Determinants of differential extinction vulnerabilities of small mammals in Atlantic forest fragments in Brazil

2004 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto B. Viveiros de Castro ◽  
Fernando A.S. Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Forest Fragments

scholarly journals Small mammal glucocorticoid concentrations vary with forest fragment size, trap type, and mammal taxa in the Interior Atlantic Forest

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Boyle ◽  
Noé U. de la Sancha ◽  
Pastor Pérez ◽  
David Kabelik
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Fragment Size ◽  
Hair Shaft ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Trapping Methods ◽  
Free Ranging

AbstractSpecies that live in degraded habitats often show signs of physiological stress. Glucocorticoid hormones (e.g., corticosterone and cortisol) are often assessed as a proxy of the extent of physiological stress an animal has experienced. Our goal was to quantify glucocorticoids in free-ranging small mammals in fragments of Interior Atlantic Forest. We extracted glucocorticoids from fur samples of 106 small mammals (rodent genera Akodon and Oligoryzomys, and marsupial genera Gracilinanus and Marmosa) from six forest fragments (2–1200 ha) in the Reserva Natural Tapytá, Caazapá Department, Paraguay. To our knowledge, this is the first publication of corticosterone and cortisol levels for three of the four sampled genera (Akodon, Oligoryzomys, and Marmosa) in this forest system. We discovered three notable results. First, as predicted, glucocorticoid levels were higher in individuals living withing small forest fragments. Second, animals captured live using restraint trapping methods (Sherman traps) had higher glucocorticoid levels than those animals captured using kill traps (Victor traps), suggesting that hair glucocorticoid measures can reflect acute stress levels in addition to long-term glucocorticoid incorporation. These acute levels are likely due to urinary steroids diffusing into the hair shaft. This finding raises a concern about the use of certain trapping techniques in association with fur hormone analysis. Finally, as expected, we also detected genus-specific differences in glucocorticoid levels, as well as cortisol/corticosterone ratios.

Ticks on small mammals from an ecotone region impacted by rural activities in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-437
Author(s):  
Rafael Quirino Moreira ◽  
Vanessa Do Nascimento Ramos ◽  
Adriane Suzin ◽  
Diego Garcia Ramirez ◽  
Paulo Ricardo De Oliveira Roth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Tick Species ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Cerrado Biome ◽  
Didelphis Albiventris

We evaluated the role of communities of small mammals from three distinct areas in a region of Cerrado mixed with Atlantic Forest remains for maintenance of tick fauna. Thirty-nine marsupials (Gracilinanus agilis, n = 34; Marmosa paraguaiana, n = 4; Didelphis albiventris, n = 1) and 33 rodents (Oecomys cleberi, n = 10; Nectomys squamipes, n = 4; Calomys tener, n = 4; Hylaeamys megacephalus, n = 4; Akodon sp., n = 3; Rattus rattus, n = 3; Cerradomys subflavus, n = 2; Mus musculus, n = 2; Rhipidomys macrurus, n = 1) were captured. Solely G. agilis and the four rodent species (N. squamipes, R. macrurus, C. subflavus and Akodon sp.) were infested. Four tick species were collected (Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma sculptum, Ixodes loricatus and Ornithodoros mimon). A. dubitatum was the most abundant tick species on hosts. Capture success was higher in the dry season, but the infestation was similar in both seasons. Forested habitats, particularly riparian forests, resulted in higher number of hosts and ticks collected (from hosts and from vegetation), compared to pastures and anthropized sites. The association between C. subflavus and I. loricatus and between A. dubitatum and N. squamipes observed here is the first recorded in Cerrado biome. Areas with more patches of forest, including the Atlantic Forest fragments, tend to present a richest community of small mammals and associated ticks.

scholarly journals The small mammals of the highly impacted North-eastern Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Pernambuco Endemism Center

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Henrique Asfora ◽  
Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Abundance Indices ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Marsupial Species

The Atlantic forest of Brazil is nowadays reduced to less than 8% of its total original area and yet many species remain to be described. The Atlantic Forest north to the São Francisco river - The Pernambuco Endemism Center (CEPE) - has less than 2% of its original forest cover and yet the knowledge on small mammals is scarce. Aiming to assess the small mammal community of this region surveys were carried out in 12 forest fragments of different sizes in distinct geographic areas of the CEPE. The capture-mark-recapture technique was used with live-traps set along linear transects. We recorded 15 species, two of which are in the IUCN Red List, but not in the Brazilian List of Threatened Species. The highest richness and abundance indices were recorded in medium-sized fragments and in the rainy season. More marsupial species were recorded compared to rodents. Our results suggest that fragmentation caused the extinction of those most specialized species, currently remaining only those most tolerant to fragmentation and urbanization. It is recommended that urgent measures should be taken to reconnect and restore these fragments to allow recolonization and reestablishment of the gene flow among the populations.

scholarly journals Rodents (Rodentia) and marsupials (Didelphimorphia) in the municipalities of Ilhéus and Pau Brasil, state of Bahia, Brazil

Check List ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Geise ◽  
Luciana Guedes Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Theobroma Cacao ◽  
The State ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Short Term

The present study provides a list of small mammals from the coastal south part of the state of Bahia. Live-traps were settled in Atlantic Forest fragments where cacao (Theobroma cacao) plantations are widespread. During a short-term inventory performed in February 2003, 13 specimens from eight species of small mammals were collected.

scholarly journals A Preliminary Note on Yeasts Associated With Fecal Pellets of Rodents and Marsupials of Atlantic Forest Fragments in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1998 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 170-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Abranches ◽  
Hilda N. Nóbrega ◽  
Patrícia Valente ◽  
Leda C. Mendonça-Hagler ◽  
Allen N. Hagler
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Debaryomyces Hansenii ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Rhodotorula Mucilaginosa ◽  
Fecal Pellets ◽  
Preliminary Note ◽  
Pichia Membranifaciens ◽  
Issatchenkia Orientalis

Yeasts had mean counts of above 106 CFU/g in the fecal pellets of small mammals from tropical forest fragments. Most of the 55 species isolated were fermentative ascomycetes, with the most frequent being Debaryomyces hansenii, Pichia membranifaciens and Issatchenkia orientalis, whereas Rhodotorula mucilaginosa was the most frequent yeast of basidiomycetous affinity.

scholarly journals Small mammals in high fragmented landscape in Cerrado/Atlantic Forest ecotone, Southeastern Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe S. Machado ◽  
Aloysio S. Moura ◽  
Ravi F. Mariano ◽  
Rubens Manoel dos Santos ◽  
Paulo O. Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Fragmented Landscape ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Ecological Groups ◽  
Environmental Filters ◽  
Generalist Species

ABSTRACT Exploratory human activities have resulted in small fragments inserted into a matrix which is inhospitable to small non-flying mammals. The effects of landscape changes alter the distribution patterns of species. Landscape fragmentation patterns for small mammals are controversial, especially considering small fragments and ecotonal regions. Based on these arguments, we investigated the diversity patterns of small mammals in small fragments in the ecotonal Cerrado/Atlantic Forest region. A total of 24 fragments (<40 ha) were studied using tomahawk, sherman and pitfall traps. We found low species richness (11 species, six marsupials and five rodents), which was not expected because it is an ecotonal region. It was verified that composition and community structure are simplified by the marked presence of generalist species and with the increase of species turnover. The small forest fragments present a microhabitat structure with lianas and streams as main environmental filters of groups with ecological similarities. Our findings suggest that these fragments must be managed in order to conserve the local biodiversity and maintain the needed characteristics to enable the occurrence of different ecological groups.

Exposure of small mammals to ticks and rickettsiae in Atlantic Forest patches in the metropolitan area of Recife, North-eastern Brazil

Parasitology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
FILIPE DANTAS-TORRES ◽  
FILIPE MARTINS ALÉSSIO ◽  
DANIEL BARRETO SIQUEIRA ◽  
JEAN-FRANÇOIS MAUFFREY ◽  
MARIA FERNANDA V. MARVULO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Tick Density ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Forest Strata

SUMMARYBetween December 2007 and March 2009, small mammals were captured in 6 Atlantic Forest patches in Brazil. We assessed tick-host associations and whether they differ among forest strata, sites, seasons, and host age classes or between sexes. Moreover, we assessed the exposure of animals to Rickettsia spp. In total, 432 animals were captured and 808 ticks were found on 32·9% of them. Significant differences were found among host species, collection sites, and forest strata; microhabitat preference was a strong risk factor for tick infestation. The highest tick density rates were recorded in forest fragments settled in rural areas; 91·3% of the ticks were collected from animals trapped in these forest fragments. A high prevalence (68·8%) of antibodies to Rickettsia spp. was detected among animals. This study suggests that disturbed Atlantic Forest fragments provide an environment for ticks and small mammals, which are highly exposed to rickettsiae. It also indicates that forest patches settled in rural areas are usually associated with higher small mammal diversity as well as with higher tick density rates.

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