Agricultural encroachment and lack of enforcement threaten connectivity of range-wide jaguar (Panthera onca) corridor

作者：Petracca Lisanne S^*; Hernandez Potosme Sandra; Obando Sampson Lenin; Salom Perez Roberto; Quigley Howard; Robinson Hugh S

来源：Journal for Nature Conservation, 2014, 22(5): 436-444.

DOI：10.1016/j.jnc.2014.04.002

• Agriculture
• Habitat use
• Interviews
• Nicaragua
• Occupancy
• Prey

The purpose of protected areas is to safeguard natural habitats and their biodiversity. However, few protected areas are large enough for the long-term conservation of resident species, making the landscapes surrounding protected areas equally important for species conservation. This is especially true for wide-ranging carnivores such as the jaguar (Panthera onca), for which conservation strategies stress the maintenance of range-wide habitat connectivity via protected areas and dispersal corridors. We used 587 interviews with local people in 441 36-km(2) sampling units to assess the presence of jaguar and six prey species in a critical corridor in Central America, linking Bosawas Biosphere Reserve and Wawashan Nature Reserve in Nicaragua. We analyzed these data using single-season false-positive detection models in a site occupancy framework. We found that agricultural encroachment, particularly pervasive within a protected area, was the main factor limiting the presence of jaguar and three large-bodied prey species: white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecan), collared peccary (Pecan tajacu), and red brocket deer (Mazama americana). We suggest that improperly-managed protected areas can suffer the loss of apex predators and their prey, thereby jeopardizing range-wide conservation strategies for threatened species.

• 出版日期2014-10