Keywords
conservation
Central America
Mesoamerica
distribution
How to Cite
Abstract
The wild cat species in El Salvador has remained understudied and information-deficient for years. This study addresses this gap by investigating the four resident wild cat species, including the country's largest terrestrial mammal, the puma (Puma concolor), and three small wild cat species: ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii) and jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi). By employing literature review, geographic information systems, virtual interviews with experts, and engagement with local stakeholders, this research pioneers a national understanding of El Salvador's felids. It identifies threats, opportunities, and strategies for conservation, serving as a foundational resource for future conservation efforts and research dedicated to wild cat preservation. Despite inherent limitations, this study marks a crucial step towards protecting El Salvador’s wild cat populations and their habitats.
References
Amit, R., Gordillo-Chávez, E. J., & Bone, R. (2013). Jaguar and puma attacks on livestock in Costa Rica. Human–Wildlife Interactions, 7(1), 8.
Argueta Rivera, J. G., Chica Argueta, E. A., Argueta Romero, S. R., Argueta Romero, J. P., Chica Chica, M., Salvador Hernández, M., Heriberta Cruz, J., Pérez Mestanza, V., Pocasangre-Orellana, X., Girón, L., & Álvarez, F. S. (2020). A community-based survey of mammals in the Río Sapo basin, El Salvador. UNED Research Journal, 12(2), e3015. https://doi.org/10.22458/urj.v12i2.3015
Barry, J. M., Elbroch, L. M., Aiello-Lammens, M. E., Sarno, R. J., Seelye, L., Kusler, A., Quigley, H. B., & Grigione, M. M. (2019). Pumas as ecosystem engineers: ungulate carcasses support beetle assemblages in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Oecologia, 189(3), 577–586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4315-z
Caso, A., de Oliveira, T., & Carvajal, S. V. (2015). Herpailurus yagouaroundi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Castelló, J. R. (2020). Felids and Hyenas of the World. Princeton University Press. Priceton University Press.
Craighead, K. A. (2019). A multi-scale analysis of jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor) habitat selection and conservation in the narrowest section of Panama.
Crespin, S. J., & García-Villalta, J. E. (2014). Integration of Land-Sharing and Land-Sparing Conservation Strategies Through Regional Networking: The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor as a Lifeline for Carnivores in El Salvador. AMBIO, 43(6), 820–824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0470-y
Crooks, K. R. (2002). Relative Sensitivities of Mammalian Carnivores to Habitat Fragmentation. Conservation Biology, 16(2), 488–502.
da Silva, L. G., Cherem, J. J., Kasper, C. B., Campos Trigo, T., & Eizirik, E. (2014). Mapping wild cat roadkills in southern Brazil: baseline data for species conservation. CATnews, 61, 4–7. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17640.88327
de Oliveira, T. G., Paviolo, Á., Bianchi, J., & Carvajal, E. &. (2015). Leopardus wiedii, Margay. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015, e.T11511A5. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T11511A50654216.en
Foster, R. J., Harmsen, B. J., & Doncaster, C. P. (2010). Habitat use by sympatric jaguars and pumas across a gradient of human disturbance in Belize. Biotropica, 42(6), 724–731. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00641.x
Funes, G., Pocasangre-Orellana, X., Salvador, S., & Salvador, E. (2020). New records of Lontra longicaudis (Olfers, 1818) (Carnivora, Mustelidae) in El Salvador. Check List , 16(5), 1329–1335. https://doi.org/10.15560/16.5.1329
Giglio, L., Boschetti, L., Roy, D. P., Humber, M. L., & Justice, C. O. (2018). The Collection 6 MODIS burned area mapping algorithm and product. Remote sensing of environment, 217, 72–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSE.2018.08.005
Global Forest Watch (GFW). (2023). El Salvador Deforestation Rates & Statistics .
Gonzalez‐Borrajo, N., López‐Bao, J. V., & Palomares, F. (2017). Spatial ecology of jaguars, pumas, and ocelots: a review of the state of knowledge. Mammal review, 47(1), 62–75.
Hansen, M. C., Potapov, P. V., Moore, R., Hancher, M., Turubanova, S. A., Tyukavina, A., Thau, D., Stehman, S. V., Goetz, S. J., Loveland, T. R., Kommareddy, A., Egorov, A., Chini, L., Justice, C. O., & Townshend, J. R. G. (2013). High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science, 342(6160), 850–853. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1244693
Hunter, L., & Barrett, P. (2015). Wild cats of the world. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/wild-cats-of-the-world-9781472912190/
iNaturalist. 2021. Proyecto “Fauna atropellada de El Salvador”. Disponible en: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/fauna-atropellada-de-el-salvador
Maria, A., Acero, J. L., Aguilera, A. I., & Garcia Lozano, M. (2017). Estudio de la urbanización en Centroamérica: Oportunidades de una Centroamérica urbana.
Menéndez Zometa, M. J. (2003). Hábitos alimentarios de Herpailurus yagouaroundi Geoffroy, Leopardus pardalis Linnaeus y Puma concolor Linnaeus, en el área natural protegida Walter Thilo Deininger, departamento de la Libertad, El Salvador [Universidad de El Salvador]. http://ri.ues.edu.sv/id/eprint/8615/
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. 2013. Estrategia Nacional de Cambio climático. Disponible en: http://www.marn.gob.sv/wpcontent/uploads/Estrategia-Nacional-de-Cambio-Clim%C3%A1tico.pdf
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. 2014. Quinto informe nacional para el convenio sobre la diversidad biológica: El Salvador. Informe preliminar. 109 pp.
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN). 2015.Listado oficial de vida silvestre amenazada o en peligro de extinción. Diario Oficial 5 de octubre 2015.
Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. 2017. Estrategia Nacional REDD+ MbA Restauración de Ecosistemas y Paisajes. San Salvador, El Salvador. 52 pp.
Morales-Rivas, A., Álvarez, F. S., Pocasangre-Orellana, X., Girón, L., Guerra, G. N., Martínez, R., Domínguez, J. P., Leibl, F., & Heibl, C. (2020). Big cats are still walking in El Salvador: First photographic records of Puma concolor (linnaeus, 1771) and an overview of historical records in the country. Check List, 16(3), 563–570. https://doi.org/10.15560/16.3.563
Morales-Rivas A, Lara K, Agreda K (2022) Programa Nacional de Conservación de Felinos. Primera edición. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN). San Salvador, El Salvador. 56 pp
Mugerwa, B., Adhya, T., Ratnayaka, A., Thudugala, A., Napolitano, C., Sanderson, J., García-Olaechea, A., Hurtado, C., Drouilly, M., & Serieys, L. (2020). Are we doing enough to protect the World’s small wild cats? CATnews, 71, 42–48.
Nielsen, C., Thompson, D., Kelly, M. &, & Lopez-Gonzalez, C. A. (2015). Puma concolor. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 8235(2307–8235). http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T18868A50663436.en
Paviolo, A., Crawshaw, P., Caso, A., de Oliveira, T., Lopez-Gonzalez, C. A., Kelly, M., De Angelo, C., Payan, E., & View. (2015). Leopardus pardalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T11509A50653476.en
Purvis, A., Gittleman, J. L., Cowlishaw, G., & Mace, G. M. (2000). Predicting extinction risk in declining species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 267(1456), 1947–1952. https://doi.org/10.1098/RSPB.2000.1234
Reid, F. (2009). A field guide to the mammals of Central America & Southeast Mexico. Oxford University Press.
Rodríguez, M. E., Ortega, J., Gutiérrez-Espeleta, G., Arévalo, J. E., & Rodríguez-Herrera, B. (2020). Genetic diversity and structure of Artibeus jamaicensis in the fragmented landscape of El Salvador. En J. Ortega & J. Maldonado (Eds.), Conservation Genetics in Mammals: Integrative Research Using Novel Approaches (pp. 249–268). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33334-8_12
Salom-Perez, R., Wultsch, C., Adams, J. R., Soto-Fournier, S., Gutierrez-Espeleta, G. A., & Waits, L. P. (2022). Genetic diversity and population structure for ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Costa Rica. Journal of Mammalogy, 103(1), 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/JMAMMAL/GYAB146
Wildlife Society Conservation (WCS). (2009). Potencial de conservación de las poblaciones de jaguares y sus presas en el suroeste de la reserva Indio-Maíz, Río San Juan, Nicaragua.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 Authors who publish in Revista Minerva agree to the following terms: Authors continue as owners of their work, assigning only dissemination rights to Minerva Magazine under the standards of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows others to mix, adapt and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercially, and although new works must also acknowledge the initial author, they do not have to license derivative works under the same terms.