Anthropogenic Disturbances Drive Domestic Dog Use of Atlantic Forest Protected Areas

Domestic dog is the most successful invasive mammalian predator species, and reducing its ecological impacts on wildlife is a central conservation goal globally. Free-ranging dogs can negatively interact with wildlife at multiple levels, posing issues for biodiversity conservation in tropical forests, especially in fragmented Atlantic Forest. To optimize future control programs, it is necessary to identify the main factors influencing their habitat use, particularly in natural reserves. We combined camera trapping data and occupancy models to characterize habitat use of dogs in six Atlantic Forest protected areas (134-36,000 ha). Our results show that dogs were more likely to use sites ((Psi) over cap >= 0.90) having higher housing density (>= 4.00 houses/km(2)) or higher proportion of croplands and pasture (>= 75%) relative to sites with no houses ((Psi) over cap = 0.23 +/- 0.10) or lower proportion of croplands and pasture ((Psi) over cap = 0.34 +/- 0.08). In addition, dogs had higher detection probability at camera locations on unpaved roads ((p) over cap = 0.33 +/- 0.05) relative to off-road sites ((p) over cap =0.18 +/- 0.04), and in small protected areas with high housing density, that is, more disturbed sites, dogs had higher detection probabilities. Our findings indicate that the probability of dogs using a site within protected area is mainly driven by type and intensity of human activity in the surroundings. Given the urgent need to control free-ranging dogs within protected areas, we strongly recommend that managers target sites/areas within and near protected areas that have a rural housing density >= 4.00 houses/km(2) or higher proportion of croplands and pasture (>= 75%).