USES AND TABOOS OF TURTLES AND TORTOISES ALONG RIO NEGRO, AMAZON BASIN

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Chelonians (turtles and tortoises) of the Amazon Basin have constituted a source of food for native populations since pre-Columbian times and have continued to be an important product for subsistence and cash income. Little is known about current levels of exploitation and pressure on natural stocks, despite observations of declining populations of the larger and most valued species. This study investigates how people living in the Negro River area use Amazonian chelonians, including issues of consumption, preferences, restrictions, segmentary taboos, harmfulness, medicinal use, and sale. We conducted interviews with fishing families in the city of Barcelos and in Jau National Park, both located in the Rio Negro basin, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. All chelonian species are used by these riverine people, especially for food. Peltocephalus dumerilianus is caught year round, whereas the capture of other species is more frequent during the dry season. Terrestrial species are collected whenever found in the forest. Herbivorous species are preferred as food; omnivorous or carnivorous species are subject to food taboos. Two species are largely used as medicines, mainly to treat swelling and hemorrhages. Fat and epidermal scutes (scales) are widely used. At least four species are exploited commercially.301153168World Wildlife Fund -WWF [CSR-143]Vitoria Amazonica Foundation (FVA)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Amazonas Federal University (UFAM)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)State University of Campinas (UNICAMP, CCPG Ecologia)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)World Wildlife Fund -WWF [CSR-143]FAPESP [98/16160-5

Community-Based Management of Amazonian Biodiversity Assets

The Amazon is the largest forest system on Earth, supporting a variety of indigenous societies, small farmers, extractivists, and artisanal fishers with different cultures and relations with wildlife. However, the Brazilian Amazon has lost more than 436, 000 km2 of forest in the last 30 years, and Protected Areas may not be enough to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage. On the other hand, formal alliances with rural inhabitants can decentralize resource management, strengthen full-time surveillance systems, reduce overall costs, and boost conservation effectiveness. Here, we provide an assessment of the two largest community-based management (CBM) programs in the Brazilian Amazon, which are inducing strong social and ecological benefits at a large scale. First, we show the benefits from CBM of giant arapaima, which has promoted an impressive stock recovery of the world’s largest freshwater scaled fish (Arapaima spp.), generating income and other benefits for rural livelihoods in Amazonian floodplains. Second, we show that CBM of freshwater turtles (Podocnemis spp.) has also promoted the population recovery of overexploited turtles, contributing to the maintenance of important cultural values. We also identified a set of social and institutional principles, and the intrinsic values of natural resources, which can help develop successful CBM programs. Finally, we discuss how these principles can strengthen existing initiatives and/or inspire new ones. Reconciling biodiversity conservation and local aspirations for rural development is an urgent socioecological demand in Amazonia. Raising the profile of successful initiatives can be a powerful strategy to disseminate a message of hope and action to local and international agencies that can support the scaling up of these successful models

Nesting ecology of Podocnemis expansa (Schweigger, 1812) and Podocnemis unifilis (Troschel, 1848) (Testudines, Podocnemididae) in the Javaés River, Brazil

Nest site has influence on incubation duration and hatching success of two Neotropical turtles, the Giant Amazon River Turtle (Podocnemis expansa) and Yellow-Spotted Side-Neck Turtle (Podocnemis unifilis - "Tracajá"). The 2000 and 2001 nesting seasons have been monitored at the Javaés River in Bananal Island, Brazil. Although they nest on the same beaches, there is a separation of the nesting areas of P unifilis and P. expansa nests on the upper parts of the beach. The incubation duration for P. expansa is influenced by the nesting period, the height of the nest from the river, the clutch size, and the grain size in the site of the nest. Nests of Podocnemis expansa placed in coarse sediments have shorter incubation duration than those placed in finer sediments. The hatching success in P. expansa is influenced by grain size, incubation duration, and nesting period. The grain size is negatively correlated with hatching success, indicating that the nests situated in finer-grained sand have better chances of successful egg hatching than those in coarser-grained sand. Nests of the end of the reproductive season have lower hatching success and incubation duration than those at the start of the season. For P. unifilis, the nesting period and nest depth influence the incubation duration; moreover, the river dynamics significantly affect the hatching success. The oscillation of the river level and the moment of initial increase, the height of the nest from the river level, and the nesting period are all decisive components for hatching success. The results of this research show the importance of protecting areas with great geological diversity, wherein the features of the environment can affect the microenvironment of nests, with consequences on incubation duration and hatching success