Camera trapping reveals a diverse and unique high-elevation mammal community under threat RUTHMERY P IL LC O HUARCA Y A,CHRI STOPHER B EIRN E
S HIRLEY J EN NIF E R SERRANO ROJ AS and ANDREW WHITWORTH
Abstract The Cerros del Sira in Peru is known to hold a diverse composition of endemic birds, amphibians and plants as a result of its geographical isolation, yet its mammalian community remains poorly known. There is increasing awareness of the threats to high-elevation species but study- ing them is often hindered by rugged terrain.We present the first camera-trap study of the mammal community of the Cerros del Sira. We used 45 camera traps placed at regular elevational intervals over 800–1,920 m, detecting 34 medium- sized and largemammal species. Eight are listed as threatened on the IUCNRed List, three are categorized as Data Deficient and one is yet to be assessed. Although other authors have reported that the upper elevations of the Cerros del Sira are free from hunting, we found evidence of hunting activity occurring above 1,400 m, and inside the core protected area. In addition to this direct evidence of hunting, recent information has identified significant amounts of canopy loss in the northern reaches of the core zone. Despite wide- spread ecological degradation in the surrounding lowlands, the high-elevation areas of the Cerros del Sira still maintain a unique assemblage of lowland and highland tropical rain- forest mammals. It has been assumed that the Cerros del Sira and other similar remote locations are safe from dis- turbance and protected by their isolation but we suggest this is an increasingly dangerous assumption to make, and secure protection strategies need to be developed.
Keywords Camera traps, El Sira, habitat loss, hunting, oncilla, Leopardus tigrinus, Peru, spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus
Supplementary material for this article is available at
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605318001096
RUTHMERY PILLCO HUARCAYA* (Corresponding author,
orcid.org/0000-0003-
0068-3852) and ANDREW WHITWORTH† Osa Conservation, 1012 14th Street NW, Suite 625,Washington, DC 20005, USA E-mail
ruth.pillcohuarcaya@gmail.com
CHRISTOPHER BEIRNE‡ Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
SHIRLEY JENNIFER SERRANO ROJAS Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru
*Also at: Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Peru †Also at: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK ‡Also at: Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Received 8 April 2018. Revision requested 12 June 2018. Accepted 7 August 2018. First published online 17 April 2019.
Introduction
The summits rise from the left bank of the Ucayali River, with rugged terrain that extends over five elevational zones (200–2,230 m). Such isolation predisposes the Cerros del Sira to host a large number of endemic species but also means that these species and their habitats are sensitive to human-driven forest disturbance and climatic change (Forero-Medina et al., 2011). Although climatic changes are not of dramatic consequence for species residing in low-lying well-connected habitat, tropical species in isolated ranges, such as the Cerros del Sira, will have no suitable habitat to shift to, and could be outcompeted by low-elevation species moving to higher altitudes (Tewksbury et al., 2008). Marginalized and difficult-to-access areas with little
T
attraction for agriculture have historically been passively protected from anthropogenic disturbance. These lands are remote, nutrient poor, and steep, and are ideal for governments to assign for protection (Nelson & Chomitz, 2011; Harris et al., 2014). However, the passive protection provided by such remoteness is increasingly being ques- tioned (e.g. Poulsen et al., 2017). Evidence indicates that many remote protected regions are undergoing defaunation of medium-sized and large vertebrates (Fa et al., 2002; Galetti & Dirzo, 2013), and fragmented landscapes facilitate access for illegal activities in remote areas (Michalski & Peres, 2007). In the case of Sira, Novoa et al. (2016) reported the loss of 1,600 ha of forest to agriculture and grazing inside the Sira Communal Reserve during 2013–2016. Although surveys on birds (Terborgh & Weske, 1975;
Mee et al., 2002; Corvacho et al., 2011; Forero-Medina et al., 2011), amphibians and reptiles (Duellman & Toft, 1979; Aichinger, 1991), and flowering plants (Wasshausen, 2007; Monteagudo Mendoza & Huamán Guerrero, 2010) have been carried out in the Cerros del Sira, the mammalian fauna remains poorly documented. Large and medium- sized mammals play a fundamental role in the functioning of Amazonian ecosystems, including control of prey popu- lations (Estes et al., 2011; Ripple et al., 2014, 2016) and seed dispersal (Miller et al., 2001; Fløjgaard et al., 2018), but their large home ranges and slow reproductive rates make them particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation and hunting (Fisher & Owens, 2004; Cardillo et al., 2005). Camera traps are well-suited for surveys in remote locations with poor local infrastructure and harsh terrain
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Oryx, 2020, 54(6), 901–908 © 2019 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605318001096
he Cerros del Sira is an isolated mountain range in Peru, home to a diverse and unique flora and fauna.
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