Factors influencing the habitat use by ocelots in one of the last large Atlantic Forest remnants in southeastern Brazil
| Autor: | Fernando Cesar Cascelli de Azevedo, Juliana Benck Pasa, Ricardo Corassa Arrais, Rodrigo Lima Massara, Gabriel Pereira |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
biodiversity hotspot Occupancy Biome Species distribution 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Grassland 03 medical and health sciences dry season Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics QH540-549.5 030304 developmental biology Nature and Landscape Conservation Original Research Leopardus 0303 health sciences geography.geographical_feature_category biology Ecology mesocarnivore biology.organism_classification landscape features Geography Habitat native grassland areas tropical rainforest Protected area Tropical rainforest |
| Zdroj: | Ecology and Evolution, Vol 11, Iss 9, Pp 4631-4643 (2021) Ecology and Evolution |
| ISSN: | 2045-7758 |
| Popis: | Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) are widely distributed throughout the Americas, being dependent on forested areas to survive. Although ocelot ecology is broadly studied throughout the species range distribution, studies concerning factors that may affect ocelot occupancy in the Atlantic Forest are still scarce. We used camera traps to evaluate factors influencing the probabilities of detection and occupancy of ocelots in a protected area of the Atlantic Forest, the Rio Doce State Park (RDSP), southeastern Brazil. To assess ocelot occupancy and detection probabilities, we measured the distances between sampling stations and rivers, lakes, cities, pasture, and Eucalyptus plantations. In addition, we recorded the mean rainfall levels for each sampling occasion, and native grassland areas within a 500 m‐buffer around each sampling station. We found a strong and positive association between ocelot detection and the dry season, which might be due to a higher number of individuals moving through the Park during this season. Moreover, we found a strong and positive association of ocelot detection with native grassland areas around lakes, which may be related to the ocelot behavior of searching for prey in these areas. Conversely, the ocelot occupancy probability was intermediate (Ψ^ = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.36–0.69) and was not strongly associated with the evaluated covariates, which may be explained by the high‐quality of forest habitats and water resources that are homogeneously distributed within the Park. Our study indicates that the RDSP still provides a structurally suitable forest habitat for ocelots, but because of the current worrying scenario of over fragmentation, reduction of forest cover, and weakness of the protective legislation of this biome, the long‐term persistence of the species in RDSP is uncertain. We used camera traps to evaluate factors influencing the probabilities of detection and occupancy of ocelots in a protected area of the Atlantic Forest, the Rio Doce State Park (RDSP), southeastern Brazil. We found a strong and positive association between ocelot detection and the dry season and native grassland areas around lakes, and these associations may be related to a higher number of individuals moving through the Park during this season and a behavior of searching for prey in native grassland areas. Conversely, the ocelot occupancy probability was intermediate (Ψ ^ = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.36–0.69) but not strongly associated with the evaluated covariates, which may be explained by the high‐quality of forest habitats and water resources that are homogeneously distributed within the Park. Our study indicates that the RDSP still provides a structurally suitable forest habitat for ocelots, but because of the current worrying scenario of over fragmentation, reduction of forest cover and weakness of the protective legislation of this biome, the long‐term persistence of the species in RDSP is uncertain. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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