Extensão da distribuição geográfica de Plecturocebus baptista (Pitheciidae, Primates) e uma possível zona híbrida com Plecturocebus hoffmannsi: implicações evolutivas e de conservação

Titi monkeys (family Pitheciidae) are Neotropical primates highly diversified in morphology, ecology and genetics, with a wide geographic distribution, including the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Pantanal and Caatinga. This diversity, together with knowledge gaps, generates uncertainties in titi monkey taxonomy and distribution. An example is Plecturocebus baptista, with only 14 occurrence records and an ill-defined distribution based on untested geographical barriers. Here, we report the occurrence of this species at a new locality outside its known range, across the Paraná-Urariá River, which was considered a distributional limit for the species. The new record implies an overlap of P. baptista with the range of P. hoffmannsi. We document the sighting of an apparent hybrid animal. Our observations suggest that i) the distribution of P. baptista needs to be reviewed, and ii) the evolutionary relationships between P. baptista and P. hoffmannsi may be more complex than previously assumed. Since both species share contiguous areas of potential hybridization, we question whether the two species arose via allopatric speciation.Macacos zogue-zogue (família Pitheciidae) são primatas neotropicais altamente diversificados em morfologia, ecologia e genética, com distribuição geográfica abrangente, incluindo a Floresta Amazônica, Mata Atlântica, Cerrado, Pantanal e a Caatinga. Essa diversificação, juntamente com lacunas de conhecimento, gera incertezas na taxonomia e distribuição das espécies. Um exemplo é Plecturocebus baptista, com apenas 14 registros de ocorrência e distribuição indefinida, baseada em barreiras geográficas não testadas. Aqui nós relatamos a ocorrência da espécie em uma nova localidade, fora de sua área conhecida de distribuição, que transpõe uma suposta barreira geográfica, o Rio Paraná-Urariá. O novo registro de P. baptista se sobrepõe à distribuição de P. hoffmannsi e, neste contexto, observamos um indivíduo aparentemente híbrido entre as duas espécies. Nossas observações sugerem que i) a distribuição de P. baptista necessita ser revisada, e ii) a relação evolutiva entre P. baptista e P. hoffmannsi pode ser mais complexa do que se pensava. Como ambas espécies compartilham áreas contínuas de potencial hibridização, questionamos se as duas espécies resultaram de especiação alopátrica

Mammal diversity among vertical strata and the evaluation of a survey technique in a central Amazonian forest

Mammal groups have a vast variety of habitats, which include aquatic, aerial, arboreal, and terrestrial. For terrestrial habitats, camera traps are used as a common technique to record mammals and other vertebrates and have been recently utilized to observe arboreal animals as well. Here, we compare the difference in mammal diversity between floor and canopy strata and evaluate the use of camera trapping in a lowland forest in central Amazon. We installed nine paired camera traps, one in the canopy stratum and other in the floor stratum, in the Alto Cuieiras Biological Reserve (Brazilian Amazon). With a sampling effort of 720 camera-days, we recorded 30 mammal species: nine in canopy strata, 14 in floor strata, and seven in scansorial strata (sharing both strata). On the forest floor, the species with the greatest abundance was Myoprocta acouchy; in the canopy, Isothrix paguros had the greatest abundance; and among the scansorial species, Proechymis sp. was the most abundant. Our results show the differences in mammal diversity between floor and canopy strata; canopy strata contained more small and frugivorous mammals. Although we obtained a relatively low sampling effort with the camera-trap method compared with other studies utilizing different techniques, our results were especially similar to those of previous studies that worked with canopy and floor strata. Thus, camera trap can be very effective for recording short periods of time, and this method is less physically exhaustive and expensive for researchers to study vertical strata

Comportamento de estridulação em Heilipus odoratus Vanin & Gaiger (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae)

Heilipus odoratus Vanin & Gaiger, 2005 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Molytinae) is considered the main plague of rosewood fruit. Being recently described, the biological aspects of this species are not very well known. This study aimed at contributing for the knowledge of this species' behavior and providing a method for sexing adults based on stridulation. Individuals were divided into two groups: stridulating and non-stridulating. After dissection, stridulation was associated with the sex of each individual. Most males (92.2 %, N= 115) emitted sound by stridulation due to the presence of stridulatory organs on the posterior internal surface of their elytra and penultimate tergite, while none of the females (N=92) have such organs. This result is the first report of stridulatory activity in H. odoratus

Implications of habitat fragmentation on the diet of bearded saki monkeys in central Amazonian forest

Forest fragmentation demonstrably alters plant species composition, distribution, and diversity, and, in turn, may affect the availability of food resources for primary consumers. We investigated to what extent fragmentation affected the diets of 6 groups of bearded saki monkeys (Chiropotes chiropotes) living in two 10-ha fragments, two 100-ha fragments that were no longer fully isolated, and 2 areas of continuous forest in central Amazonia. When changes occurred we tested whether differences in diet were due to plant species availability by comparing the prevalence of consumed items against their relative abundance at the 6 sites. In total, the monkeys consumed fruits, seeds, flowers, and leaves of 244 plant species, of which less than 2 were shared among all 6 groups. Although there was a positive correlation between relative abundance of diet species and consumption frequency, monkeys did not eat all available potential resources, and groups inhabiting the 10-ha fragments consumed items that were ignored in larger forested areas. Our findings suggest that bearded sakis living in small forest fragments are limited in their dietary choices as a consequence of the reduced number of plant species present, and therefore consume species that monkeys inhabiting continuous forests typically can ignore. We conclude that the ability to consume a diverse diet that includes seeds and unripe fruit helps this species survive in forest fragments, but it appears that these conditions are unviable unless connectivity increases among the forest fragments and continuous forest in the landscape. © 2012 American Society of Mammalogists

Canopy sprouting biomass of rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke) in an Amazonian terra firme forest

The aim of this study is to develop a new management technique in rosewood trees (Aniba roseodora Ducke) to replace the traditional clear-cut method. The biomass of branches and leaves originated by sprouting is used to estimate oil productivity, focusing on the silvicultural management of this species. The plantation is located at the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, Manaus, Brazil. The biomass of branches and leaves was quantified 13 years after the first pruning. The average dry weight of tree canopy sprouts (39.5 kg) was greater than the control (23 kg). That is one indication that the canopy pruning technique can stimulate higher biomass productivity. Because the trunk weight represented 85.5 % of total tree weight and the oil productivity is directly related to above-ground biomass the usual current management is through clear-cutting. The canopy sprouting capacity and the higher oil productivity from branches and leaves than those found in trunks therefore reveal that the management of this species could be done through tree canopy pruning, avoiding the traditional tree exploitation.Este estudo propõe uma nova metodologia de exploração do pau-rosa (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke) em substituição ao método tradicional, predatório, de corte raso. Avaliando-se a biomassa da rebrota de copas (galhos e folhas) e de cepas cortadas a 1 m de altura do solo, será possível inferir sobre o manejo de plantios visando maximizar a produção de óleo essencial desta espécie. Os plantios estão localizados na Reserva Florestal Adolph Ducke, Manaus, Brasil. Treze anos após a poda das copas e do corte das árvores a 1 m do solo, o peso seco da rebrota da copa (39,5 kg) foi significativamente superior ao peso seco de galhos e folhas das árvores testemunha (23 kg) e da rebrota das cepas (13,7 kg), revelando que a poda da copa estimulou maior produtividade de galhos e folhas das árvores do plantio. Como o peso do fuste representou 85,5% da média do peso total das árvores e a produtividade de óleo é diretamente proporcional á biomassa aérea, a exploração atual é predominantemente feita através do corte raso das árvores. A alta capacidade de rebrota da copa e o maior rendimento de óleo a partir de galhos e folhas em relação à madeira, no entanto, indicam que o manejo dos plantios desta espécie poderá ser feito através da poda da copa das árvores, evitando a destruição total das árvores e uma possível extinção da espécie

Prey availability and temporal partitioning modulate felid coexistence in Neotropical forests

Carnivores have long been used as model organisms to examine mechanisms that allow coexistence among ecologically similar species. Interactions between carnivores, including competition and predation, comprise important processes regulating local community structure and diversity. We use data from an intensive camera-trapping monitoring program across eight Neotropical forest sites to describe the patterns of spatiotemporal organization of a guild of five sympatric cat species: jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) and margay (Leopardus wiedii). For the three largest cat species, we developed multi-stage occupancy models accounting for habitat characteristics (landscape complexity and prey availability) and models accounting for species interactions (occupancy estimates of potential competitor cat species). Patterns of habitat-use were best explained by prey availability, rather than habitat structure or species interactions, with no evidence of negative associations of jaguar on puma and ocelot occupancy or puma on ocelot occupancy. We further explore temporal activity patterns and overlap of all five felid species. We observed a moderate temporal overlap between jaguar, puma and ocelot, with differences in their activity peaks, whereas higher temporal partitioning was observed between jaguarundi and both ocelot and margay. Lastly, we conducted temporal overlap analysis and calculated species activity levels across study sites to explore if shifts in daily activity within species can be explained by varying levels of local competition pressure. Activity patterns of ocelots, jaguarundis and margays were similarly bimodal across sites, but pumas exhibited irregular activity patterns, most likely as a response to jaguar activity. Activity levels were similar among sites and observed differences were unrelated to competition or intraguild killing risk. Our study reveals apparent spatial and temporal partitioning for most of the species pairs analyzed, with prey abundance being more important than species interactions in governing the local occurrence and spatial distribution of Neotropical forest felids

Habitat use of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) in Brazilian Amazon

Amazonia forest plays a major role in providing ecosystem services for human and sanctuaries for wildlife. However, ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Brazilian Amazon has threatened both. The ocelot is an ecologically important mesopredator and a potential conservation ambassador species, yet there are no previous studies on its habitat preference and spatial patterns in this biome. From 2010 to 2017, twelve sites were surveyed, totaling 899 camera trap stations, the largest known dataset for this species. Using occupancy modeling incorporating spatial autocorrelation, we assessed habitat use for ocelot populations across the Brazilian Amazon. Our results revealed a positive sigmoidal correlation between remote-sensing derived metrics of forest cover, disjunct core area density, elevation, distance to roads, distance to settlements and habitat use, and that habitat use by ocelots was negatively associated with slope and distance to river/lake. These findings shed light on the regional scale habitat use of ocelots and indicate important species–habitat relationships, thus providing valuable information for conservation management and land-use planning

Community structure and diversity of tropical forest mammals: Data from a global camera trap network

Terrestrial mammals are a key component of tropical forest communities as indicators of ecosystem health and providers of important ecosystem services. However, there is little quantitative information about how they change with local, regional and global threats. In this paper, the first standardized pantropical forest terrestrial mammal community study, we examine several aspects of terrestrial mammal species and community diversity (species richness, species diversity, evenness, dominance, functional diversity and community structure) at seven sites around the globe using a single standardized camera trapping methodology approach. The sites-located in Uganda, Tanzania, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Suriname, Brazil and Costa Rica-are surrounded by different landscape configurations, from continuous forests to highly fragmented forests. We obtained more than 51 000 images and detected 105 species of mammals with a total sampling effort of 12 687 camera trap days. We find thatmammal communities from highly fragmented sites have lower species richness, species diversity, functional diversity and higher dominance when compared with sites in partially fragmented and continuous forest. We emphasize the importance of standardized camera trapping approaches for obtaining baselines for monitoring forest mammal communities so as to adequately understand the effect of global, regional and local threats and appropriately inform conservation actions. © 2011 The Royal Society

An empirical evaluation of camera trap study design: How many, how long and when?

Abstract Camera traps deployed in grids or stratified random designs are a well‐established survey tool for wildlife but there has been little evaluation of study design parameters. We used an empirical subsampling approach involving 2,225 camera deployments run at 41 study areas around the world to evaluate three aspects of camera trap study design (number of sites, duration and season of sampling) and their influence on the estimation of three ecological metrics (species richness, occupancy and detection rate) for mammals. We found that 25–35 camera sites were needed for precise estimates of species richness, depending on scale of the study. The precision of species‐level estimates of occupancy (ψ) was highly sensitive to occupancy level, with 0.75) species, but more than 150 camera sites likely needed for rare (ψ < 0.25) species. Species detection rates were more difficult to estimate precisely at the grid level due to spatial heterogeneity, presumably driven by unaccounted habitat variability factors within the study area. Running a camera at a site for 2 weeks was most efficient for detecting new species, but 3–4 weeks were needed for precise estimates of local detection rate, with no gains in precision observed after 1 month. Metrics for all mammal communities were sensitive to seasonality, with 37%–50% of the species at the sites we examined fluctuating significantly in their occupancy or detection rates over the year. This effect was more pronounced in temperate sites, where seasonally sensitive species varied in relative abundance by an average factor of 4–5, and some species were completely absent in one season due to hibernation or migration. We recommend the following guidelines to efficiently obtain precise estimates of species richness, occupancy and detection rates with camera trap arrays: run each camera for 3–5 weeks across 40–60 sites per array. We recommend comparisons of detection rates be model based and include local covariates to help account for small‐scale variation. Furthermore, comparisons across study areas or times must account for seasonality, which could have strong impacts on mammal communities in both tropical and temperate sites

Limited carbon and biodiversity co-benefits for tropical forest mammals and birds

The conservation of tropical forest carbon stocks offers the opportunity to curb climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and simultaneously conserve biodiversity. However, there has been considerable debate about the extent to which carbon stock conservation will provide benefits to biodiversity in part because whether forests that contain high carbon density in their aboveground biomass also contain high animal diversity is unknown. Here, we empirically examined medium to large bodied ground-dwelling mammal and bird (hereafter "wildlife") diversity and carbon stock levels within the tropics using camera trap and vegetation data from a pantropical network of sites. Specifically, we tested whether tropical forests that stored more carbon contained higher wildlife species richness, taxonomic diversity, and trait diversity. We found that carbon stocks were not a significant predictor for any of these three measures of diversity, which suggests that benefits for wildlife diversity will not be maximized unless wildlife diversity is explicitly taken into account; prioritizing carbon stocks alone will not necessarily meet biodiversity conservation goals. We recommend conservation planning that considers both objectives because there is the potential for more wildlife diversity and carbon stock conservation to be achieved for the same total budget if both objectives are pursued in tandem rather than independently. Tropical forests with low elevation variability and low tree density supported significantly higher wildlife diversity. These tropical forest characteristics may provide more affordable proxies of wildlife diversity for future multi-objective conservation planning when fine scale data on wildlife are lacking