Abstract
Human
activity is increasingly and persistently disturbing nature and wild
animals.
Affected
wildlife adopts multiple strategies to deal with different human
influences.
To
explore the effect of human activity on habitat utilization of
Himalayan
marmot (Marmota himalayana ), habitat utilization patterns of
three neighboring marmot populations in habitats affected differently by
human activities were recorded and compared. We found that:
(1)
Distance between
reproductive burrows (a represent
of reproductive pairs) becomes shorter under the influence of human
activities, and more burrows were dug as temporary shelters, resulting
in shorter distance between those shelters as well as shorter distance
flee to those shelters, and consequently, shorter
flight initiation distance when
threatened. More burrows that are closer in the disturbed habitats
improve the ability to escape from threats.
(2)
Reproductive burrow site selection
of the species is determined by the availability of mounds in the
habitat, and breeding pairs selectively build reproductive
(also the hibernation) burrows on
mounds, potentially to improve surveillance when basking and the
drainage of burrows. Human activities generally drive breeding pairs
away from the road to dig their reproductive burrows likely to reduce
disturbance from vehicles. However, even heavy human activity exerts no
pressure on the distance of reproductive burrows from the road or the
mound volume of the high disturbance population, potentially because
mounds are the best burrowing site to reproduce and hibernate in the
habitat. Marmots deal with
disturbance by digging more burrows
in the habitat to flee more effectively and building reproductive
burrows on mounds to gain better vigilance and drainage efficiency.