Black Curassow habitat relationships interra firmeforests of the Guiana Shield: A multiscale approach

International audienceThe Black Curassow (Crax alector) is a large game bird with Vulnerable conservation status found in north-centralSouth America. We examined its distributional pattern across French Guiana using a large number of environmentaldescriptors at 3 scales of analysis: landscape, forest type, and microhabitat. We used a hierarchical model withtemporary emigration and imperfect detection for data collected by standard distance sampling methods at 35study sites. At the landscape scale, Black Curassow density decreased with hunting pressure and increased withsteeper slopes in both hunted and unhunted areas. Topography appeared to be a good proxy for Black Curassowecological requirements and probably reflected habitat quality. At the forest scale, population density wasnegatively correlated with the abundance of palms and Mimosoideae and positively correlated with the abundanceof Lauraceae. Botanical families did not directly influence Black Curassow distribution, but rather determined spatialpatterns by being markers of a particular forest type. At the microhabitat scale, Black Curassows used hilltops morefrequently than other parts of the local topographical gradient. Our multiscale analysis shows that this species’distribution can be explained by biotic or abiotic conditions, regardless of the scale. For conservation, werecommend maintaining connectivity between Black Curassow populations separated by hunted areas. Ourpredicted densities could be used to adapt hunting quotas across French Guiana’s forests. We show that combiningfield and remote sensing data helps to understand the ecological processes responsible for Black Curassow habitatrelationships