First telemetry study of bush dogs: home range, activity and habitat selection
Edson de Souza Lima A B G I , Karen E. DeMatteo C D , Rodrigo S. P. Jorge B E G , Maria Luisa S. P. Jorge F G , Julio Cesar Dalponte G , Herson Souza Lima A and Stuart A. Klorfine H
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A UNEMAT, Departamento de Ciência Biológicas, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil.
B Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (CENAP/ICMBio), Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
C University of Missouri-St Louis, Department of Biology, St Louis, Missouri, USA.
D University of Missouri-Columbia, Division of Biological Sciences, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
E Instituto Brasileiro para a Medicina da Conservação – TRÍADE, Recife, PE, Brazil.
F Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, UNESP – Campus Rio Claro, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
G Instituto para a Conservação dos Carnivoros Neotropicais/Pro-Carnívoros, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
H University of Washington, Department of Professional and Continuing Education, Seattle, Washington, USA.
I Corresponding author. Email: edsolima@hotmail.com
Wildlife Research 39(6) 512-519 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR11176
Submitted: 18 October 2011 Accepted: 17 May 2012 Published: 1 August 2012
Abstract
Context: The bush dog (Speothos venaticus) is difficult to observe, capture, and study. To date, indirect evidence and opportunistic field observations have been the primary sources of information about the species’ ecology. Field data are urgently needed to clarify the species’ ecological requirements, behaviour and movement patterns.
Aims: The present study uses 13 months of telemetry data from a group of bush dogs to begin to address questions about area requirements, habitat preferences and movement patterns of this difficult-to-study species.
Methods: We tracked a group of bush dogs (two adults, one juvenile, four young) in an area of intact and altered Cerrado (woodland–savanna biome) in eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil (Nova Xavantina District).
Key results: The group had a total home range of 140 km2 (fixed kernel 95%), with smaller seasonal ‘subareas’ (areas used for 1–2 months before moving to another area, with repetition of some areas over time) and demonstrated a preference for native habitats.
Conclusions: The bush dog’s home range is greater than that of other canids of the same size, even correcting for group size. Patterns of seasonal movement are also different from what has been observed in other South American canids.
Implications: From our observations in the Brazilian savanna, bush dogs need large tracks of native habitat for their long-term persistence. Although the present study is based on a single pack, it is highly relevant for bush dog conservation because it provides novel information on the species’ spatial requirements and habitat preferences.
Additional keywords: canid, habitat use, social living, Speothos venaticus.
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