DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj6sk
title: Variation in behavioural traits of two frugivorous mammals may lead to differential responses to human disturbance

description: Human activities can lead to a shift in wildlife species’ spatial
 distribution. Understanding the specific effects of human activities on
 ranging behaviour can improve conservation management of wildlife
 populations in human-dominated landscapes. This study evaluated the
 effects of forest use by humans on the spatial distribution of mammal
 species with different behavioural adaptations, using sympatric western
 lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee as focal species. We collected data
 on great ape nest locations, ecological and physical variables (habitat
 distribution, permanent rivers and topographic data), as well as
 anthropogenic variables (distance to trails, villages and a permanent
 research site). Here, we show that anthropogenic variables are important
 predictors of the distribution of wild animals. In the resource model, the
 distribution of gorilla nests was predicted by nesting habitat
 distribution, while chimpanzee nests were predicted first by elevation
 followed by nesting habitat distribution. In the anthropogenic model, the
 major predictors of gorilla nesting changed into human features, while the
 major predictors of chimpanzee nesting remained elevation and the
 availability of their preferred nesting habitats. Animal behavioural
 traits (body size, terrestrial/arboreal, level of
 specialization/generalization, and competitive inferiority/superiority)
 may influence the response of mammals to human activities. Our results
 suggest that chimpanzees may survive in human-encroached areas whenever
 the availability of their nesting habitat and preferred fruits can support
 their population, while a certain level of human activities may threaten
 gorillas. Consequently, the survival of gorillas in human-dominated
 landscapes is more at risk than that of chimpanzees. Replicating our
 research in other sites should permit a systematic evaluation of the
 influence of human activity on the distribution of mammal populations. As
 wild animals are increasingly exposed to human disturbance, understanding
 the resulting consequences of shifting species distributions due to human
 disturbance on animal population abundance and their long-term survival
 will be of growing conservation importance.
description: <br> A) Presence data (Great_apes_presence_points.csv),
 semi-colon separated 1) species = species name
 (Gorilla, Chimpanzee)<br> 2) longitude = X coordinate (UTM zone
 33N)<br> 3) latitude = Y coordinate (UTM zone 33N)
 B) Environmental variables
 (Environmental_Variables_All.zip)<br> In this zip file are all the
 environmental variables used in the study, including the ASCII file (.asc)
 and the projection file (.prj). The projections are in UTM Zone
 33N 1) ASC file = Aspect.asc, projection file =
 Aspect.prj, description = Aspect<br> 2) ASC file = Curvature.asc,
 projection file = Curvature.prj, description = Curvature<br> 3) ASC
 file = Dist_Dja_Reserve_boundary.asc, projection file =
 Dist_Dja_Reserve_boundary.prj, description = Distance to Dja researve
 boundary<br> 4) ASC file = Dist_Research_Camp.asc, projection file =
 Dist_Research_Camp.prj, description = Distance to research camp<br>
 5) ASC file = Dist_sec_trails.asc, projection file = Dist_sec_trails.prj,
 description = Distance to secondary trails<br> 6) ASC file =
 Dist_village_trails.asc, projection file = Dist_village_trails.prj,
 description = Distance to village trails<br> 7) ASC file =
 Dist_Villages.asc, projection file = Dist_Villages.prj, description =
 Distance to villages<br> 8) ASC file = Elevation.asc, projection
 file = Elevation.prj, description = Elevation<br> 9) ASC file =
 Hab_chimp.asc, projection file = Hab_chimp.prj, description = Preferred
 nesting habitat for chimpanzee<br> 10) ASC file = Hab_gorilla.asc,
 projection file = Hab_gorilla.prj, description = Preferred nesting habitat
 for gorilla<br> 11) ASC file = Perm_river_and_streams.asc,
 projection file = Perm_river_and_streams.prj, description = Distance to
 permanent rivers and streams<br> 12) ASC file = Slope.asc,
 projection file = Slope.prj, description = Slope<br> 13) ASC file =
 Surface_Relief_Ratio.asc, projection file = Surface_Relief_Ratio.prj,
 description = Surface relief ratio <br> C) Maxent
 results (Maxent_results.zip)<br> In this zip file are all the maxent
 model results for both gorillas and chimpanzes in the resource and
 anthropogenic models. Please refer to the original article for details.
 The files include the ASCII file (.asc) and the projection file (.prj).
 The projections are in UTM Zone 33N 1) ASC file =
 chimpanzee_anthropogenic_model.asc, projection file =
 chimpanzee_anthropogenic_model.prj, description = chimpanzee anthropogenic
 model<br> 2) ASC file = chimpanzee_resource_model.asc, projection
 file = chimpanzee_resource_model.prj, description = chimpanzee resource
 model<br> 3) ASC file = gorilla_anthropogenic_model.asc, projection
 file = gorilla_anthropogenic_model.prj, description = gorilla
 anthropogenic model<br> 4) ASC file = gorilla_resource_model.asc,
 projection file = gorilla_resource_model.prj, description = gorilla
 resource model D) Shapefiles (Shapefiles.zip)<br>
 1) Sampling_grid = 1000*1000 m grid used in the study<br> 2)
 study_area_limits = Polygon of the entire area considered in the
 study