Human and domestic animal populations as a potential threat to wild carnivore conservation in a fragmented landscape from the Eastern Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Hydroelectric projects are one of the well known factors responsible for habitat loss and fragmentation in the Amazon. The Tucuruí Lake Protected Area (Tucuruí Lake APA), in the state of Pará, Brazil, Eastern Brazilian Amazon, is under the influence of the Tucuruí dam. Zones of wildlife protection (ZWPs), where no human activities should be allowed, were created inside this protected area. However, human populations and their domestic animals still reside within the ZWPs. Domestic carnivores have been implicated in wild carnivore population declines, particularly in Africa, as a consequence of disease transmission, especially involving the canine distemper virus. This study examined the seroprevalence of antibodies to this pathogen in domestic dogs from the ZWPs and its immediate surroundings at the Tucuruí Lake Protected Area, and revealed 27% seropositivity. Wild carnivore species such as the jaguar ( Panthera onca), puma ( Puma concolor), ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis), coati ( Nasua nasua), among others, inhabit the ZWPs and information provided by the local community indicates their close contact with the human and domestic dog populations. Such evidence supports the concern that relates the presence of the domestic dogs to disease transmission and conservation risks for wild carnivores in the ZWPs of the Tucuruí Lake APA.