TY - JOUR
T1 - Large- and medium-sized mammal survey using camera traps in the sikre river in the Río Plátano biosphere reserve, Honduras
AU - Gonthier, David J.
AU - Castañeda, Franklin E.
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - Large mammals are elusive, often nocturnal, and therefore difficult to study. In many parks, reserves, agriculture lands, and other human-dominated landscapes, mammalian abundance is unknown despite their importance to ecosystems. The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve of eastern Honduras has been the site of much research, but many rivers within the reserve have not been surveyed for mammalian diversity. In this study we used camera traps to survey an area of 70 km2 along the Sikre River for mammals in both broad-leaf forest and pine savanna. 2,040 trap-nights yielded 116 captures in total. Fourteen mammal, three bird, and one reptile species were photographed in the broad-leaf forest, while none of the four camera stations in the pine savanna captured animals on film. The tapir (Tapirus bairdii) was the most frequently captured species. We also captured four photographs of at least two individuals of the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), a species considered the most threatened mammal in Central America. Of the felids, Puma concolor and Leopardus pardalis were each captured on five photographs each, while Panthera onca was only captured once during a preliminary pilot survey in 2007. The results suggest the study site hosts a species richness of large- and medium-sized mammals that is comparable to other sites in Central and South America.
AB - Large mammals are elusive, often nocturnal, and therefore difficult to study. In many parks, reserves, agriculture lands, and other human-dominated landscapes, mammalian abundance is unknown despite their importance to ecosystems. The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve of eastern Honduras has been the site of much research, but many rivers within the reserve have not been surveyed for mammalian diversity. In this study we used camera traps to survey an area of 70 km2 along the Sikre River for mammals in both broad-leaf forest and pine savanna. 2,040 trap-nights yielded 116 captures in total. Fourteen mammal, three bird, and one reptile species were photographed in the broad-leaf forest, while none of the four camera stations in the pine savanna captured animals on film. The tapir (Tapirus bairdii) was the most frequently captured species. We also captured four photographs of at least two individuals of the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), a species considered the most threatened mammal in Central America. Of the felids, Puma concolor and Leopardus pardalis were each captured on five photographs each, while Panthera onca was only captured once during a preliminary pilot survey in 2007. The results suggest the study site hosts a species richness of large- and medium-sized mammals that is comparable to other sites in Central and South America.
KW - Conservation
KW - Giant anteater
KW - Honduras
KW - La moskitia
KW - Leopardus
KW - Myrmecophaga tridactyla
KW - Panthera
KW - Puma
KW - Río plátano
KW - Tapirus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84884834297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84884834297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/194008291300600409
DO - 10.1177/194008291300600409
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84884834297
SN - 1940-0829
VL - 6
SP - 584
EP - 591
JO - Tropical Conservation Science
JF - Tropical Conservation Science
IS - 4
ER -