Tayra Eira Barbara Research Articles

The influence of domestic dogs on the spatial and temporal distribution of tayra

The domestic dog Canis familiaris is an exotic species known to have impacts on native fauna and it may induce spatial and temporal segregation in other species as a mechanism to reduce agonistic interactions. The tayra Eira barbara, a medium‐sized, widely distributed mustelid, is one of the species that can be affected. To test this hypothesis, between 2020 and 2022, we installed camera traps in an agricultural landscape composed of a protected area, agro‐livestock areas, an urban area, and several rural households. We calculated the activity patterns, their overlapping coefficients and generated models to explain the species's occupancy and verify possible interferences. We obtained 32 records of tayras and 100 of domestic dogs. In only 8 of 73 sampling points, the two species occurred concomitantly. Activity overlap was 68%; however, at the points where both species occurred, the overlap was 43%. Tayra showed to be positively associated with forest areas, and negatively with agricultural exploitation areas. Dogs predominantly occupied agricultural areas and were negatively related to forest areas. In addition to dog interference, which seems to affect tayra's use of the landscape, environmental conditions are also essential in describing the occupancy of the subordinate species. It is possible that their scansorial habit is important to avoid agonistic events.

Status and distribution of Paraguayan Mustelidae

Five species of Mustelidae are known to occur in Paraguay – Tayra Eira barbara, Lesser Grison Galictis cuja, Greater Grison Galictis vittata, Giant Otter Pteronura brasiliensis and Neotropical Otter Lontra longicaudis. However, Paraguayan data regarding the distribution and status of these species in Paraguay is not easily obtainable, and scattered amongst numerous, often obscure publications. Paraguayan literature and specimens were reviewed to compile data on the distribution and status of these species in the country and records are presented in a hierarchical manner reflecting the reliability of each report. Data on these species in Paraguay are sorely lacking and our knowledge of distribution in the country is poor. The specimen record is incomplete and severely biased towards the Chaco region. Most species are apparently widespread and fairly common in the country. Giant Otter has a more restricted distribution, mainly in the Pantanal region. The precise distribution of the Greater Grison is unclear, probably because of widespread confusion of this species with the Lesser Grison.

Morphological and Molecular Identification of Nematodes in The Tayra Eira Barbara from Campeche, Mexico.

SummaryThe tayra Eira barbara is a Neotropical mustelid considered as an endangered species by Mexican environmental authorities. Despite the considerable information available on the biology and ecology of E. barbara, little is known about its helminth fauna. Here, we provided new records of nematodes from a road-killed tayra in Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico. The species identification of nematodes was based on morphological studies and molecular analysis of fragments of the 28S gene. The tayra specimen was infected by three nematodes: Molineus sp., Physalopterinae gen. sp. and Angiostrongylus vasosum. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the natural infection of E. barbara with Molineus sp. and Physalopterinae gen. sp. Our study provides the first nucleotide sequences of nematodes parasitizing E. barbara providing a starting point against which future studies may be compared.

The occurrence of leucism in groups of tayras Eira barbara Linnaeus 1758 on the Guyana shield

ABSTRACT We report leucism in groups of up to five tayras, Eira barbara, in a fish-bone human settlement in southern Roraima, centre of the Guyana shield of the Brazilian Amazonia, during systematic line transect surveys in Terra Firme forests. These tayras had much larger non-rounded ears, and much larger and robust paws compared to current descriptions of the species. The leucistic individuals were snow-white with the exception of the distal half of the forearms, front paws, and the eyes, which were black. Leucism appeared to be commoner in this region than in the rest of the Guyana shield, as it occurred in a non-isolated population. The leucistic individuals did not appear to face the disadvantages reported in the literature, such as competitive exclusion, or difficulties in intra-specific communication and recognition.

Anatomical review o Eira Barbara (Carnivora, Mustelidae) from the Quaternary of Southwestern Brazilian Amazonia

Most species of mustelids currently found in South America descend from North American immigrants that arrived during the Great American Biotic Interchange, following the rise of the Isthmus of Panama. However, previous works indicate that the genus Eira arrived in South America before this event, through an island bridge in Central America. The tayra Eira barbara (Mustelidae, Carnivora), the only species of the genus, currently has a wide geographic distribution, from Mexico to northern Argentina. Here, we redescribe a fossil of E. barbara collected close to the Municipality of Marechal Thaumaturgo, Acre State, Brazil. The southwestern Brazilian Amazonia is mostly characterized by the older sediments of Solimoes Formation (Neogene deposits), although on the riverbanks of the Upper Jurua River a typical Quaternary vertebrate fauna is also found, mainly represented by fossil mammals. The specimen UFAC PV-36 is a right hemimandible with the p4 preserved in situ, and it was compared to fossil and extant specimens of E. barbara, as well as with other carnivorans. The review of the fossil record shows that this taxon is restricted to the Quaternary of Brazil, in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais and Acre, and of Argentina, in the Entre Rios Province. In this way, our study contributes to a better understanding of the origin and distribution of the genus in the Quaternary of South America.

ATLANTIC-CAMTRAPS: a dataset of medium and large terrestrial mammal communities in the Atlantic Forest of South America.

Our understanding of mammal ecology has always been hindered by the difficulties of observing species in closed tropical forests. Camera trapping has become a major advance for monitoring terrestrial mammals in biodiversity rich ecosystems. Here we compiled one of the largest datasets of inventories of terrestrial mammal communities for the Neotropical region based on camera trapping studies. The dataset comprises 170 surveys of medium to large terrestrial mammals using camera traps conducted in 144 areas by 74 studies, covering six vegetation types of tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of South America (Brazil and Argentina), and present data on species composition and richness. The complete dataset comprises 53,438 independent records of 83 species of mammals, includes 10 species of marsupials, 15 rodents, 20 carnivores, eight ungulates and six armadillos. Species richness averaged 13 species (±6.07 SD) per site. Only six species occurred in more than 50% of the sites: the domestic dog Canis familiaris, crab-eating fox Cerdocyon thous, tayra Eira barbara, south American coati Nasua nasua, crab-eating raccoon Procyon cancrivorus and the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus. The information contained in this dataset can be used to understand macroecological patterns of biodiversity, community, and population structure, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and trophic interactions.

Activity patterns of Tayra Eira barbara populations from Costa Rica and Colombia: evidence of seasonal effects

Activity patterns of Tayra Eira barbara populations from Costa Rica and Colombia: evidence of seasonal effects

Patrones de actividad de poblaciones de la Tayra Eira barbara en Costa Rica y Colombia: evidencia de efectos estacionales

The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity patterns of Tayra Eira barbara and the effect of seasonality in two different landscapes, one in Colombia (Canal del Dique Watershed) and another in Costa Rica (Talamanca). Methodology: Between 2005 and 2009 camera trapping samplings were conducted to determine activity patterns of the species. We estimated capture frequencies, activity patterns, and made comparisons between sites and seasons, classifying data in 24-hours and in time-periods: Diurnal, Nocturnal and Crepuscular. Comparisons were made using Kuiper tests for homogeneity, Chi-square for differences in patterns and Chao-Jaccard tests for testing overlapping activities. Results: Differences between activity periods (X 2 =124.26, p < 0.0001) and hours (X 2 =46.38, p = 0.0001) were found, with three activity peaks during the day, being this period in which the species is more active in general (X 2 =124.26, p < 0.0001). Seasonality seems to be the most important factor influencing activity patterns (X 2 =14.15, p = 0.0002), especially influencing the hours of higher activity (X 2 =12.42, p = 0.0033). Conclusions: Activity patterns in Tayras seem to slightly vary both in space and time, with seasonality been the most evident driver. Our results coincide with previous studies in similar habitats, but differ with other locations with different ecosystems, highlighting variation within the species and potentially related with different subspecies. The evaluation and identification of basic aspects of natural history of E. barbara are necessary for a better understanding of the species ecology, life history, habitat requirements and their role in ecosystems.

Spontaneous approach and apparent play solicitation by a young free-living tayra Eira barbara (Carnivora: Mustelidae) in responseto the observer's presence

In a fragment of Atlantic Forest in Eldorado, Mato Grosso do Sul, Central-West Region of Brazil, a juvenile tayra (Eira barbara) spontaneously approached the observer while he was coursing a trail alone. The animal walked in a normal pace and, upon reaching his boots, alternatingly sniffed them and receded afterwards, assuming a posture that much resembles the play bow, a play signal displayed almost exclusively by canids. This is a rare report of a free-living animal that sought interaction with a human in a non-agonistic manner, instead of avoiding it as expected. It may also be one of the few examples of interspecific play in the wild, in case the observed posture was indeed a play bow. Interactions between humans and other animals are usually observed in situations in which the animal is used to the presence of people and often obtains food from these interactions, or when humans are not recognized as threatening by the animal. None of these scenarios seem to explain the observed behavior; individual traits

Atropelamentos de vertebrados na Floresta Nacional de Carajás, Pará, Brasil

Vários pesquisadores têm avaliado impactos de estradas. Estes podem envolver aspectos paisagísticos, degradação do solo, poluição do ar e impactos sobre a fauna, como atropelamentos. Na estrada Raimundo Mascarenhas, que atravessa a Floresta Nacional de Carajás (ca. 400 mil hectares), há intenso tráfego de veículos automotores. O objetivo deste trabalho foi testar se há diferenças entre trechos da estrada, em três escalas espaciais; se há alteração ao longo dos anos; se alguns táxons são mais freqüentemente atropelados, e se a freqüência de atropelamentos aumenta com a precipitação mensal. Analisamos a freqüência de atropelamentos de vertebrados de abril/2003 até outubro/2006 ao longo dos 25 km iniciais da estrada. Registramos 155 atropelamentos. O número de atropelamentos diminui ao longo dos anos (P=0,01), e com a distância do início da estrada (P=0,0002). Serpentes (Ophidia) e gambás Didelphis marsupialis foram mais atropelados (7,5/ano), seguidos de aves, raposas Cerdocyon thous, quatis Nasua nasua, roedores (Rodentia), e não identificados (4,9/ano); cuíca Marmosops sp., tapeti Sylvilagus brasiliensis, guariba Alouatta sp., irara Eira barbara, jabuti Geochelone sp., lagartos (Lacertilia) e macaco prego Cebus apella (1/ano). Não houve relação significativa entre o número mensal de atropelamentos e a precipitação mensal.