TY - JOUR
T1 - Bird tolerance to humans in open tropical ecosystems
AU - Mikula, Peter
AU - Tomášek, Oldřich
AU - Romportl, Dušan
AU - Aikins, Timothy K.
AU - Avendaño, Jorge E.
AU - Braimoh-Azaki, Bukola D. A.
AU - Chaskda, Adams
AU - Cresswell, Will
AU - Cunningham, Susan J.
AU - Dale, Svein
AU - Favoretto, Gabriela R.
AU - Floyd, Kelvin S.
AU - Glover, Hayley
AU - Grim, Tomáš
AU - Henry, Dominic A. W.
AU - Holmern, Tomas
AU - Hromada, Martin
AU - Iwajomo, Soladoye B.
AU - Lilleyman, Amanda
AU - Magige, Flora J.
AU - Martin, Rowan O.
AU - de A. Maximiano, Marina F.
AU - Nana, Eric D.
AU - Ncube, Emmanuel
AU - Ndaimani, Henry
AU - Nelson, Emma
AU - van Niekerk, Johann H.
AU - Pienaar, Carina
AU - Piratelli, Augusto J.
AU - Pistorius, Penny
AU - Radkovic, Anna
AU - Reynolds, Chevonne
AU - Røskaft, Eivin
AU - Shanungu, Griffin K.
AU - Siqueira, Paulo R.
AU - Tarakini, Tawanda
AU - Tejeiro-Mahecha, Nattaly
AU - Thompson, Michelle L.
AU - Wamiti, Wanyoike
AU - Wilson, Mark
AU - Tye, Donovan R. C.
AU - Tye, Nicholas D.
AU - Vehtari, Aki
AU - Tryjanowski, Piotr
AU - Weston, Michael A.
AU - Blumstein, Daniel T.
AU - Albrecht, Tomáš
N1 - Funding: This study was financially supported by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town (grant to S.J.C.), The Leventis Foundation through the A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Jos Nigeria (grant to B.D.A.B.), by a fellowship of the Fulbright (Slovakia) programme to P.M. for a visit to the University of California, Los Angeles.
PY - 2023/4/20
Y1 - 2023/4/20
N2 - Animal tolerance towards humans can be a key factor facilitating wildlife–human coexistence, yet traits predicting its direction and magnitude across tropical animals are poorly known. Using 10,249 observations for 842 bird species inhabiting open tropical ecosystems in Africa, South America, and Australia, we find that avian tolerance towards humans was lower (i.e., escape distance was longer) in rural rather than urban populations and in populations exposed to lower human disturbance (measured as human footprint index). In addition, larger species and species with larger clutches and enhanced flight ability are less tolerant to human approaches and escape distances increase when birds were approached during the wet season compared to the dry season and from longer starting distances. Identification of key factors affecting animal tolerance towards humans across large spatial and taxonomic scales may help us to better understand and predict the patterns of species distributions in the Anthropocene.
AB - Animal tolerance towards humans can be a key factor facilitating wildlife–human coexistence, yet traits predicting its direction and magnitude across tropical animals are poorly known. Using 10,249 observations for 842 bird species inhabiting open tropical ecosystems in Africa, South America, and Australia, we find that avian tolerance towards humans was lower (i.e., escape distance was longer) in rural rather than urban populations and in populations exposed to lower human disturbance (measured as human footprint index). In addition, larger species and species with larger clutches and enhanced flight ability are less tolerant to human approaches and escape distances increase when birds were approached during the wet season compared to the dry season and from longer starting distances. Identification of key factors affecting animal tolerance towards humans across large spatial and taxonomic scales may help us to better understand and predict the patterns of species distributions in the Anthropocene.
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-023-37936-5
DO - 10.1038/s41467-023-37936-5
M3 - Article
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 14
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 2146
ER -