Predator species are essential for ecosystems as they maintain the ecological integrity of the habitat. Particularly, felids populations have declined globally due to their sensitivity to habitat disturbances. Nevertheless, in Mexico, there are areas protected by indigenous communities to preserve a portion of their territory, benefiting multiple species, including felids. Although the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of Mexico sponsors a long-term national-wide communal monitoring programme using camera traps, there is not a systematic analysis of the information generated by the programme. We assessed the occurrence of three felids species known to occur in a Zapotec indigenous community conservation area in Oaxaca, Mexico. Specifically, we evaluated how habitat characteristics, human disturbance and prey influence felids’ occurrence across the protected area. None of the variables explained better than the null model the proportion of sites used by Pumas (Puma concolor). Bobcats and Margays favour areas with medium-sized prey. Our study shows the importance of community-based monitoring and information systems (CBMIS) for identifying communal reserve characteristics that contribute to the occupation of carnivores. Further, our results also suggest that management should consider the habitat requirements of felids´ prey. By understanding wildlife habitat use, communal authorities could improve sustainable forest management within the reserves.

biodiversity, CBMIS, conservation, co-occurrence, GLMM, Oaxaca

The combination of natural resources and environmental conditions where organisms can reproduce and survive defines a species´ suitable habitat (Morrison et al. 1992). Habitat loss, through anthropogenic activities, affects the reproduction and survival of some species, impacting the diversity of ecosystems. The worldwide vertebrate populations declined by one-third between 1970 and 2006, the Tropics being the most affected ecosystem (CBD 2020). Estimations suggest that 24% of all mammals at extinction risk are mainly due to modifying habitats caused by human activities (PBD 2001). Within mammals, felids are indicators of the conservation status of an ecosystem (Boitani 2001). Most species of felids are susceptible to alterations in their habitat, particularly to changes triggered by anthropogenic activities (Cramer and Portier 2001; Ordiz et al. 2021), for example, roads (Basille et al. 2013) and habitat loss and fragmentation (Zanin et al. 2015). Thus, by protecting felids, other species habiting the same areas would benefit, maintaining the ecological integrity of these areas (Scognamillo et al. 2003; Ripple et al. 2014).

In Mexico, there are six species of felids (Puma, Puma concolor; Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yagouaroundi; Bobcat, Lynx rufus; Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis; Jaguar, Panthera onca; and Margays, Leopardus wiedii). Particularly, Pumas, Bobcats and Margays have been little studied. Studies of habitat use and abundance in pumas stand out (Lira and Naranjo 2003; Estrada 2008; Monroy et al. 2009; Rodríguez-Soto et al. 2013; Prude and Cain 2021), in Bobcats (Monroy-Vilchis and Velázquez 2002; Burton et al. 2003; Elizalde et al. 2012; Espinosa-Flores and López-González 2017; Flores-Morales et al. 2019; Lavariega et al. 2022) and in Margays (Carvajal et al. 2012; Pérez-Irineo et al. 2017). All six species of felids that live in Mexico have been recorded in areas protected by indigenous communities, mainly in the Mexican tropics (Briones-Salas et al. 2016).

Since 2008, the Mexican government officially recognised some of these areas through a protection scheme called Voluntary Destined Areas for Conservation (ADVC by its Spanish acronym). The ADVCs must be designated voluntarily by the communities or private owners to get institutional recognition (Elizondo and López-Merlín 2009). This scheme allows indigenous and peasant communities to get involved in ecosystem conservation programmes and the sustainable use of their natural resources. These spaces are managed by the inhabitants through social consensus, which establishes rules of use, including restrictions on hunting, looting plant, species and removing plant cover for agricultural and livestock activities (Anta-Fonseca & Mondragón-Galicia 2006). ADVCs cover variable extensions of forests and aim to protect the most fragile natural environments.

Within the ADVCs, one essential activity is wildlife monitoring, which is carried out by locals called “monitores comunitarios” (community monitors). Some authors have questioned this activity for not following a systematised monitoring scheme or lacking analysis of the information generated (e.g. Burton (2012); Méndez-López et al. (2015)). However, there are examples of success in biodiversity monitoring and conservation activities in indigenous conservation areas, either directly or with the support of other actors, such as technicians, academics and government institutions (e.g. DeCaro and Stokes (2008); Lavariega et al. (2020)). Most of these achievements are mainly due to the active participation of community monitors (Méndez-López et al. 2015).

The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of Mexico (CONANP by its Spanish acronym) sponsors a national-wide community monitoring programme to increase the knowledge of biodiversity in various country regions by fomenting the use of camera traps to detect wildlife. In Oaxaca, southern Mexico, this programme has been used successfully to assess the status of Jaguar populations (Lavariega et al. 2020), the herpetofauna (Simón-Salvador et al. 2021) and the study of birds in the Chinantla Region (Noria-Sánchez et al. 2015). From the governmental level, there is no difference in the management regime between community monitoring in the ADVCs and monitoring in the ANPs. The monitoring that is carried out in the ANPs of Oaxaca of the Sierra Juárez Mixteca direction (including the ADVC that attends) is carried out with the training, economic support, equipment and accompaniment of CONANP technicians. The results are discussed with the community authorities and sometimes in assemblies. For instance, during the last 10 years, communal monitors at the Voluntary Conservation Area La Cruz-Corral de Piedra in San Pablo Etla have been using camera traps to understand habitat use in three felid species found in the reserve (i.e. Pumas, Bobcats and Margays). However, despite a great deal of information generated by the community monitoring programme, there is no systematic approach to analyse the data. Furthermore, due to the limited number of studies carried out in Mexico and Latin America, little is known about habitat use, prey and conflicts with humans in Pumas, Bobcats and Margay.

Here, we analysed the information generated by a long-term wildlife monitoring programme at an ADVC protected by a Zapotec indigenous community to understand habitat use in three felids species (Pumas, Bobcats and Margays). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of habitat characteristics, human disturbance and the presence of prey which influence the occurrence of felines in the protected area. We used GLMM models to assess the association between landscape variables related to habitat characteristics, human disturbances and the presence of prey on felids occurrence within the protected area. We hypothesised that felids’ occurrence would be explained by habitat characteristics and prey presence (e.g. Nowell and Jackson (1996); Laundré and Hernández (2010)) and limited by pressures related to human settlements or roads (e.g. Angelieri et al. (2016); Horn et al. (2020); Mayer et al. (2022)). We anticipate that the acquired results will be instrumental in aiding decision-making processes by indigenous communities concerning the preservation of the biodiversity they safeguard.

We recorded the three focal felids species P. concolor, L. rufus and L. wiedii (Fig. 2), in addition to other species of meso-predators, such as Puma yagouaroundi, Canis latrans, Urocyon cinereoargenteus and some species, such as potential prey: Odocoileus virginianus, Pecari tajacu, Bassariscus astutus, Nasua narica, Didelphis virginiana, Sylvilagus floridanus, Sylvilagus cunicularis, Conepatus leuconotus, Mephitis macroura, Sciurus aureogaster, Cuniculus paca and birds such as: Pipilo ocai, Cyanocitta stelleri and Dendrortyx macroura (Fig. 3). Specifically, the Puma was detected 58 times in seven sampling stations; the Lynx was detected 29 times in five sampling stations and the Margay was detected 20 times in six sampling stations.

Figure 2.

Images of Puma (Puma concolor: A), Bobcat (Lynx rufus: B) and Margay (Leopardus wiedii: C), obtained by camera trapping in the Voluntary Conservation Area La Cruz-Corral de Piedra in San Pablo Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Figure 3.

Images of feline prey: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus: A), squirrel (Sciurus aureogaster: B), collared peccary (Dicotyles angulatus: C) and white-nosed coati (Nasua narica), obtained by camera trapping in the Voluntary Conservation Area La Cruz -Corral de Piedra in San Pablo Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.

For the Puma, the presence was best explained by the null model and the model that included medium-size prey (F = 0.69, P = 0.40, Fig. 4A) (Table 1), indicating that Puma occurrence increased in sites with the presence of medium-size prey (Fig. 4A; Table 2). The most parsimonious model suggests that the sites used by Bobcats and Margay were better explained by the variable medium-size prey (Table 1), indicating that Bobcats and Margay occurrence increased in sites with the presence of medium-size prey F = 0.43, P = 0.51, Fig. 4B and F = 0.20, P = 0.65, Fig. 4C, respectively; Table 2). Full sets of tested GLMMs and averaged estimates of the function slopes of variables for the three felid species are presented in the Suppl. material (Suppl. material 1: table S2 for Puma, table S3 for Bobcats and table S4 for Margay).

Figure 4.

Graphs depicting the relationship between the presence of medium-size prey and Puma (Puma concolor: A), Bobcat (Lynx rufus: B) and Margay (Leopardus wiedii: C). The y axis indicates counts. Model with predictive accuracy by adding one predictor variable at a time, starting with an empty model (null model) and selecting the variable that provides the best fit to the data according to the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). P-values evaluate the null hypothesis, not model performance. Error bars show standard error. Blue bars refer to absence and red bars refer to presence.

In the study, it was observed that the occurrence of the three felid species was high in areas where their prey species were present, indicating a potential influence of prey on the occupation patterns of these felines. None of the other variables explained the presence of felines; however, there are studies suggesting that human settlements or urbanisation have a negative effect on Pumas, Bobcats and Margays distribution (e.g. Angelieri et al. (2016); Horn et al. (2020); Mayer et al. (2022)). A possible explanation is that access to the ADVC is restricted by the community, with few visitors and motor cars all year round, resulting in a non-negative effect on the occurrence of the felid in the area.

Although the best model suggests that Pumas’ presence was not associated with any of the variables assessed in this study, the second-best model in our study suggests that the occurrence of the Puma was related to the occurrence of medium-size prey, as has been seen in other investigations. (e.g. Aranda and Sánchez-Cordero (1996); Hass (2009); Hernández-SaintMartín et al. (2015); Prude and Cain (2021)). Unlike other studies, our results suggest no relationship with pine-oak forests even though they are ideal places to ambush their prey, with easy access to resting and refuge sites (Cox et al. 2006; Land et al. 2008; Laundré and Hernández 2010).

Regarding Margay, it is one of the least-studied cats (Brodie 2009), highlighting the importance of our study. Recognising the association between prey and the presence of Margays is valuable for residents, as it indicates that to preserve this endangered feline (SEMARNAT-NOM-059; IUCN; CITES) in their territories, they must also prioritise efforts to conserve prey species. In this study, we analysed data from camera traps capturing individuals at ground level, indicating successful observations of Margays. The Margay species have been observed to engage in both ground and tree-based-hunting behaviour, with the interesting behaviour of climbing trees to consume prey captured on the ground (Aranda 2005). Furthermore, some authors mention that Margays undertake exploratory tours on the ground when not actively foraging for food (De Oliveira 1998; Hodge 2014). High densities of shrubs have been associated with the presence of Margays, as it facilitates the presence of prey (small mammals of Order: Didelphomorphia and Rodentia, principally; Bianchi et al. (2011)) and provides shelter for Margays (Goulart et al. 2009; Hodge 2014).

Bobcat diet is mainly constituted by lagomorphs and rodents and, to a lesser extent, by opossums, coatis and birds (e.g. Aranda et al. (2002); Hass (2009)), while Margay’s diet is mainly constituted by small mammals, lagomorphs, rodents, as well as birds and reptiles (e.g. Sunquist and Sunquist (2002)). Our results indicate that medium-size prey is positively associated with the presence of Bobcats and Margays, supporting the high encounter hypothesis for Bobcats, but not for Margays. Other studies have mentioned the utilisation of the habitat by bobcat is correlated to the abundance of their prey (Litvaitis et al. 1986).

We acknowledge that the study area is very small, considering all three felid species have large home ranges – Margay: 10–21 km² (Konecny 1989), Bobcat:11 km² (Monroy and Briones-Salas 2012), Puma: 83 km² (Nuñez-Pérez and Miller 2019), that the number of camera-traps was relatively small and that the sampling periods between cameras were not the same. Thus, the results should be taken with caution. However, this study highlights the importance of community monitoring of wildlife in protected areas by indigenous communities. In addition to incentivising local people, we believe that community wildlife monitoring is a viable alternative since it is relatively cheaper in the long run and is more effective in drawing on local experiences. Further, currently, the monitoring programme is operating on several communal reserves across Mexico; we encourage communal authorities and CONANP to conduct a global analysis of the information generated by the monitoring programme to implement a monitoring protocol that will lead to better management of forest practices national-wide.

This study highlights that community monitoring (in this case, indigenous monitoring) contributes to scientific knowledge. In this study, information was obtained on the local-scale habitat use of three felids; for one of them, the region represents its southernmost distribution area (L. rufus). Bobcats and Margays favour areas with medium-sized prey. Pumas’ presence did not correlate with the assessed variables. Additionally, the high occurrence of all three felid species in areas with their prey suggests prey influence on their habitat selection. By understanding the relationship between these carnivores, habitat characteristics, human disturbances and the presence of prey, community authorities could improve sustainable forest management. Considering that many indigenous communities around the world protect their natural resources – even without official recognition – (Farhan Ferrari et al. 2015; Jurrius and López Rodríguez 2020), community conservation efforts are essential for preserving biodiversity and environmental services.

We thank the communal authorities and residents of San Pablo Etla for access to their lands. To CONANP for providing information on various species of wildlife obtained in San Pablo Etla through the programme “Biological Monitoring of Biodiversity in Protected Natural Areas, Sierra Juárez Mixteca Directorate”. R.E. Galindo contributed with revisions and contributions to the document. MBS thanks the Operation and Promotion of Academic Activities Committee (COFAA) at the IPN. MBS and JRSL thanks the Research Performance Stimulus Program (EDI) at the IPN, as well as the National System of Researchers (SNI) for its recognition and support.