THE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF JAGUARS (Panthera onca) IN CENTRAL BELIZE: CONSERVATION STATUS, DIET, MOVEMENT PATTERNS AND HABITAT USE By OMAR ANTONIO FIGUEROA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2013 1 © 2013 Omar Antonio Figueroa 2 To Desi, Rhiannon, Mary Elizabeth, Kylie and Justin To Superman 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A study such as this could never be a singular effort. I am extremely grateful and indebted to so many individuals and numerous organizations. At the risk of failing to mention or acknowledge individuals who have somehow helped along the way I hereby venture to express my sincere gratitude to the many folks who have provided assistance and guidance along this long and many times difficult endeavor. At the university level, I would not have been able to reach this milestone were it not for the help and guidance of Susan Jacobson, my major professor. Simply put, without her help and support I would not have been able to finish this degree program. I am extremely grateful for her help, guidance and for the critical review on my dissertation. I am also immensely grateful for the other member of my committee, Ken Meyer, Eric Keys, Leonard Pearlstine, Peter Frederick and Howard Quigley for all the help and guidance provided during the development of the research proposal up until the final dissertation was completed. Thanks so much for assisting on the academic front. I thank Wilber Martinez, Reynold Cal, David Tzul and Gilford Hoare for their valuable field assistance in what was sometimes extremely difficult field conditions. Their support and unwavering commitment to this research project was partly responsible for the eventual success. There is no other field team I would prefer to be a part of. To Gil Boese, Lillian Boese and David Gegg, thanks for allowing these guys to work with me and for the many financial contributions. To Sharon Matola, thanks so much for the help and support. I thank Ginny Fifield, John and Nancy Kennedy, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, the Columbus Zoo, the Felidae Conservation Fund, the International foundation for Science, the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education 4 Center, Panthera’s Kaplan Graduate Award Program, the Dexter Fellowship Program, Telonics , Northstar Science and Technology, the Foundation for Wildlife conservation, the Birds Without Borders – Aves Sin Fronteras project, the Chester Zoo and the Belize Forest Department for all the assistance, financial and otherwise. I must especially thank Alan Rabinowitz and Panthera for believing in me after the first set of collars failed. I also especially thank Howard Quigley for help and guidance throughout the many phases of this project. His guidance was critical to the eventual success of this project. I thank my wife, Desi, without whose unwavering support and encouragement I would have surely faltered. You held forth while I pursued these magnificent cats. I cannot express how grateful I am for the great job you have done with the kids and how fortunate I am to have you. I am excited and optimistic about our future! We have a lot of catching up to do. I also thank Lloyd and Jessie Graniel for all the help and support over the past few years, especially with the kids. I thank my Parents for their unconditional support. I will never be able to thank them enough. I thank my brother, Arsenio and his wife, Martha, for their encouragement and support. Rhiannon will always be grateful for the time she spent at baby gator. To those I may have missed, and I know you are out there somewhere, I apologize for the oversight but rest assured I will always be grateful for the help and support. In regard to the second chapter of this dissertation, we are thankful to the Forest Department for making available copies of reports and research proposals. We appreciate the continued interest and substantive support provided by Alan Rabinowitz, 5 Howard Quigley and Panthera for jaguar research and conservation in Belize. This effort was directly or indirectly financed and supported by the Belize Forest Department, Panthera, the Dexter Fellowship of the University of Florida’s Program for Studies in Tropical Conservation, Virginia Tech, The Philadelphia Zoo, and AcornAlcinda Foundation. The Protected Areas Conservation Trust, Belize Audubon Society, Belize Zoo, Brevard Zoo, Columbus Zoo, International Foundation for Science, Chester Zoo, Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, Kaplan Scholarship award, Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, North of England Zoological Society, Runaway Creek Nature Reserve, Telonics, Felidae Conservation Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, UK Darwin Initiative, UK Natural Environment Research Council, University of Belize, University of Idaho Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics, University of Southampton, Virginia Fifield, Woodland Park Zoo have made important contributions to the research and conservation of jaguars in Belize. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 11 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 16 2 THE STATUS OF JAGUAR (Panthera onca) CONSERVATION IN BELIZE .......... 22 Synopsis ................................................................................................................. 22 Overview ................................................................................................................. 23 Study Area .............................................................................................................. 25 Methods .................................................................................................................. 26 Policy and Legal Framework ............................................................................ 26 Ecological and Conservation Research ............................................................ 26 Threats to Jaguar Conservation ....................................................................... 27 Outcome ................................................................................................................. 27 Policy and Legal Framework ............................................................................ 27 Protected Areas ................................................................................................ 28 Ecological and Conservation Research ............................................................ 31 Threats to Jaguars ........................................................................................... 36 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 40 General Recommendations and Proposed Actions ................................................ 43 3 STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 50 Study Area .............................................................................................................. 50 Diet ......................................................................................................................... 51 Scat Collection ................................................................................................. 51 Food Niche Breadth ......................................................................................... 53 Food Niche Overlap ......................................................................................... 54 Mean Weight of Vertebrate Prey ...................................................................... 54 Capture and Immobilization .................................................................................... 54 Home Range and Movement Patterns .................................................................... 56 Use of Habitat and Landscape Features................................................................. 60 4 STUDY OUTCOMES AND DATA SUMMARIES .................................................... 66 Diet of Jaguars and Pumas ..................................................................................... 66 7 Capture and Telemetry ........................................................................................... 68 Home Range Sizes ................................................................................................. 69 Movement Patterns ................................................................................................. 71 Landscape and Habitat Use .................................................................................... 73 5 SYNTHESIS AND CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS ......................................... 128 Diet ....................................................................................................................... 128 Home Range and Movement Patterns .................................................................. 135 Landscape and Habitat Use .................................................................................