Research overview: temporal activity overlap and the coefficient of overlap

Camera traps stamp each photograph with a time, turning deployments into records of when species are active. This overview explains how researchers use these timestamps to estimate daily activity patterns as circular distributions and to quantify how much two species' active periods coincide using the coefficient of overlap. Applications include detecting temporal niche partitioning among sympatric felids, assessing predator-prey synchrony, and inferring competition or avoidance expressed through activity timing rather than space. The overview covers kernel-density estimation of activity, the interpretation of overlap values, and statistical comparison between groups, as well as caveats about sample size and detection biases by time of day. For enthusiasts, activity analysis reveals the hidden daily rhythms of cats, from strictly nocturnal hunters to crepuscular and cathemeral species.