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Contreras-Díaz RG, Falconi M, Osorio-Olvera L, Cobos ME, Soberón J, Townsend Peterson A, Lira-Noriega A, Álvarez-Loayza P, Luis Gonçalves A, Hurtado-Astaiza J, Gonzáles RDPR, Zubileta IS, Spironello WR, Vásquez-Martínez R. On the relationship between environmental suitability and habitat use for three neotropical mammals. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Recent studies have used occupancy models (OM) and ecological niche models (ENM) to provide a better understanding of species’ distributions at different scales. One of the main ideas underlying the theoretical foundations of both OM and ENM is that they are positively related to abundance: higher occupancy implies higher density and more suitable areas are likely to have more abundant populations. Here, we analyze the relationship between habitat use measured in terms of occupancy probabilities from OM and environmental suitability derived from ENM in three different Neotropical mammal species: Leopardus wiedii, Cuniculus paca, and Dasypus novemcinctus. For ENM, we used climatic and vegetation cover variables and implemented a model calibration and selection protocol to select the most competitive models. For OM, we used a single-species, single-season model with site covariates for camera-trap data from six different sites throughout the Neotropical realm. Covariates included vegetation percentage, normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference water index, and elevation. For each site, we fit OM using all possible combinations of variables and selected the most competitive (ΔAICc < 2) to build an average OM. We explored relationships between estimated suitability and occupancy values using Spearman correlation analysis. Relationships between ENM and OM tended to be positive for the three Neotropical mammals, but the strength varied among sites, which could be explained by local factors such as site characteristics and conservation status of areas. We conjecture that ENM are suitable to understand spatial patterns at coarser geographic scales because the concept of the niche is about the species as a whole, whereas OM are more relevant to explain the distribution locally, likely reflecting transient dynamics of populations resulting from many local factors such as community composition and biotic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rusby G Contreras-Díaz
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Edificio A, 1° Piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Manuel Falconi
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Luis Osorio-Olvera
- Departamento de Ecología de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior s/n anexo al Jardín Botánico, 04500 Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Marlon E Cobos
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Jorge Soberón
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - A Townsend Peterson
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Dyche Hall, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Andrés Lira-Noriega
- CONACyT Research Fellow, Red de Estudios Moleculares Avanzados, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91073, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Patricia Álvarez-Loayza
- Center for Tropical Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705, USA
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
| | - André Luis Gonçalves
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
- Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Av. André Araújo 2936, Petrópolis, CEP 69067-375, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Johanna Hurtado-Astaiza
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
| | - Rocío del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
- Estación Biológica del Jardín Botánico de Missouri c/o Herbario HOXA, Prolongación Bolognesi Mz. E-6, Oxapampa 19230, Pasco, Peru
| | - Ingrid Serrano Zubileta
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
| | - Wilson Roberto Spironello
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
- Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Av. André Araújo 2936, Petrópolis, CEP 69067-375, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Rodolfo Vásquez-Martínez
- Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Science and Knowledge Division, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, VA 22202, USA
- Estación Biológica del Jardín Botánico de Missouri c/o Herbario HOXA, Prolongación Bolognesi Mz. E-6, Oxapampa 19230, Pasco, Peru
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