Avoiding the enemy while searching for dinner: Understanding the temporal niche of the threatened clouded tiger-cat in protected cloud forests of the Middle Cauca, Colombia

Abstract

Small carnivore activity is usually constrained by multiple factors, including moonlight, rainfall seasonality, intraguild relationships, and availability of prey. This study aimed to analyze the effects of such factors on the activity of clouded tiger-cats (Leopardus pardinoides). Data (time-stamp detections) were collected via 58 camera traps in three protected cloud forests of the Middle Cauca, Colombia. Differences in activity among seasons and species were tested using Watson-two-tests. The temporal overlap between clouded tiger-cats and their intraguild predators/competitors and prey was estimated using kernel density functions. All species were seasonally invariant in their activities. Clouded tiger-cats were mainly nocturnal and lunarphobic. There was high temporal overlap (80 %) between the daily activity of clouded tiger-cats and small mammals, which increased during the nocturnal activity (92 %). Contrastingly, low temporal overlap was found between clouded tiger-cats and tayras (19 %), weasels (19 %), and dogs (20 %). Ocelots were cathemeral and showed a moderate temporal overlap (65 %) with the daily activity of clouded tiger-cats. However, temporal overlap between the nocturnal activity of both felids was found to be higher (81 %). Nocturnal behavior in clouded tiger-cats can favor prey encounters during darker nights while avoiding diurnal predators/competitors. The evidence of diurnal activity in domestic dogs could be indicative of a free-roaming population that rely on human subsides in the surroundings of protected areas, suggesting the need for management actions. Competitive pressures exerted by ocelots on clouded tiger-cats may be alleviated through the differential use of space, or by the apparent rarity of the former in highland cloud forests.