DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bcc2fqzb2
title: Temporal patterns of visitation of birds and mammals at mineral licks in the Peruvian Amazon

description: Mineral licks are key ecological resources for many species of birds and
 mammals in Amazonia, providing essential dietary nutrients and clays, yet
 little is known about which species visit and their behaviors at the
 mineral licks. Studying visitation and behavior at mineral licks can
 provide insight into the lives of otherwise secretive and elusive species.
 We assessed which species visited mineral licks, when they visited, and
 whether visits and the probability of recording groups at mineral licks
 were seasonal or related to the lunar cycle. We camera trapped at 52
 mineral licks in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon and detected 20 mammal
 and 13 bird species over 6,255 camera nights. Generalized linear models
 assessed visitation patterns and records of groups in association with
 seasonality and the lunar cycle. We report nocturnal curassows (Nothocrax
 urumutum) visiting mineral licks for the first time. We found seasonal
 trends in visitation for the black agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa), red
 howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), blue-throated piping guan (Pipile
 cumanensis), red brocket deer (Mazama americana), collared peccary (Pecari
 tajacu) and tapir (Tapirus terrestris). Lunar trends in visitation
 occurred for the paca (Cuniculus paca), Brazilian porcupine (Coendou
 prehensilis) and red brocket deer. The probability of recording groups
 (&gt;1 individual) at mineral licks was seasonal and related to lunar
 brightness for tapir. Overall, our results provide important context for
 how elusive species of birds and mammals interact with these key
 ecological resources on a landscape scale. The ecological importance of
 mineral licks for these species can provide context to seasonal changes in
 species occupancy and movement.
description: <strong>Study
 Site</strong> Fieldwork took place in the
 Maijuna community of Sucusari and the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation
 Area (MKRCA), a 391,039-hectare protected area in Loreto, Peru (El
 Peruano, 2015). This area is about 120 kilometers north by river of
 Iquitos, Peru (Fig 1). The title lands of the Maijuna community
 encompasses 4,771 hectares and directly adjoin the MKRCA to the south. The
 Sucusari River is a tributary of the Napo River and terrestrial habitats
 include both upland <i>terra firme </i>primary rainforest and
 floodplain forest. The mean annual temperature is
 26<sup>o</sup>C and an average precipitation of 3100
 millimeters per year (Marengo, 1998). The wet season consists of the
 months November to May, while the dry season is mainly June to October in
 the Iquitos region (Espinoza Villar et al., 2009). <strong>Camera
 Trapping</strong> We installed motion-activated
 camera traps (Bushnell Aggressor, Boly Scout Guard) in the Sucusari River
 Basin at a sample of 52 mineral licks that were identified with the
 assistance of Maijuna hunters. Starting in August, 2018, we visited all
 mineral licks, obtained GPS coordinates, and placed camera traps in a
 series of four deployments, each lasting at least 60 days to achieve even
 coverage of the whole basin (Fig 1). We left camera traps undisturbed at
 mineral licks for the entire rotation period. Every 60 days cameras were
 removed, batteries and SD cards changed, and cameras were rotated to new
 mineral licks (Kays et al., 2020). During the third rotation most cameras
 went to previously unvisited mineral licks, but some went to mineral licks
 that held a camera in August but experienced camera malfunctions that
 prohibited the camera from gathering 60 camera-nights of data.  
 The mineral licks in the
 Sucusari River basin are generally characterized by waterlogged mud with
 standing water and a face, which was often associated with a slope. The
 area inside the lick was generally devoid of vegetation. The number of
 camera traps placed in each mineral lick was determined by the size and
 shape of the mineral lick, with the goal of recording all animal visits to
 the mineral lick and meeting the assumption of perfect detection (all
 medium and large-bodied animals entering the lick are captured). We set
 cameras to record three rapid-fire images at each motion trigger with a
 delay of two minutes between each set of images to avoid expending the
 camera’s batteries. Cameras were set at a minimum of 50 centimeters from
 the ground, facing the active face and entrance to the mineral lick,
 following Tobler et al. (2009). We determined the location of the face
 from signs of animal activity. Camera traps at mineral licks that did not
 have a face were placed facing mud with signs of active animal
 activity. We
 identified all medium and large sized mammal and bird species (weight
 &gt; 1 kg) in camera trap images (Blake, 1977; Emmons & Feer,
 1997), removed empty images and organized data for analyses using
 CameraBase v1.7 (Tobler, 2015). The number of individuals and species
 identity in instances where multiple individuals appeared in the same
 photograph was also recorded. Small-bodied birds and mammals, including
 bats, were removed from analyses because they could rarely be identified
 to species level. Mixed species flocks of parakeets were also not
 considered for analysis since they commonly visited in groups of several
 hundred individuals and could not be reliably identified to species level.
 Images were sorted into independent visitation events, where multiple
 visits by the same species within one hour of each other were considered
 one visitation event, following Tobler et al. (2008).
description: Birds were identified separately from mammals, in a different
 sheet. An independent event was considered two visits separated by one
 hour.