Spatio-temporal habitat use by bobcats and their prey in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua, Mexico
Abstract
Bobcats (Lynx rufus) can adjust their hunting strategies in response to prey availability and environmental conditions. Understanding these dynamics over time provides valuable insights into predator–prey relationships and helps guide effective habitat management and conservation strategies. We investigated the spatial–temporal patterns of bobcats and 3 prey groups (lagomorphs, tree squirrels, and ground squirrels) in northern Chihuahua from November 2017 to January 2019, using camera traps and occupancy models. We examined the effect of habitat features, Coyote (Canis latrans), and cattle occurrence on bobcat and prey space use including their mutual effects across 3 seasons: cold-dry, warm-dry, and rainy. Additionally, we calculated the overlap in daily activity patterns between bobcats and their prey using kernel density estimates. The probability of bobcats using space was positively correlated with lagomorph space-use patterns during the cold-dry season of 2017 and the rainy season of 2018. Lagomorphs were mainly found on flat terrain for most of the year and away from water during the rainy season of 2018, while tree squirrels were near trails in the cold-dry season of 2017. Ground squirrels were found near water, with higher detection at sites of greater Bobcat activity during the rainy season of 2018. We did not find evidence that coyotes or cattle negatively affected space use or detection of bobcats and their prey. Bobcats had the highest temporal overlap with lagomorphs during the warm-dry and rainy seasons of 2018. Our results highlight the key role of lagomorphs in shaping the spatio-temporal patterns of bobcats. Habitat management should maintain suitable cover in flat terrain and riparian areas that support prey species to ensure Bobcat persistence.
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BibTeX
@article{martinezsanchez2026spatiotemporal,
title = {{Spatio-temporal habitat use by bobcats and their prey in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua, Mexico}},
author = {Natalia Martínez-Sánchez and Alejandro González-Bernal and Zaira Y González-Saucedo and Hibraim A Pérez-Mendoza and Rurik List and Enrique Martínez-Meyer},
journal = {Journal of mammalogy},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1093/jmammal/gyag068},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13722713},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Spatio-temporal habitat use by bobcats and their prey in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua, Mexico
AU - Natalia Martínez-Sánchez
AU - Alejandro González-Bernal
AU - Zaira Y González-Saucedo
AU - Hibraim A Pérez-Mendoza
AU - Rurik List
AU - Enrique Martínez-Meyer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/24
JO - Journal of mammalogy
DO - 10.1093/jmammal/gyag068
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13722713
AB - Bobcats (Lynx rufus) can adjust their hunting strategies in response to prey availability and environmental conditions. Understanding these dynamics over time provides valuable insights into predator–prey relationships and helps guide effective habitat management and conservation strategies. We investigated the spatial–temporal patterns of bobcats and 3 prey groups (lagomorphs, tree squirrels, and ground squirrels) in northern Chihuahua from November 2017 to January 2019, using camera traps and occupancy models. We examined the effect of habitat features, Coyote (Canis latrans), and cattle occurrence on bobcat and prey space use including their mutual effects across 3 seasons: cold-dry, warm-dry, and rainy. Additionally, we calculated the overlap in daily activity patterns between bobcats and their prey using kernel density estimates. The probability of bobcats using space was positively correlated with lagomorph space-use patterns during the cold-dry season of 2017 and the rainy season of 2018. Lagomorphs were mainly found on flat terrain for most of the year and away from water during the rainy season of 2018, while tree squirrels were near trails in the cold-dry season of 2017. Ground squirrels were found near water, with higher detection at sites of greater Bobcat activity during the rainy season of 2018. We did not find evidence that coyotes or cattle negatively affected space use or detection of bobcats and their prey. Bobcats had the highest temporal overlap with lagomorphs during the warm-dry and rainy seasons of 2018. Our results highlight the key role of lagomorphs in shaping the spatio-temporal patterns of bobcats. Habitat management should maintain suitable cover in flat terrain and riparian areas that support prey species to ensure Bobcat persistence.
SN - 0022-2372
SN - 1545-1542
ER -