Ecological traits predict mammal temporal responses to land development but not human presence

Abstract

Shifts in daily activity patterns are a key behavioral response of wildlife to human disturbance, with many mammals increasingly active at night. However, it remains unclear whether these nocturnal shifts are consistent across species or influenced by species-specific ecological and life-history traits. Using a large-scale camera trap dataset from 102 sites across the contiguous USA, we explored the relationship between the traits of 40 mammal species and their nocturnal shifts in response to land development and human presence. The results indicated that mammal communities generally increased nocturnal activity with higher levels of land development but showed a nearly neutral response to human presence. Larger species with greater space requirements and more flexible activity patterns exhibited stronger nocturnal shifts in response to land development. The nocturnal shifts in response to human presence, however, appeared random with respect to species traits. These findings highlight the temporal filter effect of land development, driving species with certain traits to adopt more nocturnal behaviors, while allowing others to remain their original activity patterns. This provides insights into the mechanisms through which human activities shape the daily behavior of mammalian communities.