PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #33: Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC
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Panthers and forests in South Florida: An ecological perspective.
COMISKEY, JANE*,1, Bass, Oron2, Gross, Louis1, McBride, Roy3, Salinas, Rene1, 1 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN2 South Florida Natural Resource Center, Homestead, FL3 Livestock Protection Company, Alpine, TX
ABSTRACT- The endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) occupies extensive home ranges that encompass a mosaic of habitats in South Florida. Panther recovery and Everglades Restoration efforts depend on accurate characterizations of panther habitat requirements. Habitat selection studies based on daytime telemetry data have focused narrowly on forests, where daytime resting sites are often located, without acknowledging the limitations of these data to describe overall habitat use. We analyze the role of forests in panther ecology, using innovative telemetry mapping techniques and incorporating field observations that indicate habitat use during active nighttime hours. We provide a critical evaluation of the assumptions and limitations of the dominant forest-centered view of panther ecology, concluding that percent forest cover is a poor predictor of home range size and that forest cannot be considered a surrogate for useful panther habitat. We discuss factors other than habitat that contribute to habitat suitability, population density, and distribution and conclude that Puma concolor in Florida, as elsewhere in their range, are habitat generalists, exploiting the broad spectrum of available habitats for hunting, resting, mating, travel, denning, and dispersal. We suggest a more ecologically consistent management and recovery paradigm based on maintaining the integrity of the system of overlapping home ranges that characterizes panther social structure and satisfies breeding requirements. Such a paradigm focuses on requirements for reproductive success of a small population in a changing environment.
KEY WORDS: puma concolor, Florida panther, endangered species, habitat selection