Identifying key sites for connecting jaguar populations inthe Brazilian Atlantic Forest
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2018
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Networks of protected areas play a key role for large carnivore conservation sincehabitat fragmentation and population isolation are strong threats for them. We eval-uated the contribution of the Protected Jaguar Areas (PJAs) and other forest frag-ments (1217 patches) to habitat availability and connectivity for jaguars in theBrazilian Atlantic Forest. We used habitat availability indices to rank the PJAs andthe forest fragments according to their importance to different aspects of landscapeconnectivity. We also analyzed the protection degree of the forest fragments withgreater importance for connectivity. PJAs represented 37% of the total amount ofhabitat area and 34% of the equivalent connected area of the whole network, sug-gesting that PJAs contribute only modestly to the habitat availability and connec-tivity of the complete network. The individual classification showed that themajority of PJAs did not contribute expressively in terms of intrapatch connectivity(65%) or to the connectivity among other patches (74%). Twenty-six forest frag-ments were identified by the rank analysis. They increased the equivalent con-nected area index of the PJAs network between 3.8 and 4.1 times. Nearly half ofthe connector fragments’area (44.4%) is not under any degree of protection, and34.8% of them are under the protection of sustainable use protected areas (IUCNcategories V–VI). As umbrella and/orflagship species, the effective protection ofjaguars may also benefit other species. Therefore, results indicate that the inclusionof the connector fragments in more restrictive protection categories (strict protec-tion protected areas), associated with active population and habitat managementstrategies, might enhance habitat connectivity and availability not only for jaguars,but also for many other species in the Atlantic Forest.IntroductionThe establishment and maintenance of protected area net-works is perhaps one of the most promising answers to thechallenges faced by contemporary biodiversity conservation(IUCN & UNEP-WCMC, 2014). However, individual andisolated protected areas do not necessarily guarantee thelong-term persistence of wildlife populations, especially forlong-lived species that require large areas of natural habitat(e.g. Brito, Grelle & Boubli, 2008; Sollmann, Torres &Silveira, 2008). In highly fragmented landscapes, an alterna-tive conservation strategy is the effective implementation ofa network of connected protected areas to mitigate theeffects of landscape fragmentation.Landscape connectivity can be defined as‘the degree towhich the landscape facilitates or impedes movement amongresource patches’(Tayloret al., 1993). In the short and med-ium term, connectivity can facilitate colonization and recolo-nization of habitat patches and maintain metapopulationstructures (Hanski, 1998). In the long run, theflow of indi-viduals between habitat patches can alleviate the effects ofclimate change on species, since landscape cohesion maymediate the change in range distribution (Opdam &Wascher, 2004). Therefore, assessing connectivity is criticalto guide the planning and management of protected areas.Connectivity may be analyzed from two perspectives. Struc-tural connectivity only evaluates the spatial arrangement oflandscape elements, independent of the dispersal behavior oforganisms (Tischendorf & Fahrig, 2000). However, there is aconsensus in the scientific literature that connectivity shouldbe evaluated from a functional perspective (Saura & Torn e,2009) which considers the responses of a focal species inAnimal Conservation21(2018) 201–210ª2017 The Zoological Society of London201Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430
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Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Carnivore conservation, Pantheraonca, Jaguars, Landscape connectivity, Habitat availability, Network of protected areas
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DINIZ, M. F.; MACHADO, R.B.; OLIVEIRA, A. A. B.; BRITO, D. Identifying key sites for connecting jaguar populations in the Atlantic Forest. Animal Conservation, Hoboken, v. 21, p. 201-210, 2018. DOI: 10.1111/acv.12367. Disponível em: https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12367. Acesso em: 6 jun. 2023.