Movement patterns and space use of the first giant anteater (<i>Myrmecophaga tridactyla</i>) monitored in São Paulo State, Brazil

Bertassoni, Alessandra; Mourão, Guilherme; Rc, Ribeiro; Cesário, Clarice Silva; Oliveira, Juliana; Bianchi, Rita de Cássia

doi:10.1080/01650521.2016.1272167

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Myrmecophaga tridactyla and T. tetradactyla occupy large home ranges, consisting of approximately 2.5 and 1.0 km 2 , respectively (Trovati & Brito 2009, Bertassoni et al 2017. Furthermore, these species present low visual acuity, which also contribute to the high rate of roadkilled individuals.…”

Section: Taxonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roadkills of Medium and Large-Sized Mammals on Highway Br-242, Midwest Brazil: A Proposal of New Indexes for Evaluating Animal Roadkill Rates

Zanzini¹,

Machado²,

Oliveira³

et al. 2018

Oecol. Aust.

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Habitat fragmentation due to transport infrastructure, such as highways, is receiving growing concern due to deleterious consequences of roadkill, a consequence of animal-vehicle collisions. This study was conducted on a 115 km section of the highway BR-242 between the Peixe Angical Hydroelectric Power Plant and Gurupi town, Tocantins state, Brazil. During twelve months, records of medium and large-sized mammals' roadkilled by vehicle collisions were weekly acquired. Photographic records, date and place of occurrence were obtained for each roadkilled animal. We also propose new indexes to evaluate roadkill rates. In total, 18 species, 17 genera, 10 families, and six orders were recorded. The species with the highest number of registers were: Cerdocyon thous, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Tamandua tetradactyla, Procyon cancrivorus, Nasua nasua and Dasyprocta leporina, corresponding to 73.5% of roadkills. The curve of species accumulation showed no tendency for stabilization. The results showed that the roadkill indices were 0.003 species/km; 0.009 individuals/km; 0.375 species/monitoring campaign; 1,021 individuals/monitoring campaign; 306,667 kilometers traveled/hit species, and 115,00 kilometers traveled/animal. Seven species recorded are considered threatened: Chrysocyon brachyurus, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus wiedii, Lycalopex vetulus, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Puma concolor, and Puma yagouaroundi.

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Section: Taxonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roadkills of Medium and Large-Sized Mammals on Highway Br-242, Midwest Brazil: A Proposal of New Indexes for Evaluating Animal Roadkill Rates

Zanzini¹,

Machado²,

Oliveira³

et al. 2018

Oecol. Aust.

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“…2). This value was based on the radius of the average giant anteater home range in the SBES (Bertassoni et al 2017), as recommended by Soisalo and Cavalcanti (2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Giant Anteater Population Density Estimation and Viability Analysis Through Motion‐Sensitive Camera Records

2021

Self Cite

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Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) populations are decreasing throughout their range. We tested a methodology for individual identification using camera records and fur patterns to estimate the giant anteater population in a protected area of the Brazilian Cerrado. We identified 9 adult individuals and successfully modeled population abundance and density. Our models estimated an adult population of 16.8 (range = 15–19) giant anteaters through a mark‐resight approach and 12.5 individuals (range = 9.7–25.5) through a spatially explicit capture‐recapture approach. Density estimates were 0.3–0.4 animals/km2. Using these estimates, we performed a population viability analysis to understand and predict this population's future. We modeled scenarios without direct effects and models simulating a double carrying capacity and the supplementation and removal of individuals. Even in the more optimistic scenarios, the population is predicted to decreases over time, with ≤8 individuals remaining in 100 years. Given the study area surroundings, realistic models include removals of giant anteaters in the population. Identification of giant anteaters using cameras can inspire conservationists to acquire population data throughout its distribution and obtain population trends to evaluate the species' conservation status. Individual identification of giant anteaters using a motion‐sensitive camera design is feasible, opens new avenues for population analyses, and allows the study of population trends in difficult regions. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

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“…Very little is known about the movement ecology of giant anteaters (Medri & Mourão 2005; see e.g. ; Bertassoni et al 2017), but because of the high number of giant anteaters found in road kill surveys (Ascensão et al 2021) relative to their low population densities (Bertassoni et al (in press)), our underlying hypothesis was that roads do not significantly deter giant anteaters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roads as ecological traps for giant anteaters

Noonan

Ascensão

Yogui

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) represent a serious source of mortality for many species, threatening local populations' persistence while also carrying a high economic and human safety cost. Animals may adapt their behaviour to road associated threats, but roadside resources can act as attractants, providing misleading signals about the quality of roadside habitats, ultimately acting as an ecological trap. Yet, the extent to which individuals modify their behaviour and space use to roads is largely unknown for most taxa. Using fine-scale movement data from 41 giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), tracked in the Brazilian Cerrado, we aimed to identify facets of movement behaviour that might exhibit plasticity to roads and traffic volume. Specifically, the analysis of daily and instantaneous movement speeds, home range characteristics, and crossing rates/times, allowed us to test for an effect of road proximity, traffic volume and natural linear features on movement behaviour. We found no effect of road proximity or traffic volume on space use or movement behaviour. While individuals tended to reduce their movement speed when approaching roads and crossed roads ~3 times less than would have been expected by random chance, none of the highways we monitored were impervious. The majority of tracked anteaters living near roads (<2km) crossed them, with higher crossing rates for males. Consequently, habitat near roads may function as an ecological trap where healthy individuals occupy the territories nearby or bisected by roads but eventually are road-killed given their regular crossings, leaving the territory vacant for subsequent occupation. Crucially, we found no evidence that anteaters actively searched for passage structures to cross the roads. This suggests that crossing structures alone are unlikely to mitigate WVC induced mortality. Our research reinforces the need to implement fencing, properly linked to existing passages, and minimising the amount of night-time driving to reduce the number of WVCs.

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Movement patterns and space use of the first giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) monitored in São Paulo State, Brazil

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Roadkills of Medium and Large-Sized Mammals on Highway Br-242, Midwest Brazil: A Proposal of New Indexes for Evaluating Animal Roadkill Rates

Roadkills of Medium and Large-Sized Mammals on Highway Br-242, Midwest Brazil: A Proposal of New Indexes for Evaluating Animal Roadkill Rates

Giant Anteater Population Density Estimation and Viability Analysis Through Motion‐Sensitive Camera Records

Roads as ecological traps for giant anteaters

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