Abstract
Connectivity of natural areas through biological corridors is essential for ecosystem resilience and biodiversity conservation. However, robust assessments of biodiversity in corridor areas are often hindered by logistical constraints and the statistical challenges of modeling data from multiple species. Herein, we used a hierarchical community occupancy model in a Bayesian framework to evaluate the status of medium and large-sized mammals in a critical link of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) in Costa Rica. We used camera traps deployed from 2013-2017 to detect 18 medium (1-15 kg) and 6 large (>15 kg) mammal species in a portion of two Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs) and the Corridor linking them. Camera traps operated for 16,904 trap nights across 209 stations, covering an area of 880 km2. Forest cover was the most important driver of medium and large-sized mammal habitat use, with forest specialists such as jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) strongly associated with high forest cover, while habitat generalists such as coyotes (Canis latrans) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) were associated with low forest cover. Medium and large-sized mammal species richness was lower in the Corridor area ([Formula: see text] = 9.78±1.84) than in the portions evaluated of the two JCUs ([Formula: see text] = 11.50±1.52). Puma and jaguar habitat use probabilities were strongly correlated with large prey species richness (jaguar, r = 0.59, p<0.001; puma, r = 0.72, p<0.001), and correlated to a lesser extent with medium prey species richness (jaguar, r = 0.36, p = 0.003; puma, r = 0.23, p = 0.064). Low estimated jaguar habitat use probability in one JCU (Central Volcanic Cordillera: [Formula: see text] = 0.15±0.11) suggests that this is not the jaguar stronghold previously assumed. In addition, the western half of the Corridor has low richness of large mammals, making it necessary to take urgent actions to secure habitat connectivity for mammal populations.
Highlights
Biodiversity is essential to maintain the resilience of ecosystems and the stability of their functions [1,2]
The Central Volcanic Cordillera (CVC) Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs) comprises a continuous block of protected areas in central Costa Rica (IUCN categories II and VI; ~1,153 km2) to the west of the Corridor, while the second JCU (TC JCU) is shared between Costa Rica and Panama and connects to the south-eastern side of the Corridor
No other suitable connections for jaguars have been identified between the CVC and Talamanca-Cordillera Central (TC) JCUs, and more broadly between Nicaragua and Panama [15]
Summary
Biodiversity is essential to maintain the resilience of ecosystems and the stability of their functions [1,2]. It is critical for supporting a range of ecosystem services, reducing the risk of spread of infectious diseases, and maintaining productivity of several agricultural systems (e.g. facilitating pollination) [1,3,4]. While forests represent one of the most biodiverse ecosystems [5], global forest cover is being lost at a rate of 0.6% per year, largely due to conversion to agroindustrial land uses [6]. In 1997 the governments in the region created the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), an initiative to preserve biodiversity and connect protected and other natural areas from southern Mexico to Panama [12]. Forest is being lost in several parts of the corridor, with approximately 271,600 ha lost across the region in the last ten years [13], and some researchers have already highlighted possible areas where connectivity may be broken or close to broken [9,14–17]
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