DOI: 10.5061/dryad.7sqv9s54x
title: Data from: Wildfire and drought alter the ecology of jaguars and co-occurring mammals in the world’s largest wetland

description: Climate change-driven disturbances are reshaping ecosystems worldwide with
 profound implications for biodiversity. We leveraged a long-term dataset
 and a natural before-after-control-impact experimental framework to
 evaluate the impacts of wildfire and concurrent drought on jaguars and the
 terrestrial mammal community in northern Pantanal. Using camera traps and
 jaguar scats collected before, during, and after a large wildfire, we: (1)
 assessed the immediate and short-term impacts of fire on jaguar
 demography, abundance, activity, space use, and diet; (2) determined
 whether changes in mammal species richness and relative abundance
 occurred; (3) assessed whether these changes were driven by fire, drought,
 or both; and (4) tested competing hypotheses regarding community
 structure. We hypothesized that abundant aquatic prey either allow jaguars
 to suppress terrestrial herbivores through apparent competition, or
 alternatively, terrestrial mammals are released from predation and instead
 regulated by bottom-up resources. We found that jaguar activity initially
 declined post-fire but rebounded over time, with a significant increase in
 abundance and recruitment one year post-fire. Annual recapture rates of
 individual jaguars remained similar after fire, indicating that resident
 jaguars survived the fires and maintained their home ranges, while a large
 number of immigrants arrived from other areas. Mammal species richness and
 relative abundance increased across the study period and were more
 strongly correlated with drought-induced changes than with fire-related
 impacts. Jaguars maintained their specialization on aquatic prey,
 supporting the hypothesis that consumption of aquatic prey reduces
 predation pressure on terrestrial mammals. Our findings suggest this area
 may serve as a climate refuge for jaguars and other wildlife, providing
 stability amid extreme climatic events. We emphasize the importance of
 maintaining such refugia and implementing proactive fire management to
 mitigate future disturbances.
description: # Data from: Wildfire and drought alter the ecology of jaguars and
 co-occurring mammals in the world’s largest wetland Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.7sqv9s54x](10.5061/dryad.7sqv9s54x) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Data and R code used in "Wildfire and drought
 alter the ecology of jaguars and co-occurring mammals in the world’s
 largest wetland" Eriksson et al., (2025) *Global Change Biology* ##
 Files and variables ### rcode_all.R Contains R code for all models: 1.
 Jaguar demographics: Annual abundance, survival and recruitment 2. Jaguar
 activity: BACI model, Annual model, Immediate effects model 3. Species
 richness BACI model 4. Mammal species activity post-fire in control vs
 impact sites ### Jaguar Demography Data: #### adult_caps.csv Adult jaguar
 detection histories: Each row represents a jaguar individual (1 =
 detected, 0 = not detected) and each column is a session. #### sex.csv Sex
 of each adult jaguar individual: * 1 = Male * 2 = Female * NA = Unknown
 #### js_pdot_sdot_sex_dayscale.txt Jolly-Seber Model ### Jaguar Activity
 Models #### jag.days.csv Jaguar activity Columns: * 'Merged_ID'
 = Camera station ID * 'Treatment' = Control vs Impact *
 'Status' = Prefire vs Postfire * 'Year' = Survey year
 * 'Days_low' = Number of days the camera was deployed for during
 the dry/low river season * 'Jag_days' = the number of 24-hour
 periods with a jaguar detection #### jaguar_days_month.csv Monthly jaguar
 activity immediately before and after the fire Columns: *
 'Month_chr' = Survey month * 'Days' = Number of
 deployment days * 'Jag_days' = the number of 24-hour periods
 with a jaguar detection ### Species Richness #### richness_dry.csv and
 richness_wet.csv Species richness per dry season/wet season Columns: *
 'Status' = Prefire vs Postfire * 'Merged_ID' = Camera
 station ID * 'Treatment' = Control vs Impact *
 'Richness' = Species richness * 'Total_days' = Number
 of monitoring days from August-November ### Mammal species activity
 post-fire in control vs impact sites #### species_days.csv Mammal species
 activity Columns: * 'Treatment' = Control vs Impact *
 'Days_low' = Number of monitoring days * Species columns: *
 'ALCA' = Howler monkey * 'SACA' = Azaras's
 capuchin * 'DAAZ' = Azara's agouti * 'HYHY' =
 Capybara * 'LEPA' = Ocelot * 'BLDI' = Marsh deer *
 'MYTR' = Giant anteater * 'PHOP' = Common four-eyed
 opossum * 'PTBR' = Giant otter * 'ROSP' = Small
 rodents * 'TATE' = South American tapir * 'LOLO' =
 Neotropical otter * 'CAAP' = Brazilian guinea pig ###
 dietdata.csv Jaguar diet data ## Code/software 'rcode_all.R'
 contains r code for all models