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“When the felid’s away, the mesocarnivores play”: seasonal temporal segregation in a neotropical carnivore guild

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Abstract

Interspecific competition within a carnivore guild can result in segregation along dietary, spatial, and temporal scales. Species interactions and resulting avoidance behavior can change seasonally as landscape features and resource abundance may fluctuate. In this study, we examined a carnivore guild in the Pantanal wetland of Brazil to determine whether temporal niche partitioning was a mechanism for coexistence, and if this differed between the wet and dry season. We used camera trapping data to fit kernel density functions of time observations for five species of carnivores to determine activity patterns. We calculated the coefficient of overlap between all species-pair’s activity patterns. Our results found support for temporal segregation among this carnivore guild, with stronger segregation evident during the dry season. Jaguars and pumas showed large overlap in activity in both seasons, while all three mesocarnivores (ocelot, tayra, and crab-eating fox) showed temporal avoidance toward pumas. Mesocarnivores displayed segregating temporal patterns between pairs in both seasons. Temporal segregation is a mechanism for coexistence within this carnivore guild, suggesting increased competition between species especially during the dry season. To maintain carnivore populations, a broader knowledge of interspecific interactions and how this may affect species, utilization or avoidance of habitats is needed. Given the complexities of interspecific interactions among carnivores, conservation efforts should address the needs of the entire guild rather than focus on a single species.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend thanks to Lucas Leuzinger, his family, and all the staff of Fazenda Barranco Alto in the Pantanal for assistance and logistical support for this project. We are also grateful to members of the Jaguar Conservation Fund who participated in data collection and data processing. Partial Funding was provided by Nottingham Trent University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Shannon P. Finnegan & Mariela G. Gantchoff

  2. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, PO Drawer E, Aiken, SC, USA

    Jacob E. Hill

  3. Jaguar Conservation Fund/Instituto Onça-Pintada, Mineiros, GO, Brazil

    Shannon P. Finnegan, Leandro Silveira, Natalia M. Tôrres & Anah T. Jácomo

  4. Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil

    Natalia M. Tôrres

  5. School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Brackenhurst, Southwell, NG, UK

    Antonio Uzal

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  1. Shannon P. Finnegan
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  3. Jacob E. Hill
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Correspondence to Shannon P. Finnegan.

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Finnegan, S.P., Gantchoff, M.G., Hill, J.E. et al. “When the felid’s away, the mesocarnivores play”: seasonal temporal segregation in a neotropical carnivore guild. Mamm Biol 101, 631–638 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-021-00110-9

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