IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Boron, V.; Garrido, E.P. | |
| Abundance of carnivores in the agrolandscape of palm oil plantations from the middle valley of the Magdalena River, Colombia (Abundancia de carn¡voros en el agropaisaje de las plantaciones de palma de aceite del valle medio del rio Magdalena, Colombia) | |
| 2013 Book Chapter | |
Habitat loss and fragmentation driven by agricultural expansion constitute a serious threat for biodiversity and particularly for large felids. Here, we present the first study of vertebrates in an oil palm plantation in Colombia, in which we estimated the abundance of carnivores and their prey in a plantation in the Middle Magdalena region of Colombia. A total of 23 camera traps were installed with an effort of 1190 camera trap nights. Out of 47 species detected 8 were carnivores, and among them, 4 were felids: the jaguar (_Panthera onca_), the puma (_Puma concolor_), the ocelot (_Leopardus pardalis_), and the jaguarundi (_Puma yagouaroundi_). The large felids preferred secondary forests and the edge of oil palm areas, whilst the medium ones were registered with higher frequencies in the plantation. To conserve large felids we highlight the importance of an agricultural landscape in which forest fragments and riparian vegetation are maintained, and optimal plantation management practices are adopted. To achieve the maintenance of large felids connectivity in the region we recommend to use areas that are already altered for future plantations and to leave untouched the forested mountain ranges of the region in order to maintain connectivity to conserve the big cats in the future. |
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