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Due to a dramatic increase in livestock, the impact of grazing on animal communities is a global conservation concern, especially in temperate forests. Recognizing the interaction between livestock and wildlife is essential for developing more effective and holistic strategies for wildlife conservation and sustainable livestock management. In this study, we conducted systematic camera trapping at 129 sites within the central portion of the Giant Panda National Park in China to assess the interspecific relationships between livestock and 21 sympatric wild species. Using the joint species distribution model, we fitted a null model and a constrained model to investigate the distinction between the spatial distribution relationship of species (as raw associations) and the interactions between livestock and wildlife (as residual associations). The results of raw associations showed that livestock exhibited a significant positive spatial co-occurrence with Temminck's tragopan, Himalayan porcupine, Chinese serow, Reeves's muntjac, and forest musk-deer (p 0.05), indicating no strong evidence of negative interactions between livestock and wildlife. Since livestock grazing is a source of income for residents, grazing management policies within the Giant Panda National Park should not prohibit all grazing practices.

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In rapidly changing environments, assessing the degree to which animals behaviorally respond to human disturbance can help identify activities of concern or populations at risk. We examined circadian activity patterns of bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), elk (Cervus canadensis), lagomorphs and rodents during crepuscular, day and night periods using data captured from 40 remote cameras distributed across a 162-km2 area with starkly different levels of current and historical energy development. During the winter of 2015-2016, we obtained 3,067 independent detections from 7,185 camera days of our 6 target species. In mixed support of our hypotheses, bobcats, coyotes, and mule deer were less active during the day in the developed site compared to the undeveloped site, as were rodents, which was unexpected. In contrast, elk and lagomorphs did not show differences across sites. Bobcats demonstrated the greatest reduction in diurnal activity, with nearly 3 times less activity in the developed site. Coyotes and mule deer appeared to compensate for reduced activity during the day by increasing their activity during other periods, though bobcats did not. The mammal species captured in this study demonstrated strong differences in their plasticity and sensitivity to energy development approximately 4 years post high-intensity disturbance, which likely influences their susceptibility to human-driven landscape changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]