Trophic ecology of carnivorous mammals of the Atlantic Forest: use of stable isotope and functional diversity for conservation

• Grant number: 14/10192-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): January 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering
• Cooperation agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz
• Grantee: Marcelo Magioli
• Home Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Environmental control exercised by top predators is critical for the maintenance of ecosystems; however, their absence triggers a series of effects over the trophic chain and ecological processes. This study aims to analyze the trophic ecology of carnivorous mammals in preserved and modified landscapes of the Atlantic Forest, by using stable isotope analysis and functional diversity, testing the Mesopredator Release Hypothesis. Three situations will be analyzed, in the first two, areas in the forested continuum located between Serra do Mar and of Paranapiacaba, with intact mammal's assemblages and with distinct degrees of defaunation, and in the third, areas will be selected in a mosaic mostly occupied by agricultural matrices. In the first two situations fecal samples from carnivorous mammals will be collected, which will be screened and identified, by separating predators' hair and prey' tissues. Also prey' hair will be collected by hair traps. This material will be analyzed by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope to determining the isotopic signature of predators and their prey, to known the resources origin and to estimate the species trophic position. For the third situation, the data has already been collected and are available for use. Functional diversity analysis will focus on determining the difference between the functional predation among carnivores' assemblages in different areas, and changes in response to defaunation. The results will allow assessing the impact caused by top predators' loss in trophic chain, providing important information for developing conservation strategies of these species and the ecosystem as a whole. (AU)

Scientific publications

(6)

(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)

MAGIOLI, MARCELO; BOVO, ALEX AUGUSTO ABREU; ALBERICI, VINICIUS; MICCHI DE BARROS FERRAZ, KATIA MARIA PASCHOALETTO. The use of hair traps as a complementary method in mammal ecology studies. MAMMALIA, v. 83, n. 2, p. 144-149, MAR 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

BOVO, ALEX A. A.; FERRAZ, KATIA M. P. M. B.; MAGIOLI, MARCELO; ALEXANDRINO, EDUARDO R.; HASUI, ERICA; RIBEIRO, MILTON C.; TOBIAS, JOSEPH A. Habitat fragmentation narrows the distribution of avian functional traits associated with seed dispersal in tropical forest. PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, v. 16, n. 2, p. 90-96, APR-JUN 2018. Web of Science Citations: 1.

DE ABREU BOVO, ALEX AUGUSTO; MAGIOLI, MARCELO; PERCEQUILLO, ALEXANDRE REIS; KRUSZYNSKI, CECILIA; ALBERICI, VINICIUS; MELLO, MARCO A. R.; CORREA, LIDIANI SILVA; ZECCHINI GEBIN, JOAO CARLOS; GOMES RIBEIRO, YURI GERALDO; COSTA, FRANCISCO BORGES; RAMOS, VANESSA NASCIMENTO; BENATTI, HECTOR RIBEIRO; LOPES, BEATRIZ; MARTINS, MASA Z. A.; DINIZ-REIS, THAIS ROVERE; DE CAMARGO, PLNIO BARBOSA; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; MICCHI DE BARROS FERRAZ, KATIA MARIA PASCHOALETTO. Human-modified landscape acts as refuge for mammals in Atlantic Forest. Biota Neotropica, v. 18, n. 2 2018. Web of Science Citations: 4.

MAGIOLI, MARCELO; DE BARROS FERRAZ, KATIA MARIA P. M. Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) predation by puma (Puma concolor) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Biota Neotropica, v. 18, n. 1 2018. Web of Science Citations: 0.

MAGIOLI, MARCELO; MICCHI DE BARROS FERRAZ, KATIA MARIA PASCHOALETTO; FREIRE SETZ, ELEONORE ZULNARA; PERCEQUILLO, ALEXANDRE REIS; DE SA SANTOS RONDON, MICHELLE VIVIANE; KUHNEN, VANESSA VILLANOVA; DA SILVA CANHOTO, MARIANA CRISTINA; ALMEIDA DOS SANTOS, KAREN EVELYN; KANDA, CLAUDIA ZUKERAN; FREGONEZI, GABRIELA DE LIMA; DO PRADO, HELENA ALVES; FERREIRA, MITRA KATHERINA; RIBEIRO, MILTON CEZAR; SCHMIDT VILLELA, PRISCILLA MARQUI; COUTINHO, LUIZ LEHMANN; RODRIGUES, MARCIA GONCALVES. Connectivity maintain mammal assemblages functional diversity within agricultural and fragmented landscapes. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH, v. 62, n. 4, p. 431-446, AUG 2016. Web of Science Citations: 14.

SALEMI, LUIZ FELIPPE; MACHADO LINS, SILVIA RAFAELA; RAVAGNANI, ELIZABETHE DE CAMPOS; MAGIOLI, MARCELO; MARTINEZ, MELISSA GASTE; GUERRA, FERNANDO; VIDAS, NATASSIA BONINI; FRANSOZI, ALINE; DE BARROS FERRAZ, SILVIO FROSINI; MARTINELLI, LUIZ ANTONIO. Past and present land use influences on tropical riparian zones: an isotopic assessment with implications for riparian forest width determination. Biota Neotropica, v. 16, n. 2 2016. Web of Science Citations: 0.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

MARCELO MAGIOLI. Trophic, functional and isotopic ecology of terrestrial mammals of the Atlantic Forest. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz Piracicaba.