ABSTRACT Conflicts between humans and mesopredators are frequent and widespread, and over the last decades, they have led to the development of different mitigation methods to diminish their costs and damage. Diversionary feeding, i.e., the use of food to divert wildlife from actions and locations with potential to impact conservation interests or to trigger human‐wildlife conflicts, is often recommended to decrease predatory pressure on endangered and/or declining species. However, while most research attention focuses on demonstrating whether this tool is fit for purpose, its side effects are poorly known. In this study, we evaluated the impact of diversionary feeding on the space use, aggregation, and temporal behaviour of two widely distributed mesopredators, the stone marten ( Martes foina ) and the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ). A treatment‐control design, with four replicates each, was applied in a pine forest in central Spain. In treatment zones, 16 diversionary feeding stations (one every 4 km 2 ) were established, and 12 kg of meat were provided over 32 days. Mesopredators were monitored using 191 camera traps distributed in eight regular grids. We evaluated the impact of diversionary feeding on the mesopredators' space use and aggregation by fitting negative binomial mixed models, and also the impact on time use by analysing activity patterns. Stone martens and red foxes used 63% and 69% of the feeding stations, respectively. No significant variations were detected in space use, aggregation, or temporal behaviour between treatment and control areas for either species. Therefore, our results suggest that diversionary feeding does not alter the spatiotemporal dynamics of mesopredators. These findings contribute to a more informed and evidence‐based use of diversionary feeding as a conservation tool, with the potential to mitigate conservation conflicts without unintended ecological consequences in mesopredator populations.
Palencia et al. (Sat,) studied this question.