Moderate Levels of Human Disturbance Impact Persecuted Mammals in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest

Abstract

Abstract Human population growth and associated land conversion in tropical regions have led to habitat fragmentation, resource extraction, and increased hunting pressure, resulting in defaunation. To assess the impacts of human disturbances on 17 mammal species spanning both predator and prey guilds, we conducted an eight-year (2015–2022) camera trap study in the unprotected region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Analyzing 14,849 mammal captures across 293 sites with occupancy models, we assessed the influence of eight ecological and anthropogenic covariates on species occupancy and detection. We hypothesized that the most persecuted species would be most negatively affected by human disturbance. Our results supported this hypothesis; persecuted species including jaguars (Panthera onca), tapirs (Tapirus terrestris), brocket deer (Mazama spp.), collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu), and agoutis (Dasyprocta variegata) exhibited significant changes in occupancy probability in relation to distance from settlements, proximity to agriculture, and land use type. Contrary to our prediction, ocelot and white-lipped peccary occupancy probability did not change with human disturbance covariates; however, there were no detections of white-lipped peccaries in the first seven years of the study. We found that distance to the river was the most common ecological covariate where species occupancy was higher closer to the river. Given the importance of rivers as access points for humans, this emphasizes the significance of protecting riverine habitats in lowland Peruvian Amazonia. Our findings highlight the importance of considering species-specific responses and the need for targeted conservation measures to mitigate the negative effects of human activities on vulnerable and highly persecuted species.