Habitat use, ranching, and human-wildlife conflict within a fragmented landscape in the Pantanal, Brazil

Abstract

Deforestation, ecosystem homogenization, and diversity loss are frequent problems in tropical livestock systems, which can foster substantial human-wildlife conflict when wild carnivores with declining prey bases turn to cattle depredation. The objective of this paper was to examine spatial and temporal variation in the presence, composition, and diversity of wild fauna, including predators and their prey base, in a well-established tropical livestock system. The study was conducted on a ~140,000ha ranch in the Cerrado-Pantanal transition zone in Brazil, where large areas of improved pasture are bounded by blocks of intact montane forests and seasonally flooded lowland habitat. The study sampled wildlife with camera traps distributed across the land use gradient and rancher depredation observations were also obtained. Depredation accounted for the loss of 0.9% of the total herd in the sampling year, and the number of depredation events was greater closer to intact forest and distant from centralized ranch structures and mechanized operations. Mammal diversity was greatest adjacent to intact forest and supported a complete representation of the native trophic structure, including large predators such as jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor), and maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and a diverse and abundant prey base. Sites progressively distant from intact forest and with more intensive conversion and development supported smaller subsets of the diversity and composition, and no apex predators. Livestock management practices to reduce the economic impact of depredation on calves requires faithful adherence, while opportunities exist for landscape management that will enhance diversity and facilitate movement of large mammals between intact forests.