Daily activity patterns and occurrence of Leopardus guttulus (Carnivora, Felidae) in Lami Biological Reserve, southern Brazil

Paloma Linck,Flávia P Tirelli,Liliana F Cardoso,Maria Carmen Bastos,Anderson N Fonseca,Tatiane C Trigo

doi:10.1590/1678-4766e2021006

Abstract

ABSTRACT Daily activity patterns are important elements of species behavior that reflect how they interact with their environment and with other related species. To investigate these patterns is crucial to understand how environmental or community changes may affect this behavior in each particular species. Within the Felidae family, research becomes fundamental to assess how small wild cats respond to local conditions and pressures, once there is a large gap in studies addressing such issues. Leopardus guttulus (Hensel, 1872) is an endangered species classified as Vulnerable (VU) at a regional and global level, being threatened mainly by the loss and fragmentation of its habitats. The aim of this study is to document the daily activity patterns of L. guttulus at the Lami Biological Reserve, and the influence of seasonality and temperature on those patterns. We also aimed to quantify how many individuals were using the Biological Reserve during the study period and evaluate their permanence in the area. We obtained 25 independent records for L. guttulus, which was the only cat species recorded at the site during the study period. In general, the species presented a cathemeral habit, being active throughout the 24 hours of the day, but with a more crepuscular/nocturnal activity in the spring and summer. The relationship between the species’ activity and temperature showed that more than 70% of the records were obtained in a narrow range of 10-17°C. We identified at least two individuals that remained at the site from four to six months of the year, with a higher detection frequency between August and November. Our results showed some interesting trends for the temporal activity of L. guttulus, suggesting flexibility related to seasonality, and the importance of the biological reserve to the preservation of this cat species in the southern limit of its distribution.

Highlights

IntroductionAt the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), L. guttulus is limited to the northern portion, with the transition zone between the Atlantic Forest and the Pampa biomes constituting the southern limit of its distribution (Eizirik et al, 2006)
We obtained 25 independent records for L. guttulus, and this was the only cat species recorded at the Biological Reserve Lami José Lutzenberger (BRLJL) throughout the sampled period
Regarding the activity patterns of L. guttulus, when all records were analyzed together, no predominant activity was identified in any specific period of the day (Rayleigh’s Test = 0.29, p= 0.12) and a cathemeral habit was identified for the species, with a mean activity at 00:52 h

Summary

Introduction

At the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), L. guttulus is limited to the northern portion, with the transition zone between the Atlantic Forest and the Pampa biomes constituting the southern limit of its distribution (Eizirik et al, 2006) This is considered an endangered species, being classified as Vulnerable (VU) at Rio Grande do Sul (Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, 2014), Brazil (Ministério do Meio Ambiente, 2018) and globally (Oliveira et al, 2016). It is associated mainly with the forested environments of the Atlantic Forest, being threatened mostly by the loss and fragmentation of its habitats caused by the expansion of human activities (e.g., agriculture, livestock, urban sprawl, etc.). It suffers from illegal hunting, conflicts with humans, competition and/or predation by domestic carnivores (dogs and cats), and even road killings (Oliveira et al, 2016)

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