ABSTRACT
Jaguars (Panthera onca) are the largest predator in lowland forests of Amazonia but there have been few studies on their occurrence and activity in such forests. Here, we used camera traps to document the occurrence and activity of jaguars within a local area (~650ha) of lowland forest of Eastern Ecuador, over two sample periods (2005-2008, 7 222 trap days; 2010-2012, 6 199 trap days). We accumulated 151 independent photos of jaguars (189 total photographs) that represented 21 different individuals, including 11 males (114 photographs), seven females (32 photographs), and three that could not be assigned to a sex. Individual jaguars varied in the number of months they were recorded in the area; ten were photographed in only one month; five were photographed over periods of 8 to 22 months; and five from 45 to 81 months. Capture rates across all camera stations averaged 10.6/1 000 trap days; capture rates did not differ between the two sample periods. Male jaguars were more active during the day (06:00am-18:00pm; 71% of photographs), whereas females were equally active during the day and night. Monthly activity was variable but showed no consistent pattern. Although the study area is much smaller than typical home ranges of jaguars, the area is clearly visited by a large number of different individuals, some of whom repeatedly visit the area, indicating that it forms part of their home range. Other individuals likely were simply passing through the area. Based on the number of jaguars recorded during this study, it is clear that the region is an important area for conservation. Continued protection will be needed to ensure that populations of jaguars and other species remain viable. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (2): 689-698. Epub 2014 June 01.
El jaguar (Panthera onca) es el depredador más grande de los bosques bajos de la Amazonía, pero existen pocos estudios sobre su presencia y actividad en los mismos. En este estudio utilizamos cámaras trampa para documentar la presencia y actividad de jaguares dentro de una área de bosque bajo de la Amazonía este de Ecuador (~650 ha) en dos períodos (2005-2008, 7 222 trampas noche; 2010-2012, 6 199 trampas noche). Acumulamos 151 fotos independientes de jaguares (189 fotografías en total) que representaron 21 individuos, incluyendo 11 machos (114 fotos), siete hembras (32 fotos) y tres a los que no se les pudo asignar sexo. Los jaguares individuales variaron en el número de meses en que fueron registrados en el área; diez fueron fotografiados solo en un mes; cinco fueron fotografiados en un periodo entre 8 y 22 meses; y cinco jaguares entre 45 y 81. Las tasas de captura a través de las estaciones de trampeo promediaron 10.6/1 000 trampas noche; las tasas de captura no presentaron diferencias en los dos períodos de muestreo. Los jaguares machos fueron más activos durante el día (06:00am-18:00pm; 71% de las fotografías) mientras que las hembras fueron igualmente activas tanto en el día como en la noche. La actividad mensual fue variable pero no mostró un patrón consistente. Aunque el área de estudio es mucho más pequeña que el rango de vida típico para un jaguar, el área es claramente visitada por un alto número de individuos diferentes, algunos de los cuales visitan repetidamente el lugar, indicando que este forma parte de su rango de vida. Es probable que otros individuos solamente sean transeúntes del área.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Male , Behavior, Animal/physiology , Panthera/physiology , Ecuador , Photography , Population Density , Panthera/classification , TreesABSTRACT
Understanding how birds use vegetation to obtain food resources has implications for habitat conservation and management. Restinga is a poorly known and threatened tropical habitat, associated to the Atlantic forest, that could benefit from this kind of information to know which plants can be used and dispersed by birds that can help on the maintenance of this habitat. Frugivorous and insectivorous birds are important components of tropical ecosystems, such as restinga. To provide more information regarding the ecology of restinga, we studied the feeding behavior and spatial use of this vegetation by birds at Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, southeastern Brazil. We found that feeding behavior was similar to that recorded for the same species in other vegetation types. In addition, spatial use of the restinga vegetation by the most abundant species did not overlap greatly, except for two insectivorous species that used different foraging maneuvers and two frugivorous birds that foraged in flocks. The two most abundant species were generalists in their diet and were capable of feeding at the ground level on sand substrate.
O conhecimento das estratégias de uso da vegetação pela fauna para forrageio tem implicações para conservação e manejo de habitats. Restinga é um ambiente tropical, associado à Mata Atlântica, ameaçado e ainda pouco conhecido que poderia se beneficiar desse tipo de informação para conhecer quais espécies de plantas podem ser utilizadas e dispersas por aves que atuem na manutenção deste habitat. Aves frugívoras e insetívoras são importantes componentes de ecossistemas tropicais, como a restinga. Para fornecer mais informações sobre a ecologia da restinga, nós estudamos o comportamento de forrageio e o uso do espaço das aves no Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, sudeste do Brasil. Nós encontramos que os comportamentos de forrageio foram similares àqueles registrados para as mesmas espécies em outros ambientes. Além disso, o uso do espaço da vegetação de restinga pelas espécies mais abundantes não apresentou grande sobreposição, exceto por duas espécies insetívoras que usaram manobras de forrageio diferentes e duas aves frugívoras que forragearam em bando. As duas espécies mais abundantes foram generalistas em suas dietas e foram capazes de forragear no chão sobre areia nua.