Abstract
The bush dog ( Speothos venaticus ) is a Neotropical canid with a wide geographic distribution. Although globally listed as Near Threatened, this species was listed as Vulnerable in a recent assessment by the Brazilian government. Few records of this mammal have been reported in the Brazilian Cerrado, and it is considered extinct in several localities as a result of human landscape fragmentation. The record presented here is the first evidence of bush dog presence in West Minas Gerais, Brazil, which augments the species distribution with expected occurrence for this region. The study site was a transitional area between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, in the Triângulo Mineiro region, which is a highly fragmented landscape, dominated by cattle ranches with exotic pasture species and scattered natural patches. We only recorded a single bush dog individual in our survey (4,036 camera trap/night), but our sampling success was expected compared with that of other previous mammal surveys using the camera trapping method, in part, because of the species’ elusive behavior and low natural densities. This record enhances knowledge of the S. venaticus distribution. Potentially, we confirm the presence of the bug dog in a region that was regarded being environmentally suitable for this species occurrence, but where it has never been reported. Moreover, our result elucidates the potential of the natural remnants to harbor threatened species in highly human-influenced and non-protected landscapes, which is the dominant scenario found in West Minas Gerais, Brasil. .
Highlights
Neotropical ecosystems harbor 11 wild canid species (WILSON; MITTERMEIER, 2009). globally listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservancy of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN, 2015), four of these canids, including the bush dog (Speothos venaticus, Lund, 1942), were listed as Threatened (i.e., Category Vulnerable) in a recent assessment by the Brazilian government (MMA, 2014)
In the Cerrado biome, which is considered a biodiversity hot spot (MYERS et al, 2000), the bush dog is classified as Endangered (JORGE et al, 2013) with their populations decreasing due to ongoing habitat loss and fragmentation associated to the growing risk of attacks and diseases transmitted by domestic dogs(DEMATTEO; LOISELLE, 2008; DEMATTEO; MICHALSKI; LEITE-PITMAN, 2011; OLIVEIRA, 2009)
Different from other nocturnal and less sociable canids species of South American, the bush dog is a small canid (4–8 kg) with diurnal habits and that has a quite peculiar strong social behavior of living in packs of up to 12 individuals (BEISIEGEL; ADES, 2002; LIMA et al, 2012). Even though they are active during the day and live in relatively large groups, the species is rarely recorded in surveys because of its elusive behavior (LIMA; JORGE; DALPONTE, 2009; LIMA et al, 2015; MICHALSKI, 2010; ZUERCHER; VILLALBA, 2002) and low natural densities (DEMATTEO; MICHALSKI; LEITE-PITMAN, 2011)
Summary
Neotropical ecosystems harbor 11 wild canid species (WILSON; MITTERMEIER, 2009). globally listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservancy of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN, 2015), four of these canids, including the bush dog (Speothos venaticus, Lund, 1942), were listed as Threatened (i.e., Category Vulnerable) in a recent assessment by the Brazilian government (MMA, 2014). Even though they are active during the day and live in relatively large groups, the species is rarely recorded in surveys because of its elusive behavior (LIMA; JORGE; DALPONTE, 2009; LIMA et al, 2015; MICHALSKI, 2010; ZUERCHER; VILLALBA, 2002) and low natural densities (DEMATTEO; MICHALSKI; LEITE-PITMAN, 2011).
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