Abstract

Balsam Mountain Preserve consists of 3,400 acres of protected land within a 4,400-acre property in Jackson County, North Carolina. These 3,400 acres form fragmented habitats throughout the property. In this project, we examined how these different fragments of habitats, and specifically the width of the edge between them, affected species’ richness and the activity patterns of mammals. Sites were determined by their relative edge widths: large edge widths were sites along the golf course edge, medium edge widths were along road edges, and small edge widths were along trail edges. We had a total of six sites, two for each edge width. Data was collected via automated trail cameras, which took a picture and recorded the time and date of the photo. Data was then analyzed through RStudio to create three different models: species richness for each edge type, activity patterns for each mammal, and landscape of fear for each mammal, which is a measure of foraging time spent in front of a camera as a proxy for comfort level at that site. We found that species richness differed between large and small edge widths; this difference supported our predictions of species richness being lower in large edge widths, with a total of seven species compared to ten in small edge widths. Activity patterns revealed a variety of behaviors between carnivores and herbivores, with some showing diurnal and others showing nocturnal tendencies. Landscape of fear analyses revealed differences between predator and prey and did not always align with our predictions. These findings are important in conveying how varied land use in Balsam Mountain Preserve affects mammal behaviors within the preserve. 

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