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Copepods and ostracods associated with bromeliads in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

ABSTRACT: A substantial fraction of the freshwater available in the Neotropical forests is enclosed within the rosettes of bromeliads that form small aquatic islands within a terrestrial landscape. These aquatic oases provide shelter, water, nutrients and resting of aggregation sites for several aquatic organisms, among them crustaceans. However, in comparison with the multitude of studies on open aquatic systems, our knowledge on crustaceans inhabiting semi-terrestrial habitats and phytotelmata is limited and their presence in such environments is poorly understood. The present study was carried out in two natural protected areas of the Yucatán Peninsula aiming to understand the diversity and dispersal strategies of crustaceans living in bromeliads. Sediment and water contained in four species of bromeliads have been collected in order to understand the diversity and dispersal strategies of crustaceans living in such habitats. From a total of 238 bromeliads surveyed, 55% were colonized by crustaceans. Sixteen copepod, three ostracod and one branchiopod species were recorded during this study, however only seven species are considered as true bromeliad inhabitants. Different degrees of association between crustaceans and bromeliad species were assessed with an indicator species analysis, where significant associations were found for all crustaceans. We found significant differences between bromeliad species and reserves and their associated fauna. In order to analyze the genetic diversity of this fauna, we sequenced several individuals of each species with two genetic markers (18S rRNA and COI mtDNA). Bayesian analyses and the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent method (GMYC), delimited 7 well supported species. A comparison of the dispersal strategies used by different species, including passive dispersal, phoretic behavior and active dispersal, is included. This study stresses the need of studying meiofauna of phytotelms, which could be used as an indicator of local diversity in Neotropical forests.

SUBMITTER: Mercado-Salas NF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7971893 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundSubsistence hunting is a traditional practice providing food and many other goods for households in the Yucatan Peninsula, southeast Mexico. Economic, demographic, and cultural change in this region drive wildlife habitat loss and local extinctions. Improving our understanding about current practices of wildlife use may support better management strategies for conserving game species and their habitat. We aimed to evaluate if wildlife use remained relevant for the subsistence of rural residents of the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as if local hunting practices were related to environmental, geographical, and cultural factors.MethodsFieldwork was done between March 2010 and March 2011. Information was obtained through conversations, interviews, and participant observation. Record forms allowed recording animals hunted, biomass extracted, distance intervals to hunting sites, habitat types and seasonality of wildlife harvests. Data were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance, and Generalized Linear Models.ResultsForty-six terrestrial vertebrate species were used for obtaining food, medicine, tools, adornments, pets, ritual objects, and for sale and mitigating damage. We recorded 968 animals taken in 664 successful hunting events. The Great Curassow, Ocellated Turkey, paca, white-tailed deer, and collared peccary were the top harvested species, providing 80.7% of biomass (10,190 kg). The numbers of animals hunted and biomass extracted declined as hunting distances increased from villages. Average per capita consumption was 4.65 ± 2.7 kg/person/year. Hunting frequencies were similar in forested and agricultural areas.DiscussionWildlife use, hunting patterns, and technologies observed in our study sites were similar to those recorded in previous studies for rural Mayan and mestizo communities in the Yucatan Peninsula and other Neotropical sites. The most heavily hunted species were those providing more products and by-products for residents. Large birds such as the Great Curassow and the Ocellated Turkey were extremely important for local hunters, representing around 40% of total prey taken.Final considerationsOur results suggest that hunting is frequent in our study areas. Low human densities allow low hunting pressure on most game species and favor conservation of the tropical forest. We suggest that co-management may help regulating hunting, prioritizing cultural practices of sustainable use and conservation for benefiting local users and animal populations.

Project description:Jaguars and pumas are top-predator species in the Neotropics that are threatened by habitat destruction, illegal poaching of their body parts and their favored prey, and by the human-wildlife conflicts that arise when predators attack livestock. Much of the remaining felid habitat in the Americas is in protected nature reserves that are too small and isolated to support local populations. Surrounding forests therefore play a vital role in felid conservation. Successful long-term conservation of these two felids requires evidence-based knowledge of their biological and ecological requirements. We studied population distributions of jaguars and pumas and their prey in and between two small, private reserves of the Northern Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, with areas of 25 and 43 km2. During 2 years of camera trapping (2015 and 2016), we detected 21 jaguars, from which we estimated an average space requirement of 28-45 km2/individual. Dietary niche overlap exceeded random expectation. The most frequently occurring prey items in jaguar and puma diets were collared peccary and deer. Jaguar also favored nine-banded armadillos and white-nosed coati, while puma favored canids. Both felids avoided ocellated turkey. Overall, diet of jaguars was less species-rich, but similar in niche breadth, to that of pumas. A fluid use of space by both species, in 2015 tending toward mutual attraction and in 2016 toward partial exclusion of pumas by jaguars, combined with the high dietary overlap, is consistent with a dominance hierarchy facilitating coexistence. Jaguars and pumas favor the same prey as the people in local communities who hunt, which likely will intensify human-wildlife impacts when prey become scarce. We conclude that even small reserves play an important role in increasing the continuity of habitat for prey and large felids, whose generalist habits suppress interspecific competition for increasingly limiting prey that are largely shared between them and humans.

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Copepods and ostracods associated with bromeliads in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

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