Abstract
Studies on habitat selection based on the presence and absence of individuals still rarely include the uncertainty of absence. With it, one can model the probability of detection, which is a parameter of interest especially when dealing with species where non-detection is common. Here, we performed an analysis of microhabitat selection of a New World marsupial (Marmosa paraguayana, Tate 1931)—an arboreal species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic forest—accounting for false absence. We found empirical evidence supporting one of our hypotheses: the angle of the terrain’s inclination at a site positively affects detection probability. This is probably due to the fact that, at an inclined site, the area available to the animals tends to be larger and the probability of detection of M. paraguayana would be higher, due either to greater local abundance or increased frequency of moving. The probability of resource use was heterogeneous, or rather, not constant in space, but constant in time. We found weak evidence for the correlation between the canopy volume and the probability of resource use. However, we observed a tendency in the estimates of site-specific probability of resource use: the highest values of the probability of resource use appeared in the upper part of the study grid, where the canopies were denser as well as more closed. Thus, this specie’s probability of resource use possibly diminishes in habitats such as early secondary forest with tiny canopies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akaike H (1973) Information theory as an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. In: Petrov BN, Csaki F (eds) Second international symposium on information theory. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, pp 267–281
Argot C (2001) Functional-adaptive anatomy of the forelimb in the didelphidae, and the paleobiology of the paleocene marsupials Mayulestes ferox and Pucadelphys andinus. J Morphol 247:51–79
Arnold TW (2009) Uninformative parameters and model selection using Akaike’s information criterion. J Wildl Manag 74:1175–1178
August PV (1983) The role of habitat complexity and heterogeneity in structuring tropical mammal communities. Ecology 64:1495–1507
Bailey LL, Simons TR, Pollock KH (2004) Estimating site occupancy and detection probability parameters for terrestrial salamanders. Ecol Appl 14:692–702
Burnham KP, Anderson DR (1998) Model selection and multimodel inference. In: A practical information-theoretic approach, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin
Casella J, Cáceres NC (2006) Diet of four small mammal species from Atlantic forest patches in South Brazil. Neotrop Biol Conserv 1:5–11
Defosdurau P, Barbraud C, Mondainmonval J (2005) Incorporating uncertainty into analyses of red-crested pochard habitat selection. Biol Conserv 125:355–367
Delciellos AC, Vieira MV (2006) Arboreal walking performance in seven didelphid marsupials as an aspect of their fundamental niche. Aust Ecol 31:449–457
Delciellos AC, Vieira MV (2007) Stride lengths and frequencies of arboreal walking in seven species of didelphid marsupials. Acta Theriol 52:101–111
Delciellos AC, Vieira MV (2009) Allometric, phylogenetic, and adaptive components of climbing performance in seven species of didelphid marsupials. J Mammal 90:104–113
Dettmers R, Buehler DA, Bartlett JG, Klaus NA (1999) Influence of point count length and repeated visits on habitat model performance. J Wildl Manag 63:815–823
Fretwell SD (1972) Populations in a seasonal environment. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Grelle CEV (2003) Forest structure and vertical stratification of small mammal populations in a secondary forest, South-eastern Brazil. Stud Neotrop Fauna Environ 38:81–85
Gu W, Swihart RK (2004) Absent or undetected? Effects of non-detection of species occurrence on wildlife-habitat models. Biol Censerv 116:195–203
Gutiérrrez EE, Jansa SA, Voss RS (2010) Molecular systematics of mouse opossums (Didelphidae: Marmosa): assessing species limits using mitochondrial DNA sequences, with comments on phylogenetic relationships and biogeography. Am Mus Novit 3692:1–22
Hines JE, MacKenzie D (2004) PRESENCE, version 3.4. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/software.html
Hueck K (1972) As florestas da América do Sul: ecologia, composição e importância econômica. Editora da Universidade de Brasília e Editora Polígono, São Paulo
Jones C, McShea WJ, Conroy MJ, Kunz TH (1996) Capturing mammals. In: Wilson DE, Cole FR, Nichols JD, Rudran R, Foster MS (eds) Measuring and monitoring biological diversity: standard methods for mammals. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, pp 115–155
Jorgensen EE (2004) Small mammal use of microhabitat reviewed. J Mammal 85:531–539
Leite YLR, Costa LP, Stallings JR (1996) Diet and vertical space use of three sympatric opossums in a Brazilian Atlantic forest reserve. J Trop Ecol 12:435–440
MacKenzie D (2006) Modeling the probability of resource use: the effect of, and dealing with, detecting a species imperfectly. J Wildl Manag 70:367–374
MacKenzie D, Bailey L (2004) Assessing the fit of site-occupancy models. J Agric Biol Environ Stat 9:300–318
MacKenzie D, Nichols JD, Lachman GB, Droege SA, Royle J, Langtimm CA (2002) Estimating site occupancy rates when detection probabilities are less than one. Ecology 83:2248–2255
Malcolm JR (1991) Comparative abundances of neotropical small mammals by trap heights. J Mammal 72:188–192
Moraes Junior EA, Chiarello AG (2005) A radio tracking study of home range and movements of the marsupial Micoureus demerarae in the Atlantic forest of south-eastern Brazil. Rev Bras Zool 22:85–91
Morris DW (1987) Ecological scale and habitat use. Ecology 68:362–369
Morris DW (2003) Toward an ecological synthesis: a case for habitat selection. Oecologia 136:1–13
North MP, Reynolds JH (1996) Microhabitat analysis using radiotelemetry locations and polytomous logistic regression. J Wildl Manag 60:639–653
O’Connell AF Jr, Talancy NW, Bailey LL, Sauer JR, Cook R, Gilbert AT (2006) Estimating site occupancy and detection probability parameters for meso- and large mammals in a coastal ecosystem. J Wildl Manag 70:1625–1633
Passamani M (1995) Vertical stratification of small mammals in Atlantic Hill forest. Mammalia 59:276–279
Pires AS, Fernandez FAS (1999) Use of space by the marsupial Micoureus demerarae in small Atlantic forest fragments in south-eastern Brazil. J Trop Ecol 15:279–290
Pollock KH (1982) A capture-recapture design robust to unequal probability of capture. J Wildl Manag 46:757–760
Prevedello JA, Rodrigues GR, Monteiro-Filho ELA (2009) Vertical use of space by the marsupial Micoureus paraguayanus (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) in the Atlantic forest of Brazil. Acta Theriol 54:259–266
Prevedello JA, Rodrigues GR, Monteiro-Filho ELA (2010) Habitat selection by two species of small mammals in the Atlantic forest, Brazil: comparing results from live trapping and spool-and-line tracking. Mammal Biol 75:106–114
Price MV, Kramer KA (1984) On measuring microhabitat affinities with special reference to small mammals. Oikos 42:349–354
Quental TB, Fernandez FAS, Corrêa Dias AT, Rocha FS (2001) Population dynamics of the marsupial Micoureus demerarae in small fragments of Atlantic coastal forest in Brazil. J Trop Ecol 17:339–352
Ribeiro MC, Metzger JP, Martensen AC, Ponzoni FJ, Hirota MM (2009) The Brazilian Atlantic forest: how much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biol Conserv 142:1141–1153
Richards PW (1996) The tropical rain forest. In: An ecological study. 2nd edn. University of Wales, Bangor
Rossi RV, Bianconi GV, Pedro WA (2006) Ordem Didelphimorphia. In: Reis NR, Peracchi AL, Pedro WA, Lima IP (eds) Mamíferos do Brasil. Edifurb, Londrina
Sberze M, Cohn-Haft M, Ferraz G (2010) Old growth and secondary forest site occupancy by nocturnal birds in a neotropical landscape. Anim Conserv 13:3–11. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00312.x
Vieira EM, Monteiro-filho ELA (2003) Vertical stratification of small mammals in the Atlantic rain forest of south-eastern Brazil. J Trop Ecol 19:501–507
White G, Burnham KP (1999) Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals. Bird Study 46(Suppl):120–138
Zeller KA, Nijhawan S, Salom-Pérez R, Potosme SH, Hines JE (2011) Integrating occupancy modeling and interview data for corridor identification: a case study for jaguars in Nicaragua. Biol Conserv 144:892–901
Zuckerberg B, Bonter DN, Hochachka WM, Koenig WD, DeGaetano AT, Dickinson JL (2011) Climatic constraints on wintering bird distributions are modified by urbanization and weather. J Anim Ecol 80:403–413
Acknowledgements
G. Fonseca provided guidance and support at all stages of this field-study. We thank G. Ferraz for comments on early manuscript, J.A. Prevedello, A.C. Delciellos and T. Püttker for comments on the later version of the manuscript, and M. Loutfi for help on Java programming. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo de Vida Silvestre-UFMG, and US Fish and Wildlife Service for logistic facilities. IEF-MG for permission to work at PERD and for logistic facilities. CAPES, PADCT-CIAMB, CNPq and PRPq-UFMG provided funds. MK and CEVG thank for fellowship from Programa Nacional de Pós-doutorado-PNPD (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-CAPES), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-CNPq (productivity grant) and FAPERJ (Jovem Cientista do Estado).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Kajin, M., Grelle, C.E.V. Microhabitat selection when detection is imperfect: the case of an endemic Atlantic forest mammal. Ecol Res 27, 1005–1013 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-012-0977-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-012-0977-x