Natal Den Selection by Florida Panthers

“The combination of recent studies of daytime habitat selection (Cox et al. 2006, Kautz et al. 2006), recent and forthcoming studies using GPS telemetry data (e.g., Land et al. 2008) collected during nocturnal and diurnal periods, and our current study on den selection should be used to develop a…”

“In southern Florida, for example, two federally listed endangered species (the wood stork, Mycteria americana, and the Florida panther, Felis concolor coryi) may depend on the existence of standing water late in the region’s dry season (Fleming et al. 1994, Cox et al. 2006, Benson et al. 2008).”

“Population declines have been due to the species requiring a large home range that is consistently being fragmented by roads and subjected to habitat loss by development (Belden et al. 1988, Benson et al. 2008, Land et al. 2008, Onorato et al. 2010).”

“Dens serve as shelter for females and their defenseless kittens for up to 8 weeks (Maehr et al. 1990; Beier et al. 1995), and most kitten mortality occurs between birth and 3 months of age (Logan and Sweanor 2001; Benson et al. 2008).”

“[41] found that panthers tended to select upland hardwoods, pinelands, and mixed wet forests for den sites.”

“The Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) inhabits forest, wetland, and grassland habitats in southwestern Florida (Benson et al. 2008, Comiskey et al. 2002, Cox et al. 2006, Onorato © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Transactions in GIS, 2014, 18(1) et al. 2011).”

“Nests are widely recognized for their importance to reproduction (e.g., Martin and Roper 1988,Wilson 1998,Madsen and Shine 1999, Rauter et al. 2002, Benson et al. 2008).”

“…in southern Florida, 2 federally listed endangered species (the Wood Stork Mycteria americana and the Florida panther Felis concolor coryi) are thought to depend strongly on the existence of standing water late in the region’s dry season (Fleming et al. 1994, Cox et al. 2006, Benson et al. 2008).”

“For example, most predators such as carnivores and raptors need suitable habitat to build nests (Benson et al., 2008; Moran-Lòpez et al., 2006; Ross et al., 2010) and habitats with enough prey to meet their feeding requirements (Jepsen et al., 2002; Oliveira et al., 2018).”

“1 Nests serve numerous functions: protection from weather and predators, a place to rest, access to food, and sites for reproduction (Goodall 1962; Holway 1991; Fruth and Hohmann 1993; Steele and Koprowski 2001; Benson et al. 2008).”

“This information is novel and informative for this region because den site selection can influence survival of adults and young (Laurenson, 1994; Fernández and Palomares, 2000; Benson et al., 2008, 2015; Ross et al., 2010; Jacobs and Ausband, 2018).”

“We located Panther dens and handled kittens according to methods described by Benson et al. (2008) and Land et al. (1998).”

“This approach could provide novel and valuable insights for this region, as den site selection plays a critical role in the survival of both adult wolves and their young 28,29,31,36 .”

“[19] also assumed that habitat-type changes due to natural succession events would not occur within their data-collection time frame.”

“Successive movements of radio-collared females in the same location indicated the potential commencement of denning behavior, resulting in investigative trips by capture teams to the area to search for neonatal den sites (Benson et al. 2008).”

“Different habitat types can present distinct risks and benefits; for example, edge habitats may facilitate hunting opportunities, whereas densely forested areas may provide cover for nursery sites [32–34].”

“The dense structure likely provided multiple benefits, including physical cover from weather and visual concealment from potential threats, and highlights why these characteristics are often selected for as mountain lion nurseries (Maehr et al. 1989; Benson et al. 2008; Elbroch et al. 2015).”

“Tal comportamento pode ser visto como uma estratégia de defesa, pois as fêmeas dessa espécie procriam e cuidam de sua prole somente em sítios protegidos e que não ofereçam riscos (Laundré & Hernández 2008, Benson et al. 2010).”