CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Context: Hunting has demographic effects on large and medium carnivores, causingpopulation reductions and even extinctions worldwide. Effective conservation plans require information on carnivore demography and spatial/temporal land use patterns.Aims: We estimated densities and determined activity patterns of pumas (Puma concolor) from camera-trapping surveys in a protected area and in a game reserve with sport hunting, in the Caldén forest of central Argentina. Methods: We used both nonspatial and spatial mark-resight techniques to estimate and compare puma densities and we used Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) techniques to analyze and compare puma activity patterns between study sites.Key results: Puma densities from spatial models were lower than densities estimated from non-spatial mark-resight techniques. Density of pumas in the protected area however, always was higher (range = 4.9 to 9.32 per 100km2) than in the game reserve (range = 0.52 to 1.98 per 100km2) regardless of estimation technique used. Trapping rates for large mammal prey were similar across sites. Pumas exhibited more nocturnal behavior and high activity peaks at 6 am and 11 pm in the hunted game reserve, while puma activity was spread more evenly around the clock in the protected area.Conclusions: The high puma densities in the protected area reflect the potential for such areas to function as refugia in a human-dominated landscape. The game reserve, however, had low puma density despite high trap rates of large prey, indicating these areas may function as attractive sinks.Implications: We provide the first density estimates and activity pattern data for pumas in the Caldén forest. This information holds immediate conservation value, but we urge more research to determine whether sport hunting is compatible with puma conservation in the region.

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