Mammal occurrence and roadkill in two adjacent ecoregions (Atlantic Forest and Cerrado) in south-western Brazil

Abstract

This paper examines the frequencies of mammal roadkill in two adjacent biogeographic ecoregions (Atlantic Forest and Cerrado) of Brazil. Mammals were recorded during a seven-year period and over 3,900 km of roads, in order to obtain data for frequencies of species in habitats (sites) and frequencies of species killed by cars on roads. Sites (n = 80) within ecoregions (Cerrado, n = 57; Atlantic Forest, n = 23) were searched for records of mammals. Species surveyed in the entire region totaled 33, belonging to nine orders and 16 families. In the Cerrado, 31 species were recorded in habitats; of these, 25 were found dead on roads. In the Atlantic Forest ecoregions, however, we found 21 species in habitats, 16 of which were also found dead on roads. There was no overall significant difference between ecoregions for frequencies of occurrence in habitats or for roadkills, but there were differences between individual species. Hence, anteaters were mostly recorded in the Cerrado ecoregion, whereas caviomorph rodents tended to be more frequent in the Atlantic Forest ecoregion (seen mainly by roadkills). The greater number of species (overall and threatened) and the greater abundance of species records in the Cerrado suggest that this ecoregion has a greater biodiversity and is better conserved than the Atlantic Forest ecoregion, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, south-western Brazil

Galictis cuja (Mammalia): an update of current knowledge and geographic distribution

“…Another difficulty in diet studies is that G. cuja builds latrines, often with contribution of scats by several individuals (delibes et al, 2003), impeding study of individual diets. These difficulties can be addressed by collection of fresh scats and use of camera traps and molecular analysis (faRRell et al, 2000), or via studies based on stomach contents of carcasses, considering the relatively frequent cases of road kills of the species (pfeifeR et al, 2008;CáCeRes et al, 2010).…”

The Online Media Perspective on Animal and Vehicle Accidents in Brazilian Highways: a Matter of Safety?

“…O estado de São Paulo concentrou a maioria dos acidentes com animais domésticos e com capivaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), enquanto Mato Grosso do Sul concentrou mais acidentes com tamanduás (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Essas duas espécies são também comumente encontradas em monitoramentos de animais atropelados (Cáceres et al, 2010;Dornas et al, 2012), indicando que podem ser espécies relevantes para estudos que combinem questões de segurança e de conservação da biodiversidade, particularmente nos biomas onde são mais comuns; capivaras na Mata Atlântica e tamanduás no Cerrado e Pantanal. As capivaras também são foco da mídia em regiões do interior de São Paulo devido à febre maculosa e por ser uma espécie generalista que ocorre em áreas periurbanas.…”

Biochemical parameters of the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758) of the Brazilian Cerrado

“…This fact is basically associated with the changes the Cerrado has undergone in the development of agriculture, which have significantly reduced the giant anteater population in this biome (Lacerda et al 2009, Cáceres et al 2010. Other factors such as deforestation, forest fires and wildlife roadkill strongly affect the populations of several species, and the giant anteater is one of the main mammalian victims of wildfires (Cáceres et al 2010, Superina et al 2010.…”