Diversity of medium and large sized mammals in a Cerrado fragment of central Brazil

 

Felipe SiqueiraCampos 1, Alexandre Ramos Bastos Lage 2 & Paulo Henrique Pinheiro Ribeiro3

 

1,2 Institutode Pesquisas Ambientais& Ações Conservacionistas(IPAAC), Goiânia GO, 74805-370, Brazil

1 Post-graduate Program in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), IlhéusBA, 45662-000, Brazil

2 Post-graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), Goiânia GO, 74001-970, Brazil

3 Post-graduate Program in Zoology, Universidade Estadualde Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilhéus BA, 45662-900, Brazil

1 feliperoots@hotmail.com (corresponding author), 2alexandrelage@yahoo.com, 3 pauloh91@hotmail.com

 

 

 

Abstract:Studies related to community ecology of medium and large mammals represent a priority in developing strategies for conservation of their habitats. Due to the significant ecological importance of these species, a concern in relation to anthropogenic pressures arises since their populations are vulnerable to hunting and fragmentation.  In this study, we aimed to analyze the diversity of medium and large mammals in a representative area of the Cerrado biome, located in the National Forest of Silvânia, central Brazil, providing insights for future studies on the biodiversity and conservation of Cerradomammals. Sampling was carried out by linear transects, search for traces, footprint traps and camera traps. We recorded 23 species, among which three are listed in threat categories (e.g., Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Chrysocyon brachyurus and Leopardus tigrinus). We registered 160 records in the study area, where the most frequently recorded species were Didelphis albiventris (30 records) and Cerdocyon thous (28 records).   Our results indicated that a small protected area of Cerradocan include a large and important percentage of the diversity of mammals in this biome, providing information about richness, abundance, spatial distribution and insights for future studies on the biodiversity and conservation of these biological communities.

 

Keywords:Brazil, Cerrado, conservation, medium and large mammals, threatened species.

 

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3342.4994-5001  |  ZooBank:urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:663DE02A-CDBC-4E24-8EB9-890F03E5AD10

 

Editor: Daniel Brito, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil.  Date of publication: 26 November 2013 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # o3342 | Received 13 September 2012 | Final received 30 May 2013 | Finally accepted 10 October 2013

 

Citation: Campos, F.S., A.R.B. Lage & P.H.P. Ribeiro(2013). Diversity of medium and large sized mammals in a Cerrado fragment of central Brazil. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(15): 4994–5001; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3342.4994-5001

 

Copyright: © Campos et al. 2013. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Initial funding for this work was generously provided by the Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais e Ações Conservacionistas (IPAAC) and the InstitutoChico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade(ICMBio).

 

Competing Interest: None.

 

Author Contributions: ARBL designed and conducted the fieldworks, conceived the ideas and wrote the paper. FSC helped with the design of the project and in the conduction of the fieldworks, analysed the data and helped to write the paper. PHPR helped in the fieldworks, identified the relevant biological questions and contributed to the writing.

 

Author Details: Felipe SiqueiraCampos is postgraduate in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation by the State University of Santa Cruz and researcher of the Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais & Ações Conservacionistas (IPAAC), Brazil. His line of research involves methods in ecology and conservation of amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Alexandre RamosBastos Lage is postgraduate in Ecology and Evolution by the Federal University of Goiás and researcher of the Institutode Pesquisas Ambientais& Ações Conservacionistas(IPAAC), Brazil. His line of research involves methods in ecology and conservation of medium and large mammals.  Paulo Henrique Pinheiro Ribeiro is postgraduate in Zoology by the State University of Santa Cruz, Brazil. His line of research involves methods in ecology and conservation of mammals.

 

Acknowledgements: We thank CaioStuart Amorim Pereira, Rodolfo Cabral and Renato Cézar de Miranda for logistical support in the fieldworks. We are also grateful to Mirco Soléand Marilia Bilu Rodrigues for the comments and suggestions to improve this manuscript.

 

 

 

For figures, images, tables -- click here

 

 

Introduction

 

The medium and large sized mammals carry a crucial influence on their ecosystems, performing important tasks as pollinators (Mora et al. 1999), seed dispersers (Fragoso & Huffman 2000; Galettiet al. 2001; Alves-Costa & Eterovick2007) and predators (Bodmer 1991; Pedóet al. 2006; Weckel et al. 2006), maintaining the balance of populations and communities associated with them (Asquith et al. 1999; Herrerias-Diego et al. 2008).

Brazil has the richest mammal fauna in the world, represented by 701 species (Paglia et al. 2012). In Brazilian Cerrado, the occurrence of around 250 species of mammals has already been registered, of which 32 are endemic and 17 are included in the Red Book of Threatened Brazilian Fauna (Machado et al. 2008).

Due to the significant ecological importance that these species have, a concern in relation to anthropogenic pressures arises since they are vulnerable to hunting and population fragmentation (Cullen Jr. et al. 2000).  These factors directly influence the requirements of these species in terms of living space, food, shelter and specialized modes of reproduction (Henle et al. 2004).

The study of these animals involves a different set of techniques that can be direct or indirect (Cullen Jr. et al. 2000).  Direct techniques are often unfeasible due to crepuscular and nocturnal habits (Pardini et al. 2003). Indirect techniques (e.g., tracks, vocalizations and other sounds, bones and feces) are widely used because they provide a precise indication of medium and large mammals and their use of habitats (Smallwood & Fitzhugh 1993; Becker & Dalponte 1999; Scosset al. 2004).

Available information on the ecology of various mammalian species emphasizes the importance of these animals in a series of ecological processes related to the dynamics of natural environments (Cardillo et al. 2006).  Herbivorous mammals such as deer, tapirs, peccaries, collared peccaries and large rodents perform important roles in maintaining the diversity of plants via seed dispersal and eating seedlings (De-Steven & Putz 1984; Dirzo& Miranda 1990; Fragoso 1994).  Carnivores regulate populations of herbivores (Redford 1992), and they serve as key indicators of habitat quality (Schonewald-Cox et al. 1991).  Thus studies related to community ecology of medium and large mammals are central to developing strategies for the conservation of species and habitats (Loyola et al. 2009).

This study aimed to analyze the species composition of the community of medium and large mammals that inhabit a representative area of the Cerradobiome in different environmental situations, covering both well preserved areas, such as areas potentially affected by the advancement of human activities, providing information about richness, abundance, types of baits used to attract species and insights for future studies on the biodiversity and conservation of Cerrado mammals.

 

 

Materials and methods

 

Study area

The National Forest of Silvânia (16039’32”S & 48036’29”W, 900m), located in the municipality of Silvania, state of Goiás, central Brazil (Fig. 1).  This is an area of environmental protection with sustainable use (IUCN Protected Area Category VI) of 466.55ha, managed by Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), located entirely in the Cerradobiome.  However, some anthropogenic changes observed in other portions of this biome (see Machado et al. 2004) are found around this National Forest, highlighting mainly pastures and fields of soybeans and corn.

Following the Köppen classification system (see Lutgens & Tarbuck 1995), the regional climate is classified as tropical savanna (Aw), with two well defined seasons, one wet and one dry. According to Eiten (1993) and Oliveira-Filho & Ratter (2002), the Cerrado“sensu lato” is composed of different types of vegetation.  Ribeiro & Walter (2008) identified 25 different vegetation types for this biome.  In the National Forest of Silvânia can be found two of these vegetation types (i.e., Cerrado “sensu strict” and Gallery Forests), as well as anthropogenic environments with invasive species like Pinussp. (pine), Eucalyptus sp. and Melinis minutiflora (Poaceae).

 

Sampling design

Six areas were selected inside the National Forest of Silvâniaand a number was used to represent each diferentvegetation type within the study area, where the Cerrado“sensu stricto” areas were represented by the numbers 1 and 4, the Gallery forest areas by the numbers 2 and 5, the anthropogenic environments by the number 3 and the transition areas between Cerrado “sensu stricto” and Gallery forest number 6 (see Fig. 1).  Four sampling methods were used to record the species of medium and large mammals in the study area, which were carried out by linear transects, search for traces (i.e., tracks, trails, feces, etc.), footprints traps and camera traps (Images 1–3).

Data collection through the linear transect methods was performed according to the model proposed by Burnham et al. (1980), recording the species names, the number of individuals and location of the sighting for each animal seen.  Transects traveled about 30km per sampling day, which corresponds to 5km per each one of the six sampled areas. During the fieldwork, various types of environments were inspected in order to identify the species of mammals in the region and analyze their ecological aspects, through indirect data such as footsteps, feces, sounds, tracks, trails and damage that could lead to the diagnosis of the local species.

The footprints were obtained by the method of sand plots, represented by 60 wooden boxes with dimensions of 1m² filled with fine sand (2–4 cm), which were baited daily with salt, pineapple, banana and bacon, and distributed in equitable proportions among the six different sampling areas defined in the study area, with each area containing 10 plots with a distance of 10m  amongthem.  The baits were put separately among the sand plots, so that each sampled area had two plots without bait, two with salt, two with pineapple, two with banana and two with bacon.

In addition to the linear transect methods and sand plots, six camera traps (TIGRINUS Conventional 6.0c) were installed in each of the six sampled areas in the study area to carry out the record of the species.  For the independent records of camera traps, the records with one hour of interval were used, avoiding the same animal records (see Silveira et al. 2003; Srbek-Araujo & Chiarello2007).

We carried out eight samplings between October 2008 and August 2009, contemplating the dry and rainy periods, providing a total of 24 sampling days over eight months.  The field trips lasted three days per trip, where were established 72 hours of exposure to footprints traps and camera traps in each trip. The field observations were conducted during eight hours a day and four hours at night, comprising 12 hours per sampling day.  During the night, the environments were inspected with the aid of powerful flashlights, thus enabling a better view of the nocturnal animals.  The sampling effort was conducted by two researchers and focussedonly on medium and large mammals (>1kg), thus disregarding the presence of small mammals (<1kg), such as bats, small rodents and small marsupials.

 

Data Analysis

To estimating the number of records of mammal species, we used a Jackknife 1 procedure (Colwell & Coddington 1994), that corrects the sub-sample inclination, allowing estimation of confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing.  We evaluated the Jackknife 1 using the EstimateS program (Colwell 2006), which also produced a collector curve from the output of the Jackknife analysis.

To check what type of bait attracted the largest number of species, was performed similarity analysis between the types of baits used in the sand plots through the Jaccard coefficient (Magurran1988), generated by the software “Biodiversity Professional”, version 2.0. (McAleece et al. 1997).  In addition, we also analyzed the frequency of records obtained for each kind of bait.

Specimens were monitored under collecting permit No. 15458-2 ICMBio/SISBIO (Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservaçãoda Biodiversidade/Sistemade Autorização e Informação em Biodiversidade).  No voucher specimens were collected.  Nomenclature of mammal species followed Wilson & Reeder (2005).

 

 

Results

 

We found 23 mammals species in National Forest of Silvâniaclassified in eight orders, among which included three species that are listed in threat categories (e.g., Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Chrysocyon brachyurus and Leopardus tigrinus; Table 1).  We registered 160 records in the study area, where the most frequently recorded species were Didelphis albiventris (30 records) and Cerdocyon thous (28 records).

The total sampling effort was 144 traps/day for the sand plots, 144 traps/day for the camera traps and 280km transected inside the National Forest.  The curve constructed from data collected shows that the collection method shows the same tendency of the richness accumulation curve observed to the Jackknife 1 diversity estimator.  The template bit upward, with a low slope is a robust indication that the curve has a stabilization tendency (Fig. 2).

Comparing the species records/bait type by pairwise relationships were found the following results: 60% of similarity between the pairs salt-none and pineapple-none; 50% of similarity between the pair banana-none; 55% of similarity between the pair bacon-none; 75% between the pair pineapple-salt; 62,5% between banana-salt; 33% between the pairs bacon-salt and pineapple-bacon; 44% between the pair banana-pineapple and 57% between the pair banana-bacon (Fig. 3).

           

 

Discussion

 

The predominantly nocturnal habits of the most mammalian species, associated to the low population densities and very extense home ranges, hamper the study of many species of medium and large mammals (Pardini et al. 2003). However, our results indicated that a small protectedarea of Cerrado can include a large and important percentage of the diversity of medium and large mammals of this biome.  The species recorded in the National Forest of Silvâniacorresponds to about 40% of all species of medium and large mammals distributed in the Brazilian Cerrado, which total is 52 species (see Paglia et al. 2012).  Among the sampled mammals, three species (Myrmecophaga tridactyla,Leopardus tigrinus and Chrysocyon brachyurus) are mencioned in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2012) and the Brazilian Red Book of Threatened Fauna (Machado et al. 2008), which further emphasizes the importance of this region for the conservation of mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The number of species detected (i.e., 23) can be considered high when compared to the small size of the National Forest of Silvânia(i.e., only 466ha), which indicated that a small protected area of Cerrado can include a large and important percentage of the richness of mammals of this biome, in this case, corresponding to about 40% of all species of medium and large mammals that occur in the Brazilian Cerrado (see Paglia et al. 2012).

In regard to the use of baits for the studies of medium and large mammals, we suggest the use of bacon, pineapple and banana as baits.  These presented the lowest similarity values when compared pair to pair. According to Astúa et al. (2006), many factors may be considered before choosing the best bait type, including weather conditions, durability, local availability and invertebrate attacks.  Bacon, pineapple and banana probably attract mammals due to their strong odor, which also attracts many invertebrates.  If this type of bait is chosen, we recommend the researcher to replace the bait daily or make it inaccessible to invertebrates. Pineapples and bananas lose their odor quickly when exposed to sunlight in open areas and dry weather, so the ideal is put these baits in shaded places for a better sampling effect.

The value attributed to mammal fauna by society in general and people who have direct contact with nature (e.g., as farmers) largely dependson their perceived relationship with these animals.  One way to obtain support from communities surrounding protected areas in species conservation is to demonstrate how mammals contribute to the maintenance of environmental balance, and how this is favorable and profitable. This can be done via local environmental education programs, dealing with issues such as damage caused by carnivores to farm animals.  Puma concolorgenerally attacks cattle, horses and goats, while species like Cerdocyon thous, Chrysocyon brachyurusand Leopardus tigrinusare responsible for attacks against chickens and smaller animals.  Simple prevention measures could be taken by land owners and could extirpate or considerably reduce the damage caused by wild mammals (see Pitman et al. 2002).

Another important measure for the management and preservation of wild mammals is to control the use of fire.  It is known that prolonged periods without passage of fire in the Cerradocan cause an excessive increase in leaf litter or native pasture and the accumulation of organic material can cause very harmful fires to wildlife and also the restoration of the original flora due to high temperatures and speed dispersion achieved by fire (Klink & Moreira 2002).  That is why a strategy to control the fire within the area of the conservation area is very important.  It is necessary to construct fire breaks in certain places, conducting controlled burns and also opening strategic roads that can serve to shift fire brigade.  Such measures are likely to avoid disastrous events as the burning of 1994 happened in the Emas’ National Park that devastated almost the entire park, as can be seen in França & Setzer (1997) and França & Setzer (1999).

Being one of the smallest protected areas in Brazil (ICMBio2013), the National Forest of Silvânia shelters mammal species that have great need for living area such as Puma concolor and Chrysocyon brachyurus, which require a living area greater than that existing in this forest. This reinforces the importance of the maintenance of the native forest even in small conservation units, which need to maintain the areas of legal reserve and permanent preservation areas of neighboring farms, which also are used by the native mammal species.

 

 

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