838 E. Wyza et al.
protocols if the fosa is to remain part of Madagascar’s unique ecosystems. To determine the impact of various threats on fosa popu-
lations, it is necessary to explore potential shifts in spatial and temporal behaviours. Some carnivores such as the coy- ote Canis latrans, the spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta and the red fox Vulpes vulpes have successfully adapted to human encroachment and thrive in areas of high human population densities, despite being persecuted (Gloor et al., 2001; Riley et al., 2003; Grubbs & Krausman, 2009; Abay et al., 2011). It is possible that fosas are also able to adapt to habitat loss by altering their space-use patterns. Additionally, they may avoid encounters with humans by shifting their activity cycle to a nocturnal pattern. Advances in technology such as GPS collars equipped
with accelerometers enable us to explore changes in space use and activity patterns of cryptic species, including the fosa. Such collars also gather critical data on fine-scalemove- ments, which are needed to augment studies on spatial ecology and behaviour that use other methods, particularly across heterogeneous landscapes (Morales & Ellner, 2002; Brown et al., 2013). Furthermore, accelerometer data allow for location data to be combined with activity patterns associated with locomotion, feeding, resting and social in- teractions amongst collared individuals (Shepard et al., 2008; Nathan et al., 2012;Wyza et al., 2018). These methods have been used to examine behavioural alterations of an- other cryptic carnivore, the cougar Puma concolor, in resi- dential areas (Wang et al., 2017), and have the potential to be expanded across a variety of taxa. To our knowledge, this is the first study to employ GPS
collars with accelerometers to examine fosamovements and activity patterns near human settlements. It is also the first study using this technology to examine fosa space use at a fine scale in the heavily human-influenced landscape of Ankarafantsika National Park. To explore human–wildlife interactions and fosa spatial ecology, we focused on three main objectives: (1) documenting home range size and habi- tat selection during the dry season, (2) discerning movement and activity patterns in fragmented forest landscapes, and (3) evaluating fosa spatial and temporal activity in relation to villages located within the Park. Spatial and temporal data offer insights into fosa habitat use and allow us to determine whether fosas frequently range into human settlements and prey upon domestic animals.
Study area
Ankarafantsika National Park in north-western Madagascar is a 135,000 ha dry deciduous forest (Fig. 1), with a dry season during May–October and a wet seasons during November–April (Alonso et al., 2002). The Park has been subject to severe deforestation, with 20% of forest cover
FIG. 1 Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. Locations of villages and fosa Cryptoprocta ferox trap lines are shown. The main road RN4 bisects the Park.
lost during 1990–2000 (Dollar, 2006). Habitat alteration has been documented even in the most remote areas of the Park (K. Flanigan, pers. comm., 2018). Deforestation in the Park is largely a result of land conversion to cropland and pasture, carried out by people living in eight villages inside the Park and/or bordering its perimeter. Timber, charcoal and non-timber forest products are also harvest- ed (Alonso et al., 2002). Village populations vary widely; some areas house single families, whereas the popula- tion of the largest village located just outside the Park (Andranofasika) was estimated to be 8,000 in 2001 (Cornell University, 2002). The total human population within the Park’s boundaries is difficult to estimate because of the rural and scattered nature of many settlements; the esti- mated total village area within the Park and immediately adjacent to its borders is 12
km2.Amajor road (RN4) divides the park into an eastern and a western area and hinders wildlife movements, with documented roadkill mortality (Wyza et al., 2018).
Methods
Fosa capture and GPS collar deployment We collected data in the dry seasons of 2016 (June– September) and 2017 (July–October). Fosas were trapped using bobcat traps (Tomahawk, Hazelhurst, USA) along two 2.5 km long trap lines, with a total of 40 traps placed 50–200 m apart. Trap lines were located on either side of RN4 (Fig. 1). The same trap lines were used in both years. Captured fosas were sedated with Telazol (0.05 cm3/kg) in accordance with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols following Dollar (2006), then fitted
Oryx, 2020, 54(6), 837–846 © 2020 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319000498
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