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Articles

Does faecal matter reflect location? An initial assessment of isotopic variability between consumed prey remains and faecal matter for wild jaguarsFootnote*

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon &
Pages 478-498 | Received 25 Nov 2018, Accepted 01 Jul 2019, Published online: 12 Aug 2019
 

ABSTRACT

Faecal isotopic analysis may complement other non-invasive wildlife survey tools for monitoring landscape use by carnivores, such as motion-detecting cameras and non-invasive genetic sampling. We analysed carbon, nitrogen, and strontium isotopes in faecal matter produced by jaguars (Panthera onca) as well as bones from consumed prey at the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve (MPR) in Belize, Central America. The MPR is ideally suited for a spatial isotope study as vegetation and geology both vary considerably. The isotopic composition of faecal matter should reflect the habitat and geology where consumed prey lived. We used bone from consumed prey recovered from jaguar scats as a proxy for diet. Faecal matter and bone showed comparable spatial isotopic trends, suggesting that the isotopic composition of jaguar faeces can be used to detect foraging in different habitats (pine forest versus broadleaf forest) or on different geologies (Mesozoic carbonates; Palaeozoic granite, contact metamorphics, and metasediments). This result is reassuring as bones are not always present in carnivore scats. Studying landscape use by cryptic and wide-ranging carnivore species like jaguars remains challenging. Isotopic analysis of faecal matter complements the existing array of non-invasive spatial monitoring tools.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many volunteers, local collaborators and supporters who made our research at the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize possible. These include the Belize Forest Department, George and Melina Headley (Bull Run Farm), Miranda Davis, Tom McNamara, scat-detecting dogs Billy, Bruiser and the entire Packleader team, Belize Zoo, University of Belize, Friends for Conservation and Development, Las Cuevas Research Station, Panthera, Jan Meerman, Peter Durhager, Blancaneaux Lodge, and Hidden Valley Inn. We further thank Zach Farris for connecting our research teams, Terri Roth for providing faeces from large felids for methods testing, Jan Meerman and the National Meteorological Service of Belize for help obtaining regional environmental data, Tawny Tibbits for help with locating a geologic map of the region, Jason Curtis for δ13C analysis of bioapatite, Gideon Bartov and Tom Johnson for strontium isotope analysis, and Jani Sparks, Jen Latessa, and the Data and GIS COLLAB for GIS support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

All new data associated with this paper are provided in Tables 2 and Supplementary Table 3.

Notes

* Originally presented at the 11th International Conference on the Applications of Stable Isotope Techniques to Ecological Studies (IsoEcol 2018), 30 July–3 August 2018, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar, Chile

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Virginia Tech Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation (to CW & MJK), an Explorers Club Exploration Grant (to CW & MJK), Panthera Kaplan Awards (to CW), a National Geographic Society Waitt Grant, (to CW & MJK), the Oregon Zoo Conservation Fund (to CW & MJK), the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo Jaguar Conservation Fund (to CW & MJK), the Roger Williams Park Zoo Sophie Danforth Conservation Biology Fund (to BEC), and the Wildlife Conservation Society Jaguar Conservation Program Fund (to CW & MJK).

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