Abstract
The Florida panther, Puma concolor coryi, is listed as endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act, with its greatest threats being habitat loss and degradation. Currently the panther is isolated within a 10,000 km² area of southwest Florida. Conservation efforts generally focus on habitat preservation and conservation with many studies centered on panther habitat preferences. When considering panther habitat selection, studies focus on the amount of vegetative cover, but most fail to identify how much of that cover is natural and how much is exotic. Additionally, little research exists on the interaction between exotic plants and wildlife. Therefore, these relationships are not fully understood. This study analyzed third order habitat selection by Florida panthers across habitats with various densities of exotic plant cover to determine if exotic habitats were selected by panthers independent of their availability in the panther’s home range. This analysis was conducted with a spatial dataset that included all species of exotic invasive plants recorded in the panther’s home range, a dataset with only Melaleuca quinquenervia (a prominent invasive tree species in south Florida) and a dataset with only Schinus terebinthifolius (a prominent invasive shrub species in south Florida). Study results indicated that overall, panthers select invasive exotic infested habitats in proportion to their availability within their home ranges. However, in some cases, individual panthers may exhibit selection of habitats with higher densities of exotics disproportionate to their availability. Future studies will be important to provide a scientific basis for land management strategies for the Florida panther and would broaden our understanding of the cascading effects of exotic plant invasions at higher trophic levels.
