Large-scale population disappearances and cycling in the white-lipped peccary, a tropical forest mammal

• Autores: Fragoso, José M. V.; Antunes, André P.; Silvius, Kirsten M.; Constantino, Pedro A. L.; Zapata Ríos, Galo; El Bizri, Hani R.; Bodmer, Richard E.; Camino, Micaela; de Thoisy, Benoit; Wallace, Robert B.; Morcatty, Thais Q.; Mayor, Pedro; Richard Hansen, Cecile; Hallett, Mathew T.; Reyna Hurtado, Rafael A.; Beck, H. Harald; de Bustos, María Soledad; Keuroghlian, Alexine; Nava, Alessandra; Montenegro, Olga L.; Neto, Ennio Painkow; Altrichter, Mariana
• Año de publicación: 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Population Cycles; Peccary; Habitat; Population Crashes
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Many vertebrate species undergo population fluctuations that may be random or regularly cyclic in nature. Vertebrate population cycles in northern latitudes are driven by both endogenous and exogenous factors. Suggested causes of mysterious disappearances documented for populations of the Neotropical, herd-forming, white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari, henceforth “WLP”) include large-scale movements, overhunting, extreme floods, or disease outbreaks. By analyzing 43 disappearance events across the Neotropics and 88 years of commercial and subsistence harvest data for the Amazon, we show that WLP disappearances are widespread and occur regularly and at large spatiotemporal scales throughout the species’ range. We present evidence that the disappearances represent 7–12-year troughs in 20–30-year WLP population cycles occurring synchronously at regional and perhaps continent-wide spatial scales as large as 10,000–5 million km2. This may represent the first documented case of natural population cyclicity in a Neotropical mammal. Because WLP populations often increase dramatically prior to a disappearance, we posit that their population cycles result from over-compensatory, density-dependent mortality. Our data also suggest that the increase phase of a WLP cycle is partly dependent on recolonization from proximal, unfragmented and undisturbed forests. This highlights the importance of very large, continuous natural areas that enable source-sink population dynamics and ensure re-colonization and local population persistence in time and space.
Fil: Fragoso, José M. V.. Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Brasil
Fil: Antunes, André P.. Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Brasil
Fil: Silvius, Kirsten M.. Universidade do Brasília; Brasil
Fil: Constantino, Pedro A. L.. Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Brasil
Fil: Zapata Ríos, Galo. Wildlife Conservation Society; Ecuador
Fil: El Bizri, Hani R.. Manchester Metropolitan University; Reino Unido
Fil: Bodmer, Richard E.. University of Kent; Reino Unido
Fil: Camino, Micaela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina
Fil: de Thoisy, Benoit. No especifíca;
Fil: Wallace, Robert B.. No especifíca;
Fil: Morcatty, Thais Q.. University Of Kent; Reino Unido
Fil: Mayor, Pedro. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España
Fil: Richard Hansen, Cecile. The Zoological Society of London; Reino Unido
Fil: Hallett, Mathew T.. University of Florida; Estados Unidos
Fil: Reyna Hurtado, Rafael A.. El Colegio de la Frontera del Sur; México
Fil: Beck, H. Harald. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos
Fil: de Bustos, María Soledad. No especifíca;
Fil: Keuroghlian, Alexine. No especifíca;
Fil: Nava, Alessandra. No especifíca;
Fil: Montenegro, Olga L.. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España
Fil: Neto, Ennio Painkow. No especifíca;
Fil: Altrichter, Mariana. Prescott College; Estados Unidos