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<p>Urban, agricultural, and livestock expansions have fragmented habitats, reducing wildlife habitat, especially for species with broad territory requirements, such as felids. Protected areas (PA) are key for conserving critical wildlife habitats in México; therefore, this study identified suitable areas for six wild felid species, regions of high sympatry, and their representativeness within PAs. Occurrence data for six felid species were obtained through fieldwork, open databases, and a literature review. On the basis of climatic, human impact, topographic, and land use variables, we generated distribution models via the random forest method. Suitable patches were identified from models, delimiting areas with natural vegetation cover equal to or greater than the average documented home range for each species. The distribution models presented AUCs above 0.87. Overlap analysis revealed that 10.8% of Mexico (211,542.4 km<sup>2</sup>) is suitable for at least one feline species, although only 15.9% of that area (33,784.3 km<sup>2</sup>) is currently under some category of protection. Only 0.1% of the national territory (2,432.3 km<sup>2</sup>) overlaps with suitable conditions for six species, of which only 15.3% (375.4 km<sup>2</sup>) are under some protection scheme. The Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS) presents the largest area of suitable habitat for felids (138,555 km<sup>2</sup>), followed by the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOCC) with 112,491 km<sup>2</sup> and the Yucatán Peninsula (PY) with 96,305 km<sup>2</sup>. Our study provides information on areas with ideal conditions for the presence of the six species of wild felids in Mexico and their overlap with protected areas, which should be considered by decision-makers when developing national conservation strategies.</p>

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Suitable areas for the conservation of six wild felids in Mexico and their overlap with protected areas

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月22日

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  • Eduardo Iván López-Ortiz,
  • Alberto Gómez-Tagle Chávez,
  • Tiberio César Monterrubio-Rico,
  • Yvonne Herrerías-Diego,
  • María Luisa España-Boquera,
  • Juan Felipe Charre-Medellín

摘要

Urban, agricultural, and livestock expansions have fragmented habitats, reducing wildlife habitat, especially for species with broad territory requirements, such as felids. Protected areas (PA) are key for conserving critical wildlife habitats in México; therefore, this study identified suitable areas for six wild felid species, regions of high sympatry, and their representativeness within PAs. Occurrence data for six felid species were obtained through fieldwork, open databases, and a literature review. On the basis of climatic, human impact, topographic, and land use variables, we generated distribution models via the random forest method. Suitable patches were identified from models, delimiting areas with natural vegetation cover equal to or greater than the average documented home range for each species. The distribution models presented AUCs above 0.87. Overlap analysis revealed that 10.8% of Mexico (211,542.4 km2) is suitable for at least one feline species, although only 15.9% of that area (33,784.3 km2) is currently under some category of protection. Only 0.1% of the national territory (2,432.3 km2) overlaps with suitable conditions for six species, of which only 15.3% (375.4 km2) are under some protection scheme. The Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS) presents the largest area of suitable habitat for felids (138,555 km2), followed by the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOCC) with 112,491 km2 and the Yucatán Peninsula (PY) with 96,305 km2. Our study provides information on areas with ideal conditions for the presence of the six species of wild felids in Mexico and their overlap with protected areas, which should be considered by decision-makers when developing national conservation strategies.