ECOLOGICAL NICHE OF Mazama temama IN CENTRAL VERACRUZ, MÉXICO: IMPLICATIONS FOR ITS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Temazate (Mazama temama), is a deer with uncontrolled historical hunting use in México. Due to this situation and to demographic factors, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 place it into the categories of “In Danger” and “Threatened”, respectively. In the study of populations it is important to understand the ecological niche of the species in order to know the ideal environmental conditions that should be considered for the design of management programs. An ecological niche model for M. temama was elaborated for central Veracruz, México, through geographical coordinates of localities with historical hunting background, with the free software MaxEnt, evaluating 19 environmental variables and one topographic, obtained from WorldClim Database. An historical distribution map was obtained, as well as another one of the predicted ecological niche distribution for temazate; the variables of highest importance of the species niche are reported, in addition to showing their quantitative evidence in free living and captivity, through trail cameras and direct photography, with which its presence in the zones is corroborated. The implications of this study direct the suggestion of demographic studies, the declaration of closed season zones, and the establishment of UMAs for management and conservation of temazate