Abstract
Worldwide big cats are at risk of extinction, and anthropogenic factors and natural habitat disturbances represent the biggest threats for their survival. It is essential to know the natural resources use by these predators and the way these big felids adapt to changes. It is unknown how the puma (Puma concolor) selects and uses resources, and what environmental factors determine its presence and how this species is affected by natural disturbances in Mexican tropical forests. This study was performed in the El Eden ecological reserve and surroundings, in the North of Quintana Roo, Mexico, an area dominated by tropical semideciduous (medium forest) and secondary forest (acahual). Camera samplings were carried out during 2008, and from 2010 to 2012. Habitat variables, activity patterns and species associations were also spatially and temporally analyzed using a chi-squared test and overlapping coefficients. General Linear Models (GLM) were used in order to determine which variables influence the presence of cougars in the study area. Cougars used vegetation and paths in different proportions as the availability of these resources. The years with more changes (P < 0.05) were 2008 and 2011. This predator was active throughout the day, but changed its activity patterns over the years. The cougar was spatio-temporally associated with six mammals and two big terrestrial birds: Pecari tajacu (∆ = 0.52), Meleagris ocellata (∆ = 0.55), Crax rubra (∆ = 0.58), Didelphis sp. (∆ = 0.64), Mazama temama (∆ = 0.66), Leopardus pardalis (∆ = 0.68), Dasypus novemcinctus (∆ = 0.73) and Panthera onca (∆ = 0.87). After testing 90 GLM models, the model with a lower AIC value described the activity patterns of prey and co-predators. The vegetation and water in the reserve were important variables for the cougar. However the variables that determined and modified the presence of the species were activity patterns of co-predators and the potential preys. The factors that negatively affected the presence of the species were fire, human presence, and habitat displacement to less favorable habitats to avoid jaguar.
Highlights
If we are to take actions focused on preserving the species, the cougar (Puma concolor) could be a good key species because it is considered a species with low tolerance to human activity (Logan & Sweanor, 2001; Foster, Hamsem, & Doncaster, 2010; ZarcoGonzález, Monroy-Vilchis, Rodríguez-Soto, & Urios, 2012; Rodríguez-Soto, HernándezTéllez, & Monroy-Vilchis, 2013), and low population densities and wide home ranges, render this predator vulnerable to environmental changes (Núñez, Miller, & Lindzey, 2002; Rodríguez-Soto et al, 2013), such as deforestation, changes in soil use, and human activity (Ripple & Beschta, 2006; Foster et al, 2010; Foster et al, 2014; Zarco-González & Monrroy-Vilchis, 2014), which directly affect its distribution, abundance, reproduction and survival (Mcloughlin, Morris, Fortin, Wal, & Contasti, 2010)
A total of 26 species cohabited with cougars in this study area, but their capture rates varied across years, and not all the species were registered every year of the study (Fig. 2)
According to the χ2 test and bootstrap intervals, acahual use was less than expected in 2008, while in 2011 it was used more than expected; the opposite was for the medium forest (MF) in the same years
Summary
If we are to take actions focused on preserving the species, the cougar (Puma concolor) could be a good key species because it is considered a species with low tolerance to human activity (Logan & Sweanor, 2001; Foster, Hamsem, & Doncaster, 2010; ZarcoGonzález, Monroy-Vilchis, Rodríguez-Soto, & Urios, 2012; Rodríguez-Soto, HernándezTéllez, & Monroy-Vilchis, 2013), and low population densities and wide home ranges, render this predator vulnerable to environmental changes (Núñez, Miller, & Lindzey, 2002; Rodríguez-Soto et al, 2013), such as deforestation, changes in soil use, and human activity (Ripple & Beschta, 2006; Foster et al, 2010; Foster et al, 2014; Zarco-González & Monrroy-Vilchis, 2014), which directly affect its distribution, abundance, reproduction and survival (Mcloughlin, Morris, Fortin, Wal, & Contasti, 2010). The cougar utilizes habitat components differentially (Krauman, 1999), according to availability, abundance, or possible advantages to supply its needs (Hutton, 1985); and the cougar use or selection of resources depend on the species with which it coexists, such as co-predators and preys, which may limit its distribution (McLoughlin et al, 2010). The goal of this study was to document the factors that affect the way in which cougars use environmental variables: such as vegetation and paths based on their availability, and whether this usage is the same throughout the years. We analyzed which variables determine cougar presence in the study area, with or without natural disasters, like the fire of 2011 near to the reserve
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