Dinâmica dos atropelamentos de fauna em uma região de floresta subtropical no sul do Brasil

Roads are among the most obvious environmental changes generated by man. One of the most noticeable impact is death by run over of fauna that can cause major demographic effects on wild populations. The objective of this study was to estimate the diversity of fauna run over in two highways in northern Rio Grande do Sul. The Roads defined for the study were ERS-331 (T1), which connects the cities of Erechim and Gaurama and RS-420 (T2), which connects the cities of Erechim and Aratiba. The studied region is located within the areas of the Atlantic Forest biome, characterized by a dense rain vegetation and humid subtropical climate. Ten (10) days of sampling were performed by September 2014 to February 2015, totaling 2,880 Km. Only Birds, Mammals and Reptiles were considered in this study. The roadkill rate and the species accumulation curve was calculated. The species richness was estimated based on the use of Jacknife 1 wealth estimator and the species most knocked down was determined from an average of individuals hit by month. The species were classified according to an index of constancy of occurrence. Two hundred and nine individuals of 45 species were found knocked down, being Birds the species with majority of records 57,42% (n=120), followed by Mammals 24,88% (n=52) and Reptiles 17,7% (n=37). The road-kill rates was 0,14 ind./Km/day considering the three taxonomic groups. To Bird we identified 30 species. Eight species of Mammals and seven of Reptiles were identified. Considering all groups the estimated wealth was 67 species (±4,06), among which 46,5 (±3,71) were species of Birds, 11.67 (±1,56) Mammalian species and 8,83 species of reptiles (±1,24). The top five species in running over episodes were: Salvator merianae (n = 24), Didelphis albiventris (n=22), Cerdocyon thous (n=8), Zonotrichia capensis (n=7) and Cavia aperea (n=6). One species is in the list of Rio Grande do Sul's endangered fauna: Leopardus tigrinus, on the "vulnerable" category. The diversity of species ran over, in comparison with estimated species diversity for the region, reinforces the idea that the collisions are directed to some species, probably abundant and who don't avoid the highways. The species with the highest number of accidents coincide largely with the species classified as Constants or Accessory. The road-kill rates showed that at less 50 animals can be found road killed by year in the evaluated roads. The low similarity and the differences between the two roads showed the strong influence the landscape around the roads in the diversity of fauna road-killed. Roads that crossing degraded areas seems impact more animals with generalist habits and roads that crossing preserved areas seems impact animals more exigents about the habitat use. The identification of the species that are most frequently hit and the concerned ecological standards can serve as a tool to make decisions in order to seek alternatives to reduce road kills.Rodovias estão entre as mais evidentes alterações ambientais geradas pelo homem. Um dos impactos mais perceptíveis é a morte por atropelamento da fauna que pode causar importantes efeitos demográficos nas populações silvestres. O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar a diversidade da fauna atropelada em duas rodovias no norte do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. As rodovias definidas para o estudo foram RS-331 (T1), que liga os municípios de Erechim e Gaurama e RS-420 (T2), que liga os municípios de Erechim e Aratiba. A região do estudo está situada dentro dos domínios do bioma Mata Atlântica, caracterizado por uma vegetação ombrófila densa e clima subtropical úmido. Foram realizados 10 dias de amostragens por mês, de setembro de 2014 a fevereiro de 2015, totalizando 2.880 Km. Foram considerados aves, mamíferos e répteis neste estudo. Foi calculada a taxa de atropelamentos e a curva de acumulação de espécies. Estimou-se a riqueza de espécies com base no uso do estimador de riqueza Jacknife 1 e determinou-se as espécies mais atropeladas a partir da média dos indivíduos atropelados por mês. As espécies foram classificadas segundo o índice de Constância de Ocorrência. Foram encontrados 209 indivíduos atropelados de 45 espécies, sendo que as aves representaram a maioria dos registros 57,42% (n=120), seguidas pelos mamíferos 24,88% (n=52), e répteis 17,7% (n=37). A taxa de atropelamento foi de 0,14 ind./km/dia considerando os três grupos taxonômicos. Para aves foram identificadas 30 espécies. Para mamíferos foram identificadas oito espécies e para répteis sete. A riqueza estimada, considerando todos os grupos, foi de 67 espécies (± 4,06), para aves foi de 46,5 espécies (± 3,71), para mamíferos 11,67 espécies (±1,56) e 8,83 espécies para répteis (± 1,24). As cinco espécies mais atropeladas foram: Salvator merianae (n=24), Didelphis albiventris (n=22), Cerdocyon thous (n=8), Zonotrichia capensis (n=7) e Cavia aperea (n=6). Uma espécie consta na lista da fauna ameaçada de extinção do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul: Leopardus tigrinus, na categoria “vulnerável”. As curvas de acumulação de espécies, apesar das tendências para a assíntota em répteis, indicam que novos registros podem ser feitos com mais tempo de amostragem. As espécies com maior número de atropelamentos coincidem em grande parte com as espécies classificadas como Constantes ou Acessórias. A taxa de atropelamento indica que ao longo do período de um ano podem ser encontrados ao menos 50 animais atropelados por quilômetro nas rodovias avaliadas. A similaridade baixa e as diferenças na diversidade entre os dois trechos indicam a forte influência da paisagem do entorno da rodovia nas características da diversidade de fauna atropelada. Rodovias que cortam áreas mais degradadas parecem gerar impactos sobre animais de hábitos generalistas, com alta capacidade de ocupar áreas antrópicas e aparentemente com populações grandes. Rodovias que cortam áreas preservadas, ou menos degradadas, tendem a gerar impactos sobre espécies mais exigentes ao uso de habitat, com áreas de vida mais restritas e possivelmente populações menores. A identificação das espécies mais frequentemente atropeladas e dos padrões ecológicos envolvidos pode servir como ferramenta para a tomada de decisão a fim de buscar alternativas para reduzir os atropelamentos

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data