Traditionally, apex predators like lions, jaguars, bears, and others held the highest position in the ecological hierarchy, ensuring balance in vast ecosystems. However, the advancement of technology and the growing human population have shifted this balance. These predators now face a new top predator – humans. This shift led to the emergence of the “landscape of coexistence” concept in 2015 by Oriol-Cotteril and collaborators, aimed at minimizing the mortality risks of carnivores caused by humans in anthropically impacted areas.
The Landscape of Coexistence
The landscape of coexistence is a functional aspect of conservation studies that integrates natural and anthropogenic landscape structures with carnivore behavior in response to human impact. The adaptation of large carnivores to human activities includes:
- Avoiding areas of easy human access or intense activity, altering their movement patterns to minimize encounters.
- Changing habitats and diets.
- Modifying social dynamics, with examples like lions becoming more solitary to evade human detection.
- Adapting their active periods to times of lower human activity to safely use high-risk areas.
The Jaguar’s Adaptation and Journey through the Landscape of Coexistence
Once roaming freely across a vast territory, Jaguars have seen a dramatic reduction in their habitat, losing about 48% of their original range. This decline is mainly due to deforestation, agricultural expansion, and urban development. In response, jaguars have shown remarkable adaptability, navigating landscapes increasingly dominated by human activities.
Our recent studies about establishing a first step of the jaguars’ landscape of coexistence have illuminated that the jaguars could have the ability to adjust to these new environments. While they still prefer areas with dense foliage, natural habitat, and access to water, jaguars, surprisingly, both sexes were attracted to roads and some anthropogenic structures, like crop areas and human settlements. However, the preference differed between males and females and across day and night. Interestingly, jaguars do not appear to favor areas with high livestock density, contradicting some regional reports of livestock predation. The study underscores that conservation strategies should not only focus on protecting natural habitats but also on managing human-built environments, like roads and settlements, to facilitate coexistence. This suggests a nuanced understanding of their behavior is required for effective conservation planning.
Conservation Strategies in the Jaguar Landscape of Coexistence
To ensure the survival of jaguars, conservation strategies must adapt to these behavioral changes. This involves:
- Protecting and restoring natural habitats with a high density of wild prey.
- Implementing effective livestock management to reduce conflicts.
- Managing human-built environments, like roads and settlements, to minimize disturbances.
- Developing predictive models to understand jaguar movement and habitat preferences across their range.
Conclusion
In the evolving Landscape of Coexistence, the jaguar’s first survival step symbolizes a broader challenge – balancing human advancement with preserving our planet’s biodiversity. By understanding and adapting to the needs of these magnificent creatures, we can pave the way for a future where humans and jaguars thrive side by side, respecting the delicate balance of our shared ecosystems.
Reference
- Landscapes of coexistence
Oriol‐Cotterill, A., Valeix, M., Frank, L. G., Riginos, C., & Macdonald, D. W. (2015). Landscapes of coexistence for terrestrial carnivores: the ecological consequences of being downgraded from ultimate to penultimate predator by humans. Oikos, 124(10), 1263-1273. LINK
- Jaguar Research
Alegre, V. B., Rio-Maior, H., de Faria Oshima, J. E., Niebuhr, B. B., Morato, R. G., & Ribeiro, M. C. (2023). The effect of anthropogenic features on the habitat selection of a large carnivore is conditional on sex and circadian period, suggesting a landscape of coexistence. Journal for Nature Conservation, 73, 126412. LINK