Supplementary: Scats sampling reveals habitat use adaptation

Anthropogenic
activities have modified landscapes leading to environmental damages and to a
threatened biodiversity. As a result, protected areas have become the last
refuge for many species. Protected areas surrounded by a highly modified
landscape may accumulate species, especially large mammals, which may alter
their habitual habitat use. Here we used non-invasive DNA analysis, molecular
species identification, and landscape analyses to assess the habitat use of
medium-sized carnivore species in an isolated protected area, Itatiaia National
Park (PNI). Two species were by far the most sampled within PNI, Chrysocyon brachyurus and Leopardus guttulus. The spatial
distribution of each species was assessed to the following landscape variables:
digital elevation model; land use and land cover; slope and Euclidean distances
from water and from urban buildings. The habitat use of C. brachyurus and L. guttulus
was related to altitude, land use, and land coverage. We tested whether there
were differences in the environmental indicators considering both species,
which showed that higher altitudes, forest and/or grassland formation were
indeed associated with them. We highlighted the unprecedented presence of both
species at altitudes up to 2,631 meters. Our results indicated habitual habitat
use adaptation for both species that could be a consequence of the highly
modified landscape where PNI is inserted. Therefore, the results can be helpful
for better understanding the species dynamics and their conservation in the
face of landscape changes. Further, this study may be of help for management
and conservation policies of this emblematic protected area