Critical population status of the jaguar Panthera onca in the Argentine Chaco: camera-trap surveys suggest recent collapse and imminent regional extinction

Abstract

The population of jaguars Panthera onca in the semi-arid Chaco Province is the least well-known in Argentina. Its status in the region is described only from interviews that confirmed its presence until 2003. To update information on the distribution and population density of this species we undertook three camera-trap surveys, combined with searches for sign, at sites across latitudinal and protection gradients, and 156 interviews with local inhabitants across three larger areas. The camera-trap sites were located in areas with the highest density of records in the Argentine Chaco: Copo National Park (1,204 trap days, 24 stations, 344 km of transects), Aborigen Reserve (1,993 trap days, 30 stations, 251 km of transects) and El Cantor (2,129 trap days, 35 stations, 297 km of transects). We did not obtain any photographs of jaguars. We recorded very few jaguar tracks, and only in the Aborigen Reserve (n = 3) and El Cantor (n = 1). The map of distribution points confirmed through interviews suggests that the jaguar range has not changed significantly in the past 10 years; however, the camera-trap and sign surveys suggest that densities are extremely low. Before our study the Chaco population was thought to be the largest in Argentina. This perception was incorrect: the Chaco jaguar population is the most threatened in the country. Systematic, intensive studies are essential to provide the necessary information for decision-making for the management and conservation of threatened species.

Modeling the effects of deforestation on the connectivity of jaguar Panthera onca populations at the southern extent of the species’ range

“…The use by jaguars of defined corridors between the Baritú-Calilegua, Chaco and Gran Chaco JCUs has, however, been demonstrated to be extremely limited in the Bolivian Yungas and the Bolivian and Argentine Chaco (Thompson & Martinez 2015). This supports the validity of our approach to cost-limit linkages between JCUs, which is further reinforced by the critically endangered status of the jaguar population in the Argentine Chaco (Altrichter et al 2006, Quiroga et al 2014). Focusing upon the cost-limited linkage network demonstrates how ongoing land use change in eastern Bolivia has resulted in the loss of direct connectivity between the southwest Amazon and Chiquitano forest (Noel Kempff Mercado JCU) and the Bolivian and Paraguayan Chaco (Gran Chaco JCU), in addition to the isolation of the southern and easternmost JCUs.…”

“…Letters correspond to JCUs shown in Fig. 1 De Angelo et al 2011, 2013, Quiroga et al 2014, Thompson & Martinez 2015, Paviolo et al 2016, and consequently is of particular concern for the conservation of the species at the regional scale, and for range-wide efforts for the integrated management of the species. The loss of connectivity among the eastern-and southern-most JCUs in the study area suggested by our modeling is supported for the Atlantic forest, where connectivity of jaguar populations is considered to be greatly compromised due to historic deforestation (Haag et al 2010, Paviolo et al 2016.…”

Agricultural production and bird conservation in complex landscapes of the dry Chaco

“…Previous studies found that the puestos promote degradation of vegetation diversity and biomass, and habitat quality for vertebrates (Altritcher, Boaglio, & Perovic, 2006;Blanco, Biurrun, & Ferrando, 2005;Grau et al, 2008). This result implies that if food production were maintained at the present level, the puestos (land sharing) can contribute to the conservation of bird populations similarly than under a land-sparing scheme.…”

Sex dependent spatially explicit stochastic dispersal modeling as a framework for the study of jaguar conservation and management in South America

“…Models by and Torres et al (2012) found these areas to be of low suitability for jaguar long-term survival. Recent camera-trap studies and local interviews suggested an imminent regional extinction in the Argentine Chaco (Quiroga et al, 2013), 80% of the people interviewed reported that they had not seen jaguars for many years or that jaguars no longer existed in the region.…”