Abstract Trail networks are common infrastructure in protected areas for visitors to exercise, connect with nature, and learn about natural and cultural resources. However, there are concerns that the presence and construction of trails affect the quality of wildlife habitats, extending human disturbance into secluded areas. In this study, we developed a before-after control-impact experimental design to investigate the impacts of new trail construction on six terrestrial vertebrate species in an Appalachian protected area in the U.S. Using camera traps, we monitored animal use of the study area before, during, and after construction, on the trail, near the trail, and at a control site. Our results indicate statistically significant impacts of trail building and presence on four common species. During trail construction, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) decreased their activity on and/or near the trail, while raccoons (Procyon lotor) increased activity on the trail. These three species returned to the area at pre-building levels once trail construction was complete. After trail building, eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) showed decreased use of the trail area. We also observed altered timing of daily activity patterns for squirrels and deer, both diurnal species. Deer activity became more spread throughout the day within the near-trail zone during construction. After the trail was complete, squirrels shifted activity to earlier in the day, after sunrise and prior to the peak of recreational activity. We conclude that while trail building may alter habitat quality for some species, this mostly occurred during the construction phase, and was fairly minor for our study species. To minimize impacts, we suggest that trail building be restricted to a short time period during a season when species of concern are least sensitive. Our use of control sites allowed us to distinguish experimental effects from natural population fluctuations, and should serve as a foundation for future work investigating the effects of trails and other linear human disturbances on wildlife communities, especially in sensitive habitats and ecosystems.

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野生动物对休闲步道建设的反应：一种实验方法和阿巴拉契亚案例研究

摘要 步道网络是保护区内供游客锻炼、接触自然、了解自然和文化资源的常见基础设施。然而，有人担心小径的存在和建设会影响野生动物栖息地的质量，将人为干扰扩展到僻静的地区。在这项研究中，我们开发了一个前后控制影响实验设计，以研究新步道建设对美国阿巴拉契亚保护区内六种陆生脊椎动物的影响。在施工期间和施工后，在步道上、步道附近和控制现场。我们的结果表明小径建设和存在对四种常见物种的统计显着影响。在步道建设过程中，白尾鹿 (Odocoileus virginianus) 和郊狼 (Canis latrans) 减少了在小径上和/或附近的活动，而浣熊 (Procyon lotor) 增加了在小径上的活动。一旦小路建设完成，这三个物种就会以建设前的水平返回该地区。小道建成后，东部灰松鼠 (Sciurus carolinensis) 显示出小道区域的使用减少。我们还观察到松鼠和鹿这两种昼行性物种的日常活动模式的时间发生了变化。在施工期间，鹿活动在近径区内全天变得更加分散。小径完成后，松鼠将活动转移到当天早些时候，日出之后和娱乐活动高峰之前。我们得出的结论是，虽然小径建设可能会改变某些物种的栖息地质量，这主要发生在建造阶段，对于我们的研究物种来说是次要的。为了最大限度地减少影响，我们建议在受关注物种最不敏感的季节将步道建设限制在短时间内。我们对控制地点的使用使我们能够将实验影响与自然种群波动区分开来，并应作为未来研究小径和其他线性人类干扰对野生动物群落，尤其是敏感栖息地和生态系统的影响的工作的基础。