Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School 



of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfilhnent of the 



Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 



GARDENS, WILDLIFE DENSITIES. AND SUBSISTENCE HUNTING 

 BY MAYA INDIANS IN QUINT ANA ROO, MEXICO 



By 



Jeffrey Paul Jorgenson 



December 1993 



Chairman: Dr. Kent H. Redford 



Major Department: Forest Resources and Conservation 



Subsistence hunting by Maya Indians was studied at Ejido X-Hazil y Anexos, Quintana Roo, 

 Mexico, during 1989-1990. These highly acculturated Indians have hunted and planted gardens in the 

 Yucatan Peninsula for several thousand years. The goal of tliis study was to evaluate the premises of 

 "garden hunting." This kind of hunting is a special mammal harvesting pattern based on interactions 

 between hunters, who plant gardens and harvest game, and game species Uiat eat crops and have 

 greater population densities in the vicinity of gardens than in forest areas without gardens. The specific 

 objectives included the following: (1) determine game harvest patterns by Maya subsistence hunters; (2) 

 compare wildlife densities in three forest successional stages; (3) determine the kinds and amounts of 

 crops consumed by game species; and (4) characterize Maya gardens and tneir use by wildlife. Maya 

 hunters harvested eight species of mammals and four species of birds as game. A total of 584 animals 

 were harvested by 88 hunters during 17 months. The coati [Nasua nasua) and plain chachalaca (Ortalis 

 vetitla) were the most frequently harvested taxa (167 individuals each). Game was harvested 

 throughout the year and frequently was taken in areas associated with shifting cultivation. Wildlife 

 densities were low compared with those at other Neotropical forest sites, and significant differences in 



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