The jaguar (Panthera onca Linnaeus, 1758) range has been considerably reduced and fragmented as a result of habitat loss and poaching. It is extinct in several areas of America, and is considered a threatened species (^{Quigley et al. c2017}). In Mexico, there are well-known isolated populations of jaguars (^{Rabinowitz and Zeller 2010}), while other regions have been predicted to harbor populations (^{Jedrzejewski et al. 2018}), but there is a scarcity of spatial and temporal data to confirm it.

The objective of this work was to document records of jaguar, count the number of different individuals between 2012 and 2017 in the Chinantla region throughout an extensive array of camera-trapping sampling framework in participative monitoring projects.

The Chinantla region (17°21 and 18°07 North and 96°35 and 96°39 ° West; Fig. 1) has montane cloud forest, rainforest, and oak forest as main vegetation types. Currently, nearly a third of the region has been fragmented or cleared for agriculture and grazing (INEGI c2013). The land tenure system (mostly communal ownership) belongs to the Chinantec community, where there are 26 Voluntary Conservation Areas certified by the government, as well as protected areas through internal agreements (^{Martin et al. 2011}). To collect jaguar evidence, participative monitoring was conducted with camera-trapping surveys in 35 communities between 2012 and 2017. In these communities, local people were trained in camera-trapping techniques (^{Padilla-Gómez et al. 2018}). The number of cameras per community ranged from two to ten devices and the operating time of the cameras in the field ranged from one to 30 days.

Figure 1 Occurrence and number of jaguars recorded between 2012 and 2017 in the Chinantla region, Mexico. 

Photographs or videos of individuals recorded in the same camera trap after a period > 24 hours, was considered as independent event. Photographs or videos of the jaguars were separated in three groups: 1) jaguars recorded only by left flank; 2) jaguars recorded only by right flank; 3) jaguars recorded by both flanks. Photographs or videos of jaguars of every group and among groups were meticulously revised to identify individuals. Jaguar individuals were identified from their spot and rosette patterns and sexed by visual inspection of external genitalia (^{Soisalo and Cavalcanti 2006}).

Between 2012 and 2017, a total of 139 photographs or videos were recorded in 124 independent events. At least one jaguar record was obtained in thirteen of the 35 communities surveyed (Fig. 1). Based on the spot pattern, eleven jaguars were identified only by the left flank, twelve jaguars only by the right flank, and eleven jaguars by both flanks. Therefore, the minimum number of jaguars was 23 (the sum of jaguars identified by the right flank and by the two flanks). Of the 23 jaguars, ten males and five females were identified, while eight were undetermined. Most of the jaguars in groups two and three were recorded for only one year (n=l5), while three individuals were recorded for two years. Four jaguars were recorded for three years, and one jaguar was present for four years (supplementary material table 1).

The jaguars recorded along six years of surveys expand the spatial and temporal occurrence knowledge of the previous surveys carried out in the Chinantla region (^{Figel et al., 2011}). Even though the sampling method used in the Chinantla was not systematic in time, space, and effort, the minimal number of individuals (23 jaguars) was notable. As a reference, the number was similar or higher to these observed in non-continuous systematic studies in other areas of Mexico: 24 jaguars in four years, ^{Ávila-Nájera (2015)}; between eigth and nine jaguars in 1.5 years, ^{de la Torre and Medellín-R (2011)}; ten jaguars in 1.3 years, ^{Gutiérrez-González et al. (2012)}; and five jaguars in 1.5 years; ^{Coronel-Arellano et al. (2017)}. Besides, couples and pregnant females suggest that there is a jaguar resident population in the Chinantla region giving support to habitat suitability models (^{Jedrzejewski et al. 2018}).

Communal land tenure and conservation projects for some communities have been an important factor allowing joint efforts addressed to preserve jaguars and their habitats, such as projects for payment for environmental services and biodiversity monitoring managed. Several communities develop strict inter-community agreements that regulates hunting and land-use change for cattle ranching and agriculture (^{Bray et al. 2008}).

Future projects should systematically homogenize camera-trap survey protocols to study population trends. Projects should be established as community-based biological monitoring programs that involve community members.