Expansion of the range of Necromys lasiurus (Lund, 1841) into open areas of the Atlantic Forest biome in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and the role of the species as a host of the hantavirus

Santos, Fernando de Oliveira; Teixeira, Bernardo Rodrigues; Cordeiro, José Luís Passos; Sousa, Rute Hilário Albuquerque de; Lucio, Camila dos Santos; Gonçalves, Pablo Rodrigues; Lemos, Hudson de Macedo; Oliveira, Renata Carvalho de; Fernandes, Jorlan; Cavalcanti, Gabriel Rosa; Lemos, Elba Regina Sampaio de; D’Andrea, Paulo Sérgio

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2018.08.026

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…In Amazonia, the species is found in savanna vegetation (Ghizoni et al, 2005) and in the Atlantic Forest it is often found in agroecosystems (Gheler-Costa et al, 2012). Santos et al (2018) and Malange et al (2016) noted that crops and pastures have favored the expansion of the species in the Atlantic Forest, and human-modified environments are associated with the occurrence of the species in all Brazilian domains (Santos et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Necromys lasiurus: Lessons From a 38-Year Study in an Amazonian Savanna

et al. 2021

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Amazonian savannas are isolated patches of open habitats within an array of extensive tropical forest. The mammal fauna of the savannas in the Alter do Chão region (Santarém Municipality), is dominated by Necromys lasiurus, whose populations have been studied by researchers of the National Institute of Amazonian Research since 1983. Here, we summarize the studies and advances made so far to better understand aspects related to population dynamics and ecology of savanna rodents and the strategies they use to persist in an environment with frequent fires subject to global climatic influences. In the Amazonian savannas the species acts as a seed disperser and population fluctuations are related to invertebrate availability, but not with fire or vegetation structure. Global climate appears to affect N. lasiurus population dynamics at local scale (i.e., plot scale) but not at the regional scale of the Alter do Chão savannas. The long-term studies in Alter do Chão generated many advances about Necromys lasiurus population dynamics and ecology, including aspects relating to feeding, home range, animal-plant interactions, the effects of fire and climate change.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Necromys lasiurus: Lessons From a 38-Year Study in an Amazonian Savanna

et al. 2021

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“…However, we assume that a higher host proportion in the community can be a proxy for important areas for hantavirus disease, despite us not having the infection rates from the captured rodents. Although many rodent hosts are common—and this should lead to a balance in host proportions in similar communities across space—rodent prevalence might be very low [62,63], and density can influence the infection dynamics of hantaviruses [64]. However, other components that vary temporally, such as contact rates, density dependent infection transmission, and transmissibility [64,65] were not assessed, limiting our power to infer transmission risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, we should further evaluate infection dynamics in maintenance communities. For example, one study identified a high abundance and broad distribution of suitable hosts with no detection of infection in Rio de Janeiro [63]. Investigating the effects of other biotic factors on virus prevalence across different host populations would also help us to understand whether hantavirus pathogenic genotypes are subject to a dilution effect [64].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hantavirus host assemblages and human disease in the Atlantic Forest

et al. 2019

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Several viruses from the genus Orthohantavirus are known to cause lethal disease in humans. Sigmodontinae rodents are the main hosts responsible for hantavirus transmission in the tropical forests, savannas, and wetlands of South America. These rodents can shed different hantaviruses, such as the lethal and emerging Araraquara orthohantavirus. Factors that drive variation in host populations may influence hantavirus transmission dynamics within and between populations. Landscape structure, and particularly areas with a predominance of agricultural land and forest remnants, is expected to influence the proportion of hantavirus rodent hosts in the Atlantic Forest rodent community. Here, we tested this using 283 Atlantic Forest rodent capture records and geographically weighted models that allow us to test if predictors vary spatially. We also assessed the correspondence between proportions of hantavirus hosts in rodent communities and a human vulnerability to hantavirus infection index across the entire Atlantic Forest biome. We found that hantavirus host proportions were more positively influenced by landscape diversity than by a particular habitat or agricultural matrix type. Local small mammal diversity also positively influenced known pathogenic hantavirus host proportions, indicating that a plasticity to habitat quality may be more important for these hosts than competition with native forest dwelling species. We found a consistent positive effect of sugarcane and tree plantation on the proportion of rodent hosts, whereas defaunation intensity did not correlate with the proportion of hosts of potentially pathogenic hantavirus genotypes in the community, indicating that non-defaunated areas can also be hotspots for hantavirus disease outbreaks. The spatial match between host hotspots and human disease vulnerability was 17%, while coldspots matched 20%. Overall, we discovered strong spatial and land use change influences on hantavirus hosts at the landscape level across the Atlantic Forest. Our findings suggest disease surveillance must be reinforced in the southern and southeastern regions of the biome where the highest predicted hantavirus host proportion and levels of vulnerability spatially match. Importantly, our analyses suggest there may be more complex rodent community dynamics and interactions with human disease than currently hypothesized.

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“…Holochilus brasiliensis and Necromys lasiurus are rare in the Atlantic forest of Rio de Janeiro state, and are more commonly associated to grassy formations. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, these species are more common in areas with greater dominance of pastures, as is the case of Campos dos Goytacazes (Gonçalves et al, 2015;Lemos et al, 2015;De Oliveira Santos et al, 2018). The presence of H. brasiliensis and N. lasiurus among the food items thus suggests the owls are sporadically hunting in rural areas with abandoned or less managed pastures near the nesting site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small mammals in the diet of Barn Owls (Tyto furcata) in an urban area in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, with a new record of the dwarf mouse opossum (Cryptonanus)

et al. 2022

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Several studies emphasize the use of owl pellets in small mammal inventories in natural areas harboring high richness of rare species, but few Brazilian Atlantic forest localities have been surveyed by this method. The present study documents the species composition and abundance of small mammals in the diet of Tyto furcata in an urban area of the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, remarking on a new record of the dwarf mouse opossum genus Cryptonanus in the Atlantic forest. We analyzed 265 pellets regurgitated by a pair of T. furcata from November 2016 to September 2017 found in a nesting box. Analysis of the samples enabled finding a total of 596 individuals of four small mammal species. Mus musculus was predominant among the prey items (98.3%), while the native rodents Necromys lasiurus (1.3%) and Holochilus brasiliensis (0,17%) were much rarer. A single specimen of Cryptonanus sp. was identified among the diet items based on distinctive dental characters. The identification of this genus in the present study represents the second record in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and the sixth in the Atlantic Forest biome, suggesting that this marsupial occupies a wider ecological and biogeographic range. The present study underscores the relevance of owl pellets for small mammal surveys, even in urban and highly disturbed areas.

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Expansion of the range of Necromys lasiurus (Lund, 1841) into open areas of the Atlantic Forest biome in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and the role of the species as a host of the hantavirus

Cited by 8 publications

References 72 publications

Necromys lasiurus: Lessons From a 38-Year Study in an Amazonian Savanna

Necromys lasiurus: Lessons From a 38-Year Study in an Amazonian Savanna

Hantavirus host assemblages and human disease in the Atlantic Forest

Small mammals in the diet of Barn Owls (Tyto furcata) in an urban area in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, with a new record of the dwarf mouse opossum (Cryptonanus)

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