Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals

Ruth Y. Oliver; Scott W. Yanco; Diego Ellis-Soto; Brett R. Jesmer; Juliet Cohen; Song Gao; Robert Patchett; Tal Avgar; Keith Bildstein; Nicholas W. Bakner; David Barber; Kristin Barker; Joseph G. Barnes; Guillame Bastille-Rousseau; Jerrold L. Belan; John F. Benson; Joël Bêty; Dean E. Beyer; David Bird; Nathaniel Bowersock; Andy J. Boyce; Ben S. Carlson; Michael L. Casazza; Michael J. Chamberlain; Michael J. Cherry; Bret A. Collier; Alyson Courtemanch; Sarah C. Davidson; Darren DeBloois; Vickie DeNicola; Christopher R. DeSorbo; Robert C. Dowler; Daniel Dupont; L. Mark Elbroch; John Elliott; Betsy A. Evans; W. Mark Ford; David Hancock; Molly Hardesty-Moore; Jason E. Hawley; Mackenzie R. Jeffress; Scott Jennings; Matthew J Kauffman; Roland Kays; Marcella J. Kelly; Bryan M. Kluever; Myles Lamont; Scott LaPoint; Tayler N. LaSharr; Josee Lefebvre; Pierre Legagneux; Matthias-Claudio Loretto; David Lumpkin; Lindsay A Martinez; John M. Marzluff; Douglas McCauley; Fiona McDuie; Tony W. Mong; Kevin L. Monteith; Thomas Mueller; Levi Newediuk; Anna C. Ortega; Federico Ossi; Cory Overton; J. Clint Perkins; Tyler R. Petroelje; Laura Prugh; Kimberley A. Sager-Fradkin; Michael Seer; Avery Shawler; Shannon Skalos; Rachel A. Smiley; Julia Sommefeld; Daniel R. Stahler; John Stephenson; Richard D. Stevens; Nathan J. Svoboda; Jean-Francois Therrien; Phillipe Thomas; Meredith VanAcker; Eric Vander Wal; Dan Varland; Tana L. Verzuh; Brittany L. Wagler; Nils Warnock; Stephen L. Webb; Christopher K. Williams; Christopher C. Wilmers; David W. Wolfson; Julia K. Young; Christian Rutz; Walter Jetz

doi:10.1126/science.adq3396

Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals

Ruth Y. Oliver^*
, Scott W. Yanco^*
, Diego Ellis-Soto
, Brett R. Jesmer
, Juliet Cohen
, Song Gao
, Robert Patchett
, Tal Avgar
, Keith Bildstein
, Nicholas W. Bakner
, David Barber
, Kristin Barker
, Joseph G. Barnes
, Guillame Bastille-Rousseau
, Jerrold L. Belan
, John F. Benson
, Joël Bêty
, Dean E. Beyer
, David Bird
, Nathaniel Bowersock

Andy J. Boyce, Ben S. Carlson, Michael L. Casazza, Michael J. Chamberlain, Michael J. Cherry, Bret A. Collier, Alyson Courtemanch, Sarah C. Davidson, Darren DeBloois, Vickie DeNicola, Christopher R. DeSorbo, Robert C. Dowler, Daniel Dupont, L. Mark Elbroch, John Elliott, Betsy A. Evans, W. Mark Ford, David Hancock, Molly Hardesty-Moore, Jason E. Hawley, Mackenzie R. Jeffress, Scott Jennings, Matthew J Kauffman, Roland Kays, Marcella J. Kelly, Bryan M. Kluever, Myles Lamont, Scott LaPoint, Tayler N. LaSharr, Josee Lefebvre, Pierre Legagneux, Matthias-Claudio Loretto, David Lumpkin, Lindsay A Martinez, John M. Marzluff, Douglas McCauley, Fiona McDuie, Tony W. Mong, Kevin L. Monteith, Thomas Mueller, Levi Newediuk, Anna C. Ortega, Federico Ossi, Cory Overton, J. Clint Perkins, Tyler R. Petroelje, Laura Prugh, Kimberley A. Sager-Fradkin, Michael Seer, Avery Shawler, Shannon Skalos, Rachel A. Smiley, Julia Sommefeld, Daniel R. Stahler, John Stephenson, Richard D. Stevens, Nathan J. Svoboda, Jean-Francois Therrien, Phillipe Thomas, Meredith VanAcker, Eric Vander Wal, Dan Varland, Tana L. Verzuh, Brittany L. Wagler, Nils Warnock, Stephen L. Webb, Christopher K. Williams, Christopher C. Wilmers, David W. Wolfson, Julia K. Young, Christian Rutz, Walter Jetz

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Sustainable human–wildlife coexistence requires a mechanistic understanding of the many ways that humans affect animals. However, progress is hampered by the lack of accessible data measuring the dynamic presence of people. Here, we leverage mobile-device data to disentangle how human presence and landscape modification differentially influence the use of geographic and environmental space for 37 mammal and bird species across the United States. Human presence affected more than 65% of species, with substantial variation across species. For ~60% of species that responded to human activities, the effects were interdependent—animals tended to react more strongly to human presence in less modified habitats. Our results demonstrate that human presence and landscape modification have complex combined effects on wildlife, which need to be considered for effective management.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	879-884
Number of pages	6
Journal	Science
Volume	392
Issue number	100
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq3396
Publication status	Published - 21 May 2026

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10.1126/science.adq3396

Oliver-et-al-2026-Interacting-effects-of-human-presence-Science-AAM-CCBY
Copyright © 2026 the Authors. This work has been made available online in accordance with the University of St Andrews Open Access policy. This accepted manuscript is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq3396.
Accepted author manuscript, 23.2 MBLicence: CC BY

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Using global animal tracking data colle: Using global animal tracking data collected during the COVID-19 anthropause to investigate humans' impact on wildlife
Rutz, C. (PI)
National Geographic Society
1/01/21 → 31/12/21
Project: Standard
COVID-19 research: In support of a community-driven analysis of animal tracking data to understand the impacts of human activity on wildlife biology
Rutz, C. (PI)
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
1/12/20 → 30/11/23
Project: Standard

Cite this

Oliver, R. Y., Yanco, S. W., Ellis-Soto, D., Jesmer, B. R., Cohen, J., Gao, S., Patchett, R., Avgar, T., Bildstein, K., Bakner, N. W., Barber, D., Barker, K., Barnes, J. G., Bastille-Rousseau, G., Belan, J. L., Benson, J. F., Bêty, J., Beyer, D. E., Bird, D., ... Jetz, W. (2026). Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals. Science, 392(100), 879-884. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq3396

@article{0583b1b7dcf04efda91187cdf3eb04fb,

title = "Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals",

abstract = "Sustainable human–wildlife coexistence requires a mechanistic understanding of the many ways that humans affect animals. However, progress is hampered by the lack of accessible data measuring the dynamic presence of people. Here, we leverage mobile-device data to disentangle how human presence and landscape modification differentially influence the use of geographic and environmental space for 37 mammal and bird species across the United States. Human presence affected more than 65\% of species, with substantial variation across species. For \textasciitilde{}60\% of species that responded to human activities, the effects were interdependent—animals tended to react more strongly to human presence in less modified habitats. Our results demonstrate that human presence and landscape modification have complex combined effects on wildlife, which need to be considered for effective management.",

author = "Oliver, \{Ruth Y.\} and Yanco, \{Scott W.\} and Diego Ellis-Soto and Jesmer, \{Brett R.\} and Juliet Cohen and Song Gao and Robert Patchett and Tal Avgar and Keith Bildstein and Bakner, \{Nicholas W.\} and David Barber and Kristin Barker and Barnes, \{Joseph G.\} and Guillame Bastille-Rousseau and Belan, \{Jerrold L.\} and Benson, \{John F.\} and Jo{\"e}l B{\^e}ty and Beyer, \{Dean E.\} and David Bird and Nathaniel Bowersock and Boyce, \{Andy J.\} and Carlson, \{Ben S.\} and Casazza, \{Michael L.\} and Chamberlain, \{Michael J.\} and Cherry, \{Michael J.\} and Collier, \{Bret A.\} and Alyson Courtemanch and Davidson, \{Sarah C.\} and Darren DeBloois and Vickie DeNicola and DeSorbo, \{Christopher R.\} and Dowler, \{Robert C.\} and Daniel Dupont and Elbroch, \{L. Mark\} and John Elliott and Evans, \{Betsy A.\} and Ford, \{W. Mark\} and David Hancock and Molly Hardesty-Moore and Hawley, \{Jason E.\} and Jeffress, \{Mackenzie R.\} and Scott Jennings and Kauffman, \{Matthew J\} and Roland Kays and Kelly, \{Marcella J.\} and Kluever, \{Bryan M.\} and Myles Lamont and Scott LaPoint and LaSharr, \{Tayler N.\} and Josee Lefebvre and Pierre Legagneux and Matthias-Claudio Loretto and David Lumpkin and Martinez, \{Lindsay A\} and Marzluff, \{John M.\} and Douglas McCauley and Fiona McDuie and Mong, \{Tony W.\} and Monteith, \{Kevin L.\} and Thomas Mueller and Levi Newediuk and Ortega, \{Anna C.\} and Federico Ossi and Cory Overton and Perkins, \{J. Clint\} and Petroelje, \{Tyler R.\} and Laura Prugh and Sager-Fradkin, \{Kimberley A.\} and Michael Seer and Avery Shawler and Shannon Skalos and Smiley, \{Rachel A.\} and Julia Sommefeld and Stahler, \{Daniel R.\} and John Stephenson and Stevens, \{Richard D.\} and Svoboda, \{Nathan J.\} and Jean-Francois Therrien and Phillipe Thomas and Meredith VanAcker and \{Vander Wal\}, Eric and Dan Varland and Verzuh, \{Tana L.\} and Wagler, \{Brittany L.\} and Nils Warnock and Webb, \{Stephen L.\} and Williams, \{Christopher K.\} and Wilmers, \{Christopher C.\} and Wolfson, \{David W.\} and Young, \{Julia K.\} and Christian Rutz and Walter Jetz",

note = "Funding: The article is a contribution of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, which is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF9881) and the National Geographic Society (NGS-82515R-20) (both grants to C.R.) and endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (no. 798091).",

year = "2026",

month = may,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1126/science.adq3396",

language = "English",

volume = "392",

pages = "879--884",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "100",

}

Oliver, RY, Yanco, SW, Ellis-Soto, D, Jesmer, BR, Cohen, J, Gao, S, Patchett, R, Avgar, T, Bildstein, K, Bakner, NW, Barber, D, Barker, K, Barnes, JG, Bastille-Rousseau, G, Belan, JL, Benson, JF, Bêty, J, Beyer, DE, Bird, D, Bowersock, N, Boyce, AJ, Carlson, BS, Casazza, ML, Chamberlain, MJ, Cherry, MJ, Collier, BA, Courtemanch, A, Davidson, SC, DeBloois, D, DeNicola, V, DeSorbo, CR, Dowler, RC, Dupont, D, Elbroch, LM, Elliott, J, Evans, BA, Ford, WM, Hancock, D, Hardesty-Moore, M, Hawley, JE, Jeffress, MR, Jennings, S, Kauffman, MJ, Kays, R, Kelly, MJ, Kluever, BM, Lamont, M, LaPoint, S, LaSharr, TN, Lefebvre, J, Legagneux, P, Loretto, M-C, Lumpkin, D, Martinez, LA, Marzluff, JM, McCauley, D, McDuie, F, Mong, TW, Monteith, KL, Mueller, T, Newediuk, L, Ortega, AC, Ossi, F, Overton, C, Perkins, JC, Petroelje, TR, Prugh, L, Sager-Fradkin, KA, Seer, M, Shawler, A, Skalos, S, Smiley, RA, Sommefeld, J, Stahler, DR, Stephenson, J, Stevens, RD, Svoboda, NJ, Therrien, J-F, Thomas, P, VanAcker, M, Vander Wal, E, Varland, D, Verzuh, TL, Wagler, BL, Warnock, N, Webb, SL, Williams, CK, Wilmers, CC, Wolfson, DW, Young, JK, Rutz, C & Jetz, W 2026, 'Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals', Science, vol. 392, no. 100, pp. 879-884. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq3396

TY - JOUR

T1 - Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals

AU - Oliver, Ruth Y.

AU - Yanco, Scott W.

AU - Ellis-Soto, Diego

AU - Jesmer, Brett R.

AU - Cohen, Juliet

AU - Gao, Song

AU - Patchett, Robert

AU - Avgar, Tal

AU - Bildstein, Keith

AU - Bakner, Nicholas W.

AU - Barber, David

AU - Barker, Kristin

AU - Barnes, Joseph G.

AU - Bastille-Rousseau, Guillame

AU - Belan, Jerrold L.

AU - Benson, John F.

AU - Bêty, Joël

AU - Beyer, Dean E.

AU - Bird, David

AU - Bowersock, Nathaniel

AU - Boyce, Andy J.

AU - Carlson, Ben S.

AU - Casazza, Michael L.

AU - Chamberlain, Michael J.

AU - Cherry, Michael J.

AU - Collier, Bret A.

AU - Courtemanch, Alyson

AU - Davidson, Sarah C.

AU - DeBloois, Darren

AU - DeNicola, Vickie

AU - DeSorbo, Christopher R.

AU - Dowler, Robert C.

AU - Dupont, Daniel

AU - Elbroch, L. Mark

AU - Elliott, John

AU - Evans, Betsy A.

AU - Ford, W. Mark

AU - Hancock, David

AU - Hardesty-Moore, Molly

AU - Hawley, Jason E.

AU - Jeffress, Mackenzie R.

AU - Jennings, Scott

AU - Kauffman, Matthew J

AU - Kays, Roland

AU - Kelly, Marcella J.

AU - Kluever, Bryan M.

AU - Lamont, Myles

AU - LaPoint, Scott

AU - LaSharr, Tayler N.

AU - Lefebvre, Josee

AU - Legagneux, Pierre

AU - Loretto, Matthias-Claudio

AU - Lumpkin, David

AU - Martinez, Lindsay A

AU - Marzluff, John M.

AU - McCauley, Douglas

AU - McDuie, Fiona

AU - Mong, Tony W.

AU - Monteith, Kevin L.

AU - Mueller, Thomas

AU - Newediuk, Levi

AU - Ortega, Anna C.

AU - Ossi, Federico

AU - Overton, Cory

AU - Perkins, J. Clint

AU - Petroelje, Tyler R.

AU - Prugh, Laura

AU - Sager-Fradkin, Kimberley A.

AU - Seer, Michael

AU - Shawler, Avery

AU - Skalos, Shannon

AU - Smiley, Rachel A.

AU - Sommefeld, Julia

AU - Stahler, Daniel R.

AU - Stephenson, John

AU - Stevens, Richard D.

AU - Svoboda, Nathan J.

AU - Therrien, Jean-Francois

AU - Thomas, Phillipe

AU - VanAcker, Meredith

AU - Vander Wal, Eric

AU - Varland, Dan

AU - Verzuh, Tana L.

AU - Wagler, Brittany L.

AU - Warnock, Nils

AU - Webb, Stephen L.

AU - Williams, Christopher K.

AU - Wilmers, Christopher C.

AU - Wolfson, David W.

AU - Young, Julia K.

AU - Rutz, Christian

AU - Jetz, Walter

N1 - Funding: The article is a contribution of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, which is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF9881) and the National Geographic Society (NGS-82515R-20) (both grants to C.R.) and endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (no. 798091).

PY - 2026/5/21

Y1 - 2026/5/21

N2 - Sustainable human–wildlife coexistence requires a mechanistic understanding of the many ways that humans affect animals. However, progress is hampered by the lack of accessible data measuring the dynamic presence of people. Here, we leverage mobile-device data to disentangle how human presence and landscape modification differentially influence the use of geographic and environmental space for 37 mammal and bird species across the United States. Human presence affected more than 65% of species, with substantial variation across species. For ~60% of species that responded to human activities, the effects were interdependent—animals tended to react more strongly to human presence in less modified habitats. Our results demonstrate that human presence and landscape modification have complex combined effects on wildlife, which need to be considered for effective management.

AB - Sustainable human–wildlife coexistence requires a mechanistic understanding of the many ways that humans affect animals. However, progress is hampered by the lack of accessible data measuring the dynamic presence of people. Here, we leverage mobile-device data to disentangle how human presence and landscape modification differentially influence the use of geographic and environmental space for 37 mammal and bird species across the United States. Human presence affected more than 65% of species, with substantial variation across species. For ~60% of species that responded to human activities, the effects were interdependent—animals tended to react more strongly to human presence in less modified habitats. Our results demonstrate that human presence and landscape modification have complex combined effects on wildlife, which need to be considered for effective management.

U2 - 10.1126/science.adq3396

DO - 10.1126/science.adq3396

M3 - Article

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 392

SP - 879

EP - 884

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 100

ER -

Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals

Abstract

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Projects

Using global animal tracking data colle: Using global animal tracking data collected during the COVID-19 anthropause to investigate humans' impact on wildlife

COVID-19 research: In support of a community-driven analysis of animal tracking data to understand the impacts of human activity on wildlife biology

Cite this