Academic literature on the topic 'Rainforest animals'

Food preferences of the arboreal Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi), endemic to the tropical rainforests of north-eastern Australia, are largely unknown, but are likely to affect the movements of this mammal within its home range and across a fragmented landscape. Food selection was investigated by applying a consumption ranking system to 35 browse species provided to six captive animals throughout different years. Animals consumed foliage from a wide range of rainforest tree species, but at different intensities, suggesting that Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo is a selective folivore. All studied animals showed a general preference for the foliage of the northern olive (Chionanthus ramiflorus) and the umbrella tree (Schefflera actinophylla) throughout the year while foliage from acacias (Acacia spp.), milky pine (Alstonia scholaris) and pink ash (Alphitonia petriei) was less frequently consumed. Foliage from figs (Ficus spp.) and the northern tamarind (Diploglottis diphyllostegia) was consumed at higher rates only at certain times of the year, suggesting the existence of seasonal preferences. The knowledge of general and seasonal food preferences of this large arboreal mammal may allow a better prediction of animal movements and therefore can assist in conservation efforts. Recommendations for the integration of these findings in restoration projects are given.

The Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia, represent the largest remaining fragment of vast rainforests that once covered the entire continent. Over the past few decades the Wet Tropics bioregion has received much attention from biologists interested in the effect of climate change on diversity and distribution of rainforest animals. However, most such studies have focused on vertebrates, and despite considerable interest in the biota of the area, the diversity of many of Wet Tropics invertebrate taxa remains poorly known. Here we describe six new species of mite harvestman from the area, identified using a combination of morphological and molecular data. Our study represents the first detailed phylogenetic study of the genus Austropurcellia, and provides insight into the historical biogeography of these dispersal-limited arachnids.

Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi), one the largest arboreal mammals in Australia, has been poorly studied owing to its limited distributional range and secretive habits within tropical rainforests. This study investigated the way D. lumholtzi used its habitat within a rainforest fragment on the Atherton Tableland, North Queensland. Thirteen animals were fitted with radio-collars to determine their spatial and temporal use of habitat. Female D. lumholtzi used exclusive home ranges averaging 0.7 ha in area (90% harmonic mean), while males occupied larger home ranges of an average of approximately 2 ha, allowing for a density of 1.4–1.5 adult tree-kangaroos per hectare within the study area. The exception to this home- range size was one juvenile male presumably undergoing post-natal dispersal that used several forest fragments and other habitats, with a home range of 332 ha. Home ranges of males overlapped in part the ranges of several females. Home ranges of males tended to abut those of other males, and antagonistic encounters occurred at the boundaries of the home ranges. Males had a significantly larger body size than females (males 8.63 kg; females 7.05 kg). Social interactions between individuals, apart from antagonistic male–male encounters, were observed infrequently. Only 6% and 2.7% of fixes for females and males, respectively, included the presence of another animal in the same or adjacent tree at the time of location. Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroos were associated with a wide range of rainforest trees and a smaller number of vine species. However, in general, individual animals regularly associated with only a small suite (mean 3.5 species with >10% usage) of tree species present within their home range, and appeared to display individual preferences for certain species. Individual radio-tracked D. lumholtzi were visible only 9.4% of the time at night, and 20% of the time during the day. Males and females were as visible as each other, and both were seen significantly lower in the canopy and into the mid-storey during the night than during the day.

I compared the efficacy of terrestrial, arboreal, carnivore, and pitfall trapping methods for censusing small (200 animals per 1000 trap-nights), whereas carnivore (83.7 animals per 1000 trap-nights) and pitfall (9.1 animals per 1000 trap-nights) traps were less effective. However, each method was particularly effective for 1-4 species, with factors such as diet, vertical microhabitat use, body size and trap avoidance strongly influencing trappability of different species. Strategies for censusing small mammals in tropical rainforest are discussed.

A survey was conducted in the Northern Temtory and Queensland to determine the distribution, status and habitat use of the recently described Carpentarian rock-rat, Zyzomys palatalis. The species was previously known from two localities in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and this survey added only one new population to its known range. The species is restricted to monsoon rainforest on scree slopes. In the Gulf region this habitat is very limited and highly fragmented. The only areas where suitable habitat exists are in relatively inaccessible gorges where permanent springs provide enough moisture to maintain the monsoon rainforests. These patches of relict vegetation may be threatened by feral animals and changing fire regimes. Because of the low population size of Z. palatalis and the small size of suitable habitat available, the species is considered to be critically endangered.

AbstractWe used remote cameras to obtain information on an elusive species and to examine the effects of different camera trapping methodologies on abundance estimates. We determined activity pattern, trail use, trap success, and density of ocelot Leopardus pardalis in seven camera-trap surveys across two habitat types in western Belize: tropical broad-leaf rainforest and tropical pine forest. Ocelots in the rainforest were active mostly at night, in particular immediately after sunset, and they travelled on low-use roads (especially in the wet season) and high-use roads (especially in the dry season) more than established and newly cut trails. Trap success was relatively high in the rainforest (2.11–6.20 captures per 100 trap nights) and low in the pine forest (0.13–0.15 captures per 100 trap nights). Camera trapping combined with mark-recapture statistics gave densities of 25.82–25.88 per 100 km2 in the broad-leaf versus 2.31–3.80 per 100 km2 in the pine forest. Density estimates increased when animals repeatedly captured at the same camera (zero-distance moved animals) were included in the buffer size analysis. Density estimates were significantly negatively correlated with distance between cameras. We provide information on ocelot population status from an unstudied portion of its range and advise that camera trap methodologies be standardized to permit comparisons across sites.

This study investigated species that are hunted in protected rainforest areas and the methods used to hunt them, using data obtained by recording items in the possession of 17 poachers arrested in Kakum Conservation Area in Ghana over a period of 12 months. Twelve species were recorded among 69 total animals. Most were mammals, including primates. Shotguns and wire snares were the main hunting methods used. Primates must be given special protection and conservation attention, as they were found to be prominent among the animals poached.

Seasonal movements of 22 Pteropus poliocephalus, from two maternity camps in north-eastern New South Wales, were monitored from January to June 1989 using radiotelemetry. The animals moved independently in time and space among various communal roosts located 8-610 km from the maternity camp sites. Generally, P. poliocephalus from a camp near rainforest (Currie Park, Lismore) remained within 50 km of the maternity site. These localised movements were attributed to the continued availability of fruits in the rainforest throughout the study. Animals from a maternity camp surrounded by sclerophyll forest (Susan I., Grafton) undertook long migrations south (median distance 342.5 km, n = 11) to camps containing up to 200 000 P. poliocephalus of both sexes. These large aggregations formed during the mating season and comprised individuals drawn from various previous sites. Thus, P. poliocephalus in northern and central N.S.W. appear to function as a single breeding population and should be managed as such. After mid-May, animals from Susan I. returned to north-eastern N.S.W. There was high correlation between movements of P. poliocephalus from the camp at Susan I. and the flowering patterns of certain species of Myrtaceae and Proteaceae. It is hypothesised that flowering attractive to apiarists is also attractive to P. poliocephalus and that information from apiarists could be used by wildlife managers to predict large aggregations of the animals.

Automatic cameras triggered by infrared beams were used to identify animals visiting artificial groundnests in north Queensland rainforest. In 1992-93 six cameras and nests were established at four sites ranging from 340 to 840m in elevation, and a total of 279 identifiable photographs of nest visitors were recorded. White-tailed rats (Uromys caudimaculatus) comprised 74% of all photographs and were the most frequent visitor at five of six nests. Bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) were second in frequency (17%), with other small mammals (Rattus leucopus, Melomys cervinipes, Perameles nasuta), birds (Ailuroedus melanotis, Pitta versicolor) and reptiles (Varanus varius) each accounting for less than 2% of nest visits. Omnivorous rodents comprised the large majority (96%) of visits and may be significant predators on nests of some ground-nesting birds in Australian tropical rainforest.

Thesis (M.Phil.) -- Griffith University, 2004.
Facsimile of the author's original dissertation. Pagination of document: x, 121 leaves. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online via the World Wide Web.

With more than ¾ of the forest surface of Cameroon allocated to logging, the survival of many rainforest species will depend on the way in which timber production forests will be managed in this country for the next decades. Management decisions to be applied should be directed systematically towards a minimization of the negative impacts on the ecosystem as a whole, including on the animal populations living in these forests. This requires a detailed understanding of the response of wildlife to selective logging as it is currently practised in Central Africa.

This thesis reports results of a longitudinal monitoring of abundances of nine mammal species in a forest concession over a four years period. From 2003 to 2006, four wildlife censuses have been conducted in the active core of FMU 10.030 allocated to the logging company PALLISCO. Our study area covers 176 sq-km and include several logging compartments and unlogged areas.

The diversity of specific responses to the introduction of human activities into the habitat is at the scale of the biological diversity of the habitat itself. A particular attention was paid to two emblematic species of the Cameroonian forests, western lowland gorillas G.g. gorilla and the common chimpanzees Pan troglodytes. During this work, we studied 1) how logging at industrial scale affects the spatial distribution of nine mammal species, including great apes, in timber production forests of South-eastern Cameroon, and 2) the nature of pressures exerted on animal populations within an active forest concession (anthropic, ecological, ethologic, etc).

Our first results indicate that the extraction of valuable timber species generates a spatial reorganization of gorillas and chimpanzees, inducing local modifications of population densities. This spatial reorganization seems to be mainly due to human activities per se rather than to modifications of the habitat structure or changes in the availability of fruits for these species. Compared with other mammals, great apes are at the two extreme opposites of a gradient of sensitivity to the habitat disturbances created by logging. Gorillas, as well as other "generalist" species like duikers, seem to thrive in logged forests, probably attracted in these areas by the secondarisation of the vegetation. Their densities decrease temporarily in logging compartments during logging operations but these species recover quickly, suggesting a repulsive effect of the human presence in the forest rather than a major alteration of the habitat quality for them. Rather "specialist" species seem to react by increasing the size of their foraging area. These are the sitatungas Tragelpahus spekei and bushpigs Potamochoerus porcus, two typical species of swamp forest with Raffia spp. and semi-inundated forests. These particular biotopes in the heart of the production forests seem to be playing the role of refuge zone for these species. Finally, two species were identified as being explicitly vulnerable to logging activities: the chimpanzees and forest elephants Loxodonta africana cyclotis. Their abundances did not recover to original values during the period of study indicating that they still undergo some kind of ecological and/or anthropic pressures after the end of logging operations that is strongly adverse to them.

In order to contrast the ecological and/or anthropic factors ruling gorillas' and chimpanzees' spatial distribution in the habitat, we have used a spatial modelling technique called “Ecological Niche Factor Analysis - ENFA". ENFA-generated models for these two species mainly retained anthropic variables to explain great apes local repartition in the study area. For gorillas, it was mainly explained by the local pattern of logging compartments and the time that passed since the end of logging operations. Globally, this species avoids the areas of forests showing a high rate of human frequentation and is attracted to old logged areas. As for the chimpanzees, their spatial distribution is influenced mainly by the presence of roads which are largely avoided. The periphery of logged compartment seems to be a zone of convergence for chimpanzee communities that have probably been driven out from logging compartments during operations, but these movements of populations would be limited to short distances. The vulnerability of the chimpanzees is consequently explained by the absence of demographic mechanisms enabling them to avoid the disturbed zones while reducing the territorial conflicts.

The general trend in great ape abundances in an active logging concession confirms that even closely related species can show divergent capacities of survival when confronted to human disturbances. Our work highlights that chimpanzee communities demonstrate some spatial inertia, contrarily to gorillas which easily manage to avoid human activities. This inertia would be probably at the origin of its sensitivity to current forestry practices. Our results confirm White & Tutin (2001)'s socio-ecological explanation for the vulnerability of chimpanzees to logging in forests of Central Africa. Knowing this, it is imperative to set up concrete conservation actions aiming at maintaining the chimpanzee populations of in Cameroonian timber production forests.

Practically, selective logging would easily be compatible with the preservation of the majority of rainforests mammals if concrete measures aiming at decreasing the negative impacts of logging were effectively applied. As a general rule, the proximity between logged areas and some zones that can serve as refuge seems to be a determining factor of the persistence of rainforests mammals in logged forests. A line of thought would be thus to ensure safe shifts of populations towards these zones in order to guarantee the avoidance of disturbances and, later, the recovery of densities in logged forests. In this sense, our main recommendation consists in promoting a delimitation of logging compartments into narrow strips so as to reduce the distance to be walked by an animal to geographically avoid human disturbances. Additionally, it is necessary to set up well-designed biomonitoring programmes to follow up trends in wildlife abundances and promote a flexible management that can be adapted according to the evidence of detrimental events to wildlife.

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Avec plus de ¾ de la surface forestière du Cameroun allouée à l'exploitation forestière, la survie de nombreuses espèces de mammifères dépendra de la façon dont seront gérés les massifs de forêt de production de ce pays dans les décennies à venir. Les mesures de gestion à appliquer devraient être orientées systématiquement vers une minimisation des impacts négatifs sur l'écosystème dans son ensemble, y compris sur les populations animales résidant dans ces forêts. Ceci nécessite une compréhension détaillée de la réponse de la grande et moyenne faune à l'exploitation forestière sélective telle qu'elle est effectivement pratiquée en Afrique Centrale.

Cette thèse de doctorat rapporte les résultats d'un suivi longitudinal, sur une période de quatre ans, des abondances de neuf espèces de mammifères au sein d'une concession forestière du Sud-est Cameroun. Au total, quatre recensements de la faune ont été réalisés entre 2003 et 2006 dans la partie active de l'UFA 10.030 allouée à la société PALLISCO. La zone étudiée couvre 176 km2 et englobe plusieurs parcelles annuelles d'abattage ainsi que des compartiments non exploités.

La diversité des réponses spécifiques vis-à-vis de l'introduction d'activités humaines dans l'habitat est à l'échelle de la diversité biologique de l'habitat lui-même. Une attention particulière a été portée sur deux espèces emblématiques des forêts camerounaises, les gorilles des plaines occidentales G.g. gorilla et les chimpanzés communs Pan t. troglodytes. Durant ce travail, nous avons étudié 1) comment l'exploitation forestière à l'échelle industrielle affecte la distribution spatiale de neuf espèces de mammifères, dont les grands singes, dans les massifs de forêt de production du Sud-est Cameroun, et 2) de quelle nature sont les pressions exercées sur les populations animales au sein d'une concession forestière active (anthropique, écologique, éthologique, etc.).

Nos premiers résultats indiquent que l'extraction d'essences précieuses dans les forêts camerounaises génère notamment une réorganisation de la distribution spatiale des gorilles et des chimpanzés, induisant des modifications locales de densité de population. Cette réorganisation spatiale semble être due aux activités humaines elles-mêmes plutôt qu'aux modifications de la structure de l'habitat ou à une diminution de la disponibilité de certaines ressources alimentaires importantes pour ces espèces. Comparés à d'autres mammifères, les grands singes se placent aux deux extrêmes d'un gradient de sensibilité aux perturbations de l'habitat causés par l'exploitation forestière. Les gorilles, ainsi que d'autres espèces "généralistes" comme les céphalophes, semblent prospérer dans les forêts exploitées, probablement attirés dans ces zones par la secondarisation de la végétation. Leurs densités diminuent ponctuellement dans les parcelles d'abattage pendant les opérations d'extraction, mais retrouvent très vite leur niveau initial. Ceci suggère un effet répulsif de la présence humaine sur ces espèces plutôt qu'une altération majeure de la qualité de l'habitat pour ces dernières. D'autres espèces plus "spécialistes" semblent réagir en augmentant la taille de leurs aires de fourragement. Il s'agit des sitatungas Tragelpahus spekei et des potamochères Potamochoerus porcus, deux espèces appréciant les biotopes humides (marécages à Raphia spp. des zones de forêt inondées, etc.). Ces biotopes particuliers, non-affectés par l'exploitation forestière, au coeur des forêts de production semblent servir de refuge pour ces espèces. Enfin, deux espèces ont été identifiées comme étant explicitement très vulnérables aux activités d'exploitation: les chimpanzés et les éléphants des forêts Loxodonta africana cyclotis. Leurs abondances n'ont pas recouvré les valeurs originelles durant la période d'étude, indiquant que ces espèces subissent encore des pressions écologiques et/ou anthropiques jusqu'à quatre ans après la fin des activités d'exploitation forestière.

Afin de contraster les facteurs écologiques et/ou anthropiques régissant la distribution spatiale des gorilles et des chimpanzés, nous avons fait usage d'une technique de modélisation spatiale appelée "Ecological Niche Factor Analysis – ENFA". Les modèles ENFA pour ces deux espèces ont principalement retenu les variables anthropiques pour expliquer la distribution spatiale des grands singes dans l'aire d'étude. Il a ainsi été démontré que la répartition des gorilles était en grande partie expliquée par l'agencement local des AACs et le temps qui s'est écoulé depuis la fin des opérations d'extraction dans celles-ci. De manière générale, cette espèce évite les zones présentant un haut taux de fréquentation humaine et préfère les forêts exploitées quelques années auparavant. Quant aux chimpanzés, leur distribution spatiale est principalement expliquée par la présence de routes et pistes forestières qui sont amplement évitées. La périphérie des zones exploitées semble être une zone de convergence pour les chimpanzés qui y seraient vraisemblablement refoulés lors des perturbations, mais ces mouvements seraient limités à de courtes distances. La vulnérabilité des chimpanzés s'expliquerait dès lors par l'absence de mécanismes démographiques leur permettant d'éviter les zones affectées tout en réduisant les conflits territoriaux résultant d'une réorganisation spatiale.

La tendance globale des variations d'abondance des grands singes au sein d'une concession forestière en cours d'exploitation confirme que même des espèces très proches phylogénétiquement peuvent faire preuve de capacités différentes de survie face aux perturbations anthropiques. Il ressort de nos observations que les communautés de chimpanzés font preuve d'une certaine inertie spatiale, contrairement aux gorilles qui parviennent à éviter les activités humaines. Cette inertie serait probablement à l'origine de sa vulnérabilité face aux pratiques forestières actuelles. Nos résultats viennent confirmer l'hypothèse socio-écologique émise par White & Tutin (2001). Face à ce malheureux constat, il est impératif de mettre en place des mesures concrètes de gestion visant à maintenir les populations de chimpanzés dans les forêts de production camerounaises.

Pratiquement, l'exploitation sélective serait compatible avec la conservation de la plupart des mammifères si certaines mesures de gestion visant à diminuer les impacts négatifs étaient rapidement mises en application. La proximité entre les zones exploitées et les zones pouvant servir de refuge semble être un facteur déterminant de la survie de nombreuses espèces de mammifères dans les forêts de production du Cameroun. Une ligne de réflexion serait donc d'assurer les mouvements de populations vers ces zones-refuge sans heurts afin de garantir l'émigration des populations animales en dehors des zones affectées et la recolonisation ultérieure des forêts exploitées. En ce sens, notre principale recommandation consiste à promouvoir un découpage en assiettes de coupe en bandes relativement étroites (<2,5 km) de façon à réduire la distance à parcourir pour éviter géographiquement les perturbations anthropiques. De même, il serait nécessaire de mettre en place des programmes de suivi régulier des abondances faunistiques afin de permettre une gestion adaptative qui s'ajusterait au vu d'événements critiques pour la faune.
Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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Bats have several peculiar reproductive aspects that have evolved to fit the distinct ecological and environmental conditions, however remains one of the least known groups with respect to reproductive biology, especially in the Northeast of Brazil. It is known that phyllostomid reproductive patterns may have variable, which include: seasonally monstrous, seasonally polyestrous, aseasonally polyestrous and seasonally bimodal polyestry. Thus, the present study evaluated the reproductive patterns and spermatogenic activity and ovarian of bats Artibeus lituratus and Carollia perspicillata in South Mata of Pernambuco. Therefore, animals were collected by mist nets (12X 3 m) from September 2008 to October 2009, between 17:00 and 05:00. The specimens were classified according to the reproductive stage, as: (1) pregnant, (2) lactating, (3) pregnant and lactating, or (4) inactive (5) active if testes were descended, (6) or inactive if testes were not descended. For histological analysis, 10 males were randomly selected adults, (n = 5) and in the rainy season (n = 5) in the dry season and 10 adult females, of which (n = 5) and in the rainy season (n = 5) in the dry season for each species, totaling 40 individuals. Results indicated that both species have a greater proportion of females than males, suggesting that the formation of harems. The reproductive pattern displayed by both species was bimodal polyestry, with a peak in the dry season and another in the rainy season. A. lituratus presented reproductive peaks in the months of March and October and C. perspicillata for the months of March and October-November. The spermatogenesis in testing specimens were descended or tests were not descended and ovarian activity continued throughout the year.
Os morcegos apresentam diversos aspectos reprodutivos peculiares que evoluíram a fim de se ajustar as distintas condições ecológicas e ambientais, entretanto permanecem um dos grupos menos conhecidos com relação à biologia reprodutiva, principalmente no Nordeste do Brasil. Sabe-se que os morcegos filostomídeos podem apresentar padrões reprodutivos variáveis, como a monoestria sazonal, poliestria assazonal, poliestria sazonal e poliestria bimodal sazonal. Assim, a presente pesquisa avaliou os padrões reprodutivos e as atividades espermatogênica e ovariana dos morcegos Artibeus lituratus e Carollia perspicillata na Mata Sul de Pernambuco. Para tanto, os animais foram coletados por rede de neblina (12X 3 m) de setembro de 2008 a outubro de 2009, entre as 17:00 e 05:00h. Os espécimes foram classificados de acordo ao estágio reprodutivo, como: (1) fêmeas grávidas; (2) fêmeas lactantes; (3) fêmeas grávidas e lactantes; (4) fêmeas inativas; (5) machos ativos e (6) machos inativos. Para a análise histológica, foram selecionados aleatoriamente 10 machos adultos, sendo (n=5) na estação chuvosa e (n=5) na estação seca e 10 fêmeas adultas, sendo (n=5) na estação chuvosa e (n=5) na estação seca para cada espécie, totalizando 40 indivíduos. Os resultados indicaram que ambas as espécies apresentam uma proporção de fêmeas maior do que os machos, sugerindo que o sistema de acasalamento é do tipo políginico. O padrão reprodutivo apresentado por ambas às espécies foi poliéstrico bimodal, com um pico na estação seca e outro na estação chuvosa, sendo que A. lituratus apresentou picos reprodutivos para os meses de março e outubro e C. perspicillata para os meses de março e outubro-novembro, bem como a espermatogênese em indivíduos com testículos descendentes ou não descentes e atividade ovariana contínua durante todo o ano.

Este estudo objetivou estudar os carrapatos e a infecção por patógenos, e sua correlação com os vertebrados desta região entre 10/2007 e 09/2008 foram realizadas mensalmente doze visitas a uma área de floresta ombrófila densa da Amazônica na Estação Ecológica de Samuel. Foram coletados, 60 aves, 36 mamíferos, 14 répteis e 11 anfíbios. Em vida livre foram realizadas 80 coletas de carrapatos em um total de 39.600m em cerca de 2.640min (44h) e coletados 265 carrapatos adultos de quatro espécies, sendo elas: A. scalpturatum (81), A. latepunctatum (84), A. oblongogutattum (18), A. naponense (69) e 597 ninfas de Amblyomma sp. Dos 104 adultos (11,8% do total de carrapatos) foram testados para Anaplasmataceae, obtive-se 27 (25,9%) positivos e mais 36 adultos (total de 140) e 11 carrapatos foram positivos (1) A. scalpturatum, (4) A. latepunctatum, (3) A. naponense. É notável o impacto da hidrelétrica sobre a fauna de pequenos mamíferos.
This study was aimed to analyze the ticks and the pathogenic infections, and their correlation with the vertebrates of such a region from October 2007 to September 2008, 12 surveys were monthly carried out at the Samuel Ecological Station in an Amazonian dense ombrophilous forest. They were collected from 60 birds, 36 mammals, 14 reptiles, and 11 amphibians. Eighty(80) collections of free-living ticks were carried out within an area of about 39.000 meters, during 2.640 minutes (44 hours), and 265 adult ticks or four species were picked up as following: 81 A.scalpturatum, 84 A. latepunctatum, 18 A. oblongogutattum, 69 A. naponense , and 597 Amblyomma sp. nymphs. 104 the adults, which accounted for 11.8% of total of ticks collected, were tested for Anaplasmataceae, and 27 (25.9%) were positive. In the Rickettsia spp. sample, additionally to the above mentioned 104 ticks tested, 36 adult ticks (out of a total of 140) were positive. It is noteworthy the impact caused by the hydropower plant on the small mammal fauna.

This research aims to develop and evaluate a design framework for creating digital devices that support the exploration of animal behaviors in the wild. In order to carry out this work, it both studies ethology’s foundational ideas through literature and also examines the contemporary principles at a rainforest field station through on-site ethnographies, workshops, design projects, and interactive performances. Based upon these personal and practical investigations, this research then synthesizes a framework to support digital-ethological practice. Finally, this framework is utilized to design additional ethological expeditions and activities in order to assess the framework itself. The resulting framework encourages digital technology that supports four key concepts. Technological Agency pushes for devices that promote understanding of their own internal functions. The tenet of Contextual Crafting leads designers and ethologists to create devices in close proximity to their intended use. Behavioral Immersion promotes visceral interactions between the digital and organismal agents involved. Finally, Open-Endedness challenges researchers to create adaptable tools which strive to generate questions rather than answering them. Overall, this research, referred to as Digital Naturalism, explores a developing design space for computers in the wild.

A Mata Atlântica foi devastada desde o início da colonização, permanecendo hoje com cerca de 7% de sua cobertura original. Região biogeográfica de extrema importância para aves e outros táxons, abrigando elevado número de espécies endêmicas e ameaçadas de extinção, foi considerada bioma prioritário para conservação e constitui a segunda floresta mais ameaçada do planeta. Classe especialmente popular no estudo de comunidades, as aves constituem-se em um excelente indicador ecológico. O presente trabalho foi realizado no Núcleo Cubatão do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, uma das áreas mais importantes de Mata Atlântica do Estado de São Paulo. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi caracterizar a comunidade de aves e avaliar o estágio de conservação da área. Seus objetivos específicos foram descrever a composição e as estruturas espacial, social e alimentar da comunidade de aves; verificar a importância ecológica da área com base na presença de espécies endêmicas e/ou ameaçadas de extinção; avaliar as condições de conservação deste ambiente com base na composição específica de espécies e comparar a avifauna desta área de Mata Atlântica com a de outros remanescentes presentes na região. O levantamento da avifauna foi realizado em área de encosta localizada às margens de uma estrada de serviço pertencente ao Sistema Anchieta-Imigrantes, atualmente sob administração da Ecovias, através de quatro trajetos de 1000m, dois no interior da mata e dois em sua borda. A identificação foi feita visualmente, com auxílio de binóculo e através de vocalizações. Foram registradas em fichas de campo todas as espécies identificadas com segurança, anotando-se a quantidade de indivíduos, posição no estrato, padrão social da espécie e hábitat, parâmetros que foram utilizados para caracterizar a estrutura da comunidade observada na área. A abundância de cada espécie foi expressa em indivíduos por 100 horas de observação; índices de diversidade de Shannon-Weaver e de similaridade de Sorensen foram calculados. Foram registradas 168 espécies de aves em 294 horas de observação. Houve predominância de espécies habitantes de interior florestal e que ocupam sub-bosque e dossel da mata. Insetívoros e frugívoros possuem a maior representatividade entre as guildas alimentares. O padrão social solitário foi registrado com maior freqüência entre os insetívoros e bandos mistos são constituídos principalmente por espécies frugívoras. A presença de espécies habitantes do epigeu, espécies cinegéticas, espécies altamente sensíveis a distúrbios ambientais, espécies características de florestas conservadas, espécies endêmicas e ameaçadas de extinção e espécies das famílias Dendrocolaptidae, Furnariidae, Formicariidae e Rinocriptidae, assim como a baixa porcentagem de espécies características de ambientes degradados, indicam que o Núcleo Cubatão, apesar de sofrer com atividades antrópicas, ainda está em bom estágio de conservação e mostram que a área de estudo apresenta grande importância para a conservação da Mata Atlântica e sua avifauna.
Atlantic Rainforest, an ecosystem that occupied most of the east coast of Brazil, is a biogeographic region of extreme importance for birds and other groups, which includes great number of endemic and threatened species. It was considered priority for conservation and it is the second most threatened forest of the planet. It has been devastated since the colonization and only 7% of the original forest still remains, almost all concentrated in a mountain range called Serra do Mar. As a class particularity common of communities' studies, birds are an excellent ecological indicator. This research was carried out at Serra do Mar State Park – Cubatao Nucleus, one of the most important areas of Atlantic Rainforest in Sao Paulo State. The general goals of this research were to describe bird community and to value the conservation situation of the area. Its specifics goals were to describe the composition and the spatial, social and feed structure of the bird community; to verify the ecological relevancy based on the presence of endemic and threatened species; to value the conservation situation based on the specific composition of species and to compare the avifauna of this area of Atlantic Rainforest with other regional remains. The bird surveying was realized in a slope section near a road service that belongs to Anchieta-Imigrantes System, under Ecovias administration, thought four transects of 1000m, two inside the forest and two on the edge. The identification was visual with binoculars and thought vocalizations. Field cards were made to register all security identified species and their individual's numbers, position in the stratum, social patterns and habitat, items used to characterize the avifauna community structure. The species' abundance was demonstrated in individuals by 100 hours of observation and Shannon-Weaver diversity index and Sorensen similarity were calculated. A hundred sixty eight bird species were registered in two hundred ninety four hours of observation. Most of the species were observed inside the forest, occupying the understory and canopy. Insectivorous and frugivorous were the most representative feed habits. The solitary social pattern were the most often observed between insectivorous. Mixed flocks were constituted mainly by frugivorous species. The presence of species that live on the floor, hunted species, high sensitive to environmental disturbances, typical of conserved forests, endemics and threatened species and species of Dendrocolaptidae, Furnariidae, Formicariidae and Rinocriptidae families, as well as low percentage of typical species of degraded areas, indicate that, despite the men activities and vicinity of cities, the degradation situation is not severe and that the slope section studied of the Cubatao Nucleus remains in a good conservation situation and remains essential to Atlantic Rainforest conservation.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi analisar a biologia e o ciclo de vida de Astyanax cf. scabripinnis paranae no ribeirão Grande, um riacho de cabeceira localizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), Núcleo Santa Virgínia, SP. Os exemplares foram coletados mensalmente de janeiro a dezembro em 2004 e 2006, utilizando-se redes de espera, redinha de mão e covo. Foram coletados dados de temperatura da água, oxigênio dissolvido e pH. Dados de pluviosidade, umidade relativa e temperatura do ar foram obtidos junto à Estação Meteorológica do PESM. Os peixes foram fixados em formalina a 10% e conservados em álcool 70%. No laboratório foram mensurados quanto ao comprimento total e padrão, peso e registrados os graus de repleção estomacal, de gordura acumulada, o sexo e os estádios de maturação gonadal. As correlações entre as variáveis ambientais e os meses de coletas foram verificadas por uma análise de componentes principais, que indicou uma separação entre períodos mais chuvosos (outubro a abril) e menos chuvosos (maio a setembro). A dieta foi analisada pelo grau de preferência alimentar. Diferenças no consumo de itens autóctones e alóctones e possíveis mudanças ontogenéticas ao longo do desenvolvimento da espécie foram verificadas por uma análise de correspondência. Para o estudo da reprodução foram analisadas as variações nos estádios de maturação, relação gonadossomática, grau de gordura acumulada, condição corporal, fecundidade e tipo de desova. O comprimento médio de primeira maturação gonadal foi estimado pelo ajuste não-linear e a condição corporal foi avaliada por modelos de análise de covariância. A fecundidade foi estimada pelo método volumétrico e relacionada ao comprimento padrão, ao peso total, ao peso das gônadas e à relação gonadossomática. No estudo do crescimento, a separação das coortes...
The present study aimed to analyze the biology and ecology of Astyanax cf. scabripinnis paranae in the Ribeirão Grande, a headwater stream located in the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), Núcleo Santa Virgínia, SP. The fishes were sampled monthly from January to December in 2004 and 2006, using gillnets, sieves and funnel traps. Temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH of the water were measured. Pluviometric data, relative humidity and temperature of the air were obtained in the Meteorological Station of PESM. The fishes were fixed in 10% formalin and conserved in 70% alcohol. In the laboratory they were measured as for the total and standard length, weighed and registered the degrees of stomach repletion, of accumulated fat, the sex and the stadiums of gonad maturation. The correlation structure among the environmental variables measured in the sampling collections was verified by a principal components analysis (PCA), which indicated a separation among rainier (October to April) and the less rainy periods (May to September). Differences in the consumption of autochthonous and allochthonous items and possible ontogenetic changes along the specimens development were verified by a correspondence analysis (CA). For the study of the reproduction the variations were analyzed at the maturation stadiums, gonadossomatic relationship, degrees of accumulated fat, corporal condition, fecundity and spawning type. The mean length of first gonad maturation was assessed by a no-linear adjustment. The corporal condition was evaluated by analysis of covariance. The fecundity was estimate by the volumetric method and related to the standard length, to the total weight, to the gonad weight and to the gonadossomatic relationship. In the study of the fish growth, the cohorts’ separation and their mean lengths were obtained using the package MIXDIST and the Bhattacharya method... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Francisco Manoel de Souza Braga
Banca: Leandro Müller Gomiero
Banca: Lilian Casatti
Banca: Mauricio Cetra
Banca: Lucia Ap. de Fatima Mateus
Resumo: O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi analisar a biologia e o ciclo de vida de Astyanax cf. scabripinnis paranae no ribeirão Grande, um riacho de cabeceira localizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), Núcleo Santa Virgínia, SP. Os exemplares foram coletados mensalmente de janeiro a dezembro em 2004 e 2006, utilizando-se redes de espera, redinha de mão e covo. Foram coletados dados de temperatura da água, oxigênio dissolvido e pH. Dados de pluviosidade, umidade relativa e temperatura do ar foram obtidos junto à Estação Meteorológica do PESM. Os peixes foram fixados em formalina a 10% e conservados em álcool 70%. No laboratório foram mensurados quanto ao comprimento total e padrão, peso e registrados os graus de repleção estomacal, de gordura acumulada, o sexo e os estádios de maturação gonadal. As correlações entre as variáveis ambientais e os meses de coletas foram verificadas por uma análise de componentes principais, que indicou uma separação entre períodos mais chuvosos (outubro a abril) e menos chuvosos (maio a setembro). A dieta foi analisada pelo grau de preferência alimentar. Diferenças no consumo de itens autóctones e alóctones e possíveis mudanças ontogenéticas ao longo do desenvolvimento da espécie foram verificadas por uma análise de correspondência. Para o estudo da reprodução foram analisadas as variações nos estádios de maturação, relação gonadossomática, grau de gordura acumulada, condição corporal, fecundidade e tipo de desova. O comprimento médio de primeira maturação gonadal foi estimado pelo ajuste não-linear e a condição corporal foi avaliada por modelos de análise de covariância. A fecundidade foi estimada pelo método volumétrico e relacionada ao comprimento padrão, ao peso total, ao peso das gônadas e à relação gonadossomática. No estudo do crescimento, a separação das coortes... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: The present study aimed to analyze the biology and ecology of Astyanax cf. scabripinnis paranae in the Ribeirão Grande, a headwater stream located in the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), Núcleo Santa Virgínia, SP. The fishes were sampled monthly from January to December in 2004 and 2006, using gillnets, sieves and funnel traps. Temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH of the water were measured. Pluviometric data, relative humidity and temperature of the air were obtained in the Meteorological Station of PESM. The fishes were fixed in 10% formalin and conserved in 70% alcohol. In the laboratory they were measured as for the total and standard length, weighed and registered the degrees of stomach repletion, of accumulated fat, the sex and the stadiums of gonad maturation. The correlation structure among the environmental variables measured in the sampling collections was verified by a principal components analysis (PCA), which indicated a separation among rainier (October to April) and the less rainy periods (May to September). Differences in the consumption of autochthonous and allochthonous items and possible ontogenetic changes along the specimens development were verified by a correspondence analysis (CA). For the study of the reproduction the variations were analyzed at the maturation stadiums, gonadossomatic relationship, degrees of accumulated fat, corporal condition, fecundity and spawning type. The mean length of first gonad maturation was assessed by a no-linear adjustment. The corporal condition was evaluated by analysis of covariance. The fecundity was estimate by the volumetric method and related to the standard length, to the total weight, to the gonad weight and to the gonadossomatic relationship. In the study of the fish growth, the cohorts' separation and their mean lengths were obtained using the package "MIXDIST" and the Bhattacharya method... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Doutor

This chapter discusses how darkness provides excellent advantages for a wide variety of animals, for the simple reason that vision—a primary sense for predators and foragers alike—becomes severely disabled when faced with a paucity of light. Thus, in a fiercely competitive rainforest, the cover of night provides respite from visually dependent predators and competitors, a fact that has encouraged the evolution of nocturnal activity in many different taxa. In the endlessly dim world of the deep ocean, the cover of darkness is instead permanent, and vision is relentlessly pressed at the limits of the physically possible. In some species the eyes have evolved extreme adaptations for extracting the most fleeting of visual cues. Others have given up the fight altogether, their eyes having regressed to mere vestiges.

This chapter follows Tetsuro Matsuzawa and his coworkers to their outdoor laboratory in Bossou, Guinea. Revered as the totem animal of the Manon and deprived of almost all primary rainforest, the Bossou chimpanzees had learned to live on human crops in an agricultural landscape. In contrast to Christophe Boesch's emphasis on so-called wild cultures, Matsuzawa speculated that historically, this chimpanzee community might have learned from the human population how to crack the oil palm nuts that local farmers cultivated. Field experiments allowed the primatologists to study how female immigrants passed on their knowledge of how to crack other kinds of nuts within the group. At this point, Japanese cultural primatology contradicted the Manon's mythological understanding of “their” apes as a bounded community of nonnatural animals. Chimpanzee road crossings provided an opportunity for a natural — or really “naturecultural” — experiment in an anthropogenic environment. Ethnoprimatologists collaborating with Matsuzawa studied the ecological interface between humans and primates and used their insights for conservationist ends. After a political conflict over the protection of a small patch of primary forest on a sacred hill, the Japanese primatologists took over the Manon's position that the livelihood of the Bossou chimpanzees was better served by plantations than by a nature reserve.

Noemy Chan, a young Maya woman of Mexico, looked up from her cooking and spied her children switching butterflies out of the air with twigs. She immediately dropped her knife, ran to the yard, picked up the butterflies—and made the children eat them. The lesson was explicit: You kill only for food. In the traditional Maya world of the interior rainforests of Quintana Roo, animals are killed only from pressing need. If they are not to be eaten, they can be killed only if they are eating the crops on which humans depend. Ideally, they are slain only when both motives operate. Early one morning I met a family carrying a dead coati in a bag; they said, “It was eating our corn, so we are going to eat it.” In Noemy’s home town, Chunhuhub, even the sale of game is confined to local marketing to other subsistence farmers. The unfortunate habit of poaching game for sale to cities has not—so far—spread into the bush. Noemy and her husband are well off by Mexican standards—he manages heavy equipment for road construction. They saved their money and built an urban-style concrete block house. It stands empty; they live in a traditional Maya pole-and-thatch hut, of a style used continuously for thousands of years in the area. As they correctly point out, the hut is much cooler, cleaner, less damp, and in every way more efficient than the European-style house. The Maya civilization, one of the greatest of the ancient cultures, is by no means dead. Millions of Maya Indians, speaking two dozen related languages, still live in Central America. They practice traditional corn agriculture and maintain many pre-Columbian rituals. Yet they are no more “survivors” of the “past” than are modern Englishmen who still eat bread and beef and worship in the Church of England. Maya civilization is dynamic, living, changing, and, above all, creative. Tough and independent, its bearers have adapted to the modern world; many are doctors, lawyers, and degree-holding professors. They still speak Maya languages, and usually Spanish as well.

This chapter addresses the cultural anthropological perspective on how the everyday is observed and matters in extant cultures. In the author’s ethnographic work with the Wari’ people in the rainforest of western Brazil, for instance, most days bring a flow and rhythm to activities that is parallel to the flow and rhythm of many other days. When a ritual or celebration takes place, or a crisis erupts, the sensory textures and routines of everyday life are the baseline and backdrop against which the non-ordinary events’ meanings and impacts are experienced. In tracing the ways that animals and other non-human things participate in the spaces of social life, the archaeology of everyday life speaks to the larger theoretical concerns to which anthropology, more than any discipline, should be speaking: the shape of future life in the Anthropocene. Rather than replicate analytic approaches that subsume biology under “society,” or vice versa, some of the most promising approaches aim for truly integrated, biosocial understandings that take into account non-human as well as human actors and sensory experience as well as social arrangements and symbolism. The challenge, as always, is to simultaneously keep sight of all these dimensions.

The meaningful United States regulation of onshore oil and gas field waste/soil commenced in the mid 1980’s in response to a series of state, federal, industry and international initiatives. Most initiatives centered on the design, construction and operation of earthen pits used in the exploration and production of oil and gas (E&P). Prior to this time, earthen pits were constructed as needed by the operator and used in all phases of E&P activity. Chief concerns of the regulators were focused on what had gone into pits historically, what was going into them currently and was the E&P exemption excluding high volume E&P wastes from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations justified. Several investigations, including the comprehensive field study by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1987, determined E&P wastes are ostensibly non-hazardous. EPA concluded regulation of E&P wastes under RCRA Subtitle C was not necessary. To this day there is no U. S. federal regulatory program with exclusive jurisdiction over exempt E&P wastes. Other studies, primarily industry and academic, focusing on land limiting constituents, management practices and pit closure strategies revealed sodium salts and petroleum hydrocarbon in the form of diesel range organics were the primary limiting constituents. One state, Louisiana, adopted the technical aspects of these studies and developed a comprehensive regulation known as Statewide Order 29-B, which was based on the concept of limiting constituents and defined post closure performance standards. These standards limited salinity, sodicity, total metals and total petroleum hydrocarbon (oil & grease) with values varying with respect to landform, land use and closure technique. Other states have adopted some of the concepts and criteria advanced under 29-B but none are as comprehensive. Obviously there is a need to control what goes into pits and how pits should be closed. The industry would best be served by adopting the concepts and standards set forth in the Louisiana 29-B regulation. A few of the provisions could be changed to make it more palatable to industry without sacrificing the protection afforded human and animal health, safety and the environment. Internationally, particularly countries in South America embraced USEPA protocol for testing characteristically hazardous wastes, but 1) without the framework to handle the relatively large volume of non-hazardous E&P waste generated and 2) no regulations or protocols for on-site waste management. Several operators, although partners with state owned oil companies, on their own volition, applied the concepts and standards under Louisiana’s 29-B to rainforests in South America and rice paddies in Indonesia. Canada and European oil and gas producing countries have developed stringent standards not based on science, which favor costly treatment technologies. Generally, these countries prohibit cost effective on-site waste management and closure techniques. This paper traces the evolution of waste/soil remediation within the United States and internationally. We trace the progress as a function of time; the impetus for regulation; and probable future controls.