Abstract
AbstractOur research is the most comprehensive study of jaguar behavior ecology in Mexico. By analyzing and describing the movements and use of the space, as well as the interactions among individual jaguars, we can better understand their behavioral differences, habitat use, and home range. This type of information is critical for the development and implementation of effective and appropriate conservation strategies. We identified home range size for 14 jaguars in a 13‐year period and described the interspecific relations and use of space by the percentages of overlap of the territories between individuals. Collectively, the average home range size was larger than 200 km2, ranging from 48 to 633 km2 and averaging 296 km2 for males varied and 37–435 km2, with an average of 148 km2, for females. However, home range sizes did not differ significantly among males or females. Male territory overlapped about 3.3% on average (range 2.5–15.5%), suggesting that most of the time males avoid each other. Average overlap of female territory was 12%, ranging from 7 to 100%. Males share an average of 18% (range 2–56%) of its territory and with up to five females, suggesting that a given male may be related to all of them at certain periods of time. There were no seasonal changes (dry and rainy seasons) in home range sizes for both male and females. Our research is an important contribution to the ecological information essential for landscape‐level conservation plans for the protection of the jaguars and the biological diversity of the wider Yucatan Peninsula in which they inhabit.
Highlights
Human activities are responsible for the catastrophic decline in populations and extinction of thousands of animal and plant species throughout the world, and the current rates of loss, unprecedented in recent geologic time, are evidence we have entered the sixth mass extinction (Barnosky et al, 2011; Ceballos et al, 2015)
While our study showed variability between individuals in size of range, (37–436 km2 for females; 49–633 km2 for males) it revealed that the range tended to be somewhat larger than that cited in a previous study of jaguars (10–125 km2 for females; 25–625 km2 for males) in the Lacandona Rainforest, Calakmul and Chamela-Cuixmala, Mexico (Chávez, 2009; de la Torre et al, 2017b)
The relatively flat topography of the southern Yucatan Peninsula supports a homogeneous distribution of prey populations throughout the year, and jaguars of this area do not need to modify their home range or hunting strategies
Summary
Human activities are responsible for the catastrophic decline in populations and extinction of thousands of animal and plant species throughout the world, and the current rates of loss, unprecedented in recent geologic time, are evidence we have entered the sixth mass extinction (Barnosky et al, 2011; Ceballos et al, 2015). Habitat loss and fragmentation driven primarily by agriculture and cattle ranching encroachment, hunting, prey depletion, disease introduced by domestic animals, and human-jaguar conflicts are the main threats Ceballos, Zarza, Chávez, & González-Maya, 2016; De la Torre et al, 2017b; Medellín et al, 2016; Rodríguez-Soto et al, 2011; Saavedra-Mendoza et al, 2017) Accurate assessment of their home range and an understanding of their behavior as it relates to their movement would provide critical information on jaguar ecology (Morato et al, 2016) and guidance for conservation-oriented landscape management (Carroll & Miquelle, 2006; 2012; Ordiz, Bischof, & Swenson, 2013; Simcharoen, Barlow, Simcharoen, & Smith, 2008).
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