Mesocarnivores adaptations to man shaped environments in two different spatio-temporal contexts: the eucaliptus production forests in Brazil and Portugal as case studies

• Grant number: 11/00408-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2012
• End date: August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Luciano Martins Verdade
• Grantee: Luis Miguel do Carmo Rosalino
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 06/60954-4 - Socio-environmental changes in the state of São Paulo and perspectives for conservation, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

Due to the increasing fragmentation of natural areas, and the consequent habitat loss, how vertebrates use man-influenced habitats is becoming a relevant issue in conservation biology. It is highly consensual that the replacement of natural habitats induces changes in the composition and structure of communities. Moreover, their presence in, and the use of, this "new" habitats depends greatly of the management practices. This is particularly true in Eucalyptus production stands, where the monocultural character and vast extension impose constrains to biodiversity. Due to industrial demands it's predictable that these production forests will increase in area and, as a consequence, will have an increasingly significant role in biodiversity conservation. This relation between production forests and biodiversity can be optimized by applying adaptive management approaches that incorporate ongoing research and monitoring in order to feed information back into the management system - Ecological Forestry. This proposal aims to analyse the adaptations of mesocarnivores to landscapes shaped by Eucalyptus production forests, in two different spatial-temporal management scenarios: in Brazil, in areas where Eucalyptus stands have recently replaced other agro-forest management options (pastures and cattle raising); and in Portugal, where, since 1960, forestry based on Eucalyptus stands was implemented in natural autochtones landscapes, such as oak woods and shrublands. This proposal specifically aims to: 1) Characterize the spatial ecology (home-ranges, habitat use and movement patterns) of focal mesocarnivores species populations in forestry landscapes of two distinct geographical regions - Red-fox in Portugal and Crab-eating Fox, Maned wolf and Hoary Fox in Brazil; 2) Determine the population density and social structure of the focal species populations in both study areas; and 3) Evaluate the role of non-matrix patches (e.g., riparian galleries) in the conservation of focal species in Eucalyptus landscapes. The study of these higher trophic level species' adaptations to those anthropic environments will allow inferring the role of these altered habitats in mesocarnivore and biodiversity conservation, in a planning and structuring landscapes perspective, at higher scales. (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GHELER-COSTA, CARLA; SABINO-SANTOS, JR., GILBERTO; AMORIM, LUANA SANTOS; ROSALINO, LUIS MIGUEL; FIGUEIREDO, LUIZ TADEU M.; VERDADE, LUCIANO MARTINS. The effect of pre-harvest fire on the small mammal assemblage in sugarcane fields. AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, v. 171, p. 85-89, MAY 1 2013. (11/00408-4, 06/60954-4)

DUARTE, MARGARIDA D.; HENRIQUES, ANA MARGARIDA; BARROS, SILVIA CARLA; FAGULHA, TERESA; MENDONCA, PAULA; CARVALHO, PAULO; MONTEIRO, MADALENA; FEVEREIRO, MIGUEL; BASTO, MAFALDA P.; ROSALINO, LUIS MIGUEL; et al. Snapshot of Viral Infections in Wild Carnivores Reveals Ubiquity of Parvovirus and Susceptibility of Egyptian Mongoose to Feline Panleukopenia Virus. PLoS One, v. 8, n. 3, MAR 20 2013. (11/00408-4)

MARTIN, PAULA S.; GHELER-COSTA, CARLA; LOPES, PAULA C.; ROSALINO, LUIS M.; VERDADE, LUCIANO M.. Terrestrial non-volant small mammals in agro-silvicultural landscapes of Southeastern Brazil. FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, v. 282, p. 185-195, OCT 15 2012. (11/00408-4)

MONTERROSO, PEDRO; SILLERO, NEFTALI; ROSALINO, LUIS MIGUEL; LOUREIRO, FILIPA; ALVES, PAULO CELIO. Estimating home-range size: when to include a third dimension?. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 3, n. 7, p. 2285-2295, JUL 2013. (11/00408-4)

ROSALINO, LUIS M.; MARTIN, PAULA S.; GHELER-COSTA, CARLA; LOPES, PAULA C.; VERDADE, LUCIANO M.. Allometric Relations of Neotropical Small Rodents (Sigmodontinae) in Anthropogenic Environments. ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE, v. 30, n. 7, p. 585-590, JUL 2013. (11/00408-4, 06/60954-4)

SILVA, ANDRE P.; ROSALINO, LUIS M.; JOHNSON, PAUL J.; MACDONALD, DAVID W.; ANDERSON, NEIL; KILSHAW, KERRY. Local-level determinants of wildcat occupancy in Northeast Scotland. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH, v. 59, n. 3, p. 449-453, JUN 2013. (11/00408-4)

ROSALINO, LUIS M.; MARTIN, PAULA S.; GHELER-COSTA, CARLA; LOPES, PAULA C.; VERDADE, LUCIANO M.. Neotropical small mammals' diversity in the early cycle of commercial Eucalyptus plantations. AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS, v. 88, n. 3, p. 427-436, JUN 2014. (11/00408-4, 06/60954-4)

SILVA, ANDRE P.; KILSHAW, KERRY; JOHNSON, PAUL J.; MACDONALD, DAVID W.; ROSALINO, LUIS M.. Wildcat occurrence in Scotland: food really matters. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, v. 19, n. 2, p. 232-243, FEB 2013. (11/00408-4)