Habitat use of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Amazonia forest plays a major role in providing ecosystem services for human and sanctuaries for wildlife. However, ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Brazilian Amazon has threatened both. The ocelot is an ecologically important mesopredator and a potential conservation ambassador species, yet there are no previous studies on its habitat preference and spatial patterns in this biome. From 2010 to 2017, twelve sites were surveyed, totaling 899 camera trap stations, the largest known dataset for this species. Using occupancy modeling incorporating spatial autocorrelation, we assessed habitat use for ocelot populations across the Brazilian Amazon. Our results revealed a positive sigmoidal correlation between remote‐sensing derived metrics of forest cover, disjunct core area density, elevation, distance to roads, distance to settlements and habitat use, and that habitat use by ocelots was negatively associated with slope and distance to river/lake. These findings shed light on the regional scale habitat use of ocelots and indicate important species–habitat relationships, thus providing valuable information for conservation management and land‐use planning.

Community-Based Monitoring of Jaguar (Panthera onca) in the Chinantla Region, Mexico

“…The length of our survey (65 days) was appropriate to ensure that occupancy (occupied or not occupied) would not change throughout the survey period (Edwards et al., 2018; Mackenzie et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2019). We found the percentage of forest cover, the survey effort, the capture rate of prey, and NDVI were the variables that best explained the jaguar habitat use.…”

Factors influencing the habitat use by ocelots in one of the last large Atlantic Forest remnants in southeastern Brazil

“…Within the buffers, we estimated the total area of all habitat categories (Figure A2 in Appendix). However, all categories of habitats, Paolino et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2019) Mean rainfall p Lower detection of ocelots with higher levels of rainfall. Ocelots' prey species reproduce in rainier periods (Catzeflis et al, 2019), thus increasing prey availability and reducing ocelot's movements through the environment (Massara et al, 2015) TA B L E 1 Covariates used to model the occupancy (Ψ) and detection (p) probabilities of ocelots in the Rio Doce State Park, Brazil, and their expected effects except native grasslands, showed little variation between the stations, and thus, we excluded these covariates from our analyses (Figure A2 in Appendix).…”

“…In this context, ocelots can avoid open areas (e.g., grassland) of low vegetation cover (Boron et al, 2018;Cruz et al, 2019), while their occurrence can be favored in sites with dense canopy and understory coverage (Haines et al, 2006;Paolino et al, 2018;Wolff et al, 2019). In addition, ocelots can be strongly associated with the proximity of rivers and lakes (Wang et al, 2019;Wolff et al, 2019) and may also respond to variation in climate parameters. In terms of climate effects, the variation in rainfall levels can influence the availability of ocelot prey species, since during the rainy season this availability may be greater (Dillon & Kelly, 2008;Sunquist & Sunquist, 2002), causing the species to move less frequently compared to the dry season.…”

“…Anthropogenic effects may also affect ocelots' occurrence. For instance, proximity to cities, Eucalyptus plantations and pasture can increase contact between humans and wildlife, negatively influencing the occurrence of ocelots and putting their survival and long-term persistence in these forest remnants at risk (Dotta & Verdade, 2011;Loveridge et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2019).…”

Co‐occurrence of bobcats, coyotes, and ocelots in Texas

“…Using long‐term camera trap monitoring, habitat metrics, and occupancy modeling (Rota et al, 2016), we can now study the interactions (i.e., avoidance or coexistence patterns) of such unique carnivore guilds and discern potential effects of habitat variables. Such results can aid in explaining potential thresholds for occurrence, habitat use, and help guide management or recovery strategies (Crooks, 2002; Meek et al, 2014; Wang et al, 2019; Zemanova et al, 2017).…”