Occupancy patterns of two contrasting carnivores in an industrial forest mosaic

Abstract

Normally, industrial forest landscapes are mosaics of different exotic and native vegetation patches, and, depending on their structural and functional diversity, they may be able to support potentially important biodiversity. In Central Chile, there are 3.1 million hectares of exotic forest plantations, and these environments are included as habitat, among others, of two contrasting carnivores: the generalist culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpaeus) and the kodkod (Leopardus guigna), a forest specialist cat. For this study, we sampled a large area (∼350 km2) in the coastal range of Central Chile with camera traps (n = 500) for three consecutive years to observe the summer occupancy patterns of these two carnivores. We used single season occupancy models with covariates at landscape and local scales. The main results showed that, for the culpeo fox, the proportion of harvested area had a positive influence on its occupation, whereas for the kodkod the proportion of bare soil and leaf litter had a negative and positive influence, respectively. Since both species occupy the landscape mosaic created by the forestry industry, it would be valuable to integrate the observed occupancy patterns into conservation plans at both local and landscape levels for these species.