Spatial Ecology and Social Interactions of Jaguars (Panthera Onca) in the Southern Pantanal, Brazil

Cavalcanti, Sandra M. C.; Gese, Eric M.

doi:10.1644/08-mamm-a-188.1

Cited by 96 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The loss of natural vegetation has serious negative impacts on jaguar populations, but responses can be complex and could be exacerbated by further anthropogenic intervention on the landscape over long periods of time (De Angelo et al 2013;Tobler et al 2013;Kosydar et al 2014). Fragmentation can cause a loss in connectivity with negative effects on food resources, female and/or male home ranges, flow of genetic material, subpopulations persistence and the probability of extinction risk (Saura and Pascual-Hortal 2007;Cavalcanti and Gese 2009;Reding et al 2013). Losses in structural connectivity can also lead to losses in functional connectivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although jaguars use a variety of habitats, land use change, habitat fragmentation and degradation can significantly affect their population persistence (Cavalcanti and Gese 2009). The impact of agriculture and the recent surge of gold mining in the Amazon (Tobler et al 2013) are likely to exacerbate the reduction in vegetation extent with long-term impacts on jaguar population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of deforestation on habitat connectivity thresholds for large carnivores in tropical forests

Zemanova

Perotto‐Baldivieso

Dickins³

et al. 2017

Ecol Process

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Introduction: Deforestation significantly impacts large carnivores that depend on large tracts of interconnected forest habitat and that are sensitive to human activities. Understanding the relationship between habitat use and spatial distribution of such species across human modified landscapes is critical when planning effective conservation strategies. This study assessed the presence of potential landscape connectivity thresholds resulting from habitat fragmentation associated with different deforestation patterns using a scale-based approach that links species-specific home ranges with the extent of anthropogenic activities. The objectives were (1) to quantify the spatial and temporal distribution of natural vegetation for five common deforestation patterns and (2) to evaluate the connectivity associated with these patterns and the existence of potential thresholds affecting jaguar dispersal. The Bolivian lowlands, located within jaguar conservation units, were analysed with landscape metrics to capture the spatial and temporal changes within deforested areas and to determine potential impact on jaguar connectivity and connectivity thresholds for dispersal. Results: Over the period of 1976-2005, the amount of natural vegetation has decreased by more than 40% in all locations with the biggest changes occurring between 1991 and 2000. Landscape spatial structure around jaguar locations showed that jaguars used areas with mean proportion of natural areas = 83.14% (SE = 3.72%), mean patch density = 1.16 patches/100 ha (SE = 0.28 patches/100 ha), mean patch area = 616.95 ha (SE = 172.89 ha) and mean edge density = 705.27 m/ha (SE = 182.19 m/ha).We observed strong fragmentation processes in all study locations, which has resulted in the connectivity of jaguar habitat decreasing to <20% by 2005. A connectivity threshold zone was observed when the proportion of natural vegetation was less than 58.4% (SE = 1.3). Conclusions: Assessing fragmentation and connectivity for carnivores within the extent of human-modified landscapes proved to be an effective way to understand the changes caused by deforestation and their potential effects on large carnivore habitats. Our study highlights the importance of scale-based approaches for assessing current conservation challenges to protect large carnivores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of deforestation on habitat connectivity thresholds for large carnivores in tropical forests

Zemanova

Perotto‐Baldivieso

Dickins³

et al. 2017

Ecol Process

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“…Dense vegetative cover, seasonal flooding (making travel difficult if not impossible) and the large area over which jaguars moved (Cavalcanti and Gese 2009) made the use of VHF radio-collars virtually impossible for determining predation sites in the Pantanal of Brazil. In fact, we initially radio-collared four jaguars with VHF radio-collars in 2000 and spent several months conducting intensive radio-tracking sessions using a null-peak system mounted on a vehicle, and attempted to locate and search for kills based upon the clustering of the radio-telemetry points.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of GPS collars created the possibility of obtaining information in the southern Pantanal of Brazil on jaguar kill rates, composition of prey killed and handling times of both native prey and domestic cattle (Cavalcanti and Gese 2010). In addition, the use of GPS collars provided information on space use and social interactions (Cavalcanti and Gese 2009). Almost half of the GPS collar location clusters were not associated with predation events, but rather with other behavioural activities (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of kill sites from GPS clusters for jaguars (Panthera onca) in the southern Pantanal, Brazil

Gese¹,

Terletzky²,

Cavalcanti³

2016

Wildl. Res.

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Context. Understanding predator-prey relationships is important for making informed management decisions. Knowledge of jaguar (Panthera onca) predation on livestock and native prey is imperative for future conservation of jaguars in Central and South America.Aim. As part of an investigation to determine predation patterns of jaguars in the southern Pantanal, Brazil, we examined spatial, temporal and habitat variables, which are useful in categorising location clusters as kill sites and non-kill sites.Methods. Using GPS-collars on 10 jaguars we obtained a total of 11 784 locations, from which 877 clusters were identified, visited and examined for prey remains. Of the 877 clusters, 421 were associated with a kill and 456 clusters were not associated with a kill. We used univariate and multivariate models to examine the influence of spatial (distance to nearest: water, dense cover, road; dispersion of points), temporal (season, time, number of nights, duration) and habitat (percentage of seven habitat classes, dominant habitat class) variables on categorising clusters as kill or non-kill sites.Key results. We found the time a jaguar spent at a cluster (duration), the dispersion of points around the centre of the cluster (dispersion) and the number of nights spent at the cluster were all reliable predictors of whether a cluster was a kill or non-kill site. The best model predicting the likelihood a cluster was a jaguar kill site was a combination of duration and dispersion. Habitat variables were not important in discriminating kills from non-kill sites.Conclusion. We identified factors useful for discriminating between kills and non-kill sites for jaguars. We found that as a jaguar spent more time at a cluster and as the dispersion of points around the centre of the cluster increased, the higher likelihood the cluster was a jaguar kill. Similarly, as the number of nights spent at the cluster increased, the greater the probability the cluster was a kill. Implications. Our results will increase the efficiency of field investigations of location clusters in determining predation patterns of jaguars in Central and South America. Being able to prioritise which location clusters should be investigated will assist researchers with limited time and resources.

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“…Sexual dimorphism in mammals is often associated with intense competition among males for the access to estrous females (Weckerly 1998). Moreover, sexual dimorphism also tends to increase in species with polygynous mating system as occurs in felids (Plavcan 2000;Cavalcanti and Gese 2009). Thus, these results may be related to the reproductive aspects of these solitary felids.…”

Section: D��mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factores que afectan el tamaño del ámbito hogareño de felinos (Mammalia, Carnívora), con énfasis en tres especies americanas

et al. 2017

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ABSTRACT. We evaluated several factors that might be related to the home-range size of felids at both inter and intraspecific levels. At the interspecific level, we tested the influence of body mass on home range size of 19 felid species, while controlling for phylogeny. At the species level, we evaluated the effect of sex and habitat type (open vs. closed) on the home range size of three species of felids occurring in America, Panthera onca, Leopardus pardalis and Puma concolor, which are among the most studied species concerning home ranges. Body mass, sex, and home range data were extracted from the Pantheria database (for 19 species, for interspecific comparisons) and from 48 studies for intraspecific comparisons. We assessed the influence of body mass on the home range size of felids using phylogenetic generalized least squares analysis. We evaluated the existence of sexual dimorphism on both home range size and body mass using paired t-tests. Finally, we investigated the influence of habitat type (open vs. closed) on home range size using ANOVA. Our results show that home range size is positively influenced by body mass in felids. At the intraspecific level, we confirmed that both the body mass and home range are larger for males than for the females in P. onca, L. pardalis and P. concolor. Moreover, the average home range size of P. onca is larger in open (i.e., grasslands, deserts and shrublands) than in closed (i.e., forests) habitats. Overall, our results confirm that larger home ranges are associated with larger body sizes in animals that need a large amount of food resources or specific resources (such as the specific prey requirements of felids) to maintain their metabolic rates. Furthermore, home range size of these three felids seems to be strongly influenced by reproductive attributes as well as by habitat quality, suggesting a connection with the spatial distribution of both food (prey) and mates.[KEYWORDS: Pantera onca, Leopardus pardalis, Puma concolor, sexual dimorphism, body size, environment, territory] RESUMEN. Factores que afectan el tamaño del ámbito hogareño de felinos (Mammalia, Carnívora), con énfasis en tres especies americanas. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los factores que influyen en el tamaño del ámbito hogareño de felinos en los niveles inter-e intraespecífico. En nivel interespecífico, evaluamos la influencia de la masa corporal en el ámbito hogareño de 19 especies de felinos, controlando la filogenia. A nivel de especies, evaluamos el efecto del sexo y el hábitat (abierto vs. cerrado) sobre el ámbito hogareño de tres especies de felinos americanos, Panthera onca, Leopardus pardalis y Puma concolor, para los cuales existe una buena cantidad de información. Los datos de masa corporal, sexo y ámbito hogareño fueron extraídos de la base de datos Pantheria (para 19 especies, para comparación interespecífica) y 48 estudios para la variación intraespecífica. Evaluamos la influencia de la masa corporal en el tamaño del ámbito hogareño de felinos utilizando un análisis filoge...

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Spatial Ecology and Social Interactions of Jaguars (Panthera Onca) in the Southern Pantanal, Brazil

Cited by 96 publications

References 30 publications

Impact of deforestation on habitat connectivity thresholds for large carnivores in tropical forests

Impact of deforestation on habitat connectivity thresholds for large carnivores in tropical forests

Identification of kill sites from GPS clusters for jaguars (Panthera onca) in the southern Pantanal, Brazil

Factores que afectan el tamaño del ámbito hogareño de felinos (Mammalia, Carnívora), con énfasis en tres especies americanas

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