Temporal Niche Overlap Among Predators and Prey Species of Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan | [Pakistan Journal of Zoology • 2025]

Author(s):

1. Tariq Mahmood: Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi , Pakistan

2. Tehseen Sadaqat: Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi , Pakistan

3. Faraz Akrim: Zoology Department, University of Kotli, Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

4. Muhammad Sajid Nadeem: Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi , Pakistan

5. Sakhawat Ali: Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, Islamabad, Pakistan

6. Muhammad Mushtaq: Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi , Pakistan

7. Nadeem Munawar: Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi , Pakistan

8. Muhammad Farooq: Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi , Pakistan

9. Nausheen Irshad: Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract:

Daily activity patterns are an important component of mammalian nature and behavior through which species respond to varieties in biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic variables. Studies addressing the phenomenon of spatial and temporal activity patterns of mammalian predators and prey species are important to understand the strategies adapted by them for co-existence. In the current study, we investigated activity patterns and the temporal niche overlap among predators and prey species inhabiting the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan Field surveys were conducted fortnightly aided with installing motiontriggered cameras at selected sampling sites (N = 23) to capture field photographs of predators and prey species. Data on species identification, camera trap station, date of capture, and the numbers of photos captured were recorded systematically. The predator and prey species in the photographic data were identified and their activity patterns were plotted using “R Studio” software and the niche overlap among the temporal activity of the various species were computed. Results revealed that common leopard, red fox, Indian-crested porcupine, Asian palm civet, and Indian desert hare were active at nighttime whereas barking deer and Punjab Urial were found diurnal in their activity pattern. Highest overlap of temporal niche was computed for red fox and common leopard (1.0), followed by red fox and yellow-throated marten (0.70), red fox and barking deer, common leopard and Asiatic Jackal, and red fox and Asiatic Jackal (0.52), each. The comparatively high temporal niche overlap among various mammalian species indicates greater competition for habitat resources, threatening their survival...

Page(s): 2221-2229

DOI: 10.17582/journal.pjz/20231008222454

Published: Journal: Pakistan Journal of Zoology, Volume: 57, Issue: 5, Year: 2025

Keywords:

Mammals , seasonal activity , activity pattern , Temporal niche , Predatorprey interaction , Intraguild interaction

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