Interacciones temporales y espaciales de mesocarnívoros simpátricos en una Reserva de la Biosfera: ¿coexistencia o competencia?

Abstract

Interspecific interactions among tropical mesocarnivorous species and other mammalian trophic guilds have been poorly studied, despite they have important implications in the survival, structure, demography, and distribution of these species. In this study we analyzed spatio-temporal interactions of three sympatric mesocarnivores that are located in the Northeastern limit of their geographic distribution in Mexico, with the objective of analyzing if these species coexist or compete in the axis of the temporal and spatial niche. With a sampling period from January 2015 to December 2016 and 26 camera-trapping stations (with in a set of two camera traps opposite to each other) and located along roads and animal trails, we determined the activity pattern and habitat use of L. wiedii (margay), L. pardalis (ocelote) y P. yagouaroundi (yaguarundi). All independent photographs of each species were grouped into three temporal categories (day, night and twilight) and six habitat categories; Oak Forest, Oak-Pine Forest, Cloud Forest, Pine-Oak Forest, Tropical Deciduous Forest and Medium Forest. Temporal and spatial overlap between species (i.e interactions) was obtained with the Czekanowski index and the Pianka index, respectively. These indices are symmetrical and take values from zero to one, where the results close to zero indicate that there is no overlap between species and values close to one indicate overlap. We obtained a total of 379 independent photographs, of which 239 corresponded to margay, 118 to ocelot and 22 to yaguarundi. Margay and ocelot were nocturnal, with 75 % of their records in this category showing a high temporal overlap (0.85); whereas yaguarundi was fully diurnal, suggesting it may be able to coexist with the other two species (margay and ocelot). Moreover, the yaguarundi used habitat similar to ocelot and margay (with high spatial overlap of 0.81 and 0.72, respectively), while the spatial overlap between the margay and ocelot was intermediate (0.53), since they used in most cases different habitat types. Our results suggest that there is no interspecific competition among these tropical mesocarnivorous species, probably due to antagonistic interactions among them on the temporal and spatial axis. These strategies may positively favor populations of mesocarnivores, which are characterized by having a high territorial behavior.

Chapter 39: Margay

“…According to models of potential distribution for this species, forest cover is one of the preponderant factors that define its distribution (Martínez-Calderas et al 2016). It occurs in deciduous tropical forest, tropical subdeciduous forest, pine-oak (Quercus) forest, pine forest, mountainous cloud forest (Almazán-Catalán et al 2013, Charre-Medellín et al 2015, Ruiz-Gutierrez et al 2023, low deciduous forest (Botello et al 2006, Farías et al 2015, and medium forest (Carrera-Treviño et al 2018). However, the subspecies, Leopardus wiedii yucatanica, from the Yucatán Peninsula where arid tropical zones are present, occurs in savannas with deciduous forests and gallery forests ( de Oliveira 1998), and also savannas in Guerrero (Ruiz-Gutierrez et al 2023).…”

“…In Veracruz, México, it was recorded in a fragmented tropical dry forest, acahuales (secondary vegetation), and grasslands (Pérez-Solano et al 2018). Because the margay is primarily arboreal (Seidensticker and Lumpkin 2004, Espinoza-Ramírez et al 2017, Carrera-Treviño et al 2018, it is considered an indicator of forest quality, and is a key species in ecosystem conservation (Bustamante Ho 2008). The margay may be a regulator of populations of both vertebrate and invertebrate prey species, modeling the structure of the community, and indirectly of the plants through the effects of trophic cascades (Terborgh et al 2010).…”

“…The margay is considered rare throughout its geographic distribution Sunquist 2002, 2011;Domínguez-Castellanos and Ceballos 2005;Carvajal-Villarreal 2016;Carrera-Treviño et al 2018). Population densities are estimated to be relatively low, between 5 and 20 individuals/100 km 2 (13-52/100 mi 2 ; de Oliveira 1998, de Oliveira et al 2010.…”

Registro fotográfico de tres especies de felinos (Carnivora: Felidae) simpátricos en el Parque Nacional Machalilla, costa del Ecuador

“…Los resultados de este trabajo muestran que las especies ocelote (L. pardalis), margay (L. wiedii) y yaguarundí (H. yagouaroundi) comparten el mismo hábitat en el PNM, y sugieren la importancia que tiene la segregación de la actividad temporal como un mediador de las interacciones interespecíficas en estas especies (Carrera-Treviño et al 2018). Con los datos disponibles no podemos conocer las causas que subyacen detrás de que estas tres especies simpátricas sean registradas raras veces compartiendo un mismo lugar del PNM, por lo que consideramos que son necesarias otras investigaciones que realicen análisis detallados del hábitat y que determinen la disponibilidad de presas y la abundancia de los felinos en la región tumbesina.…”

Temporal and spatial segregation of top predators (Felidae) in a Mexican tropical Biosphere Reserve

“…El Cielo Biosphere Reserve (ECBR) is located in the Sierra Madre Oriental and presents a well preserved high-diversity area due to low human impact, Nearctic and Neotropic convergence, extreme topographical conditions, and a large number of different habitat types (Steinberg et al 2014). A previous study in ECBR described the temporal and spatial interactions of sympatric mesocarnivores (Leopardus pardalis, L. wiedii, and Puma yagoua-roundi) and described their mechanisms of coexistence in time and space (Carrera-Treviño et al 2018). These mechanisms are unknown for jaguars and pumas.…”