Vance Nepomuceno

I study Jaguars in Belize and how they utilize a rare and unique habitat. The Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve of Belize is one of only four tropical pine forests in the world and only one of two that occur within the range of the Jaguar. I analyse data from a 15+ year extensive camera trapping array to determine  how prey affects the occupancy of Jaguars in the Mountain Pine Ridge.


I create area-of-use maps for individual Jaguars to determine the influence of variables that might affect the size of a Jaguar's range. Some variables are habitat type, presence of other Jaguars, the sex of the Jaguar, and if the Jaguar is pregnant or with a cub(s).


Lastly, I wish to determine if maternal genealogy has an effect on the area used by the offspring.