IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Goulart, F.V.B.; C ceres, N.C.; Graipel, M.E.; Tortato, M.A.; Ghizoni Jr., I.R.; Gustavo, L.; Oliveira-Santos, R. | |
| Habitat selection by large mammals in a southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest | |
| 2009 Mammalian Biology (74): 182-190 | |
Habitat selection, which is mainly a consequence of competition and predation, allows species to coexist. The present study was conducted in two reserves in an Atlantic Forest area in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, and provided information on several large mammal species through photographic records. Records were related to certain environmental parameters, such as width of passages (trails and roads), vegetation density and proximity to water, in order to assess the relationship between each mammal species and its microhabitat. Thirty-two camera trap stations were placed during 17 months for 150.8 (ñ62.2) days on average. Terrestrial mammals tended to use different habitats: _Puma concolor_ used mainly dirt roads and open areas; _Leopardus pardalis_, _Cerdocyon thous_ and _Nasua nasua_ used more large trails and intermediate-forested sites; and _Cuniculus paca_, _Dasypus novemcinctus_, _Leopardus tigrinus_, _Eira barbara_ and _Leopardus wiedii_ were recorded more often on narrow trails and in densely forested sites. Some of these forest species, such as _D. novemcinctus_, _C. paca_ and _L. pardalis_, also showed relationships with watercourses. Information on habitat selection allows more effort to be addressed to the habitat associated with focal species, and indicates the significance of environmental heterogeneity, which makes it possible for species to coexist. |
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