The effect of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) on the activity pattern of giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

• Grant number: 21/14429-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Rita de Cassia Bianchi
• Grantee: Bárbara Mitsuko Zukeram Fujioka
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The domestic (Canis familiaris) dogs have already contributed to the extinction of 11 vertebrate species around the world, and are considered a potential or known threat to at least 188 other species. In Brazil, although there are few studies focused on the impact of dogs on wild fauna, there are records that the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is affected by this species, mainly by predation, and there is a possibility that these animals avoid contact with the dogs. Therefore, more studies are necessary to understand this relationship, thus, this work aims to evaluate whether domestic dogs affect the activity pattern of giant anteaters by comparing the activity time of this species in areas with a low and high relative abundance of dogs. I will also evaluate the time to register giant anteaters after registering dogs, and I will compare it with the time after other wild predatory and non-predatory species. For this, data collected from camera traps installed between 2011 and 2017, in eight Conservation Units in the State of São Paulo, in the Cerrado biome, will be analyzed. The probability of density distribution will be calculated by the Kernel density estimate and the overlap coefficient, comparing the overlap of giant anteater´s activity time between areas with and without dogs. I will compare the average time after the registration of dogs and native predators to recording giant anteaters using an ANOVA. This study will be essential to understanding the threat of dogs in Conservation Units and also proposing management and conservation measures for threatened species. (AU)