Community structure of terrestrial mammals of medium and large companies in the Serra do Brigadeiro State Park Minas Gerais

O Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro (PESB) é uma das unidades de conservação do estado de Minas Gerais no qual predomina a Mata Atlântica, um dos principais hotspots mundiais, a qual a recuperação constitui um grande desafio. Para a recuperação deste bioma o conhecimento sobre ecologia das espécies de mamíferos é de grande importância, pois estas atuam na dinâmica biológica das florestas neotropicais, e a compreensão desta dinâmica assim como o conhecimento das populações em fragmentos florestais é importante para elaboração de planos de manejo. O uso de armadilhas fotográficas para o conhecimento da ecologia das espécies de mamíferos terrestres de médio e grande porte destaca-se por ser um método não invasivo, registrando animais de hábitos crípticos e de baixas densidades e permite o monitoramento de diversos pontos por longos períodos. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi avaliar a estrutura das populações de mamíferos de médio e grande porte de hábitos terrestres, através do armadilhamento fotográfico ao longo da Unidade de Conservação do Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro MG.Este estudo foi conduzido no período de janeiro de 2011 a agosto de 2012. A área do PESB foi logisticamente subdividida em seis regiões que em sua totalidade correspondeu a 59,175 Km2 aproximadamente 39,49% da área total do parque.Com este estudo foi possível à identificação de 21 espécies de mamíferos, nas quais 15 eram silvestres de médio e grande porte, duas eram de pequeno porte, três eram espécies domésticas e o homem também foi contabilizada. A riqueza observada de mamíferos silvestres de médio e grande porte neste estudo representa 78,95% dos mamíferos silvestres terrestres de médio e grande porte já diagnosticados no parque. A subárea 6 obteve o maior número de espécies de mamíferos silvestres de médio e grande porte registradas (nove), seguidas das subáreas 1 e 2 com oito espécies e as subáreas 3, 4 e 5 obtiveram sete, seis e cinco espécies observadas respectivamente. A espécie mais abundante para o PESB foi aCuniculus paca seguida do Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalise do Pecari tajacu. A espécie P. concolor foi a única espécie registrada em todas as subáreas, a espécie L. pardalis somente não foi registrada na subárea 6. Foi estimada pelo método Jackknife 1 uma riqueza para o PESB de 18±1,73 espécies de mamíferos silvestres de médio e grande porte.Através da interpretação dos dados sobre os aspectos da diversidade como os índices de Similaridade de Jaccard, Diversidade de Shannon-Wiener e Equitabilidade de Pielou, observou-se que há uma heterogeneidade ecológica na mastofauna de médio e grande porte ao longo do PESB. Devido à heterogeneidade ecológica encontrada, em ambientes nestas condições, verifica-se que, uma distribuição do esforço de amostragem equitativa na área de amostragem é mais efetiva do que um grande esforço numa área representativa, para um levantamento de mastofauna de médio e grande porte. A presença humana e de espécies de mamíferos domésticas registradas ao longo do estudo revela a fragilidade desta Unidade de Conservação e recomenda-se uma melhora no monitoramento e vigilância por parte da gestão da Unidade de Conservação para impedir a livre circulação de pessoas e animais dentro da UC.The Serra do Brigadeiro State Park Minas Gerais covered its largest part for the Atlantic forest. Being known that the Atlantic forest is one of the main hotspots in the world, the recovery of this hotspot is a large challenge. The knowledge of the ecology of the species of mammals is of great importance in the biological dynamics of the rainforest, as the Atlantic forest, the understanding of this dynamics and the knowledge of the populations in forest fragments are important for elaboration of handling plans. The use of photographic traps for the knowledge of the ecology of the species of mammal medium and large sized, stands out for being a noninvasive, registers stealthy animals, animals that occur in low densities and allows monitoring of several points for long periods. The general objective of this work was to evaluate the diversity of mammals of medium and big load of terrestrial habits, through the camera trap along the Conservation Unit State Park of Serra do BrigadeiroMG. This study was led in the period of January from 2011 to August of 2012. The area of PESB was logistically subdivided in six areas that it accounted 59,175 Km2 in its totality, approximately 39,49% of the total area of the park. With this study it was possible to note 21 species of mammals, 15 were of wild mammal medium and large sized, two were small sized, three were domestic species, the man specie also was registered. The observed richness of wild mammals of medium and large size in this study represents 78.95% of terrestrial wild mammals of medium and large sized, that were already diagnosed in the park. The subarea 6 obtained the largest number of species of wild mammals of medium and big load registered (nine), following by the subareas 1 and 2 with eight species and the subareas 3, 4 and 5, was obtained seven, six five species registered respectively. The most abundant species for the PESB as a whole was the Cuniculus paca, followed by Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalis and the Pecari tajacu. The species P. concolor was the only species registered in all of the subareas, the species L. pardalis only was not registered in the subarea 6. Was estimated a richness to the PESB of 18 ± 1.73 species of wild mammals of medium and large. There is a great heterogeneity in the wealth and distribution in the wild mammal fauna of medium and large sized along the PESB. Through the interpretation of the data on the aspects of the diversity as the indexes of Jaccard Similarity, Shannon-Wiener Diversity and Pielou Evenness, was observed that there is an ecological heterogeneity in the mammal fauna of medium and big load along the PESB. Due to the found ecological heterogeneity, in environments in these conditions, it is verified that, a distribution of the effort of sampling in the sampling area is more effective than a great effort in a representative area, for a survey of mammal fauna of medium and large sized.The presence of humans and domestic mammalian species recorded throughout the study reveals the fragility of this unit conservation and is recommended surveillance improved by the management of the conservation area to prevent the free movement of people and animals within the UC.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológic

Comparison of semen samples collected from wild and captive jaguars (Panthera onca) by urethral catheterization after pharmacological induction

This study was designed to evaluate the efficiency of medetomidine anesthesia for semen collection through urethral catheter in wild and captive jaguars. Six captive and five wild jaguars were chemically restrained with a combination of medetomidine (0.08–0.1 mg/kg) and ketamine (5 mg/kg). After medetomidine administration the urethra was catheterized using a urinary tomcat catheter (1 mm diameter × 130 mm length) to collect semen from all animals. By using this technique, we could collect an average of 347.2 μl of semen containing 2,635.2 sperm/ml. Forward progressive motility, sperm progressive motility, and sperm morphology analysis demonstrated that the methodology did not affect sperm quality. Thus, urethral catheterization after medetomidine administration is a practical and efficient method to collect high-quality semen from wild and captive jaguars; this will enable the development of reproductive assisted technologies for jaguars

Ocelot and oncilla spermatozoa can bind hen egg perivitelline membranes

We evaluated the capacity of ocelot and oncilla spermatozoa to bind to the perivitelline membranes (PVMs) of hen eggs in a sperm binding assay (S-PVM). In addition, a device that improves the standardization of the assay was developed. The number of sperm bound to the PVM in fresh (T1) and frozen–thawed (T2) semen from both species was compared to the sperm quality observed in routine tests. The PVM was stretched on a circular silicone device to create a standardized area for analysis. In both treatments and for both species, the spermatozoa were able to bind to the PVM, indicating that PVM may be used for a sperm binding assay in ocelot and oncilla. The S-PVM assay did not differ in fresh and frozen–thawed ocelot sperm (p > 0.05). However, fewer oncilla sperm (p < 0.05) were bound to the PVM in T2, indicating that the proposed test may be able to detect injuries that compromise sperm binding abilities. The device maintained the PVM stretched during the processing and defined the evaluation area

Data from: Jaguar Movement Database: a GPS-based movement dataset of an apex predator in the Neotropics

The field of movement ecology has rapidly grown during the last decade, with important advancements in tracking devices and analytical tools that have provided unprecedented insights into where, when, and why species move across a landscape. Although there has been an increasing emphasis on making animal movement data publicly available, there has also been a conspicuous dearth in the availability of such data on large carnivores. Globally, large predators are of conservation concern. However, due to their secretive behavior and low densities, obtaining movement data on apex predators is expensive and logistically challenging. Consequently, the relatively small sample sizes typical of large carnivore movement studies may limit insights into the ecology and behavior of these elusive predators. The aim of this initiative is to make available to the conservation-scientific community a dataset of 134,690 locations of jaguars (Panthera onca) collected from 117 individuals (54 males and 63 females) tracked by GPS technology. Individual jaguars were monitored in five different range countries representing a large portion of the species’ distribution. This dataset may be used to answer a variety of ecological questions including but not limited to: improved models of connectivity from local to continental scales; the use of natural or human-modified landscapes by jaguars; movement behavior of jaguars in regions not represented in this dataset; intraspecific interactions; and predator-prey interactions. In making our dataset publicly available, we hope to motivate other research groups to do the same in the near future. Specifically, we aim to help inform a better understanding of jaguar movement ecology with applications towards effective decision making and maximizing long-term conservation efforts for this ecologically important species

DataS1

The archive has 2 files. The first file has general information about captured animals (estimated age, weight, collar used, etc.). The second file has general information on animals' location