Title
Abundance of jaguars and occupancy of medium- and large-sized vertebrates in a transboundary conservation landscape in the northwestern Amazon
Date Issued
01 September 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Yagui H.
Tejeda V.
Cabrera J.
Pacheco-Esquivel J.
Rivero J.
Pastor P.
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
Large-scale transboundary conservation initiatives are necessary to respond to threats against tropical forests, and the jaguar (Panthera onca), a flagship and umbrella species in the Neotropics, is an ideal target species for such initiatives. We estimated jaguar abundance and occupancy of medium- and large-sized mammals and birds across a transboundary landscape in the northwestern Amazon biome using camera-trap data from 168 stations; specifically within three management regimes of indigenous and protected lands in Colombia (the indigenous reserve of Umancia), Ecuador (Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve), and Peru (Güeppi-Sekime National Park). Based on spatial capture-recapture models, we estimated jaguar density in the study area at 2.20 ± 0.44 individuals per 100 km2, implying an abundance of 322 jaguars (95% CI = 217–477). These estimates suggest that an entire mega-landscape, which also includes other protected areas and indigenous lands, could harbor as many as 2000 jaguars (95% CI = 1586–3498). We found that jaguar abundance and medium-to large-sized terrestrial vertebrate species richness (totaling 24 mammals and 4 birds) were similar under the three management regimes. Overall, our study indicates that a significant healthy population of jaguars can survive in this large-scale conservation corridor that crosses country borders, a place where protected areas and indigenous territories are key. This study is among the first to take a transboundary approach for jaguar conservation in a protected but still threatened part of the Amazon biome, inhabited by several ancient indigenous people. As a large forest block, this conservation landscape serves not only as an effective buffer against deforestation and a stronghold for jaguar populations and medium- and large-sized vertebrates, but it also secures the well-being of local people.
Volume
23
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85085075110
Source
Global Ecology and Conservation
ISSN of the container
2351-9894
Sponsor(s)
We are grateful to the institutions that made this study possible, the administration offices at Güeppi-Sekime National Park, and the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) in Peru and the Cuyabeno Natural Reserve and Zancudococha and Zabalo communities in Ecuador. We also thank Karla Quispe, the ACILAPP and the Murui Muina people from Umancia for their invaluable help in the field phase of the project. Additionally, we recognize the support of Pedro Araujo, Ronald Bravo Salinas, and Michael Esbach (University of Florida) in Ecuador, and Johana Deza and Roberto Maldonado (WWF-Germany). The computational experiments were developed in the High-Performance Center of the Peruvian Amazon at the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon. More information can be found at http://iiap.org.pe/manati. WWF-Germany and WWF-Belgium provided funding support. Melinda Modrell revised the English of this version of the manuscript. We are also in debt with the anonymous reviewers that gently gave us their valuable comments and suggestions.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus