Abstract:Tropical forests are three-dimensional spaces with species and resources heterogeneously distributed. The vertical stratification of tropical forest biotas has been observed for several organisms and regions, but, surprisingly, the vertical structuring of large areas of important tropical forests, such as Brazil's Atlantic Forest, remains poorly studied. Here, we addressed the use of different Atlantic Forest strata by bats, comparing ensemble composition and relative abundance between the understorey and the canopy. A total of 618 bats belonging to 31 species and four families were recorded, including 11 species of frugivores and seven species of gleaning insectivores, the two trophic guilds predominantly represented in our sampling. Fifteen species were captured exclusively in the canopy, and six exclusively in the understorey, and many of those species were represented by a low number of captures (<5). The bat species composition, richness and relative abundance between canopy and understorey strata varied.Chiroderma villosumwas exclusively captured in the canopy,Artibeus lituratuswas netted predominantly in the canopy andCarollia perspicillataandDesmodus rotunduswere mostly captured in the understorey. Although processes such as resource partitioning between species and ecomorphological constraints may explain the differential use of forest strata, this remains little understood because of the scarcity of data for the Atlantic forest canopies.

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Studies on mammal diversity provide the essential groundwork for the development of conservation methods and practices. The region of the Poços de Caldas Plateau is lacks such studies, which may be a problem for future conservation actions. Here, we analyze the richness of medium-sized and large mammals from Atlantic Forest remnants on the Poços de Caldas Plateau, Minas Gerais state. Diurnal censuses of direct observations and mammal signs were conducted, and we documented 20 species of mammals belonging to eight orders. Three species of primates, one carnivore, one cingulate, one lagomorpha, three rodents, one artiodactyla, and two marsupials were found. The largest forest remnant that presented the greatest richness is currently a conservation unit. Forest remnants are important for the consolidation of management strategies and have fundamental role for the conservation of mammal diversity in the south of Minas Gerais state.

Trabalhos descritivos que visam reportar a ocorrência de espécies da mastofauna são de grande importância, uma vez que fornecem subsídios para a construção de práticas conservacionistas. Contudo, no Brasil, muitas áreas ainda carecem de estudos e uma dessas é a mesorregião do Campo das Vertentes. O presente trabalho objetivou reunir e apresentar registros de mamíferos de médio e grande porte coligidos ao longo dos últimos seis anos. Os registros aqui reportados resultaram de encontros ocasionais ocorridos durante inventários da fauna, com foco em outros grupos, conduzidos entre 2009 e 2014. No total foram encontradas 19 espécies pertencentes a seis ordens: Artiodactila (2 espécies); Carnívora (9 espécies); Lagomorpha (1 espécie); Primates (4 espécies); Rodentia (2 espécies); Cingulata (1 espécie). Embora esteja sob intensa pressão antrópica, a área de estudo abriga espécies importantes do ponto de vista ecológico e conservacionista, a exemplo da onça-pintada (Panthera onca), predador de topo de cadeia alimentar em estado crítico de ameaça no estado de Minas Gerais. Recomenda-se a realização de estudos sistematizados a fim de ampliar o conhecimento sobre a comunidade de mamíferos de médio e grande porte da região.Palavras-chave: Descrição. Diversidade. Mastofauna.

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Habitat fragmentation due to transport infrastructure, such as highways, is receiving growing concern due to deleterious consequences of roadkill, a consequence of animal-vehicle collisions. This study was conducted on a 115 km section of the highway BR-242 between the Peixe Angical Hydroelectric Power Plant and Gurupi town, Tocantins state, Brazil. During twelve months, records of medium and large-sized mammals' roadkilled by vehicle collisions were weekly acquired. Photographic records, date and place of occurrence were obtained for each roadkilled animal. We also propose new indexes to evaluate roadkill rates. In total, 18 species, 17 genera, 10 families, and six orders were recorded. The species with the highest number of registers were: Cerdocyon thous, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Tamandua tetradactyla, Procyon cancrivorus, Nasua nasua and Dasyprocta leporina, corresponding to 73.5% of roadkills. The curve of species accumulation showed no tendency for stabilization. The results showed that the roadkill indices were 0.003 species/km; 0.009 individuals/km; 0.375 species/monitoring campaign; 1,021 individuals/monitoring campaign; 306,667 kilometers traveled/hit species, and 115,00 kilometers traveled/animal. Seven species recorded are considered threatened: Chrysocyon brachyurus, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus wiedii, Lycalopex vetulus, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Puma concolor, and Puma yagouaroundi.