Nation-wide indicators of ecological integrity in Mexico: The status of mammalian apex-predators and their habitat |
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| Institution: | 1. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 11-115, Hamilton, New Zealand;2. Institute of Marine Sciences, Auckland University, New Zealand;3. Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10-420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand;1. Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–4563, USA;2. U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Southern Appalachian Field Station, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–4563, USA;1. Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK;2. Hellenic Agricultural Organization “Demeter”, Forest Research Institute, GR57006, Vasilika Thessaloniki, Greece;3. School of Management and Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Los Andes, Calle 21 # 1 – 20, Bogotá, Colombia;4. Escuela de Biologia, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia;5. Panthera Colombia, Calle 3 OESTE #3A-18, 2nd Floor, Cali, Colombia;6. Kent Interdisciplinary Centre for Spatial Studies (KISS), University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK |
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| Abstract: | Ecological indicators that evaluate the status and trends of mammalian apex predators are necessary for monitoring the ecological integrity of landscapes. Several nation-wide spatial indicators that describe the status of apex predators after habitat transformation have been developed for México. These spatial indicators show the condition of the remnant natural landscape for maintaining the complexity of predator-prey interactions and habitat selection and use. The indicators were obtained using the concept of ecological integrity, that characterize the landscape based upon manifest and latent variables of naturalness, stability and self-organization, according with the measures of spatial distribution of species and natural habitat. When the current status is evaluated for individual species of apex predators, all species showed less than 50% of their distribution areas with a high degree of ecological integrity. Neotropical predators (such as jaguars and ocelots) are more threatened by the transformation of natural habitat, than their counterparts in Nearctic regions (e.g., bears, cougars, bobcats, and coyotes), which showed nonetheless, a high amount of their distribution areas with a high proportion of degraded habitat. The indicators allowed evaluating the status of still extant top predators in the landscape and their habitat condition within major ecoregions in the country. |
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| Keywords: | Apex predators Ecological integrity Spatial indicators |
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