NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics
Mariana B. Nagy‐Reis, Júlia Emi de Faria Oshima, Claudia Zukeran Kanda, Francesca Belem Lopes Palmeira, Fabiano Rodrigues de Melo, Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato, Lilian Bonjorne, Marcelo Magioli, Caroline Leuchtenberger, Fábio Röhe, Frederico Gemesio Lemos, Felipe Martello, Milene Alves‐Eigenheer, Rafaela Aparecida da Silva, Juliana Silveira dos Santos, Camila Fátima Priante, Rodrigo Bernardo, Patrícia Kerches‐Rogeri, Julia Camara Assis, Lucas Pacciullio Gaspar, Vinicius Rodrigues Tonetti, Cristiano Trapé Trinca, Adauto de Souza Ribeiro, Adriana Bocchiglieri, Adriani Hass, Adriano Canteri, Adriano Garcia Chiarello, Adriano Pereira Paglia, Adriele Aparecida Pereira, Agnis Cristiane de Souza, Ailín Gatica, Akyllam Zoppi Medeiro, Alan Eriksson, Alan N Costa, Alberto González‐Gallina, Alberto Yanosky, Alejandro Jesús, Alessandra Bertassoni, Alex Bager, Alex Augusto Abreu Bovo, Alexandra Cravino Mol, Alexandra Maria Ramos Bezerra, Alexandre Reis Percequillo, Alexandre Vogliotti, Alexandre Martins Costa Lopes, Alexine Keuroghlian, Alfonso Zúñiga Hartley, Allison L. Devlin, Almir de Paula, Álvaro García-Olaechea, Amadeo Sánchez, Ana Carla Medeiros Morato de Aquino, Ana Carolina Srbek‐Araujo, Ana Cecilia Ochoa, Ana Cristina Tomazzoni, Ana Cristyna Reis Lacerda, Ana Elisa de Faria Bacellar, Ana Kellen Nogueira Campelo, Ana María Herrera‐Victoria, Ana Maria de Oliveira Paschoal, Ana Paula Potrich, Ana Paula Nascimento Gomes, Ana Priscila Medeiros Olímpio, Ana Raíssa Cunha Costa, Anah Tereza de Almeida Jácomo, Analice Maria Calaça, Anamélia de Souza Jesus, Ananda de Barros Barban, Anderson Feijó, Anderson Pagoto, Anderson Claudino Rolim, Andiara Paula Hermann, Andiara Silos Moraes de Castro e Souza, André Chein Alonso, André Monteiro, André Faria Mendonça, André Luís Luza, André Luís Botelho, André Luiz Ferreira da Silva, André Monnerat Lanna, André Pinassi Antunes, André Valle Nunes, Andrea Dechner, Andréa Siqueira Carvalho, Andrés J. Novaro, Andressa B. Scabin, Andressa Gatti, Andrezza Bellotto Nobre, Anelise Montanarin, Ângela Camila Deffaci, Anna Carolina Figueiredo de Albuquerque, Antonio M. Mangione, Antônio Millas Silva Pinto, Antônio Rossano Mendes Pontes, Ariane Teixeira Bertoldi, Armando Muniz Calouro, Arthur Soares Fernandes, Arystene Nicodemo Ferreira, Átilla Colombo Ferreguetti, Augusto Lisboa Martins Rosa
Abstract
Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data.