BIODIVERSITAS ISSN: 1412-033X Volume 21, Number 3, March 2020 E-ISSN: 2085-4722 Pages: 922-932 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d210310 Temporal overlap of carnivorous mammal community and their prey in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand RONGLARP SUKMASUANG, KHWANRUTAI CHARASPET, JITTIMA REONTIK, MANANYA PLA-ARD Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak District, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Tel. +66-579-0176, Fax. +66-942-8107. email: [email protected] Manuscript received: 30 December 2019. Revision accepted: 6 February 2020. Abstract. Sukmasuang R, Charaspet K, Reontik J, Pla-ard M. 2020. Temporal overlap of carnivorous mammal community and their prey in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife sanctuary, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Biodiversitas 21: 922-932. This study on the temporal overlap of the carnivorous community and their prey in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary was conducted from March 2017 to February 2018. Camera traps were deployed systematically with a total of 4,463 trap nights. Fourteen carnivorous mammals were recorded, which were mainly present at night, with the exception of the dhole, small Indian mongoose, crab-eating mongoose, and yellow-throated marten. The clouded leopard's presence overlapped between day and night. Using the average coefficient overlap(Δ) between a carnivore, and the other carnivorous species, the leopard cat was found to have the highest Δ value, followed by the hog badger, Asiatic jackal, small Indian civet, Asian palm civet, large Indian civet, large spotted civet, Asiatic black bear, dhole, Malayan sun bear, yellow-throated marten, small Indian mongoose, crab-eating mongoose, and clouded leopard. The potential prey species that had the highest Δwith the carnivorous species, was the Siamese hare. This study shows the importance of preserving the carnivorous community within the area. An important threat is a likelihood that carnivorous species in the area may be exposed to external diseases from infected domestic animals when coming out to hunt in the communities surrounding the protected area. Keywords: Camera trap, eastern forest complex, predator and prey, overlap package INTRODUCTION carnivorous mammals in the KARN area, (ii) study the activity cycle of each carnivorous species, and (iii) study The rainforests are home to a complex diversity of the temporal overlap of carnivorous species, including their animals, which include many carnivorous species located at relationship with their prey by camera trapping in the area. the top of the trophic networks (Ridout and Linkie 2009). Carnivores are a particularly difficult species to study due to their ability to evade (Van Schaik and Grifthths 1996), MATERIALS AND METHODS with very few studies conducted on the interaction between carnivores and their prey in tropical areas. These studies Study area are important to conduct, as they provide ecological data to Khao Ang Rue Nai (KARN) Wildlife Sanctuary, help understand the components and mechanisms of the Chachoengsao Province, Thailand is located between interactions within a dynamic and changing ecosystem longitude 101° 35' and 102° 05' E, and between latitude 13° (Hongliang et al. 2016). Previous studies have examined and 13° 30' N, with a total area of approximately 1,030 the activity and temporal overlap of wild species using the km2. It is a large dry evergreen forest, which was once time recorded on photographs taken by camera traps connected to Cambodia, and is one of the world’s (Laidlaw and Shaharuddin 1998; Kawanishi and Sunquist important protected areas for both wild species and their 2004; Di Bitetti et al. 2009; Di Bitetti et al. 2010; habitats. It is now connected to 7 protected areas, adding to Monterroso et al. 2013; Sunarto et al. 2015) and via a total of 1,705 km2. KARN is the largest most important determining the temporal overlap of carnivorous species in protected area in the east of Thailand. It is home to at least tropical forests (Karanth and Sunquist 1995; Ray and 531 species of vertebrates including 290 species of birds, Sunquist 2001; Scognamillo et al. 2003; Lynam et al. 122 species of mammals, 90 species of reptiles, 29 species 2013). Nevertheless, studies are still lacking in the eastern of amphibians and at least 47 species of fish. The terrain of forests of Thailand, including Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife the sanctuary is moderately sloping and was once Sanctuary (KARN), where the interaction of the temporal encroached before the evacuation of humans out of the area overlap of carnivores, and the time presence relationship due to Thai government recognizes the importance of with their prey species, have yet to be established. The preserving this forest area for conservation rather than information obtained, is essential to carry out conservation changing it to agricultural land and human settlement. The plans for both the animal species studied and the natural southwestern, northeastern and southeastern parts have environments (Frey et al. 2017). Accordingly, the aims of high mountains, and the elevation of the area varies from this study were to (i) study the overall time presence of 30-802 meters above sea level. The highest peak is in the SUKMASUANG et al. – Temporal overlap of terrestrial mammal community in tropical forest 923 southeast, called Khao Sib Ha Chan, which reaches 802 was at least 500 m apart to enable independence of the meters above sea level. The plant communities are mainly photographs in each grid, and to reduce the possibility of dry evergreen forest with only little areas of mixed recording the same animal across several cameras (Jenks et deciduous, dry dipterocarp and grassland (Department of al. 2012). (ii) Camera trap location selection was National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation: DNP considered from the suitability of the area, e.g., animal 2018). The study was conducted in the upper and middle trails or signs of carnivorous species. Information around parts of KARN, covering an area of 88.12 km2 when the location was collected including the plant community, drawing a line connecting the outer camera trap locations, roads, patrol routes, permanent water sources, salt licks, or when adding the buffer area with a radius of 1 km from ponds and ranger stations (Prayoon et al. 2012; Lynam et the border (e.g. Kelly and Holub 2008) because of the al. 2013; Wongchoo et al. 2013; Siripattaranukul et al. movement of wildlife around the area. 2015a,b). (iii) Camera traps were set up approximately 30- 40 cm from the ground, 3-4 m away from the target point Procedures (Chutiponget al.2014a,b) or following the suitability of the Camera traps were placed in 58 locations in Khao Ang area. The cameras were set to work 24 hours and take 3 Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Chachoengsao consecutive photographs, 10 seconds apart, after the sensor Province. The cameras were deployed from March 2017 to was triggered (Network 2008). The cameras were placed February 2018, adding up to a total of 4,463 trap nights; the for 60 days and then moved to new locations, which were details are as follows. (i) The 1: 50,000 topographic map recorded with a GPS tracker. (iv) The photographs taken by was divided into 1 km2 grid. One camera trap was placed the camera traps were imported into a computer and per one grid (Gupta et al. 2009; Jenks et al. 2011; classified in the Camera Trap Manager Program (Zaragozí Siripattaranukul et al. 2015a, b). Cameras were set up in et al. 2015) and added to Microsoft Excel for data analysis. 15-20 grids and left for 60 days in each location before moving to a new location (Figure 1). Each camera location Figure 1. Map of Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary and the camera trap locations (n=58 with 4,463 trap nights in total) 924 BIODIVERSITAS 21 (3): 922-932, March 2020 Data analysis Asiatic black bears, Malayan sun bears, large Indian civets, (i) The carnivores were classified using their common large-spotted civets, and Asian palm civets. The group that and scientific names, following Lekagul and McNeely was mostly nocturnal included Asiatic jackals, hog (1988). Only photographs that could be clearly identified badgers, small Indian civets, and leopard cats. The with the date and time on the photograph were used. cathemeral group included the clouded leopard. The mostly Photographs with more than one carnivore were counted as diurnal group included the dhole, and the strongly diurnal 1 incidence of each (Jenks et al. 2011), and were group included the yellow-throated marten, small Indian considered to be photos or incidences that were mongoose, and crab-eating mongoose, as shown in Table 1. independent of each other. The criterion for independence of animal photographs used, included (1) consecutive Temporal overlap of carnivorous species photographs of different animals, which could be the same In studying the activity cycles, from the overlapping or different species, (2) consecutive photographs of the areas of the two carnivorous species, the carnivore that had same animal of the same species that were taken more than the highest temporal overlap with the Asiatic jackal was the 30 minutes apart, and (3) nonconsecutive photographs of small Indian civet, with a coefficient of overlap (Δ) value the same animal of the same species (O'Brien et al. 2003). of 0.83, followed by the leopard cat (0.81), hog badger (ii) The time data from the photographs were summarised (0.76), large-spotted civet (0.74), Asian palm civet (0.73), by compiling the data and classifying by species. The time large Indian civet (0.72), Asiatic black bear (0.63), dhole period was divided into morning from 06:01-17:59 hrs and (0.51), Malayan sun bear (0.37), yellow-throated marten night between 18:00-06:00 hrs (Azlan et al.