Medium and large-sized mammals of a private protected wetland in the Cerrado-Amazon biological corridor, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is the world's richest country in biodiversity, including mammal species. In the Brazilian Cerrado biome, mammalian diversity is vast, with about 251 species, 32 of them are endemic and 22 listed as threatened species. In this work, we investigated species diversity of medium- and large-sized mammals in the private protected area RPPN Pontal do Jaburu (RPPN-PJ) and its surroundings, which is a flooded area located in an important biological corridor in the Cerrado-Amazon ecotone zone, a priority area for biodiversity conservation in Brazil. We used camera-trapping, active search (night and day), and track survey during dry season (Apr – Aug 2016). We recorded 29 mammal species, being the Carnivora order the most representative with 11 species. Regarding threat status, 35.7% of the recorded species were listed as threatened in Brazil and 32.1% worldwide. We highlight the high relative frequency of threatened species records such as Tapirus terrestris, Panthera onca, Blastocerus dichotomus, Pteronura brasiliensis, Priodontes maximus, and other, as well as the presence of the newly described aquatic mammal species Inia araguaiaensis. We stress the importance of RPPN-PJ and its surroundings for mammal conservation, which include complex habitats (wetlands) located in an important ecotone zone.

Medium and large-sized mammals in a remnant forest in the state of Rondônia, Brazil

“…The few records of terrestrial mammals are a reflection of the method used which was more suited to recording arboreal species (NCR, 1981). Remnant forests are important and need to be maintained and conserved, as they are relevant for the conservation of mammals and may harbor a part of the overall biodiversity (Botelho et al, 2018;Shanne et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2021). However, there is a need to create ecological corridors between other remnants to ensure gene flow and to meet the ecological demands of the species (Pardini et al, 2005;Boyle & Smith, 2010).…”