were assessed using animal-vehicle collisions (AVC) data. We collected AVC data over two 6-month periods in 2019 and 2020 (January to June) from the largest metropolis in southern Poland, which included lockdown months. Furthermore, we used traffic data to understand the impact of lockdown on AVC in the urban area. Our analysis of 1063 AVC incidents revealed that COVID-19 related lockdown decreased AVC rates in suburban areas. However, in the urban area, even though traffic volume had significantly reduced, AVC did not decrease significantly, suggesting that lockdown did not influence the collision rates in the urban area. Our results suggest that there is a need to focus on understanding the effects of changes in traffic volume on both human behaviour and wildlife space use on the resulting impacts on AVC in the urban area.S.M.B is supported by the project ATUT PhD Programme in Biology. The project is co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund – Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development Axis III Higher Education for Economy and Development, Action 3.2 PhD Programme

Using global remote camera data of a solitary species complex to evaluate the drivers of group formation

We would like to thank Megan Whatton, Belden Giman, Hongliang Bu, Dajun Wang, Fang Wang, Roland Kays, Jillian Kilborn, and New Hampshire Fish and Game for their roles in contributing data that was used in this analysis. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.Peer reviewe

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe

Diet of the European badgers (Meles meles) in urban and rural areas of Norway

The constant expansion of urban habitats provides new opportunities for various wildlife species, referred to as urban exploiters or adapters that allow them to thrive in new conditions. The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) can adapt to and exploit urban ecosystems due to its omnivorous behaviour but the species expansion into this habitat can cause conflict with humans, and there is a paucity of data on badgers in urban habitats. The aim of our study was to explore trophic adaptations of badgers inhabiting urban and rural habitats in Norway.We examined 159 individual badgers by conducting detailed evaluation of allometric factors and trophic analyses of stomach contents. Mean body mass (± SE) of males (9.94 ± 0.28 kg) was significantly heavier than females (9.02 ± 0.32 kg). Mean body mass of rural versus urban badgers were not significantly different. However, body mass varied between seasons with an increasing trend throughout the year from spring (7.77 ± 0.24 kg), summer (9.08 ± 0.34 kg) and autumn (11.12 ± 0.33 kg). We identified 12 unique food categories. There were no significant differences in badgers’ diet with regard to sex or habitat type. However, the diet varied seasonally and was dominated by earthworms in spring, followed by insects, birds and small mammals in summer, and domestic plants (fruits and cereals) and anthropogenic food in autumn.acceptedVersio

Perceptions and attitudes to understand human-wildlife conflict in an urban landscape – A systematic review

Managing human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) in human-dominated habitats is an important issue in wildlife conservation. Understanding and addressing local people’s attitudes and behaviours toward HWC is thought to be imperative for successful human-wildlife co-existence. Despite substantial research and conservation resources being invested to study, protect, and manage HWC globally, research on human perceptions of wildlife is mostly done in silos. Realising the lack of scholarly investigations that focus on such conflicts in urban areas by including perceptions of urban residents, we have made the first step, through a systematic review, to identify progress, gaps and future directions of urban wildlife conflict research. Reviewing all studies published globally (n = 124), we identified nuisance urban wildlife and associated conflicts reported by human residents. The findings revealed that most studies, largely focusing on mammals, were conducted in North America. Based on diet, among the 165 trophic groups studied, the majority were omnivores (n = 67), closely followed by carnivores (n = 50) and herbivores (n = 40). Within vertebrate taxa, bear species (brown, black and sloth bear; Ursus spp., Melursus ursinus) were the most conflictual followed by grey wolf (Canis lupus) and coyote (Canis latrans). The lack of longitudinal research to understand the trends and shifts in urban wildlife population and changes in human perception and attitudes was a key finding. Therefore, if research is not supplemented by long-term follow-up studies, the resolution of HWC in urban areas will be under evaluated. Furthermore, researchers should consider integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods, such as in-depth or focus group interviews, to understand motivations or perceptions to present a holistic picture for urban wildlife conservation. Perceptions may shift over time, and the human dimension of wildlife may serve as an ecological indicator of ecosystem status, providing valuable insight into how management measures will be accepted by citizens, which is critical for their success

Predation on livestock as an indicator of drastic prey decline? The indirect effects of an African swine fever epidemic on predator–prey relations in Poland

ABSTRACT The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most conflictual mammals in Europe. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are an essential part of gray wolf diet in central Europe, but after the emergence of African swine fever (ASF) in Europe, a sharp decline of the wild boar occurred. We examined how the wild boar population decline, due to African swine fever outbreak and mitigation efforts, affected the number of livestock killed by wolves in Poland using long-term data on wild ungulate and livestock population sizes and wolf-induced mortality between 2013 and 2019. We examined the influence of multiple factors on livestock kill rate, and the influence of wild boar population declines on the number of Cervidae killed by wolves using linear mixed models. We also explored the possibility of predicting a dramatic decrease in the wild boar population based on livestock depredation patterns. The number of livestock killed by wolves decreased with wild boar and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population size, and increased with red deer (Cervus elaphus) population size. A decline in the wild boar population was significantly correlated with an increase in the number of both red and roe deer killed by wolves. A drastic decline of wild boar population (over 30%) could be predicted by the numbers of livestock killed by wolves. Our study confirms that large changes in the number of naturl prey can increase livestock depredation, although these changes may be difficult to detect when the fluctuations in the numbers of natural prey are smaller. In our opinion, this indicates that the assessment of factors influencing livestock depredation should consider historical changes in prey dynamics. We suggest managers and conservationists use the predator population as a ’first alert system’ for indirect monitoring of prey species. In this system, a sudden increase in wolf attacks on livestock across a large area of should trigger an alarm and prompt verification of the numb African swine fever ASF Epidemic Gray wolf (Canis lupus) Wild boar (Sus scrofa) Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) Red deer (Cervus elaphus) Livestock er of natural prey in the environment.publishedVersio

Predation on livestock as an indicator of drastic prey decline? The indirect effects of an African swine fever epidemic on predator–prey relations in Poland

ABSTRACT The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most conflictual mammals in Europe. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are an essential part of gray wolf diet in central Europe, but after the emergence of African swine fever (ASF) in Europe, a sharp decline of the wild boar occurred. We examined how the wild boar population decline, due to African swine fever outbreak and mitigation efforts, affected the number of livestock killed by wolves in Poland using long-term data on wild ungulate and livestock population sizes and wolf-induced mortality between 2013 and 2019. We examined the influence of multiple factors on livestock kill rate, and the influence of wild boar population declines on the number of Cervidae killed by wolves using linear mixed models. We also explored the possibility of predicting a dramatic decrease in the wild boar population based on livestock depredation patterns. The number of livestock killed by wolves decreased with wild boar and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) population size, and increased with red deer (Cervus elaphus) population size. A decline in the wild boar population was significantly correlated with an increase in the number of both red and roe deer killed by wolves. A drastic decline of wild boar population (over 30%) could be predicted by the numbers of livestock killed by wolves. Our study confirms that large changes in the number of naturl prey can increase livestock depredation, although these changes may be difficult to detect when the fluctuations in the numbers of natural prey are smaller. In our opinion, this indicates that the assessment of factors influencing livestock depredation should consider historical changes in prey dynamics. We suggest managers and conservationists use the predator population as a ’first alert system’ for indirect monitoring of prey species. In this system, a sudden increase in wolf attacks on livestock across a large area of should trigger an alarm and prompt verification of the numb African swine fever ASF Epidemic Gray wolf (Canis lupus) Wild boar (Sus scrofa) Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) Red deer (Cervus elaphus) Livestock er of natural prey in the environment

Animal-vehicle collisions during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020 in the Krakow metropolitan region, Poland

The interrelations between human activity and animal populations are of increasing interest due to the emergence of the novel COVID-19 and the consequent pandemic across the world. Anthropogenic impacts of the pandemic on animals in urban-suburban environments are largely unknown. In this study, the temporal and spatial patterns of urban animal response to the COVID-19 lockdown were assessed using animal-vehicle collisions (AVC) data. We collected AVC data over two 6-month periods in 2019 and 2020 (January to June) from the largest metropolis in southern Poland, which included lockdown months. Furthermore, we used traffic data to understand the impact of lockdown on AVC in the urban area. Our analysis of 1063 AVC incidents revealed that COVID-19 related lockdown decreased AVC rates in suburban areas. However, in the urban area, even though traffic volume had significantly reduced, AVC did not decrease significantly, suggesting that lockdown did not influence the collision rates in the urban area. Our results suggest that there is a need to focus on understanding the effects of changes in traffic volume on both human behaviour and wildlife space use on the resulting impacts on AVC in the urban area

Using global remote camera data of a solitary species complex to evaluate the drivers of group formation

The social system of animals involves a complex interplay between physiology, natural history, and the environment. Long relied upon discrete categorizations of "social" and "solitary" inhibit our capacity to understand species and their interactions with the world around them. Here, we use a globally distributed camera trapping dataset to test the drivers of aggregating into groups in a species complex (martens and relatives, family , Order ) assumed to be obligately solitary. We use a simple quantification, the probability of being detected in a group, that was applied across our globally derived camera trap dataset. Using a series of binomial generalized mixed-effects models applied to a dataset of 16,483 independent detections across 17 countries on four continents we test explicit hypotheses about potential drivers of group formation. We observe a wide range of probabilities of being detected in groups within the solitary model system, with the probability of aggregating in groups varying by more than an order of magnitude. We demonstrate that a species' context-dependent proclivity toward aggregating in groups is underpinned by a range of resource-related factors, primarily the distribution of resources, with increasing patchiness of resources facilitating group formation, as well as interactions between environmental conditions (resource constancy/winter severity) and physiology (energy storage capabilities). The wide variation in propensities to aggregate with conspecifics observed here highlights how continued failure to recognize complexities in the social behaviors of apparently solitary species limits our understanding not only of the individual species but also the causes and consequences of group formation