Daily activity patterns and relative abundance of medium and large mammals in a communal natural protected area on the central coast of Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

Anthropogenic disturbances cause direct and indirect effects on the global decline in biodiversity. For better planning strategies on the conservation of medium and large mammals in Oaxaca, we present an analysis of daily activity patterns of medium and large mammals and their relative abundance in a Communal Natural Protected Area (CNPA) on the central coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. Sampling was carried out between November 2014 and September 2015, during the dry season and the rainy season, using forty camera traps placed within the CNPA El Gavilán and installed along wildlife trails, especially on pathways with clear evidence of use by wildlife. Date records for 10 species of medium and large mammals, obtained with 12,160 day/camera traps. Leopardus pardalis was active during the night but exhibited diurnal and nocturnal tendencies. Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Nasua narica, Dicotyles angulatus and O. virginianus were defined as cathemeral species. The most abundant medium mammals were Dasypus novemcinctus (RAI= 1.23), Didelphis virginiana (RAI= 1.15) and Nasua narica (RAI= 1.05). Our results can provide insights for the conservation of species in the CNPA El Gavilan. We recommend the continuance of studies on the temporal and seasonal variations of the activity patterns in order to maintain mammalian species conservation.

Vertebrados silvestres atropellados en asentamientos humanos del Pacífico sur mexicano

“…Esto hace que utilicen las carreteras como corredores para moverse entre hábitats (Bueno et al, 2013;Saranholi et al, 2016), incrementando la tasa de mortalidad de los mamíferos por atropellamientos. Otra razón es que varias especies de mamíferos como Conepatus leuconotus, Dasypus novemcinctus, Didelphis virginiana y Urocyon cinereoargenteus tienen patrones de actividad nocturnos (Alejandra et al, 2020). Si bien el tráfico vehicular es menor durante la noche, en este horario suele incrementar la circulación de autos de carga pesada en el área de estudio.…”

Índice de abundancia relativa y tasa de encuentro con trampas cámara

“…También los IAR se utilizan en estudios sobre uso y selecc ión de hábitat, patrones de actividad, ocupación, co-ocurrencia de especies, entre algunos (Arroyo-Arce et al 2017, Blake et al 2017, Buenrostro et al 2020, Quispe -Lopez et al 2021, Viscarra et al 2022. Además, esta técnica puede aplicarse en estudios de posibles presiones humanas y acciones de conservación (Martin et al 2012, Mendes-Oliveira et al 2017, Torres-Porras et al 2017, Pardo et al 2018, Stachowicz et al2020.…”