A five-year population study of an assemblage of small mammals in Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

A five-year capture-mark-recapture study of small mammals was carried out in a Brazilian coastal shrubby vegetation (restinga). Five species of small mammals (rodents and marsupials) were trapped and had their population dynamics characterized. Akodon cursor and Philander opossum presented the highest population densities, which were correlated chiefly with recruitment. They displaiyed frequent population fluctuations with high coefficients of variation, low survivorship rates most of the time and short residence times. Proechimys iheringi was characterized by stable population densities, high survivorship rates and long residence time. Didelphis anrita and Metachirus nudicaudatus presented low densities, disappearing occasionally from the study area, and they can be characterized by the absence of permanent population center. No regular pattern of seasonal population fluctuations was detected for any species in the assemblage, but populations seem to present pluriannual patterns of fluctuation. The marsupials reproduce seasonally from late winter until the end of the summer. Rodents did not show a clear reproductive season. The mammalian fauna of the Restinga de Barra de Maricä seems to be a subset of the Atlantic Forest fauna, impoverished by its habitat configuration.

A Survey of Small Mammals in the Atlantic Forest of the Northwestern Region of Rio De Janeiro State

“…All obtained karyotypes have already been described ( Figure 5). We found Oligoryzomys nigripes with 2n=62 and NFa=81 (Bonvicino et al 2001), Calomys tener with 2n=66 and NFa=66 (Bonvicino & Almeida 2000), Calomys cerqueirai with 2n=36 and NFa=66 (Bonvicino et al 2010), Nectomys squamipes with 2n=56 and NFa=56 (Bonvicino 1994) and Akodon cursor with 2n=14 and NFa=18 (Cerqueira et al 1993).…”

A Revision ofPhilander(Marsupialia: Didelphidae), Part 1:P. quica,P. canus, and a New Species from Amazonia

“…Because superciliaris has not, to our knowledge, been recognized as a valid taxon for almost two centuries, it would seem pointless to use this name to replace quica, the application of which is undisputed. Therefore, to fix the application of Didelphys superciliaris Olfers for the species that occurs in eastern Amazonia, we select as neotype a specimen in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH 203348) consisting of the skin and skull of an adult male collected by personnel from the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz on 6 December 1960 near "Capim" (= São Domingos do Capim; 1°40´S, 47°47´W; Paynter and Traylor, 1991) at Km 92 on highway BR 14,Pará,Brazil. Habitats: Within the Atlantic Forest biome or ecoregion (Mata Atlântica), Philander quica seems to be eurytopic, occurring in a wide range of vegetation types including mature lowland rainforest (formerly the dominant climax vegetation of southeastern Por, 1992), submontane forest, secondary growth, agricultural fields, and coastal restinga scrub (Cerqueira et al, 1993;Bergallo, 1994;Bonvicino et al, 1997;Passamani et al, 2000;D' Andrea et al, 2007 Philander canus (Osgood, 1913) Metachirus canus Osgood, 1913: 96; type locality Peru, San Martín, Moyobamba (6°03′ S, 76°58′ W; Stephens and Traylor, 1983). Metachirus opossum crucialis Thomas, 1923: 604 Although the skin is well preserved, the skull is broken and incomplete (the left zygomatic arch, the left squamosal, and the left bulla are all missing).…”

Ecology and natural history of Akodon lindberghi (Rodentia, Sigmodontinae) in southeastern Brazil

“…Species like A. montensis and A. cursor have also been observed to breed yearround, with greater intensity during the rainy season for A. montensis, associated with the seasonal fluctuation in food resources observed in semi-deciduous forest (CERQUEIRA et al, 1993;TALAMONI & DIAS, 1999).…”

“…Knowledge regarding the biology and ecology of the species of the genus Akodon in Brazil is scarce, with the limited information available originating from studies of small mammal communities (e.g. NITIKMAN & MARES, 1987;FONSECA & ROBINSON, 1990;CERQUEIRA et al, 1993;GENTILE & FERNANDEZ, 1999;TALAMONI & DIAS, 1999).…”