Group dynamics, behavior, and current and historical abundance of peccaries in Costa Rica's Caribbean lowlands

Abstract

The abundances and habitat preferences of peccaries in Neotropical forests are important to understand because these keystone species influence many aspects of the ecosystem. In the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, we conducted walking surveys for ∼2 years to study the behavior and population trends of collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu), and found that peccaries are abundant at La Selva Biological Station and overall, detection rates were relatively constant through time. A stable estimate of detection rates was achieved only after 7-9 months of surveying. We found no habitat preferences between primary and secondary forest, yet there were some differences in group dynamics - group radius was larger and sighting distance was greater in primary forest, whereas the number of singletons was higher in secondary forest. More peccaries were seen closer to the laboratory clearing than at greater distances, for a variety of probable reasons: habituation to humans, lower predation and hunting pressure, and various environmental and habitat factors. Peccary groups had spatially clumped distributions across the landscape and were more active diurnally than nocturnally. Collared peccary densities are relatively high at La Selva compared to other Neotropical sites, with the exception of Barro Colorado Island. We combined our data with a review of the historical literature to assess changes in the populations of peccaries in the Caribbean lowlands. We found that collared peccaries have likely increased in abundance at La Selva, seemingly a few years after the extirpation of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari), which were abundant in the area 40-50 years ago. An understanding of the group dynamics, behavior, and habitat preference of collared peccaries is essential for management decisions and conservation efforts. Additionally, assessment of population changes should be carefully considered in a historical context, with a particular focus on how the populations of the 2 peccary species have changed, and how these species might differentially affect their environment. © 2013 American Society of Mammalogists.