Exploratory Use of Track and Camera Surveys of Mammalian Carnivores in the Peloncillo and Chiricahua Mountains of Southeastern Arizona (Notes) (Report‪)‬

Mammalian carnivores are difficult to study because of their low densities, nocturnality, and wariness toward humans, and as such, basic information on their distribution and abundance often is poorly known (Crooks, 2002). Non-invasive techniques such as track stations (Linhart and Knowlton, 1975; Conner et al., 1983; Sargent et al., 1998; Crooks, 2002) and remote cameras (Cutler and Swann, 1999; Carbone et al., 2001) can be useful tools to survey carnivores and other wildlife. Herein, we explored the use of track and camera surveys to provide baseline information on distribution, activity, and habitat associations of mammalian carnivores within the Chiricahua and Peloncillo mountains of southeastern Arizona. In southeastern Arizona, elevational relief, diverse underlying geology, proximity to the Chihuahuan Desert, and a history of climatic change over geological time have produced a complex and diverse mosaic of distinct biotic communities, including a diversity of mammalian carnivores. The Chiricahua and Peloncillo mountains also form part of the Madrean "sky islands," isolated ranges that extend disjointed north from their center in the Sierra Madre of Mexico, and might thus be in a position to receive immigrants of Neotropical felids from established populations to the south. As described in detail by Brown (1994), the Chiricahua and Peloncillo mountains support primarily interior chaparral and Madrean evergreen woodlands, surrounded by a matrix of semidesert grassland and Chihuahuan desertscrub. Madrean montane coniferous forests dominate above ca. 2,300 m elevation, and long, sinuous tongues of deciduous riparian forest exist wherever drainages provide predictable subsurface flow during winter and spring. Although semidesert grasslands supported primarily perennial grasses and sparse scrub at the time of European contact, heavy grazing and fire suppression have allowed widespread invasion by shrubby species, creating a short-statured chaparral. The ecological diversity of the Chiricahua and Peloncillo mountains made this an excellent system within which to evaluate use of non-invasive techniques to survey a diverse guild of mammalian carnivores and their prey.