Living on the edge: regional distribution and retracting range of the jaguar (Panthera onca)

PEROVIC, P. G. ; CUYCKENS, G. A. E.; HERRÁN, M.

nimal biodivertity and conservation

Bioexplora

Lugar: Barcelona; Año: 2017 vol. 40 p. 71 - 86

1578-665X

Living on the edge: regional distribution and retracting range of the jaguar (Panthera onca).? To preserve biodi�versity we need to understand how species are distributed and which aspects of the environment determine thesedistributions. Human?induced changes in land?cover and loss of habitat threaten many species, particularly largecarnivores, in many parts of the world. Differentiating the influence of climate and human land use on the distribu�tion of the jaguar (Panthera onca) is important for the species? conservation. Historically distributed from the UnitedStates to southern Argentina, the jaguar has seen its distribution range decreased at regional and local scales. Herewe predict the species? distribution range using historical records of its presence, climate variables, and MaxEntpredictive algorithms. We focus especially on its southernmost limit in Argentina to indicate the historical limits ofthis species, and describe its present niche in these edge populations. To estimate the effect of human activity weused a raster of land cover to restrict the jaguar?s distribution. We collected a large amount of presence recordsthrough the species? historical range, and estimated a historical regional distribution ranging from Patagonia upto latitude ?50°S. Our findings show the range of the jaguar is decreasing severely in its southern limit and alsoin its northern limit, and that changes in land cover/use are threats to the species. After subtracting non?suitableland?cover from the studied niche, we found the environmentally suitable area for the jaguar in the study area hasdecreased to 5.2% of its original size. We thus warn of the high extinction risk of the jaguar in Argentina.