First telemetry study of bush dogs: Home range, activity and habitat selection

Context The bush dog (Speothos venaticus) is difficult to observe, capture, and study. To date, indirect evidence and opportunistic field observations have been the primary sources of information about the species' ecology. Field data are urgently needed to clarify the species' ecological requirements, behaviour and movement patterns. Aims The present study uses 13 months of telemetry data from a group of bush dogs to begin to address questions about area requirements, habitat preferences and movement patterns of this difficult-to-study species. Methods We tracked a group of bush dogs (two adults, one juvenile, four young) in an area of intact and altered Cerrado (woodlandsavanna biome) in eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil (Nova Xavantina District). Key results The group had a total home range of 140km2 (fixed kernel 95%), with smaller seasonal 'subareas' (areas used for 12 months before moving to another area, with repetition of some areas over time) and demonstrated a preference for native habitats. Conclusions The bush dog's home range is greater than that of other canids of the same size, even correcting for group size. Patterns of seasonal movement are also different from what has been observed in other South American canids. Implications From our observations in the Brazilian savanna, bush dogs need large tracks of native habitat for their long-term persistence. Although the present study is based on a single pack, it is highly relevant for bush dog conservation because it provides novel information on the species' spatial requirements and habitat preferences. © 2012 CSIRO.

Use of space by frugivorous bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a restored Atlantic forest fragment in Brazil

We studied patterns in the use of space for foraging and roosting by two frugivorous bat species in a five-year-old restored Atlantic forest located in a fragmented landscape in southeastern Brazil. Ten individuals of Carollia perspicillata and eleven individuals of Artibeus lituratus were monitored through radio-telemetry in five sampling sessions. Each session lasted 3-8. days for each individual, with an average of 25.4 ± 10 locations for each C. perspicillata individual and 19 ± 4.4 for each A. lituratus individual. We described an average range of 124.4. ha and an average commuting distance of 1158.8. m for A. lituratus and an average range and commuting distance of 32. ha and 489. m, respectively, for C. perspicillata. We demonstrated a consistent pattern in habitat use and movements for both studied species, where they strictly used forests (restored or not) for day roosting, roosting in the foliage of trees located only in secondary forest remnants and restored areas, while restored areas were their main feeding habitat. We demonstrate that newly restored forests can be readily incorporated as foraging and roosting habitats by these species, and that C. perspicillata alters its roosting behavior in relation to preferred food availability. These results, when combined with data on the diet of the studied species, show consistent evidence of the potential that bats have to improve species diversity of anthropogenic plantings with their own natural seed dispersal. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Differential occupation of habitat as a reproductive strategy of the blue crab Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1968 (Crustacea: Decapoda)

The reproductive biology of a species includes factors beyond its sexual maturity, fecundity and reproductive period, and may extend to the differential distribution of individuals. The reproductive dynamics of the blue crab Callinectes ornatus was investigated through monthly collections over the course of 2 years in three bays on the southeastern coast of Brazil. For each bay, six transects were established, four of them parallel to the beach line (at depths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 m), one transect exposed to wave action, and another sheltered from waves. Females and males were classified according to the gonadal maturation stage, and were grouped as individuals with reproductive potential (mature gonads or breeding females) or not (rudimentary gonads or in development). Analyses using ordination techniques (PCA) and gradient analysis (CCA) showed that 82.13 % of environmental variations were explained by the transect arrangement, and these characteristics explained 86.70 % of the differential distribution of female crabs and 96.57 % of the distribution of males. These results indicate that females with reproductive potential were more abundant in deeper regions, while females with rudimentary or developed gonads were abundant in shallower habitats and areas sheltered from wave action. Thus, the distribution of C. ornatus in these bays was linked to their reproductive state, as part of the reproductive strategy of the population. © 2013 Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Diversidade e uso do habitat de comunidades de anfíbios anuros em Lençóis Paulista, Estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBB

Relações entre tamanho populacional, uso do habitat, dieta e predação de ninhos por Nasua nasua (Carnivora, Procyonidae) em remanescentes florestais

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Diversidade de morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera) em remanescentes florestais do município de Fênix, noroeste do Paraná, Brasil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The evolution of jumping performance in anurans: morphological correlates and ecological implications

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Using post-release monitoring data to optimize avian reintroduction programs: a 2-year case study from the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

WATER ABSORPTION of THE FUR and SWIMMING BEHAVIOR of SEMIAQUATIC and TERRESTRIAL ORYZOMINE RODENTS

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Larval ecomorphology of 13 Libellulidae (Anisoptera, Odonata) of the Middle Rio Doce Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Nos lagos do Médio Rio Doce (MG), dois grupos de larvas de Libellulidae apresentam diferenças no uso do habitat: um utiliza preferencialmente macrófitas aquáticas e o outro utiliza a superfície do fundo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar se existe uma distinção morfológica entre estes dois grupos. Treze medidas morfológicas foram tiradas das larvas e analisadas. Nenhuma diferença, com relação ao tamanho corporal, foi encontrada entre os dois grupos, embora diferenças de forma tenham sido observadas com relação a duas variáveis morfológicas. As espécies que usam principalmente macrófitas tendem a possuir maiores medidas relativas do lábio e menores medidas da largura do abdome, o oposto ocorrendo com as larvas habitantes do fundo. Vantagens na captura de presas e na vulnerabilidade à predação são provavelmente as explicações para a divergência morfológica observada entre os dois grupos de larvas.

Microhabitat selection and daily movements of two rodents (Necromys lasiurus and Oryzomys scotti) in Brazilian Cerrado, as revealed by a spool-and-line device

Studies on patterns of habitat use by mammals are necessary for understanding the mechanisms involved in their distribution and abundance. In this study, we used the spool-and-line method to investigate habitat utilization by two sigmodontine rodents from Brazilian Cerrado, Necromys lasiurus and Oryzomys scotti. We conducted the study in a Cerrado area in central Brazil (15 degrees 56'S and e 47 degrees 56'W) where the animals were caught in an area of 7.68 ha of Cerrado sensu stricto. Captured individuals were marked, equipped with a spool-and-Line device, and released at the same capture point. The next day we followed the thread to record their daily movements and find their nests. To investigate microhabitat selection we compared habitat characteristics along traits of each studied species with general habitat characteristics of the study area. Although the mean 24-h distance was greater for N. lasiurus (mean +/- SE: 41.9 +/- 42.2 m, N=3) than for O. scotti (28.7 +/- 14.2 m, N=6) this difference was not significant (Mann-Whitney test, U=26, P>0.6). We detected significant differences among observed microhabitats variables of both species and available microhabitat characteristics as determined by discriminant analysis (Wilks's lambda F=3.001; df=14, 116; P<0.001). Both species were associated to microhabitat characteristics whose values differed markedly from the overall available habitat. Along the first canonical discriminant function of the DFA both them were associated with greater grass height than the mean height available and along the second axis N. lasiurus selected areas with higher fruit availability and more shelters than those selected by 0. scotti. For stronger inferences regarding differential patterns of habitat utilization by Cerrado rodents we suggest the simultaneous use of both spool-and-line and standard trapping methods. (c) 2005 Deutsche Geseltschaft fur Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. ALL rights reserved.

Amphibians and reptiles of the Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR), SP: an Atlantic Forest remnant of Southeastern Brazil

Apesar do grande número de estudos realizados com a herpetofauna do Estado de São Paulo, que a caracteriza como a mais conhecida no país, ainda existem vazios amostrais dentro de biomas considerados mundialmente como prioritários para a conservação pelo elevado grau de endemismo e pressão antrópica, como é o caso da Mata Atlântica. Como resultado de pressões políticas e históricas, o bioma foi reduzido a menos de 12% de sua extensão original e apesar de sua importância para a conservação da biodiversidade mundial, apenas uma porcentagem mínima de sua cobertura vegetal original (1%) encontra-se protegida sob alguma forma legal de proteção. Este é o caso do Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR) que juntamente com o Parque Estadual de Intervales, Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho e Mosaico de Unidades de Conservação de Jacupiranga formam um extenso contínuo ecológico de 360 mil ha de floresta ombrófila no sul do estado. O presente estudo apresenta a lista de anfíbios e répteis do PETAR, com informações sobre a distribuição local e uso de hábitat destas espécies. O inventário foi realizado de outubro a dezembro 2009, totalizando 15 dias de amostragens que foram realizadas por meio de quatro métodos complementares de amostragem ativa: procura visual, procura auditiva, procura de carro e encontro ocasional. Foram registradas no total 91 espécies pertencentes a 53 gêneros e 24 famílias. Esta alta diversidade pode ser atribuída à existência de uma grande variedade de hábitats e microhábitats nesta localidade, como os diversos sítios aquáticos utilizados por várias das espécies de anfíbios anuros amostradas. Além disso, o PETAR apresenta um amplo gradiente altitudinal (80 - 1.160 m) que confere uma grande heterogeneidade climática, geológica e hidrológica a área. Neste sentido, este inventário é uma importante contribuição para a ampliação do conhecimento destas taxocenoses de floresta ombrófila presentes na porção mais ao sul da Serra de Paranapiacaba, fornecendo subsídios para a adoção de medidas visando à conservação dessas taxocenoses no Estado de São Paulo.

Similarity of ground-dwelling anuran (Amphibia) composition among different vegetation physiognomies in a Mesophytic Semideciduous Forest from southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Identification of key microhabitats for fish assemblages in tropical Brazilian savanna streams

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Anurofauna do noroeste paulista: lista de espécies e chave de identificação para adultos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)