Abstract
The two mammalian carnivores, puma (Puma concolor) and South American grey fox (Lycalopex griseus) were studied, in a remote area located in the humid temperate forest of the coastal range of southern Chile. A total of six locations were selected in three landscapes: pre-mountain range, mountain range, and coast. The chosen study locations are relevant because they correspond to threatened areas with different levels of human intervention., so they offer the ideal setting for studying how different species of carnivores respond to both human presence and activities. A dataset was collected for 24 months during 2016–2018 through photo-trapping (13 camera traps placed along 50 photo-trap stations). Wes estimated the apparent occurrence and relative abundance index (RAI) of the fauna registered, by means of generalized linear models to contrast those of an apex predator, such as the puma and a sympatric mesopredator, the South American grey fox, across the three landscapes. The ecological variables assessed were the RAI of the other carnivore considered, exotic carnivores such as dogs and cats, human intervention, farmland effect, prey availability, and habitat quality. The primary hypothesis was that the apparent occurrence and RAI of puma and fox would be positively associated with the RAI of prey and livestock and negatively with human intervention. On the other hand, the secondary hypothesis dealt with the interactions between puma and fox faced with different degrees of human intervention. The results showed that the apparent occurrence of the puma was statistically explained by location only, and it was highest at the mountain range. The apparent occurrence of foxes was explained by both puma apparent occurrence and relative integrated anthropization index (INRA), being highest in the pre-mountain range. Concerning the RAI of pumas, high values were yielded by location and fox RAI. For the RAI of foxes, they were location, puma RAI, and INRA. It can be suggested that eucalyptus plantations from the pre-mountain range could offer an adequate habitat for the puma and the fox, but not the coastal range, as the mountain range could be acting as a biological barrier. Due to the nature of the data, it was not possible to detect any relevant effect between the two carnivores’ considered, between their respective preys, or the very abundant presence of dogs.
Highlights
Mammalian carnivores tend to have large home ranges, low densities, and slow growth rates, making them especially vulnerable to extinction [1,2,3]
The primary hypothesis was that the apparent occurrence and relative abundance index (RAI) of puma and fox would be positively associated with RAI of prey and livestock and negatively related to human intervention
Because of the low number, data from the coastal range were removed from further analyses
Summary
Mammalian carnivores tend to have large home ranges, low densities, and slow growth rates, making them especially vulnerable to extinction [1,2,3]. The conflict with humans is the leading cause of the decline in carnivore populations [9,10] These conflicts happen mainly because of suspected predation on livestock and on some wild species with trophy hunting interests [11]. The consumption function is called lethal and can directly regulate prey population size [8,14] and mesopredators (in the case of apex predators) [15,16]; or indirectly by providing carrion [17,18], promoting higher biodiversity levels [19], or even influencing soil composition [20] Their effects by behavior can be direct and indirect as well: Directly by influencing prey behavior and habitat use [21,22], prey pack size [23], reproductive physiology [24], and natural selection [25]. Carnivore protection is one of the priorities in biological conservation using the top-down approach [10]
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