Ecological and biogeographical inferences on two sympatric and enigmatic Andean cat species using genetic identification of faecal samples.
The carnivore community of the altiplano ecosystem of the high Andes, including the Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) and pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo), is one of the least studied in the world. We determined the origin of 186 carnivore samples (184 faeces and two skulls) collected above 3000 m above sea level in northern Chile, including 33 from the Andean mountain cat and 75 from the pampas cat using diagnostic molecular genetic sequence variation. We determined for the first time food habits, habitat and physiographic associations, and general patterns of molecular genetic variation of the Andean mountain cat and the pampas cat in Chile. Both species had narrow dietary niches dominated by small rodents and there was a wide overlap in diet composition (0.82), suggesting low levels of prey partitioning between species. The mountain viscacha (Lagidium viscacia) made up a large proportion of the biomass of the diet of both species, especially for the Andean mountain cat (93.9% vs. 74.8% for the pampas cat), underscoring the importance of further research and conservation focus on this vanishing prey species. Although the probability of finding Andean mountain cat scats increased with altitude and slope, there was substantial geographical overlap in distribution between species, revealing that the pampas cat distribution includes high-altitude grassland habitats. The Andean mountain cat had relatively low levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genetic variation (two mtDNA haplotypes) compared with the pampas cat (17 mtDNA haplotypes), suggestive of a distinct evolutionary history and relatively smaller historic populations. These insights will facilitate and provide tools and hypotheses for much-needed research and conservation efforts on these species and this ecosystem.
Napolitano
Constanza
C
Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular, and Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Deparamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile.
Bennett
Magdalena
M
Johnson
Warren E
WE
O'Brien
Stephen J
SJ
Marquet
Pablo A
PA
Barría
Iván
I
Poulin
Elie
E
Iriarte
Agustín
A
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002415:Cats; D002677:Chile; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005243:Feces; D045989:Felidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005843:Geography; D006239:Haplotypes; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial