Primer registro de la comadreja (Mustela frenata) en el estado de Campeche, México

In this paper, we report three different records of the long tail weasel (Mustela frenata) using camera traps in the western portion of Campeche; thus confirming the presence of the species in this Mexican state

Inventory of medium-sized and large mammals in the wetlands of Laguna de Terminos and Pantanos de Centla, Mexico

Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. However, they have received little attention in the tropics. Biodiversity data from the Terminos-Centla wetlands is limited despite the conservation efforts to protect these wetlands. In this study we list the medium-szied and large mammals from 8 sites within the Terminos-Centla wetlands. We recorded 30 native and 1 introduced species, representing 9 orders, 14 families, and 27 genera. Four of the recorded species are Threatened, 9 Endangered, and 1 under special protection under Mexican legislation. Compared with other sites of southeastern Mexico, the area of the Terminos-Centla wetlands has a many more species. Our results highlight the Terminos-Centla wetlands as one of the most important systems of Mesoamerica for the medium-sized and large mammals and and underlines the urgent need to develop conservation strategies for the area

Precipitous decline of white-lipped peccary populations in Mesoamerica

Large mammalian herbivores are experiencing population reductions and range declines. However, we lack regional knowledge of population status for many herbivores, particularly in developing countries. Addressing this knowledge gap is key to implementing tailored conservation strategies for species whose population declines are highly variable across their range. White-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) are important ecosystem engineers in Neotropical forests and are highly sensitive to human disturbance. Despite maintaining a wide distributional range, white-lipped peccaries are experiencing substantial population declines in some portions of their range. We examined the regional distribution and population status of the species in Mesoamerica. We used a combination of techniques, including expert-based mapping and assessment of population status, and data-driven distribution modelling techniques to determine the status and range limits of white-lipped peccaries. Our analysis revealed declining and highly isolated populations of peccaries across Mesoamerica, with a range reduction of 87% from historic distribution and 63% from current IUCN range estimates for the region. White-lipped peccary distribution is affected by indices of human influence and forest cover, and more restricted than other sympatric large herbivores, with their largest populations confined to transboundary reserves. To conserve white-lipped peccaries in Mesoamerica, transboundary efforts will be needed that focus on both forest conservation and hunting management, increased cross-border coordination, and reconsideration of country and regional conservation priorities. Our methodology to detail regional white-lipped peccary status could be employed on other poorly-known large mammals.Universidad Nacional, Costa RicaEl Colegio de la Frontera Sur, MéxicoWildlife Conservation Society, United StatesInstituto Internacional en Conservación y Manejo de Vida Silvestr

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data