The Thin-Spined Porcupine, Chaetomys Subspinosus (Rodentia: Erethizontidae), within Protected Areas in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil: Local Knowledge and Threats

Abstract

The thin-spined porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus, is an endemic mammal of the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil. With its population declining, it has been listed as "vulnerable" in the Brazilian Red List. Its National Action Plan, published in 2011, intended to develop awareness projects about the species in local communities, to implement alternative income projects and protein consumption, and to evaluate hunting pressure. This study investigates rural residents' knowledge of the thin-spined porcupine and its uses within two protected areas. We also examine residents' behaviour and perceptions about wildlife conservation. One hundred twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with rural residents of the Una Wildlife Refuge and the Serra do Conduru State Park. Local knowledge was higher among males with lower levels of formal education who were current or past hunters. Negative behaviour occurs among residents in both protected areas. There is a need for greater control of potential threats such as hunting, use of fire and deforestation, which are inconsistent with the existence of protected areas and conservation of the thin-spined porcupine. Information provided by this study can improve and promote actions within the National Action Plan for the conservation of C. subspinosus.Key words: Human Behaviour; Hunting; Local people; Perception of rural residents; Thin-spined porcupine. ResumoO ouriço-preto, Chaetomys subspinosus, é um mamífero endêmico da Mata Atlântica do nordeste brasileiro. Devido ao declínio populacional da espécie, ele tem sido listado como "vulnerável" pela IUCN. O Plano de Ação Nacional da espécie foi publicado em 2011 e tem como objetivos desenvolver projetos de conscientização sobre a espécie, implementar projetos de renda alternativa e fonte de proteína alimentar e avaliar a pressão da caça. Esse estudo investiga o conhecimento de moradores rurais sobre o ouriço-preto e seus usos em áreas protegidas. O comportamento e percepções dos moradores com relação à conservação da fauna também foram investigados. Foram conduzidas 125 entrevistas semi-estruturadas com moradores rurais do Refúgio de Vida Silvestre de Una e do Parque Estadual Serra do Conduru. O conhecimento local sobre a espécie foi maior em homens com pouca escolaridade e que estavam envolvidos com a atividade de caça. Comportamentos negativos são realizados pelas pessoas em ambas as áreas. É necessário que haja um maior controle sobre as potenciais ameaças a espécie como caça, uso do fogo e desmatamento, pois tais práticas são inconsistentes com a existência das áreas protegidas e com a conservação do ouriço-preto. As informações fornecidas por esse estudo visam melhorar e direcionar as ações do Plano de Ação Nacional para conservação da espécie.

Of people and toads: Local knowledge about amphibians around a protected area in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…Therefore, it makes sense that people, who are not in constant movement to and from the forest, encounter L. latrans more often, since the frog itself moves more and it lives well in man-disturbed habitats. All men interviewed are frequently shifting from one place to another and transiting throughout the forest more than women, as has already been reported elsewhere (Castilho et al 2013), thereby increasing the probability of observing species with a smaller home range, such as P. burmeisteri. Fernandes-Ferreira et al (2013) also identified two species used for these purposes by a community from the same region: Leptodactylus vastus (Leptodactylidae) for food, which happened to be the genus reported for this same use in the present study and Rhinella jimi (Bufonidae).…”

“…Our data indicate that men seem to have more knowledge on potential uses for amphibians than women. This seems plausible because men (as mentioned by themselves) have more frequent contact with their natural surroundings in low-income rural societies in the region, as they have to walk to their working places every day, when they need to deal with the forest tasks, whereas women and children mostly pass their days near their homes due to domestic affairs (Castilho et al 2013). Despite this, both groups mentioned almost the same species.…”

Home range and multiscale habitat selection of threatened thin-spined porcupine in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…Edge effects favor liana and pioneer species proliferation (Laurance et al 2002), 2 resources largely used by thin-spined porcupine. With these biological characteristics, conservation efforts aimed at preserving and increasing forest remnant connectivity could provide structural and functional landscapes (see Lidicker 1999) and potentially increase longterm persistence, providing that other disturbances such as hunting (Castilho et al 2013) and fire (Faria et al 2011) are under control.…”

Microscopy and development of a remarkable pitted quill from the thin-spined porcupine,Chaetomyssubspinosus

“…This medium-sized (1.3-2.7 kg) rodent species (Chiarello et al 1997;Oliveira et al 2012) is nocturnal, arboreal and folivorous (De Souto Lima et al 2010;Giné et al 2010;Giné et al 2012;Oliveira et al 2012). It is also opportunistically hunted by local people mainly for the meat (Castilho et al 2013).…”

“…Hunters describe Chaetomys as less well defended than the sympatric porcupine, Coendou insidious, because Chaetomys is slower, its quills are softer and don't come loose when an aggressor attacks (Castilho et al 2013). The barbless quills are tan, relatively thick and short on the head, neck and upper back; farther back on the sides and rump, they are long and slender suggesting that the pelage of most of the back does not contribute to the physical defense of the animals (Giné et al 2012;Giné personal communication 2015).…”