TY - JOUR
T1 - Densidad, idoneidad ambiental y nicho ecologico de cuatro especies de felinos americanos (Carnivora: Felidae)
AU - Pérez-Irineo, Gabriela
AU - Barrera, Claudia Ballesteros
AU - Santos-Moreno, Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by Revista de Biologia Tropical. All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/6
Y1 - 2019/6
N2 - Density, environmental suitability and ecological niche in four American feline species (Carnivora: Felidae).Several wild species of the family Felidae are at risk, and population size is one of the most important ecological parameters to determine conservation actions. Population size is influenced by different biotic and abiotic factors thatsatisfy the requirements of the species to survive and reproduce, allowing the permanence of the species through time.Because population size is not homogeneous throughout the distribution, there are several hypotheses to explain theirvariations. One proposal considers that more abundant populations are located in regions with environmentally suitability, and population size decreases towards the less favorable ones. Another hypothesis considers that the population size is related to the internal structure of the ecological niche, where the largest populations are located in the centroid of the niche, and the size decliness the distance to this centroid increase. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between population abundance, environmental suitability and ecological niche in four wild felids species of America. The density of Lynx rufus (bobcat) was correlated positively with the environmental suitability index, the highest density of Panthera onca (jaguar) was located in regions near the centroid of the niche, while the population densities of Leopardus pardalis (ocelot) and Puma concolor (cougar) did not conform to the predictions ofeither of the two hypotheses. The relationship between feline density and environmental characteristics was speciesspecific, with no general pattern.
AB - Density, environmental suitability and ecological niche in four American feline species (Carnivora: Felidae).Several wild species of the family Felidae are at risk, and population size is one of the most important ecological parameters to determine conservation actions. Population size is influenced by different biotic and abiotic factors thatsatisfy the requirements of the species to survive and reproduce, allowing the permanence of the species through time.Because population size is not homogeneous throughout the distribution, there are several hypotheses to explain theirvariations. One proposal considers that more abundant populations are located in regions with environmentally suitability, and population size decreases towards the less favorable ones. Another hypothesis considers that the population size is related to the internal structure of the ecological niche, where the largest populations are located in the centroid of the niche, and the size decliness the distance to this centroid increase. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between population abundance, environmental suitability and ecological niche in four wild felids species of America. The density of Lynx rufus (bobcat) was correlated positively with the environmental suitability index, the highest density of Panthera onca (jaguar) was located in regions near the centroid of the niche, while the population densities of Leopardus pardalis (ocelot) and Puma concolor (cougar) did not conform to the predictions ofeither of the two hypotheses. The relationship between feline density and environmental characteristics was speciesspecific, with no general pattern.
KW - Bobcat
KW - Center-abundance hypothesis
KW - Cougar
KW - Jaguar
KW - Niche centroid
KW - Ocelot
KW - Suitability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070872152&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.15517/RBT.V67I3.34819
DO - 10.15517/RBT.V67I3.34819
M3 - Artículo
SN - 0034-7744
VL - 67
SP - 667
EP - 678
JO - Revista de Biologia Tropical
JF - Revista de Biologia Tropical
IS - 3
ER -