Habitat preferences and relative abundance of Tayassu pecari in an area with hunting in the region of Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico

Abstract

Investigating the habitat preferences and relative abundance of wild mammals provides basic informationfor conservation or management programs. The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari, PLB, for its Spanish initials)is a species classified as in danger of extinction in Mexico. This study evaluated the habitat preferences and relativeabundance of this species in the southern part of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and the ejido Nuevo Becal, bothsites are located in the state of Campeche. Twenty kilometers of transects were established at each site, in each ofthese sites we recorded the tree species present and the number of tracks during 4 months of the rainy season and 2months of the dry season. The analysis of habitat use indicates that although the highest number of records occurredin the medium semi-perennial forest, the PLB preferred the low flooded forest. After surveying 240 km, we obtaineda relative abundance of 0.53 signs per km walked. Brosimun alicastrum and Manilkara zapota were the tree speciesthat had the highest abundance of fruits in the 2 sites.