Patrones de distribución de felinos silvestres (Carnivora: Felidae) en el trópico seco del Centro-Occidente de México

Abstract

Distribution patterns of wild felids (Carnivora: Felidae) in the dry tropics of Central-Western Mexico. The Michoacán state is characterized by the existence of important environmental heterogeneity in terms of climate, topography and types of vegetation, which includes the worldwide endangered tropical dry forest. Some reports indicating the presence of the six species of felids occurring in Mexico in this region have been made; however, evidence to support these reports is scant, and filling this lack of information is particularly critical in the case of threatened species or habitats. The aim of this study was to systematize and analyze data distribution patterns of felids in the state of Michoacán, in the Central-Western Mexico. We conducted a review of literature and databases to compile species presence records in the study region. Moreover, we analyzed data obtained from ten years of field work conducted in the region, in which complementary methods (detection of direct and indirect evidence of species occurrence along transects, camera-trapping and interviews to local people) were applied to detect the presence of felid species. We compiled a total of 29 presence records of felids in the region from our review. Additionally, field work, which accumulated 1 107.5 km of walked transects, and 8 699 camera-trap days, produced 672 records of species presence. Lynx rufus was the species with the lowest number of records and the most restricted distribution. In contrast, the species with the greatest number of records was Leopardus pardalis (n = 343). In general, 89% of felids records occurred below 1 000 masl. Overall mean annual temperature of presence records was 24 °C and mean annual precipitation was 1 040 mm. The species whose presence records showed the most distinctive pattern, in terms of temperature and precipitation associated, was L. rufus (15.8 ± 1.3°C and 941 ± 171 mm). Results of a cluster analysis showed that areas supporting different combinations of eco-regions and types of vegetation could be grouped in five clusters having different assemblages of felid species and camera-trapping records. This study results useful to garner a more comprehensive view of the distribution patterns of felids in a region with important environmental contrasts and subjected to an increased human pressure. Moreover, this study provides insights that further our understanding of the relationship between environmental variables and felid distribution patterns which may have an impact for conservation and management strategies at the local and regional levels. Rev. Biol. Trop. 63 (3): 783-797. Epub 2015 September 01.

Long-term monitoring of margays (Leopardus wiedii): Implications for understanding low detection rates

“…Only four of the studies implemented surveys specifically designed to estimate margay density: three from a tropical rainforest site in Oaxaca, Mexico [25][26][27] and one from six sites in the Atlantic forest of southern Brazil [12]. Seven of the studies, across 13 sites, addressed ecological questions other than margay population status: geographic distribution [28]; occupancy [29]; habitat selection [30], felid coexistence [31]; activity patterns and/or relative abundance [14,32,33]; while 11 report on margay detections from camera trap surveys for which margays were not the target species [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. For some large-scale camera surveys, the margays remain conspicuously undetected despite sampling in optimal habitat [31,[45][46][47].…”

Importancia del Parque Estatal Cerro de la Tortuga para la conservación de los mamíferos del estado de Morelos, México

“…Las 10 especies de mamíferos medianos registrados son de hábitos generalistas, oportunistas y sinantrópicos (Valdez y Ortega, 2014;Charre-Medellín et al, 2015). Destaca por ser la especie silvestre de mayor tamaño en el ANP el coyote C. latrans, el mesodepredador con mayor éxito en México, de amplia distribución, que cumple la función de regular las poblaciones de roedores y lagomorfos que, de manera frecuente, entran en conflicto con las comunidades humanas al consumir animales de granja (Guerrero et al, 2002;Hernández et al, 2002;Hidalgo-Mihart et al, 2004).…”

Distribución potencial de Leopardus wiedii en las áreas naturales protegidas de México

“…En nuestra búsqueda de registros de presecia de margay, encontramos el mayor número en San Luis Potosí y Oaxaca porque fue en estos estados de la República Mexicana donde se desarrollaron la mayoría de los trabajos de investigación que publicaron registros georreferenciados de margay en años recientes (Botello et al, 2006(Botello et al, , 2008Cinta-Magallón et al, 2012;Lira-Torres et al, 2005Martínez-Calderas et al, 2012Pérez-Irineo y Santos-Moreno, 2012). En contraste, las investigaciones realizadas en el suroeste del Estado de México, el sur de Michoacán y el sureste de Tamaulipas verificaron la presencia del margay por medio de fotocapturas y capturas de ejemplares, pero no publicaron las coordenadas geográficas de los sitios de colecta (Carvajal-Villareal et al, 2012;Charre-Medellín et al, 2015;Monroy-Vilchis et al, 2011). En la península de Yucatán los registros fueron muy escasos y no obtuvimos ningún registro en Tabasco (Faller-Menéndez et al, 2005).…”