RESEARCH PAPER
Co-occurrence networks analysis to infer avoidance behaviours in coexisting mammalian communities
 
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1
Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología-Universidad Pedagógica Nacional
 
2
Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politécnico Nacional
 
These authors had equal contribution to this work
 
 
Online publication date: 2024-08-05
 
 
Publication date: 2024-08-05
 
 
Corresponding author
Mario César Lavariega   

Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politécnico Nacional
 
 
 
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ABSTRACT
To complement contemporary techniques for understanding the dynamics that allow the coexistence of species in both conserved and changing environments, the analysis of time intervals (time between records of species) is gaining attention. This study aims to propose a method to measure the time intervals between species, visualise such spatiotemporal co-occurrences in different ecological networks, and compare their topology with seven network measures. We applied the method to 1) two simulated datasets of predator and prey in scenarios varying in their frequencies and day of expected co-occurrences, and 2) detections of mammals from four landscapes differing in the anthropogenic disturbance in tropical southern Mexico. Overall, the method accurately identified the time interval of co-occurrence expected according to simulated data. In the study case, we found prey species occurred several days after predators, suggesting an avoidance behaviour. We found that conventional network measures distinguished small differences between the landscapes because of the similarity in the species composition, but prey-predator relationships differed among landscapes. This approach complements the study of mechanisms in the coexistence patterns of species and can be applied to co-occurrence studies to measure changes within communities. The measures in co-occurrence networks could describe and differentiate behaviour interaction patterns of prey and predators, whilst also displaying the effects of human disturbances on natural habitats.
eISSN:1825-5272
ISSN:0394-1914
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