Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
Conservation of Small Populations02:04

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...
Evolutionary Psychology01:20

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...
What are Populations and Communities?00:30

What are Populations and Communities?

Overview
Life Histories01:29

Life Histories

Overview
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Catwalk: Leopards Persist at Moderate Densities While Exhibiting Temporal Segregation From Humans in Telangana's Boath Range.

Ecology and evolution·2026
Same author

Understanding mammal avoidance of human settlements.

The Journal of animal ecology·2026
Same author

Mating Attempts and Sustained Interest Behaviors of Wild Boars (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) Toward a Dead Conspecific.

Ecology and evolution·2026
Same author

Habitat selection and outdoor recreation help explain human-mountain lion conflict.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same author

Scavenger Assemblage Behavior at Puma Kills in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California.

Ecology and evolution·2026
Same author

Human shielding from wolves facilitates jackal expansion across Europe.

Nature ecology & evolution·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses
07:59

Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses

Published on: September 19, 2011

Scale dependent behavioral responses to human development by a large predator, the puma.

Christopher C Wilmers1, Yiwei Wang, Barry Nickel

  • 1Environmental Studies Department, Center for Integrated Spatial Research, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America. cwilmers@ucsc.edu

Plos One
|April 25, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Pumas need larger buffers from human development for reproduction than for survival behaviors. They avoid neighborhoods more than roads, with females showing varied responses to human activity.

More Related Videos

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents
06:25

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

Published on: May 16, 2025

Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice
04:20

Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice

Published on: July 12, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 12, 2026

Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses
07:59

Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses

Published on: September 19, 2011

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents
06:25

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

Published on: May 16, 2025

Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice
04:20

Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice

Published on: July 12, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Wildlife ecology and conservation
  • Human-wildlife conflict mitigation
  • Behavioral responses of apex predators

Background:

  • Understanding the spatial scale of animal responses to human activity is crucial for conservation planning and ecological function.
  • Limited knowledge exists on how human interference impacts distinct reproductive and survival behaviors at different spatial scales.
  • Top predators like pumas (Puma concolor) play a vital role in ecosystem health, making their response to human development a key research area.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel approach for estimating the spatial scale at which pumas respond to human development across various behaviors.
  • To differentiate the spatial requirements of reproductive (communication, denning) versus non-reproductive (movement, feeding) behaviors in pumas.
  • To assess how different types of human development (neighborhoods vs. roads) influence puma behavior and to explore sex-specific responses.

Main Methods:

  • Employed a behaviorally explicit modeling approach to estimate spatial response scales for puma movement, feeding, communication, and denning.
  • Quantified the buffer zones required by pumas around different types of human development, including neighborhoods and arterial roads.
  • Analyzed variations in response scales based on behavior type, development type, and sex of the puma.

Main Results:

  • Reproductive behaviors (communication, denning) necessitate significantly larger buffers (at least 4x) from human development compared to non-reproductive behaviors (movement, feeding).
  • Pumas exhibit greater avoidance of consistent human interference (neighborhoods) than intermittent interference (high-speed arterial roads).
  • Neighborhoods deterred pumas across all behaviors, while roads only deterred them during reproductive activities; females showed less deterrence but greater response variability than males.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides a novel, behaviorally explicit method for assessing habitat quality and identifying wildlife corridors for pumas.
  • Findings highlight the need for larger conservation buffers around sensitive reproductive areas to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
  • The approach can inform targeted conservation strategies and land-use planning to better accommodate apex predator needs in human-dominated landscapes.