Food habits of jaguars and pumas in Jalisco, Mexico

Núñez, Rodrigo; Miller, Brian J.; Lindzey, Frederick G.

doi:10.1017/s095283690000011x

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Similarly, no temporal partitioning was observed for sympatric jaguar and puma in Belize and Venezuela ( Scognamillo et al 2003 ; Harmsen et al 2011 ), with both species exhibiting similar nocturnal activity patterns. Some authors have suggested that the activity patterns of jaguars and pumas are determined by the daily activity patterns of their prey species ( Emmons 1989 ; Núñez et al 2000 , Scognamillo et al 2003 ; Harmsen et al 2011 ). As in our study, these studies found a significant overlap in activity between both predators and their main prey, lending support to the notion that predators adjust their activity to optimize energy intake and reduce energy expenditure when foraging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian activity patterns of mammalian predators and prey in Costa Rica

Botts

Eppert

Wiegman

et al. 2020

Journal of Mammalogy

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Temporal niche shifts can shape predator–prey interactions by enabling predator avoidance, enhancing feeding success, and reducing competition among predators. Using a community-based conservation approach, we investigated temporal niche partitioning of mammalian predators and prey across 12 long-term camera trap surveys in the Pacific slope and Talamanca Cordillera of Costa Rica. Temporal overlap and segregation were investigated between predator–prey and predator–predator pairs using overlap analysis, circular statistics, and relative abundance after accounting for differences in habitat, season, and human impact among sites. We made the assumption that predators select abundant prey and adjust their activity to maximize their temporal overlap, thus we predicted that abundant prey with high overlap would be preferred prey species for that predator. We also predicted that similar-sized pairs of predator species with the greatest potential for competitive interactions would have the highest temporal segregation. Our results supported the existence of temporal niche separation among the eight species of predators—the smaller Leopardus felids (ocelot, margay, oncilla) were primarily nocturnal, the largest felids (jaguar and puma) and coyote were cathemeral, and the smaller jaguarundi and tayra were mostly diurnal. Most prey species (67%) were primarily nocturnal versus diurnal or cathemeral (33%). Hierarchical clustering identified relationships among species with the most similar activity patterns. We discuss the primary prey and competitor species predicted for each of the eight predators. Contrary to our prediction, the activity pattern of similar-sized intraguild competitors overlapped more than dissimilar-sized competitors, suggesting that similar-sized predators are hunting the same prey at the same time. From this we conclude that prey availability is more important than competition in determining circadian activity patterns of Neotropical predators. Our results indicate the presence of a delicate balance of tropical food webs that may be disrupted by overhunting, leading to a depauperate community consisting of ubiquitous generalists and endangered specialists. With Central America a hotspot for hunting-induced “empty forests,” community-based conservation approaches may offer the best road to reduce illegal hunting and maintain the biodiversity and community structure of tropical forest systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian activity patterns of mammalian predators and prey in Costa Rica

Botts

Eppert

Wiegman

et al. 2020

Journal of Mammalogy

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“…The higher abundance of the sanguivorous D. rotundus toward sites with a greater amount of riparian vegetation, can occur because: 1) the riparian forest offers higher roost availability for this species [116] , [117] and/or it uses this habitat as stepping stones when searching for food in the vegetation matrix, as suggested by Estrada and Coates-Estrada [40] for explaining how this species uses forested areas when searching for food in pasture-dominated landscapes; 2) there is a higher availability of sanguivores' native food sources (mammals) in the riparian vegetation. Riparian forests contain important resources for the maintenance and connectivity of the home ranges of medium and large-sized mammals [118] , [119] , [120] . Moreover, some mammal species concentrate their activities in riparian forest, especially during the dry season when most resources are limited in the region [77] ; 3) the riparian forest also hosts a higher amount of non-native source of food (cattle), as it occurs on alluvial terraces along the channels of ephemeral and permanent streams.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local and Landscape Factors Determining Occurrence of Phyllostomid Bats in Tropical Secondary Forests

et al. 2012

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Neotropical forests are being increasingly replaced by a mosaic of patches of different successional stages, agricultural fields and pasture lands. Consequently, the identification of factors shaping the performance of taxa in anthropogenic landscapes is gaining importance, especially for taxa playing critical roles in ecosystem functioning. As phyllostomid bats provide important ecological services through seed dispersal, pollination and control of animal populations, in this study we assessed the relationships between phyllostomid occurrence and the variation in local and landscape level habitat attributes caused by disturbance. We mist-netted phyllostomids in 12 sites representing 4 successional stages of a tropical dry forest (initial, early, intermediate and late). We also quantitatively characterized the habitat attributes at the local (vegetation structure complexity) and the landscape level (forest cover, area and diversity of patches). Two focal scales were considered for landscape characterization: 500 and 1000 m. During 142 sampling nights, we captured 606 individuals representing 15 species and 4 broad guilds. Variation in phyllostomid assemblages, ensembles and populations was associated with variation in local and landscape habitat attributes, and this association was scale-dependent. Specifically, we found a marked guild-specific response, where the abundance of nectarivores tended to be negatively associated with the mean area of dry forest patches, while the abundance of frugivores was positively associated with the percentage of riparian forest. These results are explained by the prevalence of chiropterophilic species in the dry forest and of chiropterochorous species in the riparian forest. Our results indicate that different vegetation classes, as well as a multi-spatial scale approach must be considered for evaluating bat response to variation in landscape attributes. Moreover, for the long-term conservation of phyllostomids in anthropogenic landscapes, we must realize that the management of the habitat at the landscape level is as important as the conservation of particular forest fragments.

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“…Thus, robust armor appears to function primarily for defense against large carnivoran and avian predators. However, similar to species bearing spines and quills, this is an imperfect defense and they still may experience substantial predation (Núñez, Miller, & Lindzey, 2000).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Armed and dangerous: predicting the presence and function of defensive weaponry in mammals

Stankowich

2011

Adaptive Behavior

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Mammals possess a wide range of behavioral and morphological adaptations to help detect, assess, deter, and escape from predators, including weaponry that is useful in antipredator defense. While some weapons have evolved in response to natural selection for defense against predators, others may have evolved to serve some other primary function (e.g., intraspecific aggression) but still have defensive uses. In this comprehensive review of extreme morphological weaponry in mammals, I explore specific hypotheses regarding the ecological, morphological, and behavioral correlates of different types of weaponry in order to explain why some taxa have evolved elaborate weapons while others have not. I provide evidence demonstrating that several types of defensive weaponry (e.g., spines, quills, armor, noxious anal secretions) have evolved directly in response to significantly increased potential predation risk. Further, other structures that evolved primarily for intrasexual competition (e.g., cranial weaponry, tusks) or foraging (e.g., enlarged claws) but have additional defensive benefits are more likely to be found in larger species that are able to defend themselves in physical combat. Further comprehensive phylogenetic and comparative studies are needed to confirm the proposed hypotheses regarding selection, ecology, and function.

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Food habits of jaguars and pumas in Jalisco, Mexico

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Circadian activity patterns of mammalian predators and prey in Costa Rica

Circadian activity patterns of mammalian predators and prey in Costa Rica

Local and Landscape Factors Determining Occurrence of Phyllostomid Bats in Tropical Secondary Forests

Armed and dangerous: predicting the presence and function of defensive weaponry in mammals

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