Liquid Lunch – Vampire Bats Feed On Invasive Feral Pigs And Other Ungulates

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Ecologia de populações de porco monteiro no Pantanal do Brasil

O porco monteiro chegou ao Pantanal há cerca de dois séculos e, desde então, tem sido considerado como a principal espécie cinegética (de interesse para a caça) na região. Suas populações vivem livres na planície e independentes da atividade humana, exceto pelo manejo tradicional que age como fator de controle populacional dos rebanhos. Considerando que a espécie apresenta potencial para utilização econômica e que pode vir a compor a pauta de produtos com certificação de origem no Pantanal, informações sobre a ecologia das populações presentes na planície são estratégicas. Este artigo apresenta um apanhado sobre as informações disponíveis a respeito da espécie e discute aspectos da dinâmica de suas populações, com base em projeções obtidas utilizando-se o software VORTEX 9.6.bitstream/CPAP-2010/57340/1/DOC106.pd

Comportamento de forrageio por presas, sazonalidade e orçamento temporário das atividades do mico-leão-preto, Leontopithecus chrysopygus (Mikan 1823) (Mammalia, Callitrichidae)

Foraging behavior, seasonality and time-budgets in the Black Lion Tamarin (L. chrysopygus) was observed in the Caetetus Ecological Station, South-eastern Brazil, during 83 days between November 1988 to October 1990. For the full dry season we found that animal prey represented 11.2% of the black lion tamarin diet, while during the wet season they represented 1.9%. Foraging behavior made up 19.8% of their total activity in the dry season and only 12.8% in the wet season. These results point out that animal prey are relatively more important during the dry season, due to reduced availability of other resources, e.g. fruits, and that a greater foraging effort is required when a larger proportion of the diet is animal prey.O comportamento de forrageio por presas, a sazonalidade e o orçamento temporal das atividades no mico-leão-preto (L. chrysopygus) foram observados na Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, sudeste do Brasil, durante 83 dias, entre novembro de 1988 e outubro de 1990. Para toda a estação seca, observou-se que as presas animais representaram 11,2% da dieta do mico-leão-preto, enquanto na estação chuvosa elas foram responsáveis apenas por 1,9%. O comportamento de forrageio por presas compreendeu 19,8% de sua atividade total na estação seca e 12,8% na estação chuvosa. Esses resultados indicam que as presas animais são relativamente mais importantes durante a estação seca, devido à redução na disponibilidade de outros recursos, como frutos, e que o maior esforço de forrageio é exigido quando a maior proporção da dieta é composta por presa animal.455459Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Uso de pastejo rotacionado em uma área de pastagem nativa no Pantanal.

Para evitar desmatamento e proteger a biodiversidade, áreas consideradas produtivas podem ser manejadas de forma mais eficiente e rentável, para não haver necessidade de novos desmatamentos. Com essa finalidade, a WCS Brasil trabalha com a comunidade rural promovendo melhores práticas para otimizar a utilização e a rentabilidade das áreas produtivas, minimizando as pressões sobre os recursos naturais

Setting priority conservation management regions to reverse rapid range decline of a key neotropical forest ungulate

Mammals are important components of biodiversity that have been drastically and rapidly impacted by climate change, habitat loss, and anthropogenic pressure. Understanding key species distribution to optimize conservation targets is both urgent and necessary to reverse the current biodiversity crisis. Herein, we applied habitat suitability models for a key Neotropical forest ungulate, the white-lipped peccary (WLP Tayassu pecari), to investigate the effects of climate and landscape modifications on its distribution, which has been drastically reduced in Brazil. We used 318 primary records of WLP to derive habitat suitability maps across Brazil. Our models included bioclimatic, topographic, landscape, and human influence predictors in two modelling approaches. Models including all categories of predictors obtained the highest predictive ability and showed prevalence of suitable areas in forested regions of the country, covering 49% of the Brazilian territory. Filtering out small forest fragments (<2050 ha) reduced the suitable area by 5%, with a further reduction of 4% that was caused by deforestation until 2020, therefore until 2020, the species has suffered a reduction of ~60% from its historical range in Brazil. Of the 40% of the Brazilian territory suitable to WLP, only 12% are protected. In the Atlantic Forest, only half of all protected areas have suitable habitat for WLP and even less in Pantanal (44%), Cerrado (14%) and Caatinga (7%). In a second modelling approach, mapping the areas with suitable climate and those with suitable landscapes separately, allowed us to identify four categories of conservation values, and showed that only 17% of the Brazilian territory has both high landscape and climatic suitability for WLP. Our models can help with complementary conservation management strategies and actions that could be essential in slowing down and possibly reversing current trends of population and geographic range reductions for te species, thereby averting a possible future collapse of forest ecosystem functioning in the Neotropical region

Planar localisation analyses: a novel application of a centre of mass approach

Sound localisation is one of the key roles for listening, and measuring localisation performance is a mainstay of the hearing research laboratory. Such measurements consider both accuracy and, for incorrect trials, the size of the error. In terms of error analysis, localisation studies have frequently used general univariate techniques in conjunction with either mean signed or unsigned error measurements. This approach can make inappropriate distributional assumptions and so more suitable alternatives based on directional statistics (e.g. based on von Mises distributed data) have also been used. However these are not readily computed using most commercially available, commonly used statistical software, and are generally only defined for simple experimental designs. We describe a novel use of a 'centre of mass' approach for describing localisation data jointly in terms of accuracy and size of error. This spatial method offers powerful, yet flexible, statistical analysis using standard multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)

Large-scale population disappearances and cycling in the white-lipped peccary, a tropical forest mammal.

Many vertebrate species undergo population fluctuations that may be random or regularly cyclic in nature. Vertebrate population cycles in northern latitudes are driven by both endogenous and exogenous factors. Suggested causes of mysterious disappearances documented for populations of the Neotropical, herd-forming, white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari, henceforth "WLP") include large-scale movements, overhunting, extreme floods, or disease outbreaks. By analyzing 43 disappearance events across the Neotropics and 88 years of commercial and subsistence harvest data for the Amazon, we show that WLP disappearances are widespread and occur regularly and at large spatiotemporal scales throughout the species' range. We present evidence that the disappearances represent 7-12-year troughs in 20-30-year WLP population cycles occurring synchronously at regional and perhaps continent-wide spatial scales as large as 10,000-5 million km2. This may represent the first documented case of natural population cyclicity in a Neotropical mammal. Because WLP populations often increase dramatically prior to a disappearance, we posit that their population cycles result from over-compensatory, density-dependent mortality. Our data also suggest that the increase phase of a WLP cycle is partly dependent on recolonization from proximal, unfragmented and undisturbed forests. This highlights the importance of very large, continuous natural areas that enable source-sink population dynamics and ensure re-colonization and local population persistence in time and space

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 24 domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, ten anteaters, and six sloths. Our dataset 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 south of the USA, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to its austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n=5,941), and Cyclopes sp. has the fewest (n=240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n=11,588), and the least recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n=33). With regards 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 datasets of Neotropical Series which 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 dataset

A Melodic Contour Repeatedly Experienced by Human Near-Term Fetuses Elicits a Profound Cardiac Reaction One Month after Birth

Human hearing develops progressively during the last trimester of gestation. Near-term fetuses can discriminate acoustic features, such as frequencies and spectra, and process complex auditory streams. Fetal and neonatal studies show that they can remember frequently recurring sounds. However, existing data can only show retention intervals up to several days after birth.Here we show that auditory memories can last at least six weeks. Experimental fetuses were given precisely controlled exposure to a descending piano melody twice daily during the 35(th), 36(th), and 37(th) weeks of gestation. Six weeks later we assessed the cardiac responses of 25 exposed infants and 25 naive control infants, while in quiet sleep, to the descending melody and to an ascending control piano melody. The melodies had precisely inverse contours, but similar spectra, identical duration, tempo and rhythm, thus, almost identical amplitude envelopes. All infants displayed a significant heart rate change. In exposed infants, the descending melody evoked a cardiac deceleration that was twice larger than the decelerations elicited by the ascending melody and by both melodies in control infants.Thus, 3-weeks of prenatal exposure to a specific melodic contour affects infants 'auditory processing' or perception, i.e., impacts the autonomic nervous system at least six weeks later, when infants are 1-month old. Our results extend the retention interval over which a prenatally acquired memory of a specific sound stream can be observed from 3-4 days to six weeks. The long-term memory for the descending melody is interpreted in terms of enduring neurophysiological tuning and its significance for the developmental psychobiology of attention and perception, including early speech perception, is discussed

Sustainability Agenda for the Pantanal Wetland: Perspectives on a Collaborative Interface for Science, Policy, and Decision-Making.

Building bridges between environmental and political agendas is essential nowadays in face of the increasing human pressure on natural environments, including wetlands. Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services for humanity and can generate a considerable direct or indirect income to the local communities. To meet many of the sustainable development goals, we need to move our trajectory from the current environmental destructive development to a wiser wetland use. The current article contain a proposed agenda for the Pantanal aiming the improvement of public policy for conservation in the Pantanal, one of the largest, most diverse, and continuous inland wetland in the world. We suggest and discuss a list of 11 essential interfaces between science, policy, and development in region linked to the proposed agenda. We believe that a functional science network can booster the collaborative capability to generate creative ideas and solutions to address the big challenges faced by the Pantanal wetland