Serosurvey of Smooth Brucella, Leptospira spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in Free-Ranging Jaguars (Panthera onca) and Domestic Animals from Brazil.

This study investigated the exposure of jaguar populations and domestic animals to smooth Brucella, Leptospira spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon biomes of Brazil. Between February 2000 and January 2010, serum samples from 31 jaguars (Panthera onca), 1,245 cattle (Bos taurus), 168 domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and 29 domestic cats (Felis catus) were collected and analysed by rose bengal test for smooth Brucella, microscopic agglutination test for Leptospira spp. and modified agglutination test for T. gondii. Cattle populations from all sites (9.88%) were exposed to smooth Brucella, but only one jaguar from Cerrado was exposed to this agent. Jaguars captured in the Cerrado (60.0%) and in the Pantanal (45.5%) were seropositive for different serovars of Leptospira spp., cattle (72.18%) and domestic dogs (13.1%) from the three sites and one domestic cat from Pantanal were also seropositive for the agent. The most prevalent serotype of Leptospira spp. identified in jaguars from the Cerrado (Grippotyphosa) and the Pantanal (Pomona) biomes were distinct from those found in the domestic animals sampled. Jaguars (100%), domestic dogs (38.28%) and domestic cats (82.76%) from the three areas were exposed to T. gondii. Our results show that brucellosis and leptospirosis could have been transmitted to jaguars by domestic animals; and jaguars probably play an important role in the maintenance of T. gondii in nature

Autocorrelação espacial da riqueza e da abundância de mamíferos ao longo do corredor Cerrado-Pantanal, Brasil Central

In this paper, we evaluated spatial patterns in mammalian fauna obtained using 75,000 camera-trap hours in 33 fragments at the Cerrado-Pantanal border, along an east-west axis and flanked by two relatively large preserved areas. This region has been proposed as an ecological corridor, connecting these two large ecosystems. The richness of species obtained (total = 33) was explained by the area and the number of habitats in each fragment. The abundance of small-bodied species tends to have significant spatial patterns, whereas variation in the abundance of large-bodied species is randomly distributed in the geographical space. No faunal transition (changes in species compositions) between the two ecosystems was identified. Key words: camera trap, Cerrado, ecological corridor, Pantanal, mammals.Neste trabalho, avaliamos o padrão espacial da mastofauna através de 75.000 horas de esforço amostral obtidas por armadilhas fotográficas instaladas em 33 fragmentos em uma região de transição entre o Cerrado e o Pantanal, ao longo de um eixo Leste-Oeste, entre duas áreas relativamente grandes e bem preservadas. Esta região tem sido proposta como um corredor ecológico, conectando estes dois grandes ecossistemas. A riqueza de espécies obtida (total de 33 espécies) foi explicada pela área e pelo número de hábitats em cada fragmento. A abundância de espécies de pequeno porte tende a apresentar padrões espaciais significativos, enquanto a variação na abundância de espécies de grande porte é aleatoriamente distribuída no espaço geográfico. Não foi identificada uma transição faunística (mudança na composição de espécies) entre os dois ecossistemas. Palavras-chave: armadilha fotográfica, Cerrado, corredor ecológico, Pantanal, mamíferos

High Proportion of Male Faeces in Jaguar Populations

Faeces provide relevant biological information which includes, with the application of genetic techniques, the sex and identity of individuals that defecated, thus providing potentially useful data on the behaviour and ecology of individuals, as well as the dynamics and structure of populations. This paper presents estimates of the sex ratio of different felid species (jaguar, Panthera onca; puma, Puma concolor; and ocelot/margay, Leopardus pardalis/Leopardus wiedi) as observed in field collected faeces, and proposes several hypotheses that could explain the strikingly high proportion of faeces from male jaguars. The proportion of male and female faeces was estimated using a non-invasive faecal sampling method in 14 study areas in Mexico and Brazil. Faecal samples were genetically analysed to identify the species, the sex and the individual (the latter only for samples identified as belonging to jaguars). Considering the three species, 72.6% of faeces (n = 493) were from males; however, there were significant differences among them, with the proportion from males being higher for jaguars than for pumas and ocelots/margays. A male-bias was consistently observed in all study areas for jaguar faeces, but not for the other species. For jaguars the trend was the same when considering the number of individuals identified (n = 68), with an average of 4.2±0.56 faeces per male and 2.0±0.36 per female. The observed faecal marking patterns might be related to the behaviour of female jaguars directed toward protecting litters from males, and in both male and female pumas, to prevent interspecific aggressions from male jaguars. The hypothesis that there are effectively more males than females in jaguar populations cannot be discarded, which could be due to the fact that females are territorial and males are not, or a tendency for males to disperse into suboptimal areas for the species. © 2012 Palomares et al

Evaluation of models of species distribution and their application in the conservation of the jaguar (Panthera onca)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T16:23:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Natalia_Torres_.pdf: 1724419 bytes, checksum: 79787de18f11d3cfcea9e5275d3f7129 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-19Recently, Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) has been widely used as base for several types of analyses, including evaluations of climate changing impact on species distribution and conservation strategies settlement. This methodology enables the prediction of potential geographic distribution based on species ecological requirements, extrapolating data from known occurrences to unknown areas. There is a wide variety of methods which presents different capabilities to synthesize the significant relationships between species data and the environmental variables used as preditors. These variations are consequences of a series of factors that influence model s performance, such as species characteristics, the kind and quantity of data available, and the scale of the analyses. In this study we adopted the jaguar as a model to evaluate eleven SDM. It was evaluated the spatial autocorrelation effects between presence records on model s performance, and the relationship between environmental suitability obtained through these methods and jaguar population density. The obtained results were used as a basis for the evaluation of jaguar conservation topics, including analyses of how global climate changing and land use predictions will affect its distribution and evaluation of protected areas system in maintaining suitable areas for species occurrence in the future. It was demonstrated that depending on the model applied, the species data amount can be more influential than the spatial autocorrelation between presence points, and that the expected positive relationship between model-based suitability estimate and jaguar density was found only for four SDM, but always with a low coefficient of determination showing a weak data fitness. The analyses also showed that suitability values inside protected areas are greater than expected by null model, and this difference tend to increase with the global climate change scenario evaluated, demonstrating that it is not expected that environmental suitable areas for jaguars will shift out from the existing protected areas. Considering future predictions, the main conclusion is that some regions which must go through an environmental suitability increase for jaguar occurrence in the future will be converted from natural vegetation to agricultural land, indicating that the opportunities for jaguar s effective conservation actions are daily becoming more restricted, in such a way that the calling for a proactive conservation approach is urgent.Recentemente, a Modelagem de Distribuição de Espécies (SDM) tem sido amplamente utilizada como base para diversos tipos de análises, incluindo avaliações do impacto de mudanças climáticas na distribuição das espécies e estabelecimento de estratégias de conservação. Essa metodologia possibilita a predição da distribuição geográfica potencial com base nos requerimentos ecológicos dos organismos, extrapolando para áreas desconhecidas a partir de pontos conhecidos. Existe uma grande variedade de métodos que diferem quanto à sua habilidade de sintetizar relações significativas entre a ocorrência das espécies e as variáveis ambientais preditivas adotadas. Essas diferenças se devem a uma série de fatores que influenciam o desempenho desses modelos, como por exemplo, as características da espécie, o tipo e quantidade de dados disponíveis e a escala das análises. Neste trabalho, adotamos a onça-pintada como espécie modelo para a avaliação de onze métodos de SDM. Foram analisados os efeitos da autocorrelação espacial entre pontos de presença na performance dos modelos, e avaliada a relação entre estimativas de adequabilidade climática obtidas por esses métodos e dados de densidade populacional de onça-pintada. Os resultados obtidos serviram como base para a avaliação de aspectos da conservação da espécie, incluindo análises de como mudanças climáticas globais e do uso do solo afetarão a sua distribuição e avaliação da eficiência do sistema de áreas protegidas em manter áreas adequadas para a ocorrência da espécie no futuro. Foi demonstrado que dependendo do método, a quantidade de dados da espécie pode influenciar mais os resultados do que a própria autocorrelação espacial entre os pontos de presença, e que a relação positiva esperada entre a adequabilidade climática e densidade populacional foi encontrada para apenas quatro dos métodos, mas sempre com fraco ajuste dos dados. De acordo com as análises, as áreas protegidas apresentam maior adequabilidade do que o esperado se elas fossem aleatoriamente selecionadas, e a eficiência dessas não será comprometida no futuro em relação à manutenção dessa adequabilidade. Em termos de predições futuras, a principal conclusão é que algumas das regiões que devem passar por um incremento da adequabilidade climática para a onça-pintada no futuro serão convertidas de ambientes naturais para agricultura ou pastagem, demonstrando que as oportunidades para ações efetivas de conservação da onça-pintada estão a cada dia se tornando mais restritas, sendo urgente a necessidade de estratégias pró-ativas de conservação da espécie

Macroecology of New World carnivores: constraint envelopes and analysis of phylogenetic patterns

Submitted by Franciele Moreira ([email protected]) on 2017-03-07T20:09:27Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004.pdf: 408842 bytes, checksum: 4e26d1b784916dfb0751c362cc01f5f1 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira ([email protected]) on 2017-03-09T13:10:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004.pdf: 408842 bytes, checksum: 4e26d1b784916dfb0751c362cc01f5f1 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira ([email protected]) on 2017-03-09T13:11:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004.pdf: 408842 bytes, checksum: 4e26d1b784916dfb0751c362cc01f5f1 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-09T13:11:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004.pdf: 408842 bytes, checksum: 4e26d1b784916dfb0751c362cc01f5f1 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-06-30The relationship between body size and geographic range was analyzed for 70 species of terrestrial Carnivora ("fissipeds") of the New World, after the control of phylogenetic patterns in the data using phylogenetic eigenvector regression. The analysis from EcoSim software showed that the variables are related as a triangular envelope. Phylogenetic patterns in data were detected by means of phylogenetic correlograms, and 200 simulations of the phenotypic evolution were also performed over the phylogeny. For body size, the simulations suggested a nonlinear relationship for the evolution of this character along the phylogeny. For geographic range size, the correlogram showed no phylogenetic patterns. A phylogenetic eigenvector regression was performed on original data and on data simulated under Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Since both characters did not evolve under a simple Brownian motion process, the Type I errors should be around 10%, compatible with other methods to analyze correlated evolution. The significant correlation of the original data (r = 0.38; P < 0.05), as well as the triangular envelope, then indicate ecological and adaptive processes connecting the two variables, such as those proposed in minimum viable population models

Phylogenetic autocorrelation and evolutionary diversity of carnivora (mammalia) in conservation units of the New World

Submitted by Franciele Moreira ([email protected]) on 2017-03-16T19:45:40Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004 (2).pdf: 556448 bytes, checksum: 0c56ae6a94d6035b21f15e139bb337f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira ([email protected]) on 2017-03-22T13:12:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004 (2).pdf: 556448 bytes, checksum: 0c56ae6a94d6035b21f15e139bb337f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira ([email protected]) on 2017-03-22T13:15:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004 (2).pdf: 556448 bytes, checksum: 0c56ae6a94d6035b21f15e139bb337f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-22T13:15:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Artigo - Natália Mundim Tôrres - 2004 (2).pdf: 556448 bytes, checksum: 0c56ae6a94d6035b21f15e139bb337f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-12One of the main concerns of Conservation Biology is the identification of priority areas for conservation, and the development of quantitative methods is important to achieve this task. Many phylogenetic diversity indexes and higher-taxon approaches have been used in this context. In this study, Faith’s phylogenetic indexes and the number of evolutionary independent lineages of Carnivora were calculated at the average patch level based on phylogenetic autocorrelation analysis of phenotypic traits, in 18 conservation units in America (frequently National Parks). Despite controversies about the hierarchical level to be adopted, the characters included in this study suggest that the family level produces independent units for the analysis of phenotypic diversity in Carnivora. A positive correlation between species richness and the number of evolutionary independent lineages appeared (r = 0.67; p < 0.05), showing that this is a valid criterion to priorize conservation areas. Faith’s phylogenetic diversity index is also highly correlated with species richness (r = 0.87; p < 0.05), as well as with the number of evolutionary independent lineages (r = 0.89;p < 0.05). Thus, the conservation units with more species have also more evolutionary information to be preserved

Abundância relativa de mamíferos de médio e grande porte na região do Parque Nacional das Emas-GO

Com o avanço do crescimento populacional humano, observa-se o aumento das áreas de produção agrícola. Esse aumento acarreta na fragmentação da paisagem e na redução do habitat para os animais silvestres. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar quais espécies de mamíferos ocorrem na região do Parque Nacional das Emas (PNE). Os dados foram coletados por meio de armadilha fotográficas (AF), as quais são ativadas por um sensor de movimento e calor quando algum animal passa em frente à câmera, registrando a espécie, data e hora do registro. O levantamento de mamíferos da região do PNE foi realizado em 10 amostragens entre os anos de 2001 e 2012. Os valores das abundâncias relativas são a razão entre o número de registros de cada espécie e o total de horas de funcionamento das câmeras. Os resultados mostram que 33 espécies ocorrem na região e pode-se concluir que o Parque Nacional das Emas apresenta papel fundamental na conservação de mamíferos ameaçados de extinção na região; os fragmentos de vegetação nativa, representados pelas Reservas Legais e Áreas de Preservação Permanente das propriedades rurais exigidos no Código Florestal Brasileiro, são importantes para as espécies estudadas e os impactos negativos presentes nas áreas de produção agrícola no entorno podem ser reduzidos com o manejo apropriado, principalmente com o cumprimento das exigências do novo código florestal de maneira a proporcionar maior qualidade da área de produção agrícola