Space Use and Movement of a Neotropical Top Predator: The Endangered Jaguar

PLoS One. 2016 Dec 28;11(12):e0168176. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168176. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Accurately estimating home range and understanding movement behavior can provide important information on ecological processes. Advances in data collection and analysis have improved our ability to estimate home range and movement parameters, both of which have the potential to impact species conservation. Fitting continuous-time movement model to data and incorporating the autocorrelated kernel density estimator (AKDE), we investigated range residency of forty-four jaguars fit with GPS collars across five biomes in Brazil and Argentina. We assessed home range and movement parameters of range resident animals and compared AKDE estimates with kernel density estimates (KDE). We accounted for differential space use and movement among individuals, sex, region, and habitat quality. Thirty-three (80%) of collared jaguars were range resident. Home range estimates using AKDE were 1.02 to 4.80 times larger than KDE estimates that did not consider autocorrelation. Males exhibited larger home ranges, more directional movement paths, and a trend towards larger distances traveled per day. Jaguars with the largest home ranges occupied the Atlantic Forest, a biome with high levels of deforestation and high human population density. Our results fill a gap in the knowledge of the species' ecology with an aim towards better conservation of this endangered/critically endangered carnivore-the top predator in the Neotropics.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Endangered Species*
  • Homing Behavior*
  • Movement*
  • Panthera / physiology*
  • Predatory Behavior*
  • Spatial Behavior*
  • Tropical Climate*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by FAPESP (2013-10029-6) to RGM, Cat Heaven Endangered Species-Project Survival to RGM, Dallas World Aquarium to RGM, Orient Express Hotels do Brasil to MSX, WWF Switzerland-Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina to AP, Panthera Foundation to EER, Rufford Small Grant Foundation to EER, FAPESP (2014-24921-0) to RGM, CNPq (312045/2013-1) to MCR, National Science Foundation Grant (ABI 1458748) to JMC, and National Foundation Grant to CHF. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.