Data from: Low levels of outdoor recreation alter wildlife behavior

Public interest in nature-based recreation is growing, including
visitation to protected areas. However, the level of recreation in these
areas that causes detectable changes in wildlife behavior remains unknown,
and many studies that investigate wildlife responses to humans do so in
high-visitation areas.  We used camera traps to investigate the
spatial and temporal responses of brown bears (Ursus arctos), black bears
(Ursus americanus), moose (Alces alces), and wolves (Canis lupis) to
experimentally manipulated levels of human activity in Glacier Bay
National Park, Alaska during summers 2017 and 2018. Human activity was
restricted at some sites and concentrated at others, and these human
impact treatments were swapped mid-season. The park has very low on-land
visitation (~40,000 on-land tourists per year), making it a unique study
system to investigate wildlife responses to low levels of human
activity.  Detections did not exceed five per week for any
species unless human activity was absent (zero photos of humans were
taken). However, spatial and temporal patterns of wildlife activity in
relation to human activity were nuanced and species-specific. Moose
shifted their activity patterns to better align with when people were most
active. Black bears were more likely to be detected in areas of high human
activity but used high-use areas less intensely than low-use areas. Wolves
used areas of high human impact more intensely, but shifted their activity
to be more strongly nocturnal.  Our results highlight the
importance of considering both spatial and temporal responses of wildlife
to human activity. Additionally, and arguably most importantly, we
detected changes in wildlife behavior in response to humans in a national
park with relatively low tourism. Although natural processes may dominate
in protected areas, our results indicate that even low levels of human
activity can alter wildlife behavior.   Synthesis and
applications: We demonstrated that nearly any level of human activity in a
protected area may alter wildlife behavior. However, it is unreasonable to
expect protected areas to be completely devoid of human activity. Thus,
management of these areas will need to balance the desires of humans to
view wildlife with the likely impacts.