title: A biodiversity hotspot losing its top predator: The challenge of jaguar conservation in the Atlantic Forest of South America.
abstract: The jaguar is the top predator of the Atlantic Forest (AF), which is a highly threatened biodiversity hotspot that occurs in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. By combining data sets from 14 research groups across the region, we determine the population status of the jaguar and propose a spatial prioritization for conservation actions. About 85% of the jaguar's habitat in the AF has been lost and only 7% remains in good condition. Jaguars persist in around 2.8% of the region, and live in very low densities in most of the areas. The population of jaguars in the AF is probably lower than 300 individuals scattered in small sub-populations. We identified seven Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs) and seven potential JCUs, and only three of these areas may have ≥50 individuals. A connectivity analysis shows that most of the JCUs are isolated. Habitat loss and fragmentation were the major causes for jaguar decline, but human induced mortality is the main threat for the remaining population. We classified areas according to their contribution to jaguar conservation and we recommend management actions for each of them. The methodology in this study could be used for conservation planning of other carnivore species.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paviolo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Angelo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Florestais, ESALQ, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.|Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Katia M P M B
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ferraz
authors.affiliation: Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.|Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros CENAP/ICMBio, Av. Hisaichi Takebayashi, 8600 12946-051, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ronaldo G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Morato
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martinez Pardo
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha (UVV), Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.|Instituto SerraDiCal de Pesquisa e Conservação, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Srbek-Araujo
authors.affiliation: Floresta Nacional de Capão Bonito/ICMBio, Capão Bonito, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz de Mello
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Beisiegel
authors.affiliation: IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, Nazaré Paulista, SP, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.|PPG Ecologia- UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sana
authors.affiliation: Projeto Carnívoros do Iguaçu, Parque Nacional do Iguaçu/ICMBio, Rodovia BR 469 Km 22,5, Foz do Iguaçu, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xavier da Silva
authors.affiliation: Fundación Moisés Bertoni, Asunción, Paraguay.
authors.forename: Myriam C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Velázquez
authors.affiliation: IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, Nazaré Paulista, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laury
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cullen
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros CENAP/ICMBio, Av. Hisaichi Takebayashi, 8600 12946-051, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Crawshaw
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.
authors.forename: María Luisa S P
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Jorge
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Galetti
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mario S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Di Bitetti
authors.affiliation: Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.|Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros CENAP/ICMBio, Av. Hisaichi Takebayashi, 8600 12946-051, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rogerio Cunha
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: de Paula
authors.affiliation: Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.|PUCRS, Faculdade de Biociências, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eizirik
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
authors.forename: T Mitchell
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Aide
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Miriam L L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Perilli
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andiara S M C
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología Subtropical, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Quiroga
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Pesquisas Cananéia, Cananéia, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Fundación Moisés Bertoni, Asunción, Paraguay.
authors.forename: Fredy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ramírez Pinto
authors.affiliation: Fundación Moisés Bertoni, Asunción, Paraguay.
authors.forename: Sixto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico, Bertoni 85, (N3370AIA) Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.|Instituto nacional de Medicina Tropical, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Biotrópicos - Instituto de Pesquisa, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edsel A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Naturais - Universidade Federal de São João del Rei. São João Del Rei, MG, Brazil.|Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Atibaia, Av. Horácio Neto, 1030 12954-010, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Azevedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D065928:Forests; D046009:Panthera / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013020:South America