‘Habitat selection, genetics and size of jaguar populations in fragmented and continuous zones in Brazil and Mexico, the centre and limit respectively of their distribution area’

Albertina Pimentel Lima, Claudia Keller, Eloy Revilla Sánchez, Gerardo Jorge Ceballos González, Heliot Zarza Villanueva, José Chávez Tovar, José Antonio Godoy López, William Ernest Magnusson.

Among the species most sensitive to these kind of processes is the jaguar (Panthera onca). The aim of this project is to provide useful and generalisable information for the jaguar’s conservation with regard to its habitat requirements and genetic health, and to come up with population monitoring methods for tropical environments using non invasive techniques.

The objectives are: 1) Identify the characteristics of the habitats used by the species in the central (Brazil) and marginal (Mexico) zones of its distribution area. 2) Analyse the microhabitat used by resident and dispersed individuals in areas with human influence. 3) Estimate population size in representative habitats using non invasive methods. 4) Examine the general health of populations located in central and marginal distribution zones. 5) Draw up a landscaping plan (reserves, corridors, etc.) at regional level for the species’ conservation, bearing in mind the number of individuals to be harboured and the population’s genetic health.