Ecological relationships between collared peccaries and feral pigs in southern Mexico: evidence for niche partitioning?

The presence of collared peccaries (Pecan tajacu) and feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in the southwest of Campeche has been recorded. Despite this co-occurrence, the interaction between these species had not been studied in Mexico. The aims of this work were: to evaluate the use and selection of habitat, to identify variables that determine the presence of both species; as well as to analyze the activity pattern of collared peccaries in the presence and absence of feral pigs. Direct and indirect records were collected through camera traps and transects between January and June, 2018. We obtained a high degree of overlap in the use of habitat between species. However, on a finer scale, the peccaries selected areas of low-flooded forest, and the pigs selected oil palm and popales/tulares. The anthropic variables positively influenced the presence of the pigs and negatively influenced in the presence of the peccaries. The activity patterns of peccaries were altered in the presence of the pigs. It is possible that in the Laguna de Terminos region, where the landscape configuration composed of highly anthropized areas linked to conserved fragments, the resource partitioning and consequently the spatio-temporal segregation of both species is allowed.