Human presence drives bobcat interactions among the U.S. carnivore guild

Mammalian carnivores are elusive and enigmatic species that often play keystone roles in ecosystems through direct and indirect effects. Growing evidence shows that human activity can impact carnivore behavior and community structure by altering predator-prey interactions, shifting diel activity patterns, and altering wildlife movement. Our goal was to investigate the ecological role of bobcats (Lynx rufus) across carnivore communities in the continental USA by quantifying variation in spatiotemporal patterns and determining what environmental and human factors influenced carnivore community interactions. Using camera trap data from the inaugural nationwide Snapshot USA project dataset collected from September – October 2019, we constructed diel activity density curves, applied multispecies occupancy models, and calculated attraction-avoidance ratios. Our results suggest that bobcats display the greatest flexibility in their diel activity among the suite of carnivores sampled. Further, bobcats respond differentially at large spatial scales relative to the presence of dominant or subordinate carnivores, with fluctuating impacts mediated by human and environmental factors. Bobcats’ co-occurrence with dominant carnivores (i.e., wolves Canis sp., pumas Puma concolor) was influenced primarily by human-related factors, whereas co-occurrence with subordinate carnivores (i.e., foxes) was more influenced by environmental factors (i.e., precipitation, gross primary production [GPP]). Bobcats appear to interpret humans as the apex predator on the landscape regardless of the presence of dominant or subordinate species. Understanding the influence of humans as “super predators’’, as well as the importance of environmental factors that impact intraguild carnivore interactions across the USA is critical for establishing successful management practices to promote functioning communities.