Invasive wild boars and native mammals in agroecosystems in the Atlantic Forest of Western Brazil

Cynthia Doutel-Ribas,Aiesca Pellegrin,Guilherme Mourão,Walfrido Tomas,Fernando Ibanez Martins,Zilca Campos,Virgínia Santiago Silva,Ubiratan Piovezan

doi:10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2019.v54.00241

Cynthia Doutel-Ribas, Aiesca Pellegrin + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2019.v54.00241

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Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work was to estimate an index of the relative biomass per species, in a medium to large-sized mammal community, as well as to determine how the introduced wild boar (Sus scrofa) fits into this index, and to verify if the occupancy of sites by domestic dogs interferes with those of wild boars and how much the periods of dogs’ activity overlap those of wild boars. The biomass/effort index was measured for each native mammal species and for the introduced wild boar, in two surveyed farms in Brazil’s Western Atlantic Forest range, through the use of camera trappings that were also used to verify if dogs and wild boar overlap in space and activity time. Wild boars seem to dominate the community, just a few years after their presence was first recorded in the region. Surprisingly, several native endangered mammal species persist in the highly modified landscape of the studied areas, but their population trends are still unknown. Wild boars and dogs generally occupy the same areas; however, they do not overlap in activity time, which is an indicative that it is unlikely that the dogs can effectively protect the crops.

Highlights

In Brazil, large portions of pristine and secondary growth of native vegetation have been lost to agricultural development and cattle ranching, especially in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado domains (Hirota, 2019)
The western portion of the Atlantic Forest extends into the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, that is an area strongly impacted by agriculture and cattle ranching (Cáceres et al, 2008)
Twenty-two percent of the GRA farm and its surroundings is covered by forest, from which 9.73% by wetlands, and 66.38% destined for crop production, while in the Carro de Boi (CDB) farm and its surroundings, forest comprises 12.83% of the area, wetlands cover 8.16%, and 76.85% is destined for crop production

Summary

Introduction

In Brazil, large portions of pristine and secondary growth of native vegetation have been lost to agricultural development and cattle ranching, especially in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado domains (Hirota, 2019). The western portion of the Atlantic Forest extends into the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, that is an area strongly impacted by agriculture and cattle ranching (Cáceres et al, 2008). About 21.5% of Brazil’s native mammals occur in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (Cáceres et al, 2008), and about 49% of them are nonflying mammals weighing more than one kilogram (Cáceres et al, 2008). Whether these medium and large-sized mammals persist in such highly fragmented ecosystems is a matter of controversy. The chances for the persistence of native mammals could be reduced by the presence of a large, invasive alien species

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