OCCUPANCY AND CO-OCCURRENCE OF CARNIVORES IN THE ECUADORIAN ANDES

The Chocó-Andean region of Ecuador is at the junction of two of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, yet this biodiversity is at risk due to the alarming pace at which habitat is being converted for human land uses including agriculture, cattle grazing, and mining. Our study was conducted in conjunction with ongoing research to design a socio-ecological corridor between two ecological reserves in Northern Ecuador. The focal species of this corridor design is the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), which is considered an umbrella species in the region. However, little research has been done concerning the spatial ecology of Andean bears and other carnivores that share habitat in this area. We conducted a large-scale camera trapping survey and used single and multi-species occupancy modeling to examine 1) the habitat associations of tayras (Eira barbara), a relatively unstudied species throughout Central and South America and 2) co-occurrence of Andean bears with humans and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Tayra occupancy was influenced positively by native forest, the dominant habitat type in the area, and pasture (land deforested for cattle grazing) was not a strong predictor on occupancy. Andean bear occupancy was independent of human and dog presence on the landscape, and instead driven by land use/cover types. Our results indicate that tayras and Andean bears may be acclimated to certain human impacts on the landscape. We recommend that further research explore the spatial ecology of these species across multiple survey seasons and at a finer scale to monitor changes over time and investigate the specific mechanisms that may allow these species to coexist with humans on the landscape