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7 January 2022 Habitat selection by non-native masked palm civets in a Japanese rural landscape, incorporating individual differences
Ayaka Toriyabe, Hiroto Enari, Haruka S. Enari, Masayuki U. Saito
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Abstract

Animals that succeed as non-native species may have highly plastic characteristics. We conducted a radio telemetry survey for introduced masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), which inhabit rural landscapes in almost all of Japan, to clarify their habitat selection and intraspecific variation. We compared two generalized linear mixed models, one that did not consider individual differences and another that did, which indicated the importance of incorporating individual differences for evaluating habitat selection by this species. We obtained results of habitat selectivity for all individuals (i.e., common effect on the species) and for each individual using coefficients of fixed effects or fixed effects with random effects. Masked palm civets significantly selected deciduous broadleaved forests, artificial structures, rice fields, and orchards as a common effect for all individuals. However, these habitats were not necessarily selected as a significant effect for each individual. Deciduous broad-leaved forests and artificial structures were more important than other habitats. The wide range of possible environments and the plasticity of habitat selection shown in this study may partly explain the success of this species in expanding its distribution in Japan.

Ayaka Toriyabe, Hiroto Enari, Haruka S. Enari, and Masayuki U. Saito "Habitat selection by non-native masked palm civets in a Japanese rural landscape, incorporating individual differences," Journal of Mammalogy 103(3), 608-617, (7 January 2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab150
Received: 23 February 2021; Accepted: 13 November 2021; Published: 7 January 2022
KEYWORDS
artificial structure
Behavioral flexibility
broadleaf forest
intraspecific variation
mosaic
niche breadth
non-indigenous species
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