Assessing microhabitat, landscape features and intraguild relationships in the occupancy of the enigmatic and threatened Andean tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus pardinoides) in the cloud forests of northwestern Colombia

Abstract

Mesocarnivores play a key role in ecosystem dynamics through the regulation of prey populations and are sensitive to environmental changes; thus, they are often considered good model organisms for conservation planning. However, data regarding the factors that influence the habitat use of threatened small wild felids such as the Andean tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus pardinoides) are scarce. We conducted a two-year survey with 58 camera trap stations to evaluate the determinants of Andean tiger cat habitat use in three protected areas in the Middle Cauca, Colombia. We developed site occupancy models and found that Andean tiger cat habitat use increased with leaf litter depth at intermediate elevations and far from human settlements. Through conditional cooccurrence models, we found that Andean tiger cat habitat use was invariant to the presence of prey or potential intraguild competitors and killers/predators, but its detectability increased when they were present and detected. This suggests that Andean tiger cats may be more likely to be detected in sites with high prey availability. We found that Andean tiger cats preferred sites with deep leaf litter, which is a particular feature of cloud forests that provides suitable conditions for ambush hunting and hiding from intraguild enemies. Our results showed that Andean tiger cats avoided human settlements, which may minimize potential mortality risks in those areas. Moreover, the restricted use of middle elevations by Andean tiger cats suggested that they could be used as a sentinel species to track the effects of climate change since their suitable habitat is likely to be projected upward in elevation. Future conservation actions must be focused on identifying and mitigating human-related threats close to the Andean tiger cat habitat while preserving microhabitat conditions and the existing networks of protected areas.

Ecological modeling, biogeography, and phenotypic analyses setting the tiger cats’ hyperdimensional niches reveal a new species

“…1500 m asl. At 2000–3000 m asl, low ocelot numbers had no effect on the species 20 , but this was different at lower altitudes when ocelot abundance increased 53 . The Atlantic Forest tiger-cat is not restricted geographically by ocelots.…”

“…effect; population/habits not affected by other sympatric small-sized felids Range segregation with L. geoffroyi ; population/habits not affected by other sympatric small-sized felids 65 , 71 , 92 ; this work Red List status assessment (2016) Vulnerable (included in L. tigrinus ) Vulnerable (including L. pardinoides ) Vulnerable 12 , 13 Occupancy negatively affected by proximity with human settlements? Yes Yes Yes 18 , 20 , 74 Area reduction from historic range (%) − 50.4 − 55.9 − 68.2 Autosomal heterozygosity Average Very low Average 69 Introgression with other species None known Mitochondrial DNA of L. braccatus Bidirectional with L. geoffroyi in their contact zone 4 Phylogenetic split from nearest ancestral line (million years ago [MYA]) 2.45 MYA 1.52 MYA 1.52 MYA 16 , 17 …”

“…The reduction in area from the historic range to the current range for all three species is a massive − 3,173,402 km 2 , an area slightly smaller than India or representing approximately 75% of the European Union. It is highly important to mention that these red alert area reductions are for species that, where found, typically show low or very low abundance 12 , 13 , 19 , 20 , 70 , 71 . Given the historic loss of the Atlantic Forest domain 72 , current area reductions would likely be greater for the savanna and clouded tiger-cats.…”

“…In this scenario, three countries emerge as key for the conservation of the species complex. Brazil holds 93% of the current range of the Atlantic Forest tiger-cat and 98% of the savanna tiger-cat; Colombia is key for the clouded tiger-cat with approximately 40% of the species range and holds key areas for their conservation in all three cordilleras 20 , 38 ; Costa Rica is a key area for the Central American subspecies of clouded tiger cat (i.e., L.p. oncilla ) with more than 60% of its range. Given the current rates of habitat loss in the Andean cloud forests and in the “new” agriculture frontier of Brazil, the MATOPIBA savannas (the northern savannas) and the Caatinga of Brazil, the core of the savanna tiger-cat range, L. tigrinus and L. pardinoides would be the species under more intense pressure.…”

“…Meanwhile, the current L. tigrinus oncilla and L. tigrinus tigrinus , i.e., the same species, sensu Kitchener et al 3 , comprise two completely distinct phylogenetic lines 16 , 17 . These discrepancies also extend to their ecological aspects, where the same species is found to have completely distinctive habitat patterns: one in the rainy cloud forests of the Andes and the other on the dry semi-arid Caatinga of Brazil 18 – 20 . As it stands today, the tiger cat species complex is currently composed of two species, sensu Kitchener et al 3 —the northern tiger cat ( Leopardus tigrinus ) and the southern tiger cat ( Leopardus guttulus ), with the former is further divided into three subspecies: L.t.…”