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The resilience of a given species to hunting is conditioned by the effect of potential threats upon the more sensitive periods in its life history, such as when animals are breeding. We investigated the environmental drivers of breeding seasonality in the lowland paca (Cuniculus paca), and the potential impact of hunting on the species. As part of a participative study with hunters in 2 Amazonian sites, we obtained reproductive organs of pacas as well as information on the hunters’ daily wild meat extraction. Using data on rainfall, river water level, and fruiting phenology from the 2 study sites, we applied generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS) to examine the effect of climatic and environmental factors on paca reproduction. Forest fruiting was directly linked to higher pregnancy rates in pacas, and when lactation and weaning of offspring mostly occurred. Hunting was highly seasonal in all studied years and positively correlated with higher levels of river water. The coincidence between hunting patterns and paca reproductive cycles during the wet season resulted in more pregnant females being harvested. In addition to the known slow reproductive rate of pacas, the disproportionate offtake of pregnant females may affect the long-term sustainability of hunting of this species. Reducing hunting during the flooded season may not be feasible because the lowland paca provides most of the wild meat consumed by thousands of rural Amazonians during this period. However, options to offset the negative effects of killing of pregnant females could include the zoning of hunting areas or encouraging hunters to target primarily males. Our results indicate that strategies for the sustainable harvest of pacas and other heavily hunted Amazonian mammals should consider the interaction between the species’ reproductive cycles and hunting by local people in order to enhance conservation and management efforts. A resiliência de uma espécie à caça é condicionada pela sua capacidade reprodutiva intrínseca e pelo efeito de potenciais ameaças durante os períodos mais sensíveis de sua história de vida, como o período reprodutivo. Neste trabalho, nós investigamos os fatores ambientais que determinam a sazonalidade reprodutiva da paca (Cuniculus paca) e o potencial impacto da caça sobre a espécie. Em um estudo participativo de 15 anos em duas áreas da Amazônia, obtivemos órgãos reprodutivos de pacas doados voluntariamente por caçadores, bem como informações sobre seus padrões diários de caça. Usando informações sobre precipitação, nível d’água dos rios e fenologia de frutificação, nós aplicamos modelos aditivos generalizados (GAMLSS) para examinar o efeito de fatores climáticos e ambientais na reprodução da paca. A precipitação esteve positivamente ligada a uma maior frutificação, que por sua vez foi correlacionada com maiores taxas de prenhes da paca e com os períodos de lactação e desmame da prole. A caça de paca foi altamente cíclica ao longo dos anos e positivamente associada aos níveis d’água mais elevados. A convergência entre os padrões de caça e os ciclos reprodutivos de paca resulta na extração de um grande número de fêmeas grávidas. Juntamente com a lenta taxa de reprodução da espécie, a captura desproporcional de fêmeas grávidas pode afetar a sustentabilidade do uso da paca. Reduzir a caça durante os períodos de inundação pode não ser viável, pois a paca é a espécie responsável por fornecer grande parte da carne silvestre consumida por milhares de moradores rurais da Amazônia neste período. No entanto, ações para compensar os efeitos negativos da extração de pacas grávidas poderiam incluir o zoneamento de áreas de caça ou o incentivo aos caçadores em abater preferencialmente machos. Nossos resultados indicam que estratégias para a extração sustentável da paca e outras espécies cinegéticas amazônicas devem considerar a interação entre a reprodução e a caça pela população local, a fim de melhorar as ações de conservação e manejo no bioma.

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Throughout the tropics, hunting and fishing are critical livelihood activities for many Indigenous peoples. However, these practices may not be sustainable following recent socio-economic changes in Indigenous populations. To understand how human population growth and increased market integration affect hunting and fishing patterns, we conducted semi-structured interviews in five Kukama-Kukamilla communities living along the boundary of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, in the Peruvian Amazon. Extrapolated annual harvest rates of fish and game species by these communities amounted to 1,740 t and 4,275 individuals (67 t), respectively. At least 23 fish and 27 game species were harvested. We found a positive correlation between village size and annual community-level harvest rates of fish and a negative relationship between market exposure and mean per-capita harvest rates of fish. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) analyses indicated local depletion of fish populations around larger, more commercial communities. Catch-per-unit-effort of fish was lower in more commercial communities and fishers from the largest village travelled further into the Reserve, where CPUE was higher. We found no effect of village size or market exposure on harvest rates or CPUE of game species. However, larger, more commercial communities targeted larger, economically valuable species. This study provides evidence that human population growth and market-driven hunting and fishing pose a growing threat to wildlife and Indigenous livelihoods through increased harvest rates and selective harvesting of species vulnerable to exploitation.

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