The influence of settlements on the diurnal activity patterns of mammals in Israel

An increase in the human population density in Israel has caused both the expansion and the intensification of the impact of human activities on wild animals. In areas where animals exist in close proximity to humans, some species change their spatial and temporal activity patterns to reduce their chances of encountering humans. Changes in the temporal activity of a species may affect diverse aspects of the species behavior and its physiology. Behavioral patterns are expected to respond to changes in environmental conditions before changes in the size of the population occur, and monitoring these will allow early human influences on wildlife to be identified. Understanding the effect of human settlements on the diurnal activities of mammals is important as , with the aim of preserving species and the ecosystems they inhabit. The research goal is to quantify the influence of human settlements on the temporal activity patterns of medium and large mammals.