Impacts of Human Development on Wildlife Use of Corridors in Botswana

Abstract

Human population growth and associated land-use changes, such as landscape fragmentation and agricultural expansion, increasingly threaten biodiversity by affecting ecosystem functioning and species persistence. Wildlife adapt their behavior in response to both the direct and indirect impacts of human activities. We examined the effects of landscape-scale human influence on wildlife corridor use in the Chobe District, Botswana. Using motion-activated camera traps, we assessed how 10 African mammal species used wildlife corridors within urban and agricultural landscapes. Specifically, we quantified (i) temporal overlap patterns between wildlife and humans across the two landscape types, and (ii) the probability of daily wildlife presence within the corridors. Seven species showed differences in temporal use overlap with humans between landscapes. Baboons, hyenas, impala, kudu, waterbuck, and sable antelope exhibited greater temporal overlap with people in agricultural corridors, whereas elephants showed reduced overlap in these areas. We also found that the daily probability of corridor use varied across species: elephants were more likely to be found in agricultural corridors, while warthogs and waterbuck were more likely to occur in urban corridors. These results provide evidence that wildlife species respond differently to human pressures, highlighting the importance of species-specific approaches in both current and future conservation and land-use planning strategies.

Keywords

camera trapping / conservation / human–wildlife conflict / land-use planning / wildlife behavior activity patterns

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2026 The Author(s). Integrative Conservation published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG).