Ecological insight into three neotropical deer species: A study of spatial and diel distributions of white-tailed, Central American red brocket, and Yucatan brown brocket deer in northern Belize, Central America

Niche theory predicts that ecologically similar species sharing space and resources must differ along at least one niche axis to coexist, with space, time, and diet as the three primary axes. Despite their ecological and cultural significance in Central America, no peer-reviewed study has examined how the regional deer community partitions these axes. Using a 12-year camera trap dataset (2011-2023) of 1,214 deployments across four protected sites in the Greater Belize Maya Forest, we tested the spatial and temporal dimensions of niche partitioning among three sympatric deer species: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus nemoralis; WTD), Central American red brocket deer (Mazama temama; RBD), and Yucatan brown brocket deer (Odocoileus pandora; YBB). Notably, our study provides the first confirmed camera record and the first empirical information of the YBB in Belize. In Chapter 1, we used single-season occupancy modeling on WTD and RBD detections to estimate occupancy and identify habitat, predator, and anthropogenic drivers of species distribution and to quantify overlap in space use between the two species. WTD behaved as an edge-and-corridor generalist, with detection driven by low canopy and high human activity, while RBD aligned with a forest-interior specialist, requiring high canopy, dense understory, and narrow roads. Both species maintained high occupancy (psi) across years (WTD psi 0.55-0.77; RBD psi 0.52-0.81), but their spatial overlap (Schoener's D 0.62-0.85) fell significantly below random expectation in 2017 and 2018, years of intensified human disturbance, indicating that the two species actively segregate spatially under anthropogenic pressure. In Chapter 2, we used kernel density estimation and the Diel.Niche Bayesian framework on 4,692 WTD, 1,457 RBD, and 33 YBB detections to characterize diel activity and investigate overlap (Δ) on a 0-1 scale, between species pairs. All three species were classified as diurnal, but with significant differences in the shape and timing of their activity distributions (WTD-RBD Δ= 0.87; RBD-YBB Δ= 0.76). Under elevated predator and human pressure, RBD compressed activity earlier into the morning, while WTD expanded activity into the morning and evening edges of daylight. Together, the two chapters show that these deer partition both the spatial and temporal axes of their shared niche, with RBD consistently more sensitive to canopy loss, road expansion, and human disturbance than WTD. We propose RBD as a candidate indicator species for forest integrity, and caution that managing these sympatric cervids as ecologically interchangeable, risks overlooking the species most vulnerable to ongoing land-use change.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Fisheries and Wildlife Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Tzib, Johny Isaias

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Kelly, Marcella J.
• Jesmer, Brett Richard

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Kay, Elma

• camera trapping
• niche partitioning
• occupancy modeling
• kernel density estimation
• Mazama temama temama
• Odocoileus virginianus nemoralis
• Odocoileus pandora
• Selva Maya

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:47130

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/143483