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Habitat use, activity patterns and use of mineral licks by five species of ungulate in south-eastern Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

Mathias W. Tobler ,
Samia E. Carrillo-Percastegui  and
George Powell
Mathias W. Tobler*
Affiliation:
Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program, 500 E 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102, and Texas A&M University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, College Station, TX, USA
Samia E. Carrillo-Percastegui
Affiliation:
World Wildlife Fund U.S., 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA
George Powell
Affiliation:
World Wildlife Fund U.S., 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

We studied the habitat use, activity patterns and use of mineral licks by five species of Amazonian ungulate using data from four 60-d camera trap surveys at two different sites in the lowland rain forest of Madre de Dios, Peru. Camera traps were set out in two regular grids with 40 and 43 camera stations covering an area of 50 and 65 km2, as well as at five mineral licks. Using occupancy analysis we tested the hypothesis that species are spatially separated. The results showed that the grey brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) occurred almost exclusively in terra firme forests, and that the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) used floodplain forest more frequently during some surveys. All other species showed no habitat preference and we did not find any spatial avoidance of species. The white-lipped peccary, the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) as well as the grey brocket deer were strictly diurnal while the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) was nocturnal. The red brocket deer (Mazama americana) was active day and night. The tapir was the species with the highest number of visits to mineral licks (average 52.8 visits per 100 d) followed by the white-lipped peccary (average 16.1 visits per 100 d) and the red brocket deer (average 17.1 visits per 100 d). The collared peccary was only recorded on three occasions and the grey brocket deer was never seen at a lick. Our results suggest that resource partitioning takes place mainly at the diet level and less at a spatial level; however, differences in small-scale habitat use are still possible.

Keywords

Amazoncamera trapsMadre de DiosMazama americanaMazama gouazoubiraoccupancyPecari tajacuresource partitioningTapirus terrestrisTayassu pecari
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , May 2009 , pp. 261 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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