The influence of human presence and footprint on animal space use in US national parks

Kaitlyn M. Gaynor; Forest Hayes; Kezia R. Manlove; Nathan L. Galloway; John F. Benson; Michael J. Cherry; Clinton W. Epps; Robert J. Fletcher Jr.; John L. Orrock; Justine A. Smith; Christina M. Aiello; Jerrold L. Belant; Joel Berger; Mark Biel; Jill Bright; Joseph K. Bump; Michael Burchett; Carson Butler; Jennifer Carlson; Eric K. Cole; Neal Darby; Erin DeGutis; Sarah Dewey; Pete Figura; Tom Gable; Jeff Gagnon; Danielle M. Glass; Jennifer R. Green; Kerry A. Gunther; Mark Haroldson; Kent Hersey; Brandon Holton; Austin T. Homkes; Sarah R. Hoy; Debra Hughson; Kyle Joly; Ryan Leahy; Caitlin Lee-Roney; Rob Lester; Daniel MacNulty; Michael Magnuson; Daniel J. Martin; Rachel Mazur; Seth A. Moore; Elizabeth K. Orning; Katie Patrick; Rolf O. Peterson; Lynette Potvin; Paige Prentice; Seth P.D. Riley; Mark C. Romanski; Annette Roug; Jeff A. Sikich; Nova Simpson; William B. Sloan; Douglas W. Smith; Mathew Sorum; Scott Sprague; Daniel Stahler; John A. Stephenson; Thomas R. Stephenson; Janice Stroud-Settles; Frank T. van Manen; John A. Vucetich; Kate Wilmot; Steve K. Windels; Tiffany Wolf; Paul C. Cross

doi:10.1098/rspb.2025.1013

The influence of human presence and footprint on animal space use in US national parks

Proceedings of the Royal Society B

By: Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Forest Hayes, Kezia R. Manlove, Nathan L. Galloway, John F. Benson, Michael J. Cherry, Clinton W. Epps, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., John L. Orrock, Justine A. Smith, Christina M. Aiello, Jerrold L. Belant, Joel Berger, Mark Biel, Jill Bright, Joseph K. Bump, Michael Burchett, Carson Butler, Jennifer Carlson, Eric K. Cole, Neal Darby, Erin DeGutis, Sarah Dewey, Pete Figura, Tom Gable, Jeff Gagnon, Danielle M. Glass, Jennifer R. Green, Kerry A. Gunther, Mark Haroldson, Kent Hersey, Brandon Holton, Austin T. Homkes, Sarah R. Hoy, Debra Hughson, Kyle Joly, Ryan Leahy, Caitlin Lee-Roney, Rob Lester, Daniel MacNulty, Michael Magnuson, Daniel J. Martin, Rachel Mazur, Seth A. Moore, Elizabeth K. Orning, Katie Patrick, Rolf O. Peterson, Lynette Potvin, Paige Prentice, Seth P.D. Riley, Mark C. Romanski, Annette Roug, Jeff A. Sikich, Nova Simpson, William B. Sloan, Douglas W. Smith, Mathew Sorum, Scott Sprague, Daniel Stahler, John A. Stephenson, Thomas R. Stephenson, Janice Stroud-Settles, Frank T. van Manen, John A. Vucetich, Kate Wilmot, Steve K. Windels, Tiffany Wolf, and Paul C. Cross

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1013

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Abstract

Given the importance of protected areas for biodiversity, the growth of visitation to many areas has raised concerns about the effects of humans on wildlife. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to temporary closure of national parks in the United States, offering a pseudonatural experiment to tease apart the effects of permanent infrastructure and transient human presence on animals. We compiled GPS tracking data from 229 individuals of 10 mammal species in 14 parks and used third-order hierarchical resource selection functions to evaluate the influence of the human footprint on animal space use in 2019 and 2020. Averaged across all parks and species, animals avoided the human footprint, whether the park was open or closed. However, although animals in remote areas showed consistent avoidance, on average those in more developed areas switched from avoidance to selection when protected areas were closed. Findings varied across species: some responded consistently negatively to the footprint (wolves, mountain goats), some positively (mule deer, red fox) and others had a strong exposure-mediated response (elk, mountain lion). Furthermore, some species responded more strongly to the park closure (black bear, moose). This study advances our understanding of complex interactions between recreation and wildlife in protected areas.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	The influence of human presence and footprint on animal space use in US national parks
Series title	Proceedings of the Royal Society B
DOI	10.1098/rspb.2025.1013
Volume	292
Issue	2051
Publication Date	July 30, 2025
Year Published	2025
Language	English
Publisher	Royal Society Publishing
Contributing office(s)	Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Description	20251013, 13 p.
Country	United States
Other Geospatial	western United States