Registro de la presencia de mamíferos medianos en dos zonas del municipio de Cuetzalán, en la Sierra Norte de Puebla

Abstract

Introduction: Northern Puebla has a high mammal diversity due the large variety of ecosystems present. However, there is no information about their distribution or their response to fragmentation. Thus, we registered medium sized mammals in two areas with different degree of disturbance. Rancho el Paraiso which focus on cattle ranching and the Tecomateno Private Reserve which conserves habitat in the municipality of Cuetzalan, Puebla.Methods: From September 2012 to February 2013 we used transects to find tracks and scats and camera traps baited with a mix of sardine and lard. Additionally we undertook semi-structured interviews to hunters and ex-hunters with the aid of cards with images of the species potentially distributed in the area.Results: We carried out 12 field visits in each site, accumulating a total of 163 camera nights and walking 27 km in Rancho el Paraiso, while in the Tecomateno Reserve, we accumulated 145 camera nights and walked 22.5 km. Our field efforts resulted in the detection of six species for the Tecomateno Reserve and four for Rancho el Paraiso. Our semi-structured interviews documented the presence of 13 species for the Tecomateno Reserve and 11 for Rancho el Paraíso.Discussion and Conclusions: This study provides information on the mammals of Cuetzalan and their response to different levels of disturbance. It was expected to find a higher diversity in Rancho el Paraiso because it is located away from communities, however, it is used more intensively. We consider that interviews are a reliable cost effective tool to undertake rapid biodiversity assessments. These results also suggest that private nature reserves may be a good option to conserve biodiversity in fragmented areas.Key words: disturbance, mesopredators, otter, sampling, tropical montane cloud forest.