&lt;b&gt;Diversity of medium and large neotropical mammals in an area of mixed rain forest

Rosane Vera Marques,Marta Elena Fabián

doi:10.4025/actascibiolsci.v40i1.40910

Abstract

Medium and large mammals (> 1 kg) were studied using camera traps with active sensors in a Conservation Unit located in an area of Mixed Rain Forest or Araucaria Forest (Atlantic Forest at altitude) in the South of Brazil, as a method for investigating the area’s conservation status and enabling comparison with other types of environments in which these mammals occur in the Neotropical region. From June 2005 to December 2010, a sampling effort of 10,844 trap-days yielded records of 21 species. A minimum sampling effort of 3000 trap-days was necessary to obtain records of all of these species. The species with the greatest frequency of photocaptures was Dasyprocta azarae (agouti), followed by Leopardus pardalis (ocelot) , Leopardus guttulus (southern oncilla or little spotted cat) and Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo). The species with the lowest numbers of records were Pecari tajacu (collared peccary) and Chrysocyon brachyurus (maned wolf). Although the Conservation Unit studied has small physical dimensions, the diversity of species of medium and large mammals was comparable with what has been observed in other types of forests, in particular because there are still effective biological corridors in the area.

Highlights

Mixed Rain Forests, or Araucaria Forests, are primarily distributed in Southern Brazil and are characterized by the Brazilian pine (Araucaria angustifolia [Bertol.] Kuntze), a tree species with emergent canopies that spread out above other vegetation (Jarenkow & Budke, 2009)
Broad-leaved tree species with greater diversity, and generally of tropical origin, formed mixed forests in conjunction with Araucarias, resulting in the Mixed Rain Forest that occurs from the Serra da Mantiqueira (22° S), at an altitude of 1,500 m, as far as Rio Grande do Sul (31° S), in the South of Brazil, at an altitude of 200 m, with higher altitudes compensating for lower latitudes (Backes, 2009)
The objectives of this article are to analyze the diversity of medium and large mammals (> 1 kg) in a long-term study conducted in Mixed Rain Forest or Araucaria Forest (Atlantic Rain Forest in a subtropical climate) comparing the results with those of studies undertaken in other types of forest and to determine the sampling effort that must be employed with camera traps to detect the majority of terrestrial species

Summary

Introduction

Mixed Rain Forests, or Araucaria Forests, are primarily distributed in Southern Brazil and are characterized by the Brazilian pine (Araucaria angustifolia [Bertol.] Kuntze), a tree species with emergent canopies that spread out above other vegetation (Jarenkow & Budke, 2009). Climatic changes over the course of geological history caused reductions and expansions of the distribution of forests with Araucaria (Bauermann & Behling, 2009). Broad-leaved tree species with greater diversity, and generally of tropical origin, formed mixed forests in conjunction with Araucarias, resulting in the Mixed Rain Forest that occurs from the Serra da Mantiqueira (22° S), at an altitude of 1,500 m, as far as Rio Grande do Sul (31° S), in the South of Brazil, at an altitude of 200 m, with higher altitudes compensating for lower latitudes (Backes, 2009).

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