Dynamic in Species Estimates of Carnivores (Leopard Cat Red Fox and North Chinese Leopard): A Multi-Year Assessment of Occupancy and Coexistence in the Tieqiaoshan Nature Reserve Shanxi Province China

摘要

Carnivores are among the threatened mammal species due to interactions with humans and environmental effects. We collected data using camera traps across three sampling periods over three years, aiming to study the coexistence mechanisms of three carnivores: the North Chinese leopard, the leopard cat, and the red fox to depict effects from an environmental factor and anthropogenic disturbances on these carnivores within a landscape. The occupancy modeling showed that all species’ occupancy did not greatly change across years and they rather depicted occupancy stability. The elevation impacted more on species’ occupancy estimates than distances to villages and roads. We performed a multi-year assessment of species’ estimates and the results of this study reveal the impact of habitat features and anthropogenic disturbances on the occupancy dynamics of the North Chinese leopard, the red fox and the leopard cat in the Tieqiaoshan nature reserve landscape.