TY - JOUR
T1 - Drivers of activity patterns of two sympatric skunks (Carnivora: Mephitidae)
AU - Hernández-Sánchez, Alejandro
AU - Santos-Moreno, Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org.
PY - 2022/10/1
Y1 - 2022/10/1
N2 - Temporal niche partitioning between ecologically similar species may decrease interspecific competition and facilitate their coexistence, but the temporal interactions between sympatric skunks are still poorly understood. Furthermore, different interacting factors to explain activity patterns and their role in species coexistence in the temporal niche have been overlooked. Using camera traps over 2 years, we evaluated the temporal segregation between Conepatus leuconotus and Spilogale pygmaea and the influence of biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors in shaping their daily and monthly activity patterns in a seasonal tropical forest at the Mexican Pacific slope. Both skunks selected the nocturnal and crepuscular periods, with strong avoidance of daylight hours. We observed partial temporal segregation between species without significant seasonal variation. Spilogale pygmaea was most active when the activity of C. leuconotus decreased, suggesting that S. pygmaea adopts a temporal avoidance strategy to decrease the potential for direct encounters with the dominant species. We found that skunk activity patterns are also determined by the activity of prey and native and exotic predators, as well as relative humidity, precipitation, cloud cover, and night length. Our results showed that these factors differently affect daily and monthly activity between seasons and their effect varies in each species. This study provides evidence that multiple extrinsic factors play an important role in shaping the daily and monthly activity patterns of both skunks and, of course, affect their temporal niche partitioning, possibly promoting coexistence in a seasonal tropical environment.
AB - Temporal niche partitioning between ecologically similar species may decrease interspecific competition and facilitate their coexistence, but the temporal interactions between sympatric skunks are still poorly understood. Furthermore, different interacting factors to explain activity patterns and their role in species coexistence in the temporal niche have been overlooked. Using camera traps over 2 years, we evaluated the temporal segregation between Conepatus leuconotus and Spilogale pygmaea and the influence of biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors in shaping their daily and monthly activity patterns in a seasonal tropical forest at the Mexican Pacific slope. Both skunks selected the nocturnal and crepuscular periods, with strong avoidance of daylight hours. We observed partial temporal segregation between species without significant seasonal variation. Spilogale pygmaea was most active when the activity of C. leuconotus decreased, suggesting that S. pygmaea adopts a temporal avoidance strategy to decrease the potential for direct encounters with the dominant species. We found that skunk activity patterns are also determined by the activity of prey and native and exotic predators, as well as relative humidity, precipitation, cloud cover, and night length. Our results showed that these factors differently affect daily and monthly activity between seasons and their effect varies in each species. This study provides evidence that multiple extrinsic factors play an important role in shaping the daily and monthly activity patterns of both skunks and, of course, affect their temporal niche partitioning, possibly promoting coexistence in a seasonal tropical environment.
KW - Conepatus leuconotus
KW - GLMM
KW - Spilogale pygmaea
KW - daily activity
KW - deciduous tropical forest
KW - monthly activity
KW - seasonal variation
KW - temporal niche partitioning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159076625&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jmammal/gyac038
DO - 10.1093/jmammal/gyac038
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85159076625
SN - 0022-2372
VL - 103
SP - 1030
EP - 1044
JO - Journal of Mammalogy
JF - Journal of Mammalogy
IS - 5
ER -