Feeding ecology and spraint deposition sites of the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) at Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, Brazil

Knowledge on the feeding ecology and habitat use of a species is of essential value for effective conservation. We describe the diet and spraints deposition sites for the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) at Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, in south eastern Brazil. We collected spraints and recorded characteristics of the deposition sites from 2007-2010. We described otter diet as the number of faeces in which a given taxon was found and the frequency of occurrence of each taxon. We collected 57 spraints and identified 92 food items from nine different taxa, all from animal origin. Fish was the most frequent taxon, found in 98.3% of our samples, followed by arthropods (22.8%) and mammals (10.5%). We recorded 112 spraint deposition sites, most of them located in caves (80%) and < 10 m from the water (93.4%). In our study area the Neotropical otter relies heavily on fish, and we believe that the behaviour of some fish species makes them more vulnerable to predation. Habitat use by otters has important management implications for the national park, as caves are the main tourist attraction and some tourist tracks are located next to the river. Although a well-implemented management action might seem enough to avoid negative impacts of tourism, we believe that monitoring the Neotropical otter population in our study area is of major conservation concern to evaluate the impacts of this activity

Strict protected areas are essential for the conservation of larger and threatened mammals in a priority region of the Brazilian Cerrado

ssessing protected area (PA) effectiveness is key to ensure the objectives of habitat protection are being achieved. There is strong evidence that legal protection reduces loss of natural vegetation, but biodiversity loss can still happen without significant changes in vegetation cover. Here we use data from a specifically designed camera trap survey to conduct a counterfactual assessment of PA effectiveness at safeguarding local biodiversity in the Brazilian Cerrado. We surveyed the mammal community in 517 locations at the Sertão Veredas-Peruaçu mosaic, distributed across five strict PAs (264 survey sites in five arrays) and two multiple-use PAs with low management levels (253 survey sites in four arrays). We adopted a multi-species occupancy framework to analyse our dataset while also controlling for confounding factors not directly related to protection. Of the 21 species assessed, nine had higher occupancy in strict PAs, one had higher occupancy in multiple-use PAs, and ten did not respond to protection level. Site species richness was nearly twice as large in areas under stricter protection, with even greater differences for species richness of globally threatened and larger mammals (>15 kg). Overall we demonstrated that the strict PAs surveyed support higher mammal diversity than similar areas under less restrictive management, with a particular strong effect on larger and threatened species. Given that strict PAs cover only 3% of the Cerrado, our results suggest that expanding the area under strict protection is likely to benefit iconic species of the Brazilian savanna, such as the maned wolf and giant anteater

Assessing the conservation value of secondary savanna for large mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado

Debate about the conservation value of secondary habitats has tended to focus on tropical forests, increasingly recognizing the role of secondary forests for biodiversity conservation. However, there remains a lack of information about the conservation value of secondary savannas. Here, we conducted a camera trap survey to assess the effect of secondary vegetation on large mammals in a Brazilian Cerrado protected area, using a single-season occupancy framework to investigate the response of individual species (species-level models) and of all species combined (community-level models). In addition, we investigated the cost effectiveness of different sampling designs to monitor globally threatened species in the study area. At the community level, savanna that regenerated from eucalyptus plantation had similar occupancy estimate as old growth areas. At the species level, none of the ten species individually assessed seemed to respond to succession stage, with greater support for the effect of other covariates on occupancy, such as distance from water and vegetation physiognomy. These results demonstrate that secondary vegetation does not appear to negatively impact large mammals in the study area and suggest that, given a favorable context, Cerrado mammals can recolonize and use secondary savannas that regenerated from clearcut. However, our study area should be considered a best-case scenario, as it retained key ecological attributes of high-value secondary habitats. Our simulations showed that a sampling design with 60 camera trap sites surveyed during nine occasions is appropriate to monitor most globally threatened species in the study area, and could be a useful starting point for new monitoring initiatives in other Cerrado areas

An evaluation of factors associated with taking and responding positive to the tuberculin skin test in individuals with HIV/AIDS

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tuberculin skin test (TST) is still the standard test for detecting latent infection by <it>M tuberculosis </it>(LTBI). Given that the Brazilian Health Ministry recommends that the treatment of latent tuberculosis (LTBI) should be guided by the TST results, the present study sets out to describe the coverage of administering the TST in people living with HIV at two referral health centers in the city of Recife, where TST is offered to all patients. In addition, factors associated with the non-application of the test and with positive TST results were also analyzed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was carried out with HIV patients, aged 18 years or over, attending outpatient clinics at the Correia Picanço Hospital/SES/PE and the Oswaldo Cruz/UPE University Hospital, who had been recommended to take the TST, in the period between November 2007 and February 2010. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to establish associations between the dependent variable - taking the TST (yes/no), at a first stage analysis, and the independent variables, followed by a second stage analysis considering a positive TST as the dependent variable. The odds ratio was calculated as the measure of association and the confidence interval (CI) at 95% as the measure of accuracy of the estimate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 2,290 patients recruited, 1087 (47.5%) took the TST. Of the 1,087 patients who took the tuberculin skin test, the prevalence of TST ≥ 5 mm was 21.6% among patients with CD4 ≥ 200 and 9.49% among those with CD4 < 200 (p = 0.002). The patients most likely not to take the test were: men, people aged under 39 years, people with low educational levels and crack users. The risk for not taking the TST was statiscally different for health service. Patients who presented better immunity (CD4 ≥ 200) were more than two and a half times more likely to test positive that those with higher levels of immunodeficiency (CD4 < 200).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Considering that the TST is recommended by the Brazilian health authorities, coverage for taking the test was very low. The most serious implication of this is that LTBI treatment was not carried out for the unidentified TST-positive patients, who may consequently go on to develop TB and eventually die.</p