Contribution of wildlife governmental centers to \ud conservation and biological study of sloths Bradypus \ud variegatus

Our study evaluated the anthropogenic threats to the common sloth in the Atlantic forest (AF) by analyzing data collected in wildlife governmental centers. Interesting, new biological data could also be reported. The main risks identified were the road network and falls, followed by domestic dogs and electric shocks. Tourism and preliminary evidences of locally distinct biological features were suggested as potential menaces to conservation of the AF common sloth populations. The birth season within the southeast appears to be the rainy season, but that is not the case in the northeast. Finally, the weight of adult individuals was reported not to vary between sexes. Data were confirmed by the highest number of individuals ever analyzed. Thus, although neotropical wildlife governmental centers usually cope with the lack of human resources, this study highlights that their records can be successfully used to add important biological information to the conservation and study of neotropical wildlife.The authors would like to thank to Camila L. Clozato, all the CETAS and DEPAVE-SP staff, and their collaborators, namely the Fire and Police Departments, health and environmental institutions, and citizens, who have been collecting animals and data across the years. We also acknowledge two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an early version of this manuscript. S.M. Silva was supported by a Foundation for Science and Technology PhD grant (SFRH/ BD/40638/2007). N. Moraes-Barros was supported by CAPES. J. S. Morgante had a research grant from FAPESP (08/52207-0)

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data