Influence of habitat factors on species detections at night vs. day
Using data across all moon phases combined (i.e., irrespective of moon phase), we analyzed habitat factors influencing the use of camera sites at night (1) rather than day (0), i.e., the response was a binary variable. We used nine covariates and ran seven GLMM candidate models to predict how these habitat factors altered species occurrence during night vs. day.
We found that leopards used lower elevations at night and higher elevations during the day, and activity closer to secondary roads and deciduous forest was more likely to be during the daytime while further distances from these landscape features were more likely detected at night (Table 4a, 4b). Roe deer also exhibited this relationship between distance to secondary roads and night vs. day activity, although the relationship was weaker for roe deer. As observed in the leopard data, wild boar used lower elevations during the nighttime and medium or high elevations during the daytime, and the relationship was stronger in the case of wild boar. Also, wild boar tended to be nearer to mixed forest during the daytime and further away at night. Finally, Tolai hare had a similar relationship with elevation as did leopard (i.e,, weak negative association with elevation, lower elevations preferred at night), and at night tended to be far from mixed forest and grasslands while near to deciduous forest, woody savannas and villages.