![]() In the far environment, habitat components were likely being used differently as the primary coping response to stressors. In the mid environment, slight temporal shifts in activity across the night were more evident. Behavioral adjustments were observed to be the primary response to stressors by small prey animals in the close environment. Impacts from the combined stressors of predator and human disturbance cues appeared to be additive, with higher risk being perceived with increasing distance from urban build-up. At the far environment, domestic cat ( Felis catus) cues were perceived as most risky, again when combined with human disturbance. However, at the mid environment, red fox cues were perceived as most risky, especially when combined with human disturbance. We found that at the close urban-edge environment, coping responses to human disturbances were most pronounced, and predator cues from the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) were perceived as least risky. We observed small mammal foraging behaviors, particularly: the common brushtail possum ( Trichosurus vulpecula), northern brown bandicoot ( Isoodon macrourus), brown antechinus ( Antechinus stuartii), black rat ( Rattus rattus), and brown rat ( Rattus norvegicus), and to a lesser degree several species of native birds. Our study design included “natural” and experimentally added stressor cues of predators and/or human disturbance. ![]() Here, we used filmed giving-up density experiments to investigate behavioral coping responses of foraging small prey animals at three sites (close, mid, and far) along an urban disturbance gradient. ![]() Urban environments provide the only or best habitats that are left for wildlife in many areas, promoting increased interest in urban conservation and a need to understand how wildlife cope with urban stressors, such as altered predator activity and human disturbance. 3CSIRO, Land and Water, Darwin, NT, Australia.2Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security, Northern Territory Government, Arid Zone Research Institute, Alice Springs, NT, Australia.1School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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