Influência de fatores ambientais, biológicos e antrópicos na caça e venda de quelônios de água doce em duas reservas na Amazônia Central

Freshwater turtles have been intensively harvested for centuries and currently figure as one of the most threatened vertebrate groups in the world. Using data from 14-years of participatory monitoring of hunting in 10 communities within sustainable development reserves, we reveal patterns and trends of chelonian exploitation in Central Amazonia. We applied generalized additive models to assess use sustainability of four endangered Amazonian freshwater turtles via fluctuations in hunting productivity, body mass of hunted individuals, and selling prices in rural and urban markets over the study-period. We recorded 2,767 hunted individual freshwater turtles (summed biomass, 10,186.30 kg). Six-tubercled Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis sextuberculata) was the most hunted species by number of individuals (n=1538, 55.6%), while yellow-spotted river turtles (Podocnemis unifilis) accounted for most of the hunted biomass (n= 4360.6, 63.7%). Trade in turtles generated an overall profit of US$31,606.60, and while P. unifilis and South American giant river turtles (Podocnemis expansa) were relevant in the urban market, big-headed Amazon river turtles (Peltocephalus dumerilianus) and P. sextuberculata played a crucial role in guaranteeing food security for rural people. Selling prices increased during the monitoring period, with higher values obtained for some species in urban centres. After some 20 years under protection and participatory management, we detected strong evidence of chelonian population recovery in the region, since the catch-per-unit-effort and female body mass of P. sextuberculata and P. unifilis, and the body mass of both sexes of P. expansa and P. dumerilianus increased over the monitoring period. Our results highlight the effectiveness of inhabited protected areas in conserving game species, as well as the relevance of community-based monitoring as an efficient strategy to preserve long-lived chelonians in Amazonia. Chelonian population recovery helps maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services in Amazonia, and also provides social, economic and health benefits for local dwellers.Os quelônios de água doce foram intensamente explorados ao longo de séculos e atualmente figuram entre os grupos de vertebrados mais ameaçados do mundo. Neste estudo, nós discutimos a sustentabilidade do uso de quatro espécies de quelônios de água doce por meio da avaliação de flutuações na produtividade da caça, biomassa corporal de indivíduos caçados e preços de venda em mercados rurais e urbanos ao longo dos anos. Para tanto, nós apresentamos os padrões de exploração de quelônios e aplicamos modelos de aditivos generalizados (GAMLSS) utilizando um monitoramento participativo da caça de quelônios de água doce por 14 anos em 10 comunidades dentro de duas reservas habitadas na Amazônia Central. Nós registramos 2.767 indivíduos de tartarugas de água doce caçados, totalizando 10.186,30 kg de biomassa abatida. Podocnemis sextuberculata foi a espécie mais caçada em número de indivíduos (n = 1538, 55,6$ 31.606,60, e enquanto P. unifilis e Podocnemis expansa foram relevantes para o mercado urbano, Peltocephalus dumerilianus e Podocnemis sextuberculata desempenharam um papel crucial na garantia da soberania alimentar para a população rural. Os preços de venda de P. unifilis aumentaram ao longo dos anos de monitoramento, sendo que sua carne alcançou maiores valores nos centros urbanos. Após cerca de 20 anos de proteção e manejo participativo de quelônios nas reservas, detectamos fortes evidências de um início de recuperação populacional dos quelônios na região, uma vez que a captura-por-unidade-de- esforço das fêmeas de P. sextuberculata e P. unifilis aumentou ao longo dos anos. Além disso, a massa corporal de ambos os sexos de P. expansa e P. dumerilianus aumentou fortemente ao longo do período de monitoramento. Nossos resultados destacam a eficácia das áreas protegidas habitadas na conservação de espécies alvos de caça, bem como a relevância do monitoramento comunitário como estratégia para conservar espécies longevas, como os quelônios amazônicos. A recuperação das populações de quelônios é importante não somente para manter a biodiversidade e os serviços ecossistêmicos na Amazônia, mas também por proporcionar benefícios sociais, econômicos e de saúde para os moradores locais

Wildlife trade in Latin America: people, economy and conservation

Wildlife trade is among the main threats to biodiversity conservation and may pose a risk to human health because of the spread of zoonotic diseases. To avoid social, economic and environmental consequences of illegal trade, it is crucial to understand the factors influencing the wildlife market and the effectiveness of policies already in place. I aim to unveil the biological and socioeconomic factors driving wildlife trade, the health risks imposed by the activity, and the effectiveness of certified captive-breeding as a strategy to curb the illegal market in Latin America through a multidisciplinary approach. I assess socioeconomic correlates of the emerging international trade in wild cat species from Latin America using a dataset of >1,000 seized cats, showing that high levels of corruption and Chinese private investment and low income per capita were related to higher numbers of jaguar seizures. I assess the effectiveness of primate captive-breeding programmes as an intervention to curb wildlife trafficking. Illegal sources held >70% of the primate market share. Legal primates are more expensive, and the production is not sufficiently high to fulfil the demand. I assess the scale of the illegal trade and ownership of venomous snakes in Brazil. Venomous snake taxa responsible for higher numbers of snakebites were those most often kept as pets. I uncover how online wildlife pet traders and consumers responded to campaigns associating the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 20,000 posts on Facebook groups, only 0.44% mentioned COVID-19 and several stimulated the trade in wild species during lockdown. Despite the existence of international and national wildlife trade regulations, I conclude that illegal wildlife trade is still an issue that needs further addressing in Latin America. I identify knowledge gaps and candidate interventions to amend the current loopholes to reduce wildlife trafficking. My aspiration with this thesis is to provide useful information that can inform better strategies to tackle illegal wildlife trade in Latin America

Shedding light on the trade in nocturnal galagos

Primates are traded yearly in the tens of thousands for reasons such as biomedical research, as trophies and pets, for consumption and to be used in traditional medicine. In many cases, this trade is illegal, unsustainable and considered a major impediment to primate conservation. Diurnal primates make up the vast majority of this trade, but recent studies have found that the trade in nocturnal primates is more common than previously thought, and among them are the galagos. There are currently 19 galagos recognized but there is still a dearth of research on these species and subspecies. The purpose of our study was to provide a more comprehensive picture of the trade in galagos within and across their African range countries, to help determine whether it is illegal or its sustainability needs to be assessed, and to provide baseline data and management recommendations to better regulate this trade, including strengthening policy, enforcement and conservation interventions. We gathered information on trade and use of galagos using an online questionnaire (May–August 2020), and on country-specific legislation relating to wildlife trade, hunting and legal protection of galagos, and looked at each range country’s Corruption Perception Index score to gain an understanding of the obstacles in the way of effective law enforcement. We received 140 responses to our online questionnaire, from 31 of the 39 galago range countries. Respondents from 16 of these countries reported on first-hand observations of galagos being traded or used. Out of these, 36% reported seeing galagos sold or used for consumption, 33% as pets and 25% had observed them sold or used for traditional practices (including medical and magical purposes and for witchcraft). Most reports came from West Africa followed by Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. We found that the number of reports on galagos being traded was higher in countries with higher numbers of galago species. Countries with more restrictive legislation experienced a higher number of reports of trade. Galagos observed in the pet trade was more common in East Africa, whilst reports of them in the bushmeat trade were more common in Central and West Africa. Galagos observed in the trade for traditional practices was by far most common from West Africa. We found that all galago range countries have some level of legal protection for some or all of their native galago species. It is evident that use and trade of galagos occurs throughout their range, albeit localized to certain areas. We urge galago range countries to adequately protect all species and to ensure legal trade is effectively regulated. Range countries that prohibit the use and trade in galagos must ensure legislation is adequately enforced. Further research into the drivers behind the use and trade of galagos should be initiated in countries with high levels of use and trade to further inform conservation and policy actions and to catalyze enforcement actions against poaching and illegal trade

Disentangling the legal and illegal wildlife trade: Insights from Indonesian wildlife market surveys

It is challenging to disentangle the legal and illegal aspects of wild-caught animals that are traded in wildlife markets or online, and this may diminish the value of conducting wildlife trade surveys. We present empirical studies on the trade in birds (ducks, owls, songbirds, non-passerines) in Indonesia (2005 to 2021). Based on visits to wildlife markets, wholesale traders, and monitoring of an Instagram account, we examine if five specific pieces of legislation (domestic and international) are adhered to: (1) protected species, (2) harvest quota, (3) welfare, (4) provincial transport restrictions, and (5) illegal import of CITES-listed species. Our five distinctly different case studies showed that in each case, certain rules and regulations were adhered to, whilst others were violated to varying degrees. When trade involved non-protected species, there was frequently a lack of harvest quotas or trade occurred above these allocated quotas. Basic welfare provisions were regularly and habitually violated. Visiting wildlife markets and recording first-hand what is openly offered for sale is a highly reliable, verifiable, and valuable method of data collection that can give insight in numerous aspects of the animal trade. Our research provides support for recognising the urgency for the government to take appropriate action to curb all the illegal aspects of the bird trade in Indonesia

Freelisting as a suitable method to estimate the composition and harvest rates of hunted species in tropical forests

The aim of this study was to test the use of measures obtained from freelisting as possible surrogates of the harvest rate of game species. For this purpose, we interviewed 100 rural and urban hunters in southwestern Amazonia to obtain the frequency of citations of each hunted species through freelisting and gather information on the number of individuals hunted per species in the last five hunting events through hunting recalls. We assessed the relationship between the percentage of records per species by each method through a generalized linear model, and then compared the predicted values obtained from this model with the values observed in our dataset using Pearson’s correlation. During freelisting, forty-three taxa were listed in 608 citations as hunted by the informants. Freelisting provided data on around twice the number of species obtained from recalls. During the last five hunting trips, urban hunters reported the hunting of 164 individuals of 18 species, representing 54.5% of the freelisted species. Rural hunters caught 146 individuals of 21 species, 60.0% of the freelisted species. We found a strong logistic relationship between the harvest rates, i.e., percentage of individuals hunted per species from recalls, and the freelisting percentage citations of game species, with the estimated and observed values of harvest rates highly matching (Pearson's R = 0.98, p < 0.0001). The freelisting method allowed a good estimate of the composition and the harvest rates of hunted species. The formula produced in this study can be used as a reference for further studies, enabling researchers to use freelisting effectively to assess the composition of hunted species and to address the difficulty of obtaining reliable data on species harvest rates in tropical forests, especially in short-term studies and contexts in which hunters distrust research

Venom in furs: Facial masks as aposematic signals in a venomous mammal

The function of colouration in animals includes concealment, communication and signaling, such as the use of aposematism as a warning signal. Aposematism is unusual in mammals, and exceptions help us to understand its ecology and evolution. The Javan slow loris is a highly territorial venomous mammal that has a distinctive facial mask and monochromatic vision. To help understand if they use aposematism to advertise their venom to conspecifics or predators with different visual systems, we studied a population in Java, Indonesia. Using ImageJ, we selected colours from the facial masks of 58 individuals, converted RBG colours into monochromatic, dichromatic and trichromatic modes, and created a contrast index. During 290 captures, we recorded venom secretion and aggressiveness. Using Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling and generalised additive models for location, scale and shape, we found that young slow lorises differ significantly from adults, being both more contrasting and more aggressive, with aggressive animals showing fewer wounds. We suggest aposematic facial masks serve multiple purposes in slow lorises based on age. Change in colouration through development may play a role in intraspecific competition, and advertise toxicity or aggressiveness to competitors and/or predators in juveniles. Aposematic signals combined with intraspecific competition may provide clues to new venomous taxa among mammals

Hunting practices in southwestern Amazonia: a comparative study of techniques, modalities, and baits among urban and rural hunters

Background: Hunting is a vital means of obtaining animal in various human populations. Hunters rely on their knowledge of species ecology and behavior to develop and employ hunting techniques and increase their chances of success. The comparison of the hunting practices of different human societies can shed light on the sustainability of hunting and the impact it has on species’ populations. In this study, we examine and compare the techniques, modalities, and baits used by urban and rural hunters in Rondônia, a state in southwestern Amazonia, Brazil. We expected that rural hunters would use these elements and have greater knowledge when compared to urban hunters. We also expect that the use of specific hunting techniques and modalities will have greater selectivity and specificity of capture for rural hunters and that this knowledge will differ between groups. Methods: We conducted 106 semi-structured interviews with rural and urban hunters from October 2018 to February 2020. We analyzed the data using PERMANOVA and Network analyses to compare and contrast the hunting practices of each group. Results: We recorded four main hunting techniques divided into ten modalities with three techniques and seven modalities being the preferred choices among hunters. Waiting for at a Fruit Tree was cited as the primary technique employed by hunters living in urban and rural areas indicated. While the techniques and modalities were similar among hunters, the composition of species targeted and baits used differed between groups. Our network approach showed that modularity in urban areas was numerically lower than in rural areas. All species had one to more techniques associated with their capture. Conclusions: Hunters living in urban and rural environments showed high similarity in their practices, probably due to sharing similar environments to hunt containing similar species, as well as targeting preferably the same species

Influence of body size, topography, food availability and tree-fall gaps on space use by yellow-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis denticulatus) in Central Amazonia.

Habitat selection and extension of the area used by a given species may vary during different phases of its life and are often determined by the distribution and availability of resources throughout the landscape, such as food, breeding sites, and shelters. In this study, we assessed the influence of body size on the areas used by 21 individuals of the yellow-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis denticulatus) from January to June 2017 in a dense rain forest area in Central Amazonia. We also investigated whether individuals selected different ranges of terrain slope, elevation, areas with high food availability, or areas with treefall gaps that could be used for shelter or thermoregulation. We monitored tortoise movements using thread-bobbins, and sampled terrain characteristics, availability of potential food resources and forest gaps along the routes used by the tortoises. We also measured the same variables in plots distributed systematically throughout the study area to evaluate resource availability. Tortoises used an average area of 1.56 ha (SD = 1.51, min = 0.03, max = 6.44). The size of the area used was positively associated with the individual body size, but did not vary between sexes. Small individuals selected higher and flatter areas where the availability of fallen flowers was higher, whereas the area used by larger individuals did not differ from the natural availability of topographic traits and food in the region. Although tortoises did not select areas according to availability of tree-fall gaps, most larger tortoises were found sheltered under fallen trees (85%). Conversely, small individuals were mainly found hidden under litter (66%). Body size determined the patterns of landscape use by tortoises; larger individuals were mainly generalists, but small individuals occupied high and flat areas. The yellow-footed tortoise is endangered by hunting, illegal collection for the pet trade, habitat destruction and effects of climate change. Size-related differences in habitat selection should be taken into account in species-distribution models for the identification of suitable areas for reintroduction and the development of management plans in protected areas

Widespread use of traditional techniques by local people for hunting the yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus) across the Amazon

Understanding the repertoire of hunting techniques used by traditional peoples in tropical forests is crucial for recognizing the role of traditional knowledge in hunting activities, as well as assessing the impact of harvests on game species. We describe the hunting techniques used across Amazonia by Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples for hunting yellow-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis denticulatus), one of the most consumed species in the biome. We interviewed 178 local people in 25 communities living in seven study areas in the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon. We used a Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and Analysis of Similarity (ANOSIM) to compare the hunting techniques between ethnic groups and the ages of the interviewees. Four different techniques were reported: (1) trapping with bait (46%; n = 122); (2) hunting with dogs (35%; n = 92); (3) active searching (14 %; n = 37); and (4) visiting fruiting trees (5%; n = 14). Trapping with bait was alleged to be the most cost-effective technique by 67% of the interviewees. Among the baits used, 93% involved the use of wild species as rotten meat. Hunting with dogs was also frequently cited and involved eight different methods of training. The hunting techniques recorded were not significantly different among ethnic groups or generations. The consonance among the technique repertoire likely reflects a shared knowledge still in use across different cultural groups. There is a potential for applying the hunting techniques to large scale community-based monitoring and management programs, but the impact on additional species affected, such as species intentionally captured to be used as bait, should be considered. Local assessments and community-based management plans that incorporate traditional ecological knowledge are recommended to guarantee the maintenance of livelihoods and ensure the species' conservation in Amazonia