Abstract

BRICENO-MENDEZ, Marcos; REYNA-HURTADO, Rafael; CALME, Sophie  and  GARCIA-GIL, Gerardo. Habitat preferences and relative abundance of Tayassu pecari in an area with hunting in the region of Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2014, vol.85, n.1, pp.242-250. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.31937.

Investigating the habitat preferences and relative abundance of wild mammals provides basic information for conservation or management programs. The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari, PLB, for its Spanish initials) is a species classified as in danger of extinction in Mexico. This study evaluated the habitat preferences and relative abundance of this species in the southern part of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and the ejido Nuevo Becal, both sites are located in the state of Campeche. Twenty kilometers of transects were established at each site, in each of these sites we recorded the tree species present and the number of tracks during 4 months of the rainy season and 2 months of the dry season. The analysis of habitat use indicates that although the highest number of records occurred in the medium semi-perennial forest, the PLB preferred the low flooded forest. After surveying 240 km, we obtained a relative abundance of 0.53 signs per km walked. Brosimun alicastrum and Manilkara zapota were the tree species that had the highest abundance of fruits in the 2 sites. White-lipped peccary species is very sensitive to deforestation and other anthropogenic disturbances, so it is important to develop a strategy for the conservation of the habitat of the species considering not only the protected areas, but also the communal areas.

Keywords : ejido Nuevo Becal; Calakmul Biosphere Reserve; anthropogenic disturbance; conservation areas; communal areas.