Outstanding records of mammals from two protected areas of central Guerrero, México

Iván Briseño-Hernández; Eduardo J. Naranjo

doi:10.12933/therya_notes-21-43

Iván Briseño-Hernández Bosque Nuboso, A. C.
Eduardo J. Naranjo El Colegio de la Frontera Sur https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8680-8777

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12933/therya_notes-21-43

Keywords: Voluntary Conservation Areas, Conservation, Carnivores, photo-trapping, wildlife

Abstract

This work describes outstanding records of 8 threatened mammal species (as per the Official Mexican Norm NOM-059), which are also new records for two protected areas of the central region of the state of Guerrero, México. These species are difficult to observe, have been scarcely studied, and had not been previously recorded in the study area. The study was carried out from July 2018 to July 2019 using 22 camera traps separated from each other by 170 m to 1,300 m in stands of pine-oak forest, oak-pine forest, and low-stature tropical deciduous forest. Photographic records were compared with previous records by entering their coordinates into a geographic information system. Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus wiedii, Lontra longicaudis, Panthera onca, Coendou mexicanus, Spilogale pygmaea, and Tamandua mexicana were recorded both by photo-trapping and direct observations. These mammal species are listed in the Official Mexican Norm NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2020. Our results significantly contribute to expand the knowledge of mammals of the state of Guerrero, México. No information on the presence of these species in the study area or nearby locations was available prior to our study. The confirmed presence of these species in the study area is an indicator of its conservation status.

Author Biography

Eduardo J. Naranjo , El Colegio de la Frontera Sur

D. in Ecology and Wildlife Conservation from the University of Florida, USA, a Master's degree in Wildlife Management from the National University of Costa Rica, and a Biologist from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana - Xochimilco. Since 1995, he has been the Head Researcher of the Department of Biodiversity Conservation at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas. He has been a tenured professor at the Institute of Biological Sciences of the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas since 1987, and has collaborated as a visiting professor at Laurentian and Sherbrooke Universities, Canada, Colorado State University, USA, University of Kent, United Kingdom, and the National University of Costa Rica. He was president of the Mexican Association of Mammalogy A.C. (2004-2006). He is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) specialist groups on tapirs and peccaries, and founder of the Mexican Tapir Expert Group. He belongs to the State System (Chiapas) and the National System of Researchers (SNI 2).