Jaguar population ecology in the pantanal of Rio Negro

Coordinators: Leandro Siveira & Anah T. A. Jácomo.

Partners of this project:

The jaguar is Brazil's largest predator and the Pantanal wetland of central-west Brazil is considered to be one of their largest stronghold south of the Amazon. The inaccessibility of much of its area has restricted agricultural deforestation, and beef cattle ranching is the major local economic exploitation of the Pantanal. In some aspects, this activity has been shown to be less harmful to the local environment than most other types of economic development, maintaining natural habitats and permitting wildlife coexistence with domestic livestock.

Jaguar distribution and persistence is strictly related to large tracts of healthy habitat and abundant prey-base, consisting mainly of peccaries, capybaras, tapirs, and other medium-sized mammals. It is very possible that the Pantanal's jaguar population serves as a reservoir for surrounding ecosystems, especially the Cerrado. In this way, the Pantanal performs an unique ecological role in maintaining small populations south of the Amazon. Rumors in the past years which suggest that jaguar numbers are increasing in the Pantanal cannot be evaluated due to a lack of scientific knowledge to support this position. The proposed research is designed to estimate and establish a long-term monitoring of the jaguar population of the Pantanal of Rio Negro. Specific aims include:

Estimate local jaguar population density;
Monitor population fluctuation; Monitor jaguar reproduction;
Characterize jaguar seasonal home-range and habitat use;
Study jaguar diet; Describe activity patterns;
Estimate prey abundance;
Evaluate jaguar predation impact upon domestic livestock;