Definition of Important Conservation Areas for the endemic and endangered Lear's Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) in northern Bahia, Brazil

• Grant number: 25/04781-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 26, 2025
• End date: February 25, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Francisco Voeroes Dénes
• Grantee: Anna Gabriella Agazzi Migotto
• Supervisor: Diego Rubolini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/02721-1 - Spatial distribution and movement ecology to assess protected area effectiveness for the Lear's macaw and four vulture species in northern Bahia, BP.MS

Abstract

The use of species movement information as input in conservation projects of threatened species is crucial to guide actions, planning and resource allocation. It is fundamental to understand where target populations are, what are their most used areas and which are the selected environmental and landscape elements. The lear's macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) is an endemic, endangered, umbrella and flagship species of the Caatinga, Brazil. Its conservation represents a union between the local community and researchers towards a harmonious relationship human-caatinga, benefiting different avian species and consequently the entire ecosystem. We have been GPS tracking lear's macaws since 2017 in northern Bahia, with the aim of filling knowledge gaps about the species' movement ecology that are necessary for the implementation of concrete conservation actions. In partnership with the University of Milan, this project proposes to apply the recently developed methodology used by de Pascalis et collaborators to our dataset to determine important conservation areas for the lear's macaw, and to analyse how threats and already established protected areas correlate with these key areas.