Top predator ecology and conservation: Lesson from jaguars in southeastern Mexico

Abstract

Our research is the most comprehensive study of jaguar behavior ecology in Mexico. By analyzing and describing the movements and use of the space, as well as the interactions among individual jaguars, we can better understand their behavioral differences, habitat use, and home range. This type of information is critical for the development and implementation of effective and appropriate conservation strategies. We identified home range size for 14 jaguars in a 13‐year period and described the interspecific relations and use of space by the percentages of overlap of the territories between individuals. Collectively, the average home range size was larger than 200 km2, ranging from 48 to 633 km2 and averaging 296 km2 for males varied and 37–435 km2, with an average of 148 km2, for females. However, home range sizes did not differ significantly among males or females. Male territory overlapped about 3.3% on average (range 2.5–15.5%), suggesting that most of the time males avoid each other. Average overlap of female territory was 12%, ranging from 7 to 100%. Males share an average of 18% (range 2–56%) of its territory and with up to five females, suggesting that a given male may be related to all of them at certain periods of time. There were no seasonal changes (dry and rainy seasons) in home range sizes for both male and females. Our research is an important contribution to the ecological information essential for landscape‐level conservation plans for the protection of the jaguars and the biological diversity of the wider Yucatan Peninsula in which they inhabit.

Resident jaguars (Panthera onca) at the heart of the Maya Forest in Guatemala

“…The 3 now-reported resident males' ranges overlap with the range of the 2 resident females. This matches with previously reported studies, whereas males show larger ranges in order to include several female's ranges to increase the chance of producing offspring (Cruz et al, 2021;de la Torre & Rivero, 2019;Morato et al, 2016). Therefore, male residents may compete with other resident males for range overlapping with resident females having stable ranges, with the necessary resources to produce viable offspring.…”

Jaguar (Panthera onca) spatial ecology outside protected areas in the Selva Maya

“…The mean home range size of the jaguars in our study was smaller (128 km 2 dry season and 190 km 2 rainy season) than that of previously published home ranges in the 'Selva Maya' where mean male home ranges obtained with GPS tracking technology varied from 264 km 2 in Belize (Figueroa, 2013), to 296 km 2 in Calakmul (Cruz et al, 2021). The wide variation in the size of jaguar home ranges (González-Borrajo et al, 2016;Morato et al, 2018;de la Torre and Rivero, 2019) can be expected, however, as the geographic distribution of this species extends from southern Table 3.…”

“…Jaguars inhabit a landscape across gradients that include heavily perturbed areas, large tracts of almost intact forests, and areas with intense human disturbance (Mitchell et al, 2013;Ellis et al, 2017). Research on spatial ecology of jaguar in the Selva Maya has mainly been associated with natural protected areas (de la Torre et al, 2017) or areas where large human population settlements are rare (Figueroa, 2013;Cruz et al, 2021). In these preserved areas, such as Calakmul, the jaguar home range varies from 37-436 km 2 for females to 49-633 km 2 for males (Cruz et al, 2021).…”

“…Research on spatial ecology of jaguar in the Selva Maya has mainly been associated with natural protected areas (de la Torre et al, 2017) or areas where large human population settlements are rare (Figueroa, 2013;Cruz et al, 2021). In these preserved areas, such as Calakmul, the jaguar home range varies from 37-436 km 2 for females to 49-633 km 2 for males (Cruz et al, 2021). Further variation has been reported in relation to habitat in areas where the forest is well-preserved and human disturbance is minimal, such as between Selva Maya and the Maya Mountains (Figueroa, 2013), Selva Lacandona, and Selva Maya (de la Torre et al, 2017).…”

Spatial distribution patterns of tick community structure in sympatric jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) from three ecoregions in Mexico

“…All animals captured were part of three long‐term jaguar conservation programs aimed at studying the movement patterns of large felids (Cruz et al, 2021; de la Torre et al, 2017; Nuñez‐Perez & Miller, 2019). All procedures for trapping and handling animals followed the guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research and were approved by the Mexican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SGPA/DGVS/11347/10, SGPA/DGVS/09421/12, SGPA/DGVS/01315/14, SGPA/DGVS/03116/15, SGPA/DGVS/06741/16, SGPA/DGVS/03769/16, SGPA/DGVS/00635/18, SGPA/DGVS/004041/19, SGPA/DGVS/00583/20, SGPA/DGVS/03315/20).…”