Medium and large mammals of the Sierra Madre del Sur de Guerrero, Mexico: comprehensive assessment of diversity and its relationship with environmental characteristics

Abstract

The Sierra Madre del Sur de Guerrero, Mexico, has varied and heterogeneous landscapes, which favor the presence of an important biological diversity. The objective of this study is to compare different attributes of the regional diversity of medium and large mammals in 8 landscapes with the use of camera trap data; as well as to assess whether environmental characteristics influence these parameters, and if this biological group can be considered as a surrogate for decision-making in biodiversity conservation. Species richness, taxonomic diversity, functional richness and beta diversity between landscapes were analyzed, as well as the relationships between these attributes and the environmental characteristics. We installed 325 camera-trap stations, covering 1,134 km2 and 24,974 trap days, detecting 22 species of wild mammals. We found significant differences in the diversity attributes measured between the landscapes, although with a small magnitude of change, which can be related to the wide natural mobility of the species. It was noted that taxonomic and functional attributes are not necessarily complementary to categorize and select priority sites, but that simultaneously assessing the different attributes of diversity with robust data can be a valuable tool for management and conservation decision making.