Estimating the Population Size of Masked Palm Civets Using Hair-Snaring in Southwest China

Abstract

Mesocarnivores are major components of carnivore assemblages, and they play important roles in structuring communities and regulating community dynamics. In Southwest China, many apex predators have been extirpated, and this has potentially resulted in the ecological release of mesocarnivores. Estimating the sizes of mesocarnivore populations is challenging. We used DNA derived from hairs and spatial capture–mark–recapture techniques to estimate the population size of masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) in Laohegou Nature Reserve in the Minshan Mountains of Sichuan Province, China. In the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2015, we collected 144 and 230 hair samples, respectively, at 30 baited stations. We used 16S rRNA fragments, microsatellite genotyping, and sexing to determine that 191 samples were derived from 44 masked palm civet individuals (24 males and 20 females). Using spatially explicit capture–recapture analysis, we estimated that there were 82 ± 13 masked palm civets in the study area, with a density of 1.7 individuals/km2. This is the first study to estimate the population size of masked palm civets in the wild. Our data provide important new information on the density of masked palm civets.