Non-Volant mammals of a remnant of the Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil

Patrício Adriano Da Rocha,Mônica Alves Cunha,Raone Beltrão-Mendes,Juan Ruiz-Esparza,Caroline Dos Santos Silva,Stephen Francis Ferrari

doi:10.4013/nbc.2017.123.05

Patrício Adriano Da Rocha, Mônica Alves Cunha + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4013/nbc.2017.123.05

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Abstract

Home of several endemic species, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest has been reduced to about 11-16% of its original area, and is currently considered to be one of the hotspots of global conservation. In the northeastern Brazilian state of Sergipe, the 900-hectare Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge was established in order to protect the regional fauna and flora. Mammals were surveyed in the Refuge on three days per month between June, 2011, and May, 2012, using a combination of sample methods. A total of 16 species representing 12 families were recorded, with the order Carnivora being the most common (seven species). Whereas three didelphimorph species were trapped, only one exotic rodent – Rattus norvegicus – was captured. Comparisons with surveys from other Atlantic Forest sites indicate an intermediate species richness in Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge and similar to that of other sites in the northern portion of the biome. Keywords: mammalian diversity, species richness, protected areas.

Highlights

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is considered a hotspot for biodiversity conservation (Myers et al, 2000; Fisher and Christopher, 2007) due to its species richness, endemism and habitat loss
About 15% of the 732 mammal species found in Brazil are considered to be under some threat of extinction (Chiarello et al, 2008; Paglia et al, 2012; MMA, 2017), of which more than a third are found in the Atlantic Forest (MMA, 2014)
While the Atlantic Forest coincides with the most densely-populated region of Brazil, surprisingly few systematic inventories of its non volant mammalian communities have been conducted, and the vast majority of studies undertaken over the past thirty years have focused on sites in the southern half of the biome

Summary

Introduction

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is considered a hotspot for biodiversity conservation (Myers et al, 2000; Fisher and Christopher, 2007) due to its species richness, endemism and habitat loss. In Brazil, the Atlantic Forest is the second richest biome in terms of mammalian diversity, after the Amazon basin, and around 30% of its species are endemic (Paglia et al, 2012). About 15% of the 732 mammal species found in Brazil are considered to be under some threat of extinction (Chiarello et al, 2008; Paglia et al, 2012; MMA, 2017), of which more than a third are found in the Atlantic Forest (MMA, 2014). The non volant mammalian faunas recorded at these sites have varied considerably in richness, ranging from nine species (Oliveira et al, 2005; Pardini and Umetsu, 2006) to 56 (Modesto et al, 2008a)

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