The spatial and temporal displacement of native species by domestic dogs

Domestic dogs have been predicted to be a high risk to 10 % of mammal and 11 % of bird species
across mainland Southeast Asia. Within Thailand their population is estimated at over 12 million
and 80 % live in rural areas where they adopt a free-ranging lifestyle. This lifestyle enables them
to enter protected forests without restrictions. To access the spatial and temporal impacts domestic
dogs have on local wildlife a two-year camera trap study was undertaken in a fragmented
forest complex in Northern Thailand. Co-occurrence modelling was used to estimate the impacts
of domestic dogs on a native predator (golden jackal) and prey (green peafowl) specie’s occurrence
probability. Temporal segregation was accessed using activity pattern overlaps and
compared to Huai Kha Khaeng, a more protected and unfragmented forest complex. Although the
results from the co-occurrence models did not find any spatial segregation, it was found that
temporal avoidance was occurring in the protected areas with domestic dogs and golden jackal
having a clear temporal niche, this temporal separation was lessened in the unfragmented forest.
Additionally, over 3x more humans were independently photographed than any other species and
2.5x more domestic dogs were independently photographed than golden jackal in the fragmented
protected areas. Ultimately, working in partnership with the local community on approaches that
will reduce domestic dogs presence in the forest is essential along with a stringent population
management plan in order to lower the number of free-ranging dogs in the area.