scholarly journals Puma (Puma concolor) predation on tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Cesar Cascelli Azevedo ◽  
Vagner Canuto ◽  
Fernanda Souza ◽  
Cynthia Elisa Widmer
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fragmentation ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Anthropogenic Habitats ◽  
First Report ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Tapirus Terrestris ◽  
Generalist Diet ◽  
Different Levels

The process of forest fragmentation affects mostly top predators, which are more prone to first disappear. Pumas, Puma concolor, are known to have a generalist diet that includes a wide variety of wild and domestic prey species. The capacity of adapting their diet to consuming prey in anthropogenic habitats may be the reason for this species' success in incorporating anthropogenic areas with different levels of fragmentation as part of its habitat. Here we report a case of puma consumption of a large wild prey species, the tapir, Tapirus terrestris. From March 2012 to October 2013 we collected 85 puma's scats opportunistically inside fragments of the Atlantic Forest in the Parana state, Brazil. In one of the scats we found hairs and some hooves of a tapir, as well as puma hairs. We propose two hypotheses that may explain the occurrence of tapir in a pumás scat: (1) an event of scavenging or (2) an event of predation on a juvenile tapir. The most likely explanation for this event may be the predation of a juvenile in response to a possible abundant presence of tapirs in the study area. This event adds to our understanding of the great plasticity of this species to adapt to an altered landscape. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a puma scavenging or predation event on a tapir.

Trophic Cascades in Grasslands

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Wilsey
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Temperate Grasslands ◽  
Cascading Effect ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Invertebrate Predators ◽  
Ecology Of Fear

Top predators have effects that can ‘cascade down’ on lower trophic levels. Because of this cascading effect, it matters how many trophic levels are present. Predators are either ‘sit and wait’ or ‘active’. Wolves are top predators in temperate grasslands and can alter species composition of smaller-sized predators, prey, and woody and herbaceous plant species, either through direct effects or indirect effects (‘Ecology of Fear’). In human derived grasslands, invertebrate predators fill a similar ecological role as wolves. Migrating populations of herbivores tend to be more limited by food than non-migratory populations. The phenology and synchrony of births vary among prey species in a way that is consistent with an adaptation to predation. Precocious species have highly synchronous birth dates to satiate predators. Non-precocious species (‘hiders’) have asynchronous births. Results from studies that manipulate both predators and food support the hypothesis that bottom-up and top-down effects interact.

First record of albino lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus 1758) in an important Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot

Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 601-604
Author(s):  
Mariana Bueno Landis ◽  
Luciano Candisani ◽  
Leticia Prado Munhoes ◽  
João Carlos Zecchini Gebin ◽  
Frineia Rezende ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
First Record ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Tapirus Terrestris

AbstractAlbinism is the absence of pigmentation or coloration and is rarely found in nature. In this study we examined photos and videos obtained by cameras traps in the Legado das Águas Reserve. In the images, we identified two albino lowland tapirs. The results highlight the necessity of understanding the genetic diversity of lowland tapir populations and the important role of the professional photography associated with scientific research.

scholarly journals Forest fragmentation in the landscape in the Atlantic Forest Biome: A systematic review of the literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephany Diolino Cunha ◽  
Bruna Sampaio Crivilin ◽  
Matheus da Silva Araújo ◽  
Luís Antônio Coimbra Borges
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Landscape Ecology ◽  
Forest Fragmentation ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Forest Biome ◽  
Degree Of Fragmentation

Forest fragmentation is defined as the process by which a continuous area of habitat is reduced in size and divided between spaces. Therefore, due to the increase in these areas, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review of the literature on forest fragments in the Atlantic Forest biome in order to verify their main characteristics and landscape ecology. Publications in search platforms referring to the period from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed such as: SciELO, Google academic and CAPES journals portal. The search terms entered were: “Studies of forest fragments in the Atlantic Forest biome” and “Landscape ecology in forest fragments”. A total of 15 articles were selected from among the works found, and 5 of these were chosen to be evaluated in the present study. Four of the five works were carried out in the state of Espírito Santo, close to basins and sub-basins, and only one work was carried out in a state park. Thus, the evaluated works with the theme, study of fragmentation and ecology of the landscape showed a high degree of fragmentation, meaning that they have fragments smaller than 5 hectares; in addition, all fragments have an irregular edge effect. Therefore, measures aimed at the conservation of biodiversity are needed in all places so that there is ecological restoration of the landscape and conservation of fauna and flora in the Atlantic Forest biome. 

scholarly journals Effect of Land Cover Change on Atlantic Forest Fragmentation in Rio Largo, Al, Brazil

2020 ◽  
pp. 102-114
Author(s):  
Lucas Galdino da Silva ◽  
Arthur Costa Falcão Tavares ◽  
Carlos Frederico Lins E. Silva Brandão ◽  
João Pedro dos Santos Verçosa ◽  
Raquel Elvira Cola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Forest Fragmentation ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Aerial Images ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Digital Format

This study's objective was to analyze the effect of land cover change, between 1965 and 2018, using statistical metrics and geoprocessing tools. And consequently, to provide information of area (ha) and spatial fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest in the municipality of Rio Largo/AL, Brazil. The samples were collected and transferred by CECA, CADEH, and INCRA, between November 2019 and April 2020. The basic materials used in this work were multi-temporal aerial images in digital format, derived from the 1965 aerophotogrametric survey on the scale 1:25000, belonging to the collection of the Engineering and Agrarian Sciences Campus - UFAL, and images of Landsat satellites (5 and 8) processed and made available by the Mapbiomas Project. The statistic landscape metrics were calculated using Landscape ecology Statistics (LECOs), a QGIS plugin. The analysis of forest fragmentation areas over the 53 years showed a reduction between 32.17% (1965) and 12.04% (2018) concerning the total extension of the municipality. In 1965, the average area obtained from 49 fragments was 201.13 ha. The values show a higher distance of forest fragments between 1965 and 1989, and disappearance by 2018.The Pearson correlation coefficient for 1965 and 2018 presented the value of r = -0.525, indicating a moderate and negative correlation between the mean values of areas (ha) of forest fragments and the number of forest fragments. The worst-case scenario for the maintenance of native forests occurred in 1989, where the reduction of continuous forest areas had 10.87 ha for forest area average, being spaced in 327 fragments. In the period 1986 and 1996, there was a decrease in fragmentation, reaching 200 fragments. In 1996 and 1997, there was an imbalance in forest maintenance, again increasing the number of fragments to 250 areas, and being explained by the loosening of surveillance in previous years, followed by deforestation.

scholarly journals Habitat selection when killing primary versus alternative prey species supports prey specialization in an apex predator

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Cristescu ◽  
S Bose ◽  
LM Elbroch ◽  
ML Allen ◽  
Heiko Wittmer
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Apparent Competition ◽  
Selection Function ◽  
Alternative Prey ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus Columbianus ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Selection Of

© 2019 The Zoological Society of London Many predators specialize on one or several prey species that they select from the range of potential prey. Predator specialization on primary versus alternative prey is driven in part by encounter rates with prey and a predator’s habitat selection. Although habitat selection changes with behavioural state, this has not been well-recognized in the resource selection function (RSF) literature to date, often because auxiliary data on the predator’s behavioural states (e.g. hunting) are absent. We monitored habitat selection of pumas Puma concolor in a multi-prey system in northern California, where pumas specialized on black-tailed deer Odocoileus hemionus columbianus. We employed multiple RSF analyses on different datasets to test the following three hypotheses: (1) Pumas utilize habitats in proportion to their availability; (2) Pumas select specific habitat features when killing black-tailed deer, their primary prey; (3) Pumas do not select distinct habitats from those identified under hypothesis 1 when killing alternative prey. We found that pumas in our study selected for specific habitats and habitat features in general, but that their selection was more pronounced when killing black-tailed deer. In summer, kill sites of deer were associated with rugged terrain, but gentle slopes and northerly aspects. In winter, pumas killed deer at low elevations, on gentle slopes and on northerly and westerly aspects. Overall, evidence suggested that pumas tracked their primary prey across seasonal migrations, which were short in distance but resulted in pronounced changes in elevation. When killing alternative prey, pumas showed little evidence of habitat selection, suggesting they may kill alternative prey opportunistically. Our results hold implications for how data should be partitioned when modelling baseline habitat selection of predators, hunting habitat selection and predation risk for prey species, as well as for how we model ecological processes such as apparent competition.

scholarly journals Observations of Interactions between Puma, Puma concolor, and Introduced European Red Deer, Cervus elaphus, in Patagonia

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner T. Flueck
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Antipredator Behavior ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
Considerable Time ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Natural Predation ◽  
Large Predators

Direct observations of interactions between native Puma (Puma concolor) and introduced European Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in Patagonia are discussed with respect to the absence of evolutionary sympatry. Although the founding stock of European Red Deer had been lacking natural predation pressure for considerable time due to the previous extinction of large predators, these observations suggested that inherent antipredator behavior of European Red Deer toward this novel predator, once detected, was effective and may partially explain the success of European Red Deer as an invasive species. Puma behavior supported the view that they are a generalist predator which opportunistically utilizes new prey species like European Red Deer.

scholarly journals Dive behaviour and foraging effort of female Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 191369 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Kirkman ◽  
D. P. Costa ◽  
A.-L. Harrison ◽  
P. G. H. Kotze ◽  
W. H. Oosthuizen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Dive Behaviour ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Cape Fur Seal ◽  
Benthic Diving

While marine top predators can play a critical role in ecosystem structure and dynamics through their effects on prey populations, how the predators function in this role is often not well understood. In the Benguela region of southern Africa, the Cape fur seal ( Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus ) population constitutes the largest marine top predator biomass, but little is known of its foraging ecology other than its diet and some preliminary dive records. Dive information was obtained from 32 adult females instrumented with dive recorders at the Kleinsee colony (29°34.17′ S, 16°59.80′ E) in South Africa during 2006–2008. Most dives were in the depth range of epipelagic prey species (less than 50 m deep) and at night, reflecting the reliance of Cape fur seals on small, vertically migrating, schooling prey. However, most females also performed benthic dives, and benthic diving was prevalent in some individuals. Benthic diving was significantly associated with the frequency with which females exceeded their aerobic dive limit. The greater putative costs of benthic diving highlight the potential detrimental effects to Cape fur seals of well-documented changes in the availability of epipelagic prey species in the Benguela.

scholarly journals Food habits of the Cougar Puma concolor (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Central Andes of the Colombian Coffee Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. e20206023
Author(s):  
Diana Camila Muñoz Castillo ◽  
Pauline Perry Arbeláez ◽  
Héctor Fabio Arias-Monsalve ◽  
Héctor E. Ramírez-Chaves
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Central Andes ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
General Nature ◽  
History Museum ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
Important Region

The feeding habits of the cougar have been scarcely studied in Colombia, despite its importance in the ecosystems it inhabits. In this study, we analysed the diet of the cougar using 53 feces samples collected from several sites in the Central Andes of Colombia’s Coffee Growing Region. To identify prey species, we examined and compared bone fragments and hairs found in each sample with descriptions published in relevant literature and with specimens from the Natural History Museum of the Universidad de Caldas, Colombia. We found that rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.) provided half of the relative biomass consumed by the cougar (50%). Other preys identified belong to representatives of medium and large mammals such as marsupials (Didelphis: 10%), sloths (Choloepus: 9%), rodents (Coendou: 10%, Cuniculus: 9%), and deer (Mazama: 9%). Of the preys, Coendou rufescens has not, to our knowledge, been previously included in cougar diet literature. The curve of accumulation of species indicated that the number of samples obtained in this work fully describe the diet of this feline. Neither domestic species were recorded in this work, nor were there any relationships between the dry or rainy seasons and the consumption of prey species. The comparison of the information reported in this study and others carried out in the Andes may indicate the general nature of this feline’s diet and its adaptability to the prey species found in each area, since these vary in each one of them. It is probable that the obtained trophic niche value (0.33) is due to the abundance of rabbits present in the study area. It is also probable that the cougar has not consumed domestic species since, although it is close to cattle ranches, it has enough of wild prey in the area to supply its needs. The results of this study may help to improve our understanding of the feeding habits of this predator and its interaction with other species in this important region of Colombia. This will, in turn, promote major comprehension of the role of cougars in the Colombian Cordilleras and lead actions for their conservation.

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