Effects of outdoor recreation on multiple vertebrate guilds in a fragmented sagebrush‐steppe ecosystem

• Published in: The Journal of wildlife management 2024-11, Vol.88 (8), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Aberg, Madeline C., Coates, Stephanie E., Davis, Lucian J., Wright, Benjamin W., Mervin, Richard L., Carlisle, Jay D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abundance; Conservation; Conservation areas; Corvus corax; Ecosystem management; Ecosystems; Eremophila alpestris; Ground squirrels; Guilds; Land management; nest success; Nesting; Numenius americanus; Pressure effects; Public lands; Recreation; Recreation areas; recreation ecology; Recreational use; Scavengers; social‐ecological systems; Steppes; Vertebrates; Wildlife; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife management
• ISSN: 0022-541X; 1937-2817
• DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22663

Outdoor recreational use is growing rapidly in the western United States, which increases the pressure on multiple‐use public lands. Balancing recreational use with conservation goals requires considering the spatial and temporal intensity of recreational use and examining its effects on multiple species within an ecosystem. In 2019–2021, we assessed the relationship between recreational intensity and the abundance of a dominant prey species (Piute ground squirrel [Urocitellus mollis]), the abundance of avian and mammalian facultative scavengers that rely on ground squirrels, and the abundance and nesting success of ground‐nesting birds at a national conservation area in southwestern Idaho, USA, where recreational shooting and off‐highway vehicle use are the primary recreational activities. Recreational intensity varied across the study site. The abundance of ground squirrels was not related to recreational intensity. The abundance of common ravens (Corvus corax) and the abundance of American badgers (Taxidea taxus), 2 common facultative scavengers, were both positively associated with recreational intensity, while the abundance of other avian facultative scavengers was not related to recreational intensity. The abundance of horned larks (Eremophila alpestris) and nesting success of long‐billed curlews (Numenius americanus), a more sensitive species, were negatively related to recreational intensity. Together, our results highlight the importance of considering variation in recreational intensity and the effect of recreation on multiple guilds within the ecosystem. An improved understanding of these relationships can be used with public land management to protect wildlife while providing opportunities for outdoor recreation. We examined the impacts of recreational intensity on a dominant prey species, facultative avian and mammalian scavengers, and ground‐nesting birds within a sagebrush‐steppe ecosystem. Recreation had a positive relationship with facultative scavenger abundance and a negative relationship with ground‐nesting birds.