Title
Medium and Large-Sized Mammals of Ciudad Blanca, La Mosquitia, Honduras
Author(s)
Travis W. King; John Polisar; Manfredo A. Turcios-Casco
Published
2019
Abstract
Due to susceptibility to poaching and often large area requirements, an intact community of native large mammals is one of the best indicators of the conservation status of a site. We conducted surveys of medium and large-sized mammals at Ciudad Blanca deep in the core zone of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (RPBR) in the Honduran Mosquitia to evaluate their status and generate management recommendations. We sampled across habitat heterogeneity based on topographic and micro-environmental variation using on-site observations and an eight-month camera trapping effort. These combined efforts recorded a total of 30 medium and large-sized mammalian species which included the entire expected original fauna of a pristine Mesoamerican humid lowland forest. The study area was found to be a refuge for species that are extremely vulnerable to over-hunting and at the same time important prey for top carnivores. Most notable are the white-lipped peccaries, a species currently found in only 13% of its historic range in Mesoamerica. The presence and frequency of reproductive white-lipped peccary herds at this site is very significant for Honduras and Mesoamerica, immediately elevating the conservation importance of the site and the urgency for its protection. The abundance of preferred game species such as brocket deer, white-tailed deer, Baird’s tapir, paca and both peccary species is an indication that hunting levels are extremely low. This complete assemblage of native herbivores has the potential to support the top carnivores without competition from man. The complete community of carnivores including mustelids, procyonids and all five of the cat species occurring in the region (jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and jagaroundi), observations of all three expected primate species, as well as arboreal kinkajou and cacomistle, and the presence of water opossum and Neotropical river otters provide additional evidence of the well-preserved character of the site from riverside to canopy. Vast expanses of intact forest are required to sustain populations of wide-ranging mammals, especially jaguars. The primary requirements to maintain robust populations of medium and large-sized mammals at Ciudad Blanca are to minimize poaching, slow the nearby expansion of the agricultural frontier and adopt a landscape strategy that protects the remainder of RPBR, adjacent protected areas and globally significant wildlands of the Mosquitia. Ensuring habitat connectivity throughout this broader landscape, with Ciudad Blanca as part of its core zone, will be critical for conserving jaguars and many other species. Well-regulated ecotourism may also provide an effective biodiversity conservation strategy at Ciudad Blanca.
Full Citation
King, T.W., J. Polisar, and M.A. Turcios-Casco (2019). "Medium and Large-Sized Mammals of Ciudad Blanca, La Mosquitia, Honduras." In T.H. Larson [ed.], A Rapid Biological Assessment of Ciudad del Jaguar, Ciudad Blanca, La Mosquitia, Honduras. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 72. Arlington, VA: Conservation International.

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