Habitat features influencing jaguar Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) occupancy in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

Abstract

Abstract:Habitat characteristics and human activities are known to play a major role in the occupancy of jaguars Panthera onca across their range, however the key variables influencing jaguar distribution in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica, have yet to be identified. This study evaluated jaguar occupancy in Tortuguero National Park and the surrounding area. Jaguar detection/non-detection data was collected using digital camera traps distributed within the boundaries of the protected area. Local community members were also interviewed to determine jaguar occurrence in the Park's buffer zone. Occupancy models were then applied to identify the habitat characteristics that may better explain jaguar distribution across the study area. From June 2012 to June 2013, a total of 4 339 camera trap days were used to identify 18 individual jaguars inside the protected area; 17 of these jaguars were exclusively detected within the coastal habitat, whilst the remaining individual was detected solely within the interior of the Park. Interviewees reported 61 occasions of jaguar presence inside the buffer zone, between 1995 and 2013, with 80% of these described by the communities of Lomas de Sierpe, Barra de Parismina and La Aurora. These communities also reported the highest levels of livestock predation by jaguars (85% of attacks). In the study area, jaguar occurrence was positively correlated with the seasonal presence of nesting green turtles Chelonia mydas, and negatively correlated with distance to the Park boundary. Our findings suggested that the current occupancy of the jaguar in the study area may be a response to: 1) the vast availability of prey (marine turtles) on Tortuguero beach, 2) the decline of its primary prey species as a result of illegal hunting inside the Park, and 3) the increase in anthropogenic pressures in the Park boundaries. Rev. Biol.

Distribution and hotspots of the feeding areas of jaguars on sea turtles at a national park in Costa Rica

“…Moreover, most of the knowledge about the predator-prey relation between jaguars and sea turtles has been derived from studies in Costa Rica. These studies have been conducted on four sea turtle nesting beaches, at three National Parks: Tortuguero (Tröeng, 2000;Veríssimo et al, 2012;Arroyo-Arce et al, 2014;ArroyoArce and Salom-Pérez, 2015;Guilder et al, 2015), Corcovado (Carrillo et al, 1994;Chinchilla, 1997) and Santa Rosa (Carrillo et al, 1994;Alfaro et al, 2016). All these areas have high tourism activities and research with volunteers.…”

“…The American crocodile has been recorded preying only on olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea (ESCHSCHOLTZ 1829) (Ortiz et al, 1997). Finally, the jaguar has been recorded killing five species of sea turtles, including green Chelonia mydas (LINNAEUS 1758), olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata (LINNAEUS 1766), loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta (LINNAEUS 1758), and leatherback Dermochelys coriacea (VANDELLI 1761) sea turtles (Fretey, 1977;Autar, 1994;Carrillo et al, 1994;Chinchilla, 1997;Tröeng, 2000;Heithaus et al, 2008;Veríssimo et al, 2012;Keeran, 2013;Arroyo-Arce et al, 2014;Cuevas et al, 2014;Arroyo-Arce and Salom-Pérez, 2015;Guilder et al, 2015;Alfaro et al, 2016;Arroyo-Arce et al, 2017).…”

Impact of jaguar Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) predation on marine turtle populations in Tortuguero, Caribbean coast of Costa Rica

“…The increase in marine turtle predation reported since 1981 could be related to habitat degradation (due to the expansion of the agricultural frontier) that took place inland across the Park's buffer zone in the early 1990s (Troëng, 2000a;Arroyo-Arce et al, 2014). Another factor potentially influencing predation rates is the apparent decline of the main prey species (e.g.…”

“…Tayassu pecari, Mazama americana, Cuniculus paca and Dasyprocta punctata) due to illegal hunting inside the Park (Troëng, 2000a;Arroyo-Arce et al, 2014). These anthropogenic pressures may be playing an important role in driving the jaguars towards the coastal habitat, and causing the felid to increasingly select marine turtles as prey (Troëng, 2000a;Veríssimo et al, 2012;Arroyo-Arce et al, 2014). An increase in the local population of jaguars could also explain the increase in predation rates (Arroyo-Arce, unpublished).…”

“…However, in recent years this predator-prey interaction has drawn attention in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica (Veríssimo, Jones, Chaverri, & Meyer, 2012;Barça, 2013;Arroyo-Arce, Guilder, & Salom-Pérez, 2014). Tröeng (2000a) mentioned that the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) population that nests in Tortuguero is not significantly threatened by jaguar predation.…”