Behavioral “bycatch” from camera trap surveys yields insights on prey responses to human-mediated predation risk

Human disturbance directly affects animal populations but indirect effects of disturbance on species behaviors are less well understood. Camera traps provide an opportunity to investigate variation in animal behaviors across gradients of disturbance. We used camera trap data to test predictions about predator-sensitive behavior in three ungulate species (caribou Rangifer tarandus; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus; moose, Alces alces) across two boreal forest landscapes varying in disturbance. We quantified behavior as the number of camera trap photos per detection event and tested its relationship to predation risk between a landscape with greater industrial disturbance and predator abundance (Algar) and a “control” landscape with lower human and predator activity (Richardson). We also assessed the influence of predation risk and habitat on behavior across camera sites within the disturbed Algar landscape. We predicted that animals in areas with greater predation risk (more wol...