Drivers of activity patterns of two sympatric skunks (Carnivora: Mephitidae)

Temporal niche partitioning between ecologically similar species may decrease interspecific competition and facilitate their coexistence, but the temporal interactions between sympatric skunks are still poorly understood. Furthermore, different interacting factors to explain activity patterns and their role in species coexistence in the temporal niche have been overlooked. Using camera traps over 2 years, we evaluated the temporal segregation between Conepatus leuconotus and Spilogale pygmaea and the influence of biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors in shaping their daily and monthly activity patterns in a seasonal tropical forest at the Mexican Pacific slope. Both skunks selected the nocturnal and crepuscular periods, with strong avoidance of daylight hours. We observed partial temporal segregation between species without significant seasonal variation. Spilogale pygmaea was most active when the activity of C. leuconotus decreased, suggesting that S. pygmaea adopts a temporal avoidance strategy to decrease the potential for direct encounters with the dominant species. We found that skunk activity patterns are also determined by the activity of prey and native and exotic predators, as well as relative humidity, precipitation, cloud cover, and night length. Our results showed that these factors differently affect daily and monthly activity between seasons and their effect varies in each species. This study provides evidence that multiple extrinsic factors play an important role in shaping the daily and monthly activity patterns of both skunks and, of course, affect their temporal niche partitioning, possibly promoting coexistence in a seasonal tropical environment. La partición del nicho temporal entre especies ecológicamente similares puede disminuir su competencia interespecífica y facilitar su coexistencia, pero las interacciones temporales entre zorrillos simpátricos todavía siguen siendo poco conocidas. Además, se ha pasado por alto la interacción de diferentes factores para explicar los patrones de actividad y su papel en la coexistencia de las especies en el nicho temporal. Utilizando cámaras trampa durante dos años, evaluamos la segregación temporal entre Conepatus leuconotus y Spilogale pygmaea y la influencia de factores bióticos, abióticos y antropogénicos en la configuración de sus patrones de actividad diaria y mensual en un bosque tropical estacional en la vertiente del Pacífico mexicano. Ambos zorrillos seleccionaron el período nocturno