Temporal niche patterns of medium and large mammals in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Abstract The study of the activity pattern of animals is important for understanding the mechanisms that regulate the coexistence of species, especially based on the sharing of resources through their temporal activity. The present study analyzed the activity pattern of medium and large terrestrial mammals in the Tapirapé Biological Reserve, southeast of Pará, northern Brazil. Using camera trap methodology, we analyzed the daily pattern and overlap in the temporal niche between species. Data were collected between March 2016 and July 2019. We estimated activity patterns using kernel density, measured activity overlap using an overlap coefficient (Δ), also called Dhat, and the significance of level comparisons of activity between pairs of species was estimated using the Wald (W) test. Our results indicate that species from different trophic guilds, in addition to presenting different activity patterns, adjust their daily behavior, temporally segregating their activities, probably thus reducing competition and promoting coexistence. We also believe that the abundance of prey determines the feeding preference and foraging behavior of predators. The information generated by this research deepens the knowledge of the relationships between species of large mammals in the Amazon and their periods of activity, in addition to contributing so that future actions can be taken and directed towards the conservation of these species, which are important for the maintenance and balance of ecosystems.