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.