Data from: Intraguild dynamics of understudied carnivores in a human-altered landscape

Mesocarnivores constitute a diverse and often abundant group of species,
which are increasingly occupying higher trophic levels within multi-use
landscapes. Yet, we know relatively little about their interactions with
each other, especially in human-altered areas. Using camera trap data
collected in a forestry concession in the Greater Gorongosa ecosystem of
central Mozambique, we examined the spatiotemporal relationships and
potential for intraguild competition among three understudied African
carnivores: African civets (Civettictis civetta), bushy-tailed mongooses
(Bdeogale crassicauda), and large-spotted genets (Genetta maculata). After
accounting for habitat preferences and tolerance to anthropogenic factors,
we found that African civets and bushy-tailed mongooses avoid each other
spatially and temporally. Additionally, civets and mongooses were also
both more likely to use sites farther away from human settlements,
possibly decreasing the total available habitat for each species if,
competition is driving this spatial partitioning. In contrast, we did not
find evidence for spatial or temporal partitioning between large-spotted
genets and African civets, but bushy-tailed mongooses altered their
activity patterns where they co-occurred with genets. Our study
contributes to scant ecological knowledge of these mesocarnivores and adds
to our understanding of community dynamics in human-altered ecosystems.