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Copyright of Caldasia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Biologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Several species of carnivores, as jaguar, live in low densities and require extent habitat areas for survive. One of their main threats is fragmentation and demographic isolation. Identifying the habitat corridors, we can help the conservation of these species. We identified the viable and potential corridors between jaguar management and conservation areas for Panthera onca in Mexico. We considerate an ensemble model of the potential distribution of P. onca in Mexico, from which were identified jaguar management and conservation areas (JCMA). According to these attributes, we identified the possible habitat corridors between the JCMA with Corridor Designer. Thirteen habitat corridors were between all JCMA. However only seven were viable corridors and six were potential corridors. Also, in two areas of potential corridors were identified Stepping Stones that can help the jaguar movement between large fragments. In the thirteen habitat corridors, the main threats for jaguars are habitat fragmentation, roads, highway and possible conflict human-wildlife (livestock predation). The results from this work can provide the bases to take actions on the protection of connecting zones and alleviate the mortality of wildlife in these areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Puma, jaguar, and American black bear are the largest carnivores in northern Mexico. • We identified priority areas and corridors for the conservation of these carnivores. • We identified areas where habitat could be lost, threatening connectivity between them. • We made specific proposals to maintain or restore the corridors identified. The loss and fragmentation of habitat has negative effects on populations of large carnivores, but ecological corridors that allow dispersal of individuals among habitat remnants mitigate these effects. Our objectives were to identify 1) priority areas for the conservation of three species of large carnivores in northern Mexico, 2) the corridors that can maintain connectivity between them, and 3) pinch points signifying habitat loss that threatens connectivity. We generated species distribution models using MaxEnt and GLM to obtain a consensus model for each species. We applied an inverse function to the probability gradient of the consensus models to calculate the resistance and identify the corridors between priority areas. With Linkage Mapper software, we generated the corridors, calculated their centrality and that of the priority areas, and identified the areas where the corridors are narrower (i.e., pinch points). Finally, we identified the main anthropic fragmentation elements in the most important corridors. We identified 6 priority areas for jaguar, 20 for puma and 21 for black bear, with 5 corridors for jaguar, 22 for puma and 29 for black bear. The pinch points were produced by agricultural fields, human settlements, roads, or combinations of these factors. Depending on the element of fragmentation in each corridor, we propose specific strategies at the pinch points, e.g., applying restoration programs, including wildlife crossings to mitigate road killed cases, promoting payment programs for environmental services or compensation in cases of conflict, to increase the support of local inhabitants for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Predation on livestock is one of the main factors that cause the felids hunting, in particular for puma and jaguar this conflict with humans is severe. Most studies have assessed the predation impacts on livestock production; however there is a spatial pattern in attacks occurrence that is feasible to analyze from ecological niche modeling. The objective of this research was to generate a risk model of livestock predation by puma and jaguar in Mexico based on environmental and livestock management variables, which allows identification of zones of risk in order to define mitigation strategies at national level. We produced a geographic ensemble model of risk of predation from three algorithms for jaguar and five for puma. The variables most positively related with predation risk by jaguar were vegetative cover percentage, percentage of free grazing animals, and altitude, whereas arid vegetation has a negative influence on predation risk. In the case of puma the variables with highest contribution were livestock density, which negatively influences on the predation risk, in addition to forest and altitude, both with a positive relation. The ensemble models are an accurate approach to delineating the zones of predation risk by felids; however at a regional scale the environmental characteristics that favor predation may be different. It is recommended that researchers carry out studies for each biogeographic province that facilitate the identification of specific patterns and the definition of mitigation strategies most suitable for each one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]