Navigating human-dominated landscapes: Spatial strategies of a herd forming ungulate in an agricultural-to-natural matrix

Abstract

Landscapes in which preferred, high-quality habitats are embedded can be viewed as a dynamic matrix that can determine the spatial behavior of animal species. In tropical agricultural lands such as Brazils Cerrado, understanding how wide-ranging wildlife species navigate these settings is critical for biodiversity conservation. We investigated space-use strategies of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari)--a large-herd forming species and ecological engineer listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN--in a structurally heterogeneous landscape dominated by native vegetation remnants and industrial-scale farms under a legal regulatory framework of agricultural lands, private nature reserves and a national park. Using high-resolution GPS telemetry, we tracked 12 herds across this landscape from 2019 to 2022. Home ranges were estimated using multiple methods (AKDE 95%, KDE 50/95%, MCP 50/95/100%). Landscape composition was classified using MapBiomas land cover data. The herds with the largest ranges (up to 22,166.96 ha) occupied only native vegetation areas, with >99% natural cover, while herds with the smallest ranges (as low as 1,708.72 ha) occurred exclusively in agricultural areas (with >66% anthropogenic cover), and herds in mixed landscapes, composed of agricultural fields intermixed with patches of native vegetation, had ranges between both these extremes. Differences in range size and landscape cover patterns reflect behavioral plasticity in response to matrix configuration, crop availability, and native habitat structure. Our results reveal that landscape configuration and matrix permeability--not habitat amount alone--govern spatial responses in WLPs. Native vegetation patches (Legal Reserves and Permanent Preservation Areas) within crop mosaics functioned as key anchors for herd persistence outside protected areas, reinforcing the idea that such matrices can be conservation assets. Importantly, herds inhabiting agricultural areas exhibited spatial range contraction, which led to conflict with farmers due to their feeding on crops. Increasing peccary occupation in such landscapes is a growing conservation challenge in regions undergoing rapid agricultural expansion. Our work on the movement ecology of a species usually considered as requiring extensive areas of native vegetation indicates its resilience in landscapes dominated by humans. Understanding and managing the landscape matrix is essential for developing coexistence strategies that align biodiversity conservation goals with agricultural realities in the Anthropocene.