Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data.
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Large and medium-sized mammals are essential to forest ecosystems as they are responsible for prey population control, seed dispersal and predation. A mammal survey was conducted in the Humaitá Forest Reserve (HFR), a 20 km² forest fragment located in the southeastern part of the state. The survey was carried out using census transects, camera traps, and occasional records such as bones and footprints. In all, 27 species of large to medium-sized mammals were recorded for the RFH, representing 48% of those expected for the region. Dasyprocta fuliginosa, Pecari tajacu and Didelphis marsupialis were the species with the highest number of records with camera traps. The occurrence of two species of cats (Leopardus pardalis and Puma concolor) and three endangered species (Callimico goeldii, Myrmecophaga tridactyla and Priodontes maximus) are important records for the RFH. The results may aid future research on the ecology, biogeography and conservation of mammals in the region.
The persistent high deforestation rate and fragmentation of the Amazon forests are the main threats to their biodiversity. To anticipate and mitigate these threats, it is important to understand and predict how species respond to the rapidly changing landscape. The short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis is the only Amazon-endemic canid and one of the most understudied wild dogs worldwide. We investigated short-eared dog habitat associations on two spatial scales. First, we used the largest record database ever compiled for short-eared dogs in combination with species distribution models to map species habitat suitability, estimate its distribution range and predict shifts in species distribution in response to predicted deforestation across the entire Amazon (regional scale). Second, we used systematic camera trap surveys and occupancy models to investigate how forest cover and forest fragmentation affect the space use of this species in the Southern Brazilian Amazon (local scale). Species distribution models suggested that the short-eared dog potentially occurs over an extensive and continuous area, through most of the Amazon region south of the Amazon River. However, approximately 30% of the short-eared dog's current distribution is expected to be lost or suffer sharp declines in habitat suitability by 2027 (within three generations) due to forest loss. This proportion might reach 40% of the species distribution in unprotected areas and exceed 60% in some interfluves (i.e. portions of land separated by large rivers) of the Amazon basin. Our local-scale analysis indicated that the presence of forest positively affected short-eared dog space use, while the density of forest edges had a negative effect. Beyond shedding light on the ecology of the short-eared dog and refining its distribution range, our results stress that forest loss poses a serious threat to the conservation of the species in a short time frame. Hence, we propose a re-assessment of the short-eared dog's current IUCN Red List status (Near Threatened) based on findings presented here. Our study exemplifies how data can be integrated across sources and modelling procedures to improve our knowledge of relatively understudied species.
ABSTRACT.We assessed the species composition and abundance of medium and large-sized mammals in an urban forest fragment in the Brazilian Amazon, and recorded the preference of some species for particular phytophysiognomies. We placed nine transects with 20 sand plots each in three phytophysiognomies: open rainforest with a dominance of bamboos (OFB), open rainforest with palm trees (OFP), and dense rainforest (DF). We calculated species abundance as the number of records/plot.day, in a total of 2,700 plots.day. We recorded twelve mammal species; Sylvilagus brasiliensis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Dasyprocta fuliginosa (Wagler, 1831) were the most abundant. The results differed among phytophysiognomies: DF presented the highest mammal diversity, whereas the species composition of OFP was less similar than that of other phytophysiognomies. Rodents showed higher preference for OFP and Sylvilagus brasiliensis was more abundant in OFB. The study area showed high species richness, with the occurrence of mesopredators, but there was a predominance of common species adaptable to disturbed environments, which reflects the severe isolation degree of the forest fragment and the hunting pressure that is still present.
Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non‐detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non‐governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer‐reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non‐detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio‐temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large‐scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data.
The implementation of private areas focused on conservation of species and habitats, combined with REDD+ policies, has become an important ally for biodiversity conservation, expanding the conservation areas of the most varied habitats, covering key groups such as large mammals, which are extremely important for the maintenance of ecosystem services. In the upper region of the Purus River in Acre, Brazil, an inventory was carried out using camera-traps, of medium and large mammals community in a private REDD+ area, known as the Purus Project. A total of 19 species of mammals were recorded with an effort of 1859 trap-nigths, including rare, endangered and key species. It is estimated that the richness for the area is of 22 species. Endangered and rare species such as the tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) presented high rates of relative abundance compared to other Conservation Units (UCs). The richness of medium to large-sized mammals recorded in the Purus Project underscores the importance of REDD+ in private areas for the conservation of this group, given the challenges for inclusion and creation of new protected areas. REDD+ projects in privates' areas become an important component for conservation of species and the connection between public conservation units favoring the spread of species and populations between areas, and consequently the gene flow. Keywords: Private Areas, Conservation, Camera-trap, Maintenance of Biodiversity. Abundância e composição de mamíferos de médio e grande porte em uma área privada de projeto REDD+ no Acre, BrasilResumo: A implementação de áreas privadas voltadas para conservação de espécies e habitats, aliadas a políticas de REDD+, tem se tornado importante aliada para conservação da biodiversidade, ampliando as regiões de conservação dos mais variados habitats, abrangendo grupos chaves como grandes mamíferos, extremamente importantes para manutenção dos serviços ecossistêmicos. Na região do alto rio Purus, Acre, Brasil, foi realizado um inventário utilizando armadilhas fotográficas, da comunidade de mamíferos de médio e grande porte de uma área privada de REDD+, o Projeto Purus. Foram registradas 19 espécies de mamíferos, com um esforço de 1.859 armadilhas-noite, incluindo chaves, raras e ameaçadas de extinção. Estima-se que a riqueza esperada para a área seja de 22 espécies. Espécies ameaçadas e raras como a Anta (Tapirus terrestris) e o Cachorro-do-mato (Atelocynus microtis) apresentaram taxas de abundância relativa elevadas, comparadas com outras UCs. A riqueza de médios e grandes mamíferos registrados na região do Projeto Purus ressalta a importância de REDD+ em áreas privadas para conservação deste grupo, dado os desafios para inclusão e criação de novas áreas protegidas públicas. Assim projetos de REDD+ em áreas privadas se tornam um importante componente para conservação de espécies e para a conexão entre Unidades de Conservação públicas favorecendo a dispersão de espécies e populações entre áreas, e consequentemente o flu...
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