” It’s never good news when human activity changes animal behaviour. »
Once on the trails, Sépaq biologist Marc-Andre Villard spoke to us about the fragile balance between two aspects of the national park’s mission. It really is a balancing act. Trying to maintain access and then a pleasant experience for the hikers, but without affecting too much the animals that live in the park, which are sometimes relegated to the national parks, because humans have already occupied the surrounding landscape.
” Indeed, from the point of view of wild animals, the park here is in some cases similar to its last resort. »
search task
There are currently 28 national parks in Quebec, with a total area of 42,765 square kilometers in protected areas. Sépaq, the principal director of these parks, wants to assess the impact of hiking on the behavior of large mammals that are, in principle, found in conservation areas in these natural environments.
We’ve formed a working group on what we call the sustaining capacity of gardens in terms of human presence. We analyzed the existing scientific literature, and then launched this project. A master’s student in biology from the University of Quebec at Rimouski, Jessica Bao, has been recruited to participate in this research assignment.
” We install cameras on the various tracks to assess this. Then, with the results, to inform the national parks regarding developments, regarding the modifications that need to be made. »
Hundreds of cameras, equipped with motion and heat detectors, are mounted in trees, around and around the trails, in order to assess the reaction of large mammals to the frequent and sometimes noisy trails of many hikers. Biologist Marc-Andre Villard, a Sépaq biologist, explains that photo trap is effective for animals of a certain size. It would be easy to spot these mammals. So we went from coyotes up to moose.
Moss’ passing was captured by a hidden camera.
Photo: Sepak
Episodic data such as the exact time of filming, temperature and even the exact height of the camera are recorded, with the intention of later being analyzed by researchers. In particular, they will be able to assess the reaction of large mammals to the frequent and sometimes noisy trails of hikers.
” There are species like coyotes, for example, which are diurnal a priori, are more active during the day, and become nocturnal when there is a lot of human disturbance. »
The answers vary for different species. Some mammals, such as the white-tailed deer, tend to stay near the trails, and so do humans, because the latter keeps their predator away. Sometimes these animals standing near the driveways beg for food, says Marc-Andre Villard. It always ends badly, these stories, because these animals adopt behaviors that are not viable, and can sometimes be dangerous for visitors.
To complete its research project, Sépaq has called up the Terrestrial Wildlife Management Research Team from the University of Quebec at Rimouski (UQAR). Biologist Martin-Hugues St-Laurent is the scientific director of this group of researchers at UQAR. It is time, he says, to pay attention to this phenomenon.
” It has been observed in previous work that the greater the number of activities present in these parks, the greater the number of hikers, the greater the avoidance, and the more ecological functions are affected. »
The biologist believes that ways must be found to modify and mitigate the negative impacts hikers have on wildlife. These are ecological functions that must be preserved in these biodiversity and natural islands that are national parks.
Therefore, Martin Hughes Saint Laurent and his team provide scientific and statistical support for this research, which will run over several months in four national parks in Quebec. This is the power of the study. When scanning different parks, we may find different answers.
Martin Hugues Saint Laurent from UQAR
Photo: Radio Canada
Initial notes
September 2022. In their lab at UQAR, Martin-Hugues St-Laurent and his assistant Jessica Bao begin compiling and organizing the first data collected over the summer in Grands-Jardins and Mont-Orford National Parks.
These two parks are among the most popular among hikers. In Mont Orford, where there are also mountain bike trails, the number of visits increased from 731,000 in 2019 to more than 1,300,000 in 2022. The habitat is thus fragmented due to the many recreational trails. And in some cases, these are high-quality breeding habitats.
Currently, every photo taken this summer is converted into lines of data, Martin-Hugues St-Laurent explains. We are concerned first with the many influences on animal behaviour, such as altitude, temperature, and the presence of wetlands. When we removed all these influences, is there still an influence from wanderers? This is what the analysis will let us know.
What biologists have already noted is that the risk of a disturbance in wildlife increases with the severity and duration of the human-caused disturbance. In disorders of lower caliber, explains Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, the effect is often at the level of the first measures of physiological response, that is, an increase in heart rate and alertness in terms of behaviour. This is what science has discovered for a few years now. Animals will change their spatial usage patterns seasonally or daily.
Marc-Andre Villard, biologist Sépaq
Photo: Radio Canada
proper organization?
However, the regulations are there
Defending biologist Marc-Andre Villard. You can actually find an outline of these regulations on the Sépaq website.
This code of conduct applies to national parks managed by Sépaq and is not known to the general public, especially to newer parks.
There are new customers who don’t always understand the rules and who will venture off the track or who will leave dogs off leash. So you really have to keep an eye on those customers.
” A single pedestrian off the track can really scare wildlife, and this has been shown in other studies. »
On some trails, dogs are prohibited from entering.
Photo: Radio Canada
Best wildlife protection
In addition to the recognized benefits to human health, recreational activities in these natural environments represent an important source of public treasury revenue: more than $300 million in entrance fees for 2020-2021 alone.
But how do you maintain this lucrative recreational tourism offer while protecting wildlife? Biologist Marc-Andre Villard answers, We humans are at home here. We have to give them space. You really have to understand that to accept that there can be certain limits to garden development.
” It will probably be necessary to identify priority areas for conservation, depending on where large mammals are located. »
For Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, it will be necessary to at least consider a review of current development models in the national parks. One might think, perhaps, of closing off certain families of pathways for distribution elsewhere, if they pass in neural sectors for activities specific to certain animal species. Perhaps, in some cases, closing them and re-vegetation.
- source : Leisure Survey, February 2022 (A new window)on behalf of the Trans Canada Trail Organization, conducted with 2545 Canadians. Maximum margin of error : 1.9 %, 19 times out of 20.
- closing The study was conducted in 2021 (A new window) By Rando Quebec, official spokesperson for Quebec Road Managers.
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