Species within the same ecological guild exhibit niche attributes that vary in association with their diet, spatial occupancy, and temporal activity to reduce competition. In the case of the tropical felid community, many species exhibit substantial overlap in these niche dimensions. Consequently, jaguars (Panthera onca) will sometimes kill the smaller ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) competitor in a phenomenon called intraguild predation (IGP), which is a major structuring force in tropical forests. We developed a spatially explicit agent-based model to understand IGP with the expectation that ocelots employ spatial avoidance strategies using available forest canopy as the more arboreal species. We parameterized model agents with realistic behaviors to replicate the real-world environment. Jaguar and ocelot agents were allowed to move, hunt, and reproduce with varying numbers, heights, and canopy thickness of trees as we recorded IGP events and ocelot canopy occupancy. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to demonstrate how the number and height of trees significantly affected IGP occurrence. In accordance with our hypothesis, we found that the main contributor mediating coexistence between the two species was spatial avoidance of jaguars by ocelots by using available canopy refuges. Our modeling approach has broad application to different environments with similar intraguild interactions to predict the importance of forest structure and can inform policy directed toward forest management and habitat conservation.

中文翻译：

---

栖息地结构对美洲豹和豹猫群内捕食频率和空间共存的影响建模

同一生态群内的物种表现出与其饮食、空间占用和时间活动相关的生态位属性，以减少竞争。就热带猫科动物群落而言，许多物种在这些生态位维度上表现出大量重叠。因此，美洲虎（Panthera onca）有时会杀死体型较小的豹猫（Leopardus pardalis）竞争者，这种现象称为行会内捕食（IGP），这是热带森林的主要结构力量。我们开发了一个基于空间显式代理的模型来理解 IGP，期望豹猫采用空间回避策略，利用可用的森林树冠作为更多的树栖物种。我们用真实的行为参数化模型代理来复制现实世界的环境。当我们记录 IGP 事件和豹猫树冠占用情况时，允许美洲虎和豹猫特工在不同数量、高度和树冠厚度的树木中移动、狩猎和繁殖。我们使用结构方程模型 (SEM) 来证明树木的数量和高度如何显着影响 IGP 的发生。根据我们的假设，我们发现调节这两个物种之间共存的主要因素是豹猫通过使用可用的树冠避难所来躲避美洲虎的空间。我们的建模方法广泛应用于具有类似行会内部互动的不同环境，以预测森林结构的重要性，并可以为针对森林管理和栖息地保护的政策提供信息。