Density of ocelots in a semiarid environment in northeastern Brazil

Ocelots play a key role in ecological communities as mesopredators affecting the lower trophic leveland other mesopredators. They show great variability in ecological traits across their distribution, but knowledge of this species is missing in several regions where it occurs. Here, we present the first study of ocelot in the Brazilian semiarid of Caatinga. Aridhabitats might keep carnivore population densitylow and therefore vulnerable to environmental shocks and to human-induced changes, at risk of local extinction. To assess their population status, we used camera trapsbetween September 2009 and January 2010. We estimated the density of ocelots using a spatially explicit capture-recapture method (SECR) to be 3.16 ± 0.46 individuals per 100 km2. This is a low-density estimate for ocelots, which might reflect the harsh conditions of the aridhabitat. A longer population studyof the ocelot can answer if this low population densityis enough for a long-term persistence of this species in this and other aridenvironments.