Non-volant mammals from Baturité Ridge, Ceará state, Northeast Brazil

Baturité Ridge is an important Atlantic Forest remnant inserted in the Caatinga Morphoclimatic Domain located in the Ceará state, Northeast Brazil. Al­­though this area presents high rates of endemism and has been investigated by many researchers in the past, there was never an investigation regarding local mammals. In this context, this study aims to survey the non-volant mammals of this region to serve as a basis for future ecological and conservation studies. The work was conducted between 2009 and 2014, based on analyses of voucher specimens from zoological collections, capture of specimens in fieldwork, visual and photographic records, and interviews with selected local residents. Altogether, 32 species were documented and seven are present on lists of endangered animals. In addition, interviews indicated that three non-recorded species probably occur in the area and another two were pointed out by local people as locally extinct. Discussions about identification and conservation aspects were presented

Análise parasitológica do caldo de cana e das condições higiênico-sanitárias do seu comércio no centro da cidade de Fortaleza, Ceará

The lack of hygienic control of foods sold by merchants is a major obstacle to the implementation of control measures against intestinal parasitosis. In this study, the hygienic aspects of the production and distribution of sugarcane juice in diners of the commercial area in Fortaleza/CE were evaluated. A survey containing eleven questions was utilized to collect the data related to the hygienic and sanitary conditions of the sugarcane, the handler and the equipment. Eleven samples from different diners in downtown Fortaleza, were analyzed on May and June 2012. The samples were placed in cool boxes and sent to the Food Safety and Nutrition Laboratory at Ceará State University in order to be analyzed using parasitological analysis which aimed to identify eggs and larvae of helminths and oocysts, as well as protozoan cysts. All the diners had some sort of deficiency on the hygienic and sanitary condition of the sugarcane, and 72.7 % of the samples contained some kind of parasite, some of them being indicators of serious misconduct on the hygiene of food handlers. The results showed deficiencies on the sanitary and hygienic aspects of the production, storage and commercialization of sugarcane juice, reinforcing the need for adoption of training programs for producers and traders as a way to guide the hygienic practices and proper handling techniques.A falta de controle higiênico de alimentos vendidos por comerciantes constitui um importante obstáculo para a implementação de medidas de controle contra as parasitoses intestinais. O presente trabalho avaliou os aspectos higiênicos da produção e distribuição de caldo de cana em lanchonetes localizadas na cidade de Fortaleza/CE. Durante as coletas de dados aplicou-se um questionário com onze questões relacionadas às condições higiênico- sanitárias da cana, dos manipuladores e dos equipamentos. Onze amostras obtidas em diferentes lanchonetes foram analisadas no período de maio a junho de 2012. As amostras foram acondicionadas em caixas térmicas e encaminhadas ao Laboratório de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricionais da Universidade Estadual do Ceará, para a realização da análise parasitológica para identificar ovos, larvas de helmintos e oocistos e cistos de protozoário.Todas as lanchonetes apresentaram algum tipo de deficiência na condição higiênico-sanitária da cana-de-açúcar e 72,7% das amostras continham algum tipo de parasito, sendo alguns deles indicadores de falta grave na higiene dos manipuladores. Estes resultados evidenciam deficiências higiênicas sanitárias no processo de produção, armazenamento e comercialização do caldo de cana. Logo, reforça-se a indicação da necessidade de adoção de programas de capacitação para produtores e comerciantes, para orientar as práticas de higiene e técnicas adequadas de manipulação

Non-volant mammals from Baturité Ridge, Ceará state, Northeast Brazil

Baturité Ridge is an important Atlantic Forest remnant inserted in the Caatinga Morphoclimatic Domain located in the Ceará state, Northeast Brazil. Al­­though this area presents high rates of endemism and has been investigated by many researchers in the past, there was never an investigation regarding local mammals. In this context, this study aims to survey the non-volant mammals of this region to serve as a basis for future ecological and conservation studies. The work was conducted between 2009 and 2014, based on analyses of voucher specimens from zoological collections, capture of specimens in fieldwork, visual and photographic records, and interviews with selected local residents. Altogether, 32 species were documented and seven are present on lists of endangered animals. In addition, interviews indicated that three non-recorded species probably occur in the area and another two were pointed out by local people as locally extinct. Discussions about identification and conservation aspects were presented

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 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