Ecological responses of medium and large mammals to changes in landscape structure in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

• Grant number: 07/01252-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2007
• End date: June 30, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Jean Paul Walter Metzger
• Grantee: Fernanda Michalski
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the primary cause of local extinction of species, but corridors linking disjunct populations can minimize the negative effects of fragmentation. Theoretical models suggested that after the loss of 10-30% of habitat abrupt changes in the structure of the landscape can accelerate the loss of species. After this threshold, the configuration of the habitat in the landscape contributes to local extinctions more than expected from only habitat loss. This study intends to: i) obtain data on abundance and richness of mid-sized and large-bodied mammal species in 24 landscape units (1600 ha each) with different proportions of forest originated from two deforestation patterns, and ii) evaluate the functionality of 25 riparian corridors with different metrics on the basis of species that have large spatial requirements through non-invasive methods. Line-transect censuses and camera trap surveys will be used to obtain data on the richness and abundance of mammals (> 500 g). In order to compare the efficiency of corridors, different widths and lengths of riparian corridors will be sampled through the use of camera traps. Scats of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), pumas (Puma concolor) and jaguars (Panthera onca) will be collected and analyzed to identify individuals. The structure and configuration of the landscape as well as the metrics of the corridors will be obtained through Geographic Information System (GIS), on the basis of Landsat images. The relationships between richness, abundance of species and proportion and configuration of habitat will be examined with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), multiple linear regression and logistic regression models. The functionality of corridors will be tested through tests of population signatures and multiple linear regressions. The results obtained will generate information on ecological consequences of habitat loss and effectiveness of riparian corridors with different widths and lengths. These data will help the management and restoration of degraded and fragmented regions in tropical forests and will be useful to build and create conservation policies.

Scientific publications

(11)

(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)

TIRELLI, FLAVIA P.; DE FREITAS, THALES R. O.; MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; PERCEQUILLO, ALEXANDRE R.; EIZIRIK, EDUARDO. Using reliable predator identification to investigate feeding habits of Neotropical carnivores (Mammalia, Carnivora) in a deforestation frontier of the Brazilian Amazon. MAMMALIA, v. 83, n. 5, p. 415-427, SEP 2019. (07/01252-2)

MICHALSKI, FERNANDA. The bush dog Speothos venaticus and short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis in a fragmented landscape in southern Amazonia. ORYX, v. 44, n. 2, p. 300-303, APR 2010. (07/01252-2)

PRIST, PAULA RIBEIRO; MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; METZGER, JEAN PAUL. How deforestation pattern in the Amazon influences vertebrate richness and community composition. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY, v. 27, n. 6, p. 799-812, JUL 2012. (07/01252-2)

PERCEQUILLO, ALEXANDRE REIS; TIRELLI, FLAVIA P.; MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; EIZIRIK, EDUARDO. The genus Rhagomys (Thomas 1917) (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) in South America: morphological considerations, geographic distribution and zoogeographic comments. MAMMALIA, v. 75, n. 2, p. 195-199, 2011. (07/01252-2)

NORRIS, DARREN; MICHALSKI, FERNANDA. Implications of faecal removal by dung beetles for scat surveys in a fragmented landscape of the Brazilian Amazon. ORYX, v. 44, n. 3, p. 455-458, JUL 2010. (07/01252-2)

MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; METZGER, JEAN PAUL; PERES, CARLOS A.. Rural property size drives patterns of upland and riparian forest retention in a tropical deforestation frontier. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS, v. 20, n. 4, p. 8-pg., 2010-10-01. (07/01252-2)

MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; NORRIS, DARREN. Activity pattern of Cuniculus paca (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) in relation to lunar illumination and other abiotic variables in the southern Brazilian Amazon. ZOOLOGIA, v. 28, n. 6, p. 8-pg., 2011-12-01. (07/01252-2)

MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; METZGER, JEAN PAUL; PERES, CARLOS A.. Rural property size drives patterns of upland and riparian forest retention in a tropical deforestation frontier. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS, v. 20, n. 4, SI, p. 705-712, OCT 2010. (07/01252-2)

MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; NORRIS, DARREN. Activity pattern of Cuniculus paca (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) in relation to lunar illumination and other abiotic variables in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Zoologia, v. 28, n. 6, p. 701-708, DEC 2011. (07/01252-2)

MICHALSKI, FERNANDA; VALDEZ, FERNANDA PEDONE; NORRIS, DARREN; ZIEMINSKI, CHRIS; KASHIVAKURA, CYNTIA KAYO; TRINCA, CRISTINE S.; SMITH, HEATH B.; VYNNE, CARLY; WASSER, SAMUEL K.; METZGER, JEAN PAUL; et al. Successful carnivore identification with faecal DNA across a fragmented Amazonian landscape. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, v. 11, n. 5, p. 862-871, SEP 2011. (07/01252-2)

FERNANDA MICHALSKI; DARREN NORRIS. Activity pattern of Cuniculus paca (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) in relation to lunar illumination and other abiotic variables in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Zoologia, v. 28, n. 6, p. 701-708, 2011-12-00. (07/01252-2)