IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Zuercher, G.L.; Gipson, P.S.; Hill, K. | |
| A predator-habitat assessment for Felids in the inland Atlantic forest of eastern Paraguay: a preliminary analysis | |
| 2001 Endangered Species UPDATE (18): 115-119 | |
Jaguar (_Panthera onca_), puma (_Puma concolor_), and possibly six species of small cats (ocelot, margay, oncilla, Geoffroy's cat, pampas cat, jaguarundi) coexist within Mbaracay£ Forest Nature Reserve in eastern Paraguay. At the landscape level, this 64,000-hectare island of Inland Atlantic Forest, surrounded by agricultural land, is a mosaic of forest habitats and interspersed grasslands. Habitats on the reserve include low, medium, and high forest, as well as dry and wet grasslands. The adaptive nature of most predators led us to predict that felids would occur uniformly across habitats. Tests of independence between species and habitats, however, suggest distinct associations between felids and habitats. Explanations for habitat affinities include interference competition or simply following prey to their preferred habitats. Thus, while felids in the inland Atlantic forest may be habitat generalists across their entire range, they exhibit some habitat preferences within Mbaracay£ reserve, possibly as an adaptation to interspecific competition and/or prey availability. Further research is needed to determine whether these patterns continue long-term or are an artifact of the timing of our current data collection efforts. |
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