Home range and habitat data for Hispaniolan mammals challenge assumptions for conservation management

Abstract

Conservation decision-making for threatened species in human-modified landscapes requires detailed knowledge about spatial ecology, but robust data derived from tracking individual animals are often unavailable, with management decisions potentially based on unreliable anecdotal data. Existing data are limited for Hispaniola's two threatened non-volant land mammals, the Hispaniolan hutia (Plagiodontia aedium) and Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus), with assumptions that hutias are better able to tolerate landscape disturbance. We collected spatial behaviour and habitat use data for Hispaniolan mammals during a multi-year field programme across undisturbed and modified habitats in southwestern Dominican Republic, using GPS units for hutias (11 individuals) and radio-telemetry for solenodons (22 individuals).