Estimating demographic parameters is important for understanding species population trends and dynamics and requires long-term surveys. Estimating these parameters in forested areas for predator populations is a major challenge. The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is one of the Neotropical felids most sensitive to human impacts, and information on its population dynamics is scarce. We evaluated the population dynamics of ocelots in Argentina over 14 years (2004 to 2018) at the southernmost extent of their range. We examined whether demographic parameters, survival, population growth, turnover, and density varied by sex or sampling year using data from 7 camera-trap surveys conducted in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina. We expected different survival and turnover rates for males and females due to their differential dispersal behavior. We did not expect temporal changes in population growth rate or density since this region has relatively low anthropogenic threats due to the large areal extent of protection. We studied ocelot population trends using spatially explicit open population capture-recapture models. The annual population growth rate was 1.01 (CI = 0.98 to 1.03), and did not vary throughout the surveys. The annual adult survival rate was 0.80 (CI = 0.75 to 0.84) for females and 0.78 (CI = 0.72 to 0.83) for males. Two males survived for at least 12 years, and 1 female was at least 19 years old at the end of this study. Males showed greater intra- and inter-survey movements, and females showed greater detectability. Density did not vary over time, ranging from 7.85 indiv/100 km2 (CI = 5.59 to 11.00) in 2010 to 10.53 indiv/100 km2 (CI = 8.17 to 13.57) in 2016, with overlapping 95% CI for all surveys. These values suggest that the ocelot population in the study area has remained stable over the 14-year period, with low yearly population turnover and relatively high survival rate. Hence, wild ocelot populations inhabiting low human impact areas can be very stable over 2 generations. Our results established a reliable baseline for future comparisons in order to evaluate the effects of landscape fragmentation and other threats (e.g., poaching) on ocelot population dynamics. We evaluated the population dynamics of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) for 14 years (2004 to 2018) in well-preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest of Argentina. Ocelot population size has remained stable, with low yearly population turnover and a relatively high survival rate.

Circadian rhythms are a mechanism by which species adapt to environmental variability and fundamental to understanding species behavior. However, we lack data and a standardized framework to accurately assess and compare temporal activity for species during rapid ecological change. Through a global network representing 38 countries, we leveraged 8.9 million mammalian observations to create a library of 14,587 standardized diel activity estimates for 445 species. We found that less than half the species' estimates were in agreement with diel classifications from the reference literature and that species commonly used more than one diel classification. Species diel activity was highly plastic when exposed to anthropogenic change. Furthermore, body size and distributional extent were strongly associated with whether a species is diurnal or nocturnal. Our findings provide essential knowledge of species behavior in an era of rapid global change and suggest the need for a new, quantitative framework that defines diel activity logically and consistently while capturing species plasticity.

Poaching can have major impacts on wild animal populations and is pervasive in tropical regions. The spatial distribution of this furtive activity is particularly difficult to estimate in large natural areas, and this hinders the development of effective anti-poaching strategies. We used passive acoustic recorders in combination with occupancy models to develop a predictive map of poaching presence in the Upper Paran'a Atlantic Forest of Argentina and Brazil. Poaching activity was measured by gunshots detected by the recorders that were active for 7 months (August 2018 to February 2019) on 90 sampling sites distributed in an area of 4637 km(2). A total of 15,936 h of landscape sounds were recorded, detecting gunshots at 43 sites. Using occupancy models, we evaluated eight variables that might influence poaching occurrence and detectability. Poaching was higher in areas with higher accessibility, with a higher proportion of rural areas, and far from control posts of park rangers. The detectability of gunshots was lower during periods of heavy rainfall. We validated the occupancy models through field surveys conducted in the same period resulting in a predictive capacity of 82% of our best model. Our results show that this region is under very high poaching pressure, even within the protected area's boundaries and that urgent actions must be taken. The methods we used for estimating poaching pressure and the predictive maps developed could serve as a tool for developing and implementing anti-poaching strategies to reduce this pervasive threat.

Motivation Population trend information is an ‘Essential Biodiversity Variable’ for monitoring change in biodiversity over time. Here, we present a global dataset of 1122 population trends describing changes in abundance over time in large mammals from the Order Carnivora – some of the world’s most charismatic and functionally important fauna. Main types of variables included Key data fields for each record: species, coordinates, trend timeframe, methods of data collection and analysis, and population timeseries or summarised trend value. Population trend values are reported using quantitative metrics in 75% of records that collectively represent more than 6500 population estimates. The remaining records qualitatively describe population change (e.g. increase). Spatial location and grain Records represent locations across the globe (latitude: -51.0 to 80.0; longitude: -166.0 to 166.0) with more trends found within the northern temperate zone. Time period and grain Records span from 1726 to 2017, with 92% of trends starting after 1950. Major taxa and level of measurement We conducted a semi-systematic search for population trend data in 87 species from four families in the order Carnivora: Canidae, Felidae, Hyaenidae and Ursidae. We compiled data for 50 of the 87 species. Software format .csv

Motivation Population trend information is an 'essential biodiversity variable' for monitoring change in biodiversity over time. Here, we present a database of 1,122 population trends from around the world, describing changes in abundance over time in large mammal species (n = 50) from four families in the order Carnivora. For this subset of taxa, we provide approximately 21 times more trends than BioTIME and three times more trends than the Living Planet database. Main types of variables included Key data fields for each trend: species, coordinates, trend time-frame, methods of data collection and analysis, and population time series or summarized trend value. Population trend values are reported using quantitative metrics in 75% of records that collectively represent more than 6,500 population estimates. The remaining records qualitatively describe population change (e.g., increase). Spatial location and grain Trends represent 621 unique locations across the globe (latitude: -51.0 to 80.0; longitude: -166.0 to 166.0). Most trends (86%) are found within the Northern Hemisphere. Time period and grain On average (mean), trends are derived from 6.5 abundance observations, and span in time from 1726 to 2017, with 92% of trends starting after 1950. Major taxa and level of measurement We conducted a semi-systematic search for population trend data in 87 species from four families in the order Carnivora: Canidae, Felidae, Hyaenidae and Ursidae. We compiled data for 50 of the 87 species. Software format .csv.

Abstract Canopy camera trapping is being increasingly used to characterize assemblages of arboreal mammals. In this study we compared, for the first time, the assemblage of arboreal mammals of the Atlantic Forest, surveyed using canopy camera trapping at two protected areas of Misiones, Argentina: Piñalito (11 camera-trap stations) and Cruce Caballero (9 stations), with the assemblage recorded at ground-level with a camera-trapping survey conducted at another protected area, the nearby private reserve Valle del Alegría (18 stations). We calculated the number of independent photo-events for each species and site, and we built species rank abundance curves to compare the recorded species diversity among sites. We recorded six mammal species at Piñalito and Cruce Caballero, and 23 at Valle del Alegría. Canopy-survey sites showed lower diversity but a different and non-nested species composition when compared to the ground-level survey. One of the most frequently recorded species in the canopy, the brown-eared woolly opossum, Caluromys lanatus, categorized as Vulnerable in Argentina, has not been photographed in ground-level camera-trap surveys in Misiones before. Our results suggest that canopy camera trapping represents a robust method to sample arboreal species that are missed in ground-level camera-trap surveys, thus improving forest species inventories.

Large terrestrial carnivores have undergone some of the largest population declines and range reductions of any species, which is of concern as they can have large effects on ecosystem dynamics and function.1-4 The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the apex predator throughout the majority of the Neotropics; however, its distribution has been reduced by >50% and it survives in increasingly isolated populations.5 Consequently, the range-wide management of the jaguar depends upon maintaining core populations connected through multi-national, transboundary cooperation, which requires understanding the movement ecology and space use of jaguars throughout their range.6-8 Using GPS telemetry data for 111 jaguars from 13 ecoregions within the four biomes that constitute the majority of jaguar habitat, we examined the landscape-level environmental and anthropogenic factors related to jaguar home range size and movement parameters. Home range size decreased with increasing net productivity and forest cover and increased with increasing road density. Speed decreased with increasing forest cover with no sexual differences, while males had more directional movements, but tortuosity in movements was not related to any landscape factors. We demonstrated a synergistic relationship between landscape-scale environmental and anthropogenic factors and jaguars' spatial needs, which has applications to the conservation strategy for the species throughout the Neotropics. Using large-scale collaboration, we overcame limitations from small sample sizes typical in large carnivore research to provide a mechanism to evaluate habitat quality for jaguars and an inferential modeling framework adapt

The expansion of agriculture is promoting the loss of natural environments and their biotic homogenization. We aimed at understanding whether the replacement of forests and grasslands by tree plantations leads to biotic homogenization of mammal assemblages of two contrasting Neotropical ecoregions or if dispersal or environmental limitations keep their original assemblages clearly differentiated.

Species’ activity patterns are driven by the need to meet basic requirements of food, social interactions, movement, and rest, but often are influenced by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors. We used camera-trap data to describe and compare the activity patterns of the relatively poorly studied tayra (Eira barbara) across 10 populations distributed from the south of Mexico to the north of Argentina, and attempted to identify biotic or abiotic factors that may be associated with variation in level of diurnality. In a subset of sites we also aimed to document potential seasonal variation in activity. We used a kernel density estimator based on the time of independent photographic events to calculate the proportion of diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal activity of each population. Tayras were mostly active during diurnal periods (79.31%, 759 records), with a lower proportion of crepuscular activity (18.07%, 173 records) yet we documented some variation in patterns across the 10 study areas (activity overlap coefficient varied from Δ 4 = 0.64 to Δ 1 = 0.95). In northern localities, activity peaked twice during the day (bimodal) with most activity ocurring in the morning, whereas closer to the geographical equator, activity was constant (unimodal) throughout the day, peaking at midday: activity either was unimodal or bimodal in southern localities. Despite investigating multiple potential abiotic and biotic predictors, only latitude was associated with variation in the proportion of diurnal activity by tayras across its range, with increased diurnal activity closer to the equator. Seasonal comparisons in activity showed a tendency to reduce diurnality in dry versus rainy seasons, but the pattern was not consistently significant. This is the most comprehensive description of tayra activity patterns to date, and lends novel insight into the potential flexibility of the species to adapt to local conditions.

Large terrestrial carnivores are have undergone some of the largest population and range reductions of any species which is of concern as they have disproportionately large effects on ecosystem dynamics and function. The jaguar is the apex predator throughout the majority of the Neotropics, however, its distribution has been reduced by >50% and throughout the majority of its distribution it survives in increasingly isolated populations. Consequently, the range-wide management of the jaguar (Panthera onca) depends upon maintaining core populations connected through multi-national, transboundary cooperation, which is dependent upon understanding the movement ecology and space use of jaguars throughout their range. Using data from 116 jaguars from 13 ecoregions and seven countries, we examined the landscape-level environmental and anthropogenic factors related to jaguar home range size and movement parameters. Range-wide and at the ecoregional scale home range size decreased with increasing net productivity and increased with increasing road density. Also, range-wide, home range size decreased with increasing forest cover and decreasing human population density. Movement within home ranges was best explained by a different set of environmental covariates. Range-wide predictions of home range size were consistent with expectations based upon available density estimates. Using large-scale collaboration and open source data we overcame typical limitations of small sample sizes and limited geographic distribution of large carnivore data to demonstrate the jaguar as a model organism and in doing so provide a mechanism to evaluate range-wide habitat quality for jaguars and an inferential modeling framework adaptable to the conservation of other large terrestrial carnivores.

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peerreviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other largescale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data.

Cattle grazing usually has negative effects on wildlife. We studied the effects of cattle on the patterns of habitat use and diel activity of three neotropical herbivores, capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), gray brocket (Mazama gouazoubira) and marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) across the savannas of northeastern Argentina. We conducted a camera-trap survey with 234 stations in three habitat types (grasslands, forests, pine plantations) with and without cattle. We used occupancy models to evaluate the effect of cattle (presence or recording rate), season (winter vs spring-summer, and its interaction with cattle), distance to water bodies, and density of vegetation, on the probability of detection (p) of the native herbivores. We also evaluated the effect of cattle, habitat type, structural complexity of the vegetation, proportion of marshlands and forests in the landscape, season, and relative accessibility by humans, on the probability of occupancy (ψ) of these species. Using kernel density functions, we estimated the overlap in diel activity pattern of native herbivores with that of cattle, comparing this overlap between stations with and without cattle. Several variables, but not cattle, affected ψ. For marsh deer p was lower when cattle were present. For brocket, p was much lower in winter when cattle were present. For the marsh deer and the capybara, ψ increased (but in brocket decreased) with increasing cost of human access, a proxy of hunting. For capybara and brocket, ψ increased with increasing structural complexity of vegetation. Cattle were more diurnal in grasslands than in forests and plantations. Native herbivores became more nocturnal, with lesser overlap with the diel pattern of cattle, in grasslands, when cattle were present. Cattle seem to exert interference competition on the native herbivores which used less frequently areas where cattle were present and avoided being simultaneously active with grazing cattle. Livestock production should strive to mitigate the negative competitive effects of cattle on wildlife by maintaining cattle free protected areas. It should also reduce some indirect effects of this activity on the native herbivores (e.g., hunting of wildlife and frequent burning of grasslands).

The fragmentation of natural environments is one of the most important threats to biodiversity and involves changes in landscape configuration and habitat quality. The Atlantic Forest of South America has been highly fragmented, which creates concern for the conservation of its biodiversity. We evaluated the effects of forest loss and fragmentation on the terrestrial mammal assemblage of the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina. The area still contains large fragments and a forest cover >50%. We evaluated the effect of the configuration of the fragments (area, isolation) and the quality of the environment surrounding them (% of forest, land uses, poaching). We sampled mammal assemblages with camera-traps. We used generalized linear models, with the number of species in smaller forest fragments (49 stations) and the difference in their composition to that of the largest forest fragment (control situation; 53 stations) as response variables. Species richness in the fragments increased with the proportion of forest in their surroundings and decreased with the distance to population sources. The dissimilarity of the assemblages of smaller fragments to those of the largest fragment increased with forest disturbance and by the contrast of the land uses (e.g., annual crops) surrounding the fragments. We modeled and mapped these effects, which can be used as spatially explicit planning tools for the conservation of the mammal assemblage in this landscape. The effect of fragmentation on the mammal assemblage is mediated by both anthropic effects that affect the quality of the environment and by the spatial configuration of fragments in the landscape.

Four Neotropical small and medium felids-the ocelot, jaguarundi, margay, and southern tiger cat-have overlapping geographic distributions in the endangered Atlantic Forest. Local studies show that these felids avoid areas with high human impact, but the three smaller ones use human-modified areas more frequently than do ocelots. To understand how landscape changes affect the habitat distribution of these four felids in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina, we used maximum entropy models to analyze the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors. We estimated niche breadth and overlap among these felids. The conversion of the native forest to land uses without trees was the most important variable that determined the habitat distribution of the four species. For all four species, the optimal habitat covered about 1/3 of the study area and corresponds mainly to the native forest areas. Nearly 50% of these areas had some level of protection. The niche width was higher for the small felids than for ocelots. Niche overlap was high for all species pairs, but higher among the small felids and lower for each of these with the ocelot. The four felids were negatively affected by native forest loss, with ocelots being more sensitive than the smaller felids. The conversion of unprotected forest areas to other types of land uses would imply a greater habitat loss for these felids. The protection of current remnants of Atlantic Forest in Argentina is important for the long-term conservation of the four felids. in Spanish is available with online material.

Given the phylogenetic proximity and similar morphology of opossums (Didelphis spp.), they are good models to study factors that facilitate or impede coexistence of syntopic species and to better understand how landscape changes affect species distributions and habitat use. For this purpose, we used single-species and two-species occupancy models using records of D. albiventris, considered the dominant species, and D. aurita from a cameratrap survey conducted in an agricultural and conservation landscape in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina. We evaluated which factors determined the probability of species occurrence: habitat preferences or interspecific relationships. We also estimated the overlap in daily activity patterns between species, and evaluated changes in D. aurita activity in response to the occupancy probability of D. albiventris. Didelphis aurita had higher occupancy probabilities in the continuous native forest, whereas D. albiventris had higher occupancy probabilities in fragmented forests with less complex and more open vegetation structure, and greater proximity to buildings. Both opossums were almost absent in pine plantations. Results of the co-occurrence models and the overlap in diel activity suggest that D. aurita is not avoiding D. albiventris. Occurrences of these two opossums most probably reflect different adaptations by each species to different habitats, and competitive interactions seem to play a minor role in shaping their current distributions. Didelphis albiventris may be replacing D. aurita mainly as a result of changing environmental conditions, which become unfavorable to the latter but promote the creation of new habitat for the former.

Fil: Cruz, Maria Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biologia Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biologia Subtropical; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlantico; Argentina

Xenarthrans-anteaters, sloths, and armadillos-have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data.