Managing wildlife tolerance to humans for ecosystem goods and services.

Ecosystem services make substantial contributions to the economy and human well-being, but there can also be costly disservices. Animal behavior is a key process that may modulate a variety of ecosystem services and disservices. In the Anthropocene, as human–wildlife interactions increase from urbanization and development, many wild animals decrease their fearfulness and become more tolerant to humans. Incorporating an understanding of increased tolerance-modulated ecosystem service/disservices into ecosystem management may help in the development of management strategies that improve services while reducing disservices. Many animals can vary their behaviors to better utilize anthropogenic environments. Wildlife living in highly disturbed environments often show an increased tolerance towards humans. While animal behavior can play a vital role in producing and delivering ecosystem services, we know less about how variation in wildlife tolerance to humans can influence ecosystem services. Increased tolerance to humans changes a variety of animal behaviors, and these behavioral modifications, such as changes to foraging, habitat selection, and movement, can alter the supply and flow of both ecosystem services and disservices. We highlight the need to understand the links between increased tolerance to humans and ecosystem services to develop an effective tool to enhance services while minimizing the risk of creating disservices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]