Pasa Juliana Benck, Arrais Ricardo Corassa, Massara Rodrigo Lima, Pereira Gabriel, de Azevedo Fernando Cesar Cascelli
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Universidade Federal de São João del Rei São João del Rei Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Conservação e Manejo de Vida Silvestre Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Brazil.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Mar 13;11(9):4631-4643. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7363. eCollection 2021 May.
Ocelots () are widely distributed throughout the Americas, being dependent on forested areas to survive. Although ocelot ecology is broadly studied throughout the species range distribution, studies concerning factors that may affect ocelot occupancy in the Atlantic Forest are still scarce. We used camera traps to evaluate factors influencing the probabilities of detection and occupancy of ocelots in a protected area of the Atlantic Forest, the Rio Doce State Park (RDSP), southeastern Brazil. To assess ocelot occupancy and detection probabilities, we measured the distances between sampling stations and rivers, lakes, cities, pasture, and Eucalyptus plantations. In addition, we recorded the mean rainfall levels for each sampling occasion, and native grassland areas within a 500 m-buffer around each sampling station. We found a strong and positive association between ocelot detection and the dry season, which might be due to a higher number of individuals moving through the Park during this season. Moreover, we found a strong and positive association of ocelot detection with native grassland areas around lakes, which may be related to the ocelot behavior of searching for prey in these areas. Conversely, the ocelot occupancy probability was intermediate ( = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.36-0.69) and was not strongly associated with the evaluated covariates, which may be explained by the high-quality of forest habitats and water resources that are homogeneously distributed within the Park. Our study indicates that the RDSP still provides a structurally suitable forest habitat for ocelots, but because of the current worrying scenario of over fragmentation, reduction of forest cover, and weakness of the protective legislation of this biome, the long-term persistence of the species in RDSP is uncertain.
豹猫（）广泛分布于美洲各地，依赖森林地区生存。尽管在整个物种分布范围内对豹猫生态进行了广泛研究，但关于可能影响大西洋森林中豹猫栖息地占用情况的因素的研究仍然很少。我们使用相机陷阱评估了影响巴西东南部大西洋森林保护区多西河州立公园（RDSP）内豹猫被检测到的概率和栖息地占用情况的因素。为了评估豹猫的栖息地占用情况和被检测到的概率，我们测量了采样站与河流、湖泊、城市、牧场和桉树林之间的距离。此外，我们记录了每次采样时的平均降雨水平，以及每个采样站周围500米缓冲区内的原生草地面积。我们发现豹猫被检测到与旱季之间存在强烈的正相关关系，这可能是由于在这个季节有更多个体穿过公园。此外，我们发现豹猫被检测到与湖泊周围的原生草地面积之间存在强烈的正相关关系，这可能与豹猫在这些区域寻找猎物的行为有关。相反，豹猫的栖息地占用概率处于中等水平（ = 0.53，95%置信区间 = 0.36 - 0.69），并且与所评估的协变量没有强烈关联，这可能是由于公园内森林栖息地和水资源质量高且分布均匀。我们的研究表明，多西河州立公园仍然为豹猫提供了结构适宜的森林栖息地，但由于目前令人担忧的过度碎片化、森林覆盖减少以及该生物群落保护立法薄弱的情况，该物种在多西河州立公园的长期存续情况尚不确定。
