Anthropogenic landscapes shape the diel activity and occupancy of mesocarnivores more than apex predators’ presence

1. The negative impacts of humans on ecosystems are well documented, but human presence can also contribute to local diversity by creating new niches. These effects are complex and can profoundly reorganise interactions among species. 2. Mesocarnivores play a central role in trophic dynamics. Their habitat use is strongly shaped by apex predators, as well as by human presence. Within their functional group, larger mesocarnivores also exert strong pressures on smaller subordinate species, as well as on their prey species. 3. We used a year of camera-trap data collected across contrasting land uses (protected areas vs adjacent agriculture areas) to investigate the effect of anthropogenic pressures on carnivore species diversity and the spatiotemporal co-occurrence of seven mesocarnivore species. We also examined the trade-offs between avoiding leopards and humans. 4. Diversity was globally lower in strictly protected areas than outside. The use of protected areas varied between species and seasons. All species avoided humans spatially or temporally; however, some species, such as the caracal, appeared to use more anthropogenic landscapes possibly because of the creation of additional ecological niches. The leopard had almost no effect on spatio-temporal interactions of mesocarnivores. 5. Our findings highlight how humans and leopard affect the spatio-temporal niches of mesocarnivores, and suggest that these effects may propagate throughout the trophic network.