Camera trapping and occupancy model as a tool for monitoring the carnivore’s guild in Wadi Wurayah Man and Biosphere Reserve

Understanding species habitat relationships and their relative importance to the carnivore guild is fundamental to determining optimal conservation strategies and guiding long-term management efforts in a man and biosphere reserve. In this study, I used occupancy models to estimate the impact of anthropogenic effects and other factors on the habitat use of carnivores. I used one year of camera trap monitoring data between April 2016 and March 2017 across a ∼160 km of the reserve core area to develop single-species, single-season occupancy models for the reserve's carnivores. I estimated the impact of anthropogenic, environmental, and biotic factors on the habitat use of the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Blanford's Fox (Vulpes cana), and Caracal (Caracal caracal). Occupancy models indicated environmental and anthropogenic factors as the main driver of the Red Fox occupancy, while biotic variables had a more significant influence on Blanford's Fox and Caracal habitat use during summer. Understanding the main drivers behind habitat utilisation, including other underlying factors, such as prey availability, human/wildlife conflict, interspecific, intraguild competition, between these sympatric carnivores is essential for the reserve management. Variation in response to environmental and anthropogenic factors suggested spatial niche segregation between the Caracal and Red Fox and a high correlation between the occupancy of Blanford's Fox and freshwater habitats. In this study, I demonstrated the power of a single-species occupancy model providing a baseline of habitat factors affecting the carnivore guild based on the detection/non-detection records. This method enhanced our knowledge of the ecosystem function and priority habitats for carnivores' persistence in the reserve and mountain areas, where humans encroachment and activities have re-shaped the community assembly and niche selection in this rapidly developing region