Agroforestry system as a buffer zone in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest conservation unit: an artificial nest predation perspective

Abstract. Nasution A, Perwitasari-Farajallah D, Utami-Atmoko SS. 2020. The distribution and density of Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis) at potential corridor locations between forest fragments in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5382-5388. The newly discovered Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is in danger of being lost in a few decades due to their small population number in fragmented forest of Batang Toru. The major threats faced by this critically endangered ape, including: hunting, habitat loss, and fragmentation due to large infrastructure development and other developments in the key corridor area. The establishment of corridor and buffer zone is one such effort to maintain their population and bring them from the brink of extinction. Data on the population and distribution are needed to assess and provide baseline information for investigating the habitat condition of potential corridors and buffer zones. This study aimed to analyze population and distribution of Tapanui orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) in buffer zone and potential corridor of Batang Toru. Our study provides an initial dataset prior to the development of the hydrodam, which is important to understand the future post-development impact. The study was carried out in disturbed (Hutaimbaru and Bulu Mario) and undisturbed forest (Sitandiang and Hopong) of Batang Toru from June 2015 until February 2016. Orangutan nest, fig (Ficus spp.), and trees bearing fruit were recorded using a line transect method. This research showed that population and distribution of orangutan were influenced by forest conditions, threat level, and fruit availability. There were fewer nests per km2 in disturbed forest than in undisturbed forest, resulting in an orangutan density estimation to be 0.24 ind/km2, 0.14 ind/ km2 (Hutaimbaru and Bulu Mario) and 0.74 ind/km2, 0.36 ind/km2 (Sitandiang and Hopong). Number of nest in transects was influenced by the availability of fig class I and class II, but not fruit tree. The APL forest of Sitandiang is key area to connect the three populations of Tapanuli orangutan: east Batang Toru, west Batang Toru, and Sibualbuali. Furthermore, orangutan’s nests were encountered both in protected and non-protected forest, thus protection of such areas, especially areas including primary forest that harbor orangutan is essential for their long term survival. The conservation measures and action Tapanuli orangutan is alarming, thus we recommend all remaining habitat should be officially and strictly protected and collaboration work with multi-stakeholder is essential to establish the corridor as well as the strategic management plan of Tapanuli orangutan.

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Testing camera traps as a potential tool for detecting nest predation of birds in a tropical rainforest environment

Zoologia (Curitiba) ◽

10.3897/zoologia.35.14678 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Laís Ribeiro-Silva ◽

Daniel Fernandes Perrella ◽

Carlos Biagolini-Jr ◽

Paulo Zima ◽

Augusto J. Piratelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nest Predation ◽

Tropical Rainforest ◽

Size Range ◽

Bird Species ◽

Camera Trap ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Predator Species ◽

Set Up ◽

Monitoring Devices ◽

Potential Tool

Identification of the predators of bird nests is essential to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses and to make practical management decisions. A variety of nest monitoring devices have been proposed but many remain difficult to set up in the field. The aim of this study was to test camera traps as a potential tool to study predation of natural nests in a tropical rainforest environment. Specifically, we registered the predators, assessed their size range, and we compared the use of one and two cameras per nest. Of 122 nests from 24 bird species, 45 (37%) were depredated, and the cameras recorded the predator species in 29 of the total of depredated nests (64%). We identified predators in eight of 16 depredated nests (50%) in which we used one camera trap per nest, and we identified predators in 21 of 29 depredated nests (72%) when we used two camera traps per nest. The predators included six species of birds and six species of mammals, with body masses varying from 20 g to 16.5 kg. Causes for 10 of the 16 detection failures were identified and are discussed. These results suggest that camera traps are viable tools to investigate nest predation in a tropical rainforest area.

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Main trends in the dynamics of forest plantations in the buffer zone of the Novopolotsk Refinery Complex (based on the results of a 25-year research)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Biological Series ◽

10.29235/1029-8940-2020-65-1-30-42 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 65 (1) ◽

pp. 30-42

Author(s):

I. P. Voznyachuk ◽

A. A. Molozhavski ◽

A. V. Sudnik ◽

N. L. Voznyachuk

Keyword(s):

Buffer Zone ◽

Primary Forest ◽

Leeward Side ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Initial State ◽

Plant Groups ◽

Structure Of Communities ◽

Composition And Structure ◽

Ability To Regenerate ◽

Spruce Stands

The unique results of the 25-year monitoring of forest vegetation of the buffer zone at the Novopolotsk Refinery Complex (NIRC) were summarized. The analysis of quantitative and qualitative changes in the buffer zone, which occurred during the period 1990–2015 years of operation of NRC’s enterprises, is given. Detailed analysis of vegetation organization has shown that the most transformed forest areas are directly adjacent to the enterprises from the leeward side. During the 25-year period of research, the area of primary forest fragments in the 500-meter zone of NRC impact has decreased by 2.6 times. Derivatives of small-leaved communities formed at the place of dead coniferous stands immediately after the commissioning of the plants are presented here. The technogenic press reduction in the 1990s resulted in the active demutation transformations of vegetation. Recently, there has also been a dominance of restoration processes, but the change of the main pine and spruce stands to derivatives continues, which is reflected in the prolonged decomposition of fragments of previously disturbed stands. The direction and rates of change of some plant groups by others depend on the initial state of plants, species and age structure of communities, conditions of their growth and environmental factors. In general, it is noted that forest ecosystems of the region have retained the ability to regenerate the composition and structure.

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Complex Small-Holder Agriculture in Rainforest Buffer Zone, Sri Lanka, Supports Endemic Birds

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.608434 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Juliana Hanle ◽

Balangoda M. P. Singhakumara ◽

Mark S. Ashton

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Species Richness ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

Small Scale ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Buffer Zones ◽

Bird Abundance ◽

Point Counts ◽

Zone Management

The Sinharaja rainforest in southwestern Sri Lanka is a protected forest in a largely agriculture-dominated landscape. In keeping with global UNESCO global biosphere reserves planning, the Sinharaja is surrounded by a buffer zone of regenerating forest and villages with small tea plots and multi-strata tree gardens (homegardens). Globally, however, conservation planning lacks standards on buffer zone management. We ask what relationships exist between village land use and bird assemblages, which are effective ecosystem indicators. Birds have been little studied across land use and vegetation structure in actively managed, large, protected forest buffer zones. To that end, we ran spatially- and temporally-replicated bird point counts across tree gardens, forest fragments, and tea plots within a Sinharaja village. Tree gardens held a greater abundance of birds across habitat association, conservation concern, diet, and endemic species than forest fragments or tea plots. Forest fragments and tree gardens hosted statistically similar numbers of birds in some subsets, but their species assemblages differed. In tea plots, greater shade tree species richness correlated with greater bird abundance and species richness. Our results support the argument for programs to support complex small-scale tree-based agroforestry embedded in buffer zone regenerating forest.

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Testing camera traps as a potential tool for detecting nest predation of birds in a tropical rainforest environment

Zoologia (Curitiba) ◽

10.3897/zoologia.35.e14678 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Laís Ribeiro-Silva ◽

Daniel Fernandes Perrella ◽

Carlos Biagolini-Jr ◽

Paulo Zima ◽

Augusto J. Piratelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nest Predation ◽

Tropical Rainforest ◽

Size Range ◽

Bird Species ◽

Camera Trap ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Predator Species ◽

Set Up ◽

Monitoring Devices ◽

Potential Tool

Identification of the predators of bird nests is essential to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses and to make practical management decisions. A variety of nest monitoring devices have been proposed but many remain difficult to set up in the field. The aim of this study was to test camera traps as a potential tool to study predation of natural nests in a tropical rainforest environment. Specifically, we registered the predators, assessed their size range, and we compared the use of one and two cameras per nest. Of 122 nests from 24 bird species, 45 (37%) were depredated, and the cameras recorded the predator species in 29 of the total of depredated nests (64%). We identified predators in eight of 16 depredated nests (50%) in which we used one camera trap per nest, and we identified predators in 21 of 29 depredated nests (72%) when we used two camera traps per nest. The predators included six species of birds and six species of mammals, with body masses varying from 20 g to 16.5 kg. Causes for 10 of the 16 detection failures were identified and are discussed. These results suggest that camera traps are viable tools to investigate nest predation in a tropical rainforest area.

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Susceptibility of targets to the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus are proportional to their abundance in Atlantic Forest fragments?

Iheringia Série Zoologia ◽

10.1590/1678-4766e2018037 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 108 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marlon Zortéa ◽

Diego A. Silva ◽

Analice M. Calaça

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Feeding Activity ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Desmodus Rotundus ◽

Video Footage ◽

Tapirus Terrestris ◽

Pecari Tajacu ◽

In The Wild

ABSTRACT Desmodus rotundus (É. Geoffroy, 1810) feeds preferably on mammal blood, including livestock animals, such as bovine cattle. In spite of using native preys in the wild, records of this feeding activity are scarce. In the present study, we investigated the foraging activity of D. rotundus based on video footage from camera traps in Atlantic Forest fragments in southern Goiás State, Brazil. Out of 23 mammal species recorded in the study area, four had interactions with Desmodus rotundus (Priodontes maximus, Tapirus terrestris, Mazama americana and Pecari tajacu). The records were obtained from early night to sunrise. There was a correlation between abundance of potential preys and the choice of the target by D. rotundus. Most of the bat-prey interaction occurred on the edge of fragments. The present study records for the first time the potential use of the collared peccary (P. tajacu) and the giant armadillo (P. maximus) in the diet of D. rotundus.

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Medium-sized and large mammals from Quedas do Rio Bonito Ecological Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/12.1.1830 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 1830 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kassius Klay Santos ◽

Gabrielle Soares Muniz Pacheco ◽

Marcelo Passamani

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Large Mammals ◽

Leopardus Pardalis ◽

Line Transects ◽

Chrysocyon Brachyurus

Information about the occurrence of medium-sized and large mammals in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest is essential for monitoring the conservation status of these species in such biodiversity hotspots. This study presents the results of a survey of medium-sized and large mammals from Quedas do Rio Bonito Ecological Park, located in an ecotone between Cerrado and Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Brazil. Four sampling methods were used: sand plots, camera traps, line transects and tomahawk traps. We recorded 20 species belonging to 12 families and 7 orders, with a high occurrence of Carnivora (50%). We highlight the occurrence of five endangered species: Chrysocyon brachyurus, Leopardus pardalis, L. guttulus, Puma yagouaroundi and P. concolor. The species with the highest frequencies of occurrence were P. concolor (27%), C. brachyurus (17%), and Sylvilagus brasiliensis (13%). Our results confirm that, despite their small size, forest fragments are essential for “top-of-the-chain” species conservation in the region.

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Buffer zone use by mammals in a Cerrado protected area

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2014-0117 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Roberta Montanheiro Paolino ◽

Natalia Fraguas Versiani ◽

Nielson Pasqualotto ◽

Thiago Ferreira Rodrigues ◽

Victor Gasperotto Krepschi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Puma Concolor ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Imperfect Detection ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Buffer Zones ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

External Threats ◽

The Impact

Habitat loss and degradation is threatening mammals worldwide. Therefore, Protected Areas (PA) are of utmost importance to preserve biodiversity. Their effectiveness, however, depends on some management strategies such as buffer zones, which prevent/mitigate the impact of external threats and might increase the amount of available habitat for wildlife existing within reserves. Nevertheless, how intensively terrestrial mammals use buffer zones remains little studied, particularly in the Neotropical region. Aiming to analyse the use of a buffer zone (5 km wide) by medium and large-sized mammals, we modelled the occupancy probabilities of five species of conservation concern including local (interior and buffer zone) as a site covariate, simultaneously controlling for imperfect detection. Data collection was made with camera traps from April to September 2013 in a 9000 ha Cerrado PA (“interior”) and in its surrounding area (39721.41 ha; “buffer zone”). This PA (Jataí Ecological Station) is immersed in a landscape where sugarcane plantations predominate in the northeastern of the state of São Paulo. We also conducted an inventory to compare the number and composition of species between interior and buffer zone. A total of 31 mammal species (26 natives) was recorded via camera traps and active search for sightings, vocalizations, tracks and signs. Occupancy estimates for Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Leopardus pardalis and Pecari tajacu were numerically higher in interior. On the other hand, Chrysocyon brachyurus had the highest occupancy in buffer zone, while the largest predator, Puma concolor, used both areas similarly. However, as the confidence intervals (95%) overlapped, the differences in occupancy probabilities between interior and buffer were weak for all these species. Additionally, regarding only the species recorded by cameras, the observed and estimated richness were similar between interior and buffer zone of the PA. Our data demonstrated that the buffer zone is indeed used by medium and large-sized mammals, including conservation-dependent ones. The lack of enforcement of current legislation regarding buffer zones is therefore a real threat for mammals, even when protection is guaranteed in the interior of protected areas.

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MAPPING THE RISK OF FOREST FIRES IN THE RIO PRETO NATIONAL FOREST IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST

FLORESTA ◽

10.5380/rf.v51i4.76806 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 1062

Author(s):

Leonardo Duarte Biazatti ◽

Nilton Cesar Fiedler ◽

Antonio Henrique Cordeiro Ramalho ◽

Taís Rizzo Moreira ◽

Gabriel Fernando Rezende

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Comparative Analysis ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Fire Risk ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

National Forest ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Historical Series ◽

Do So

The Atlantic Forest biome is annually exposed to forest fires that damage thousands of hectares of forest, promote the formation of forest fragments, the destruction of biodiversity, soil compaction, runoff and silting of water bodies. Thus, the prediction and suppression of fire outbreaks are important to minimize the damage caused by fire. In this sense, this study aimed to analyze and model the risk of forest fires occurring in the Rio Preto National Forest and its buffer zone using the Fuzzy artificial intelligence technique. To do so, the land use and occupation, proximity to roads, slope and relief orientation variables were used to compose the model. Thus, the influence of each variable on burning episodes was determined with the aid of geographic information systems (GIS), as well as the spatial distribution of each of the risk classes (very low, low, moderate and high). a historical series of fires between the years 2010 and 2020 was used to perform a comparative analysis of the model. The results showed that the study area does not present worrisome risks regarding the occurrence of fires, since it is mostly covered by very low and low risk classes. Thus, it can be concluded that the application of Fuzzy modeling enables evaluating the spatial distribution of fire risk classes for the protected area areas, for which the proposed comparative analysis indicated the model’s effectiveness.

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Medium-sized and large mammals of the Floresta da Cicuta Area of Relevant Ecological Interest, a protected area in southeastern Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/17.5.1421 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (5) ◽

pp. 1421-1436

Author(s):

Sandro Leonardo Alves ◽

Jeferson de Paula Miranda ◽

Paulo Sérgio do Nascimento Furtado ◽

Fúlvia Cristiny Tereza Nelis ◽

Hugo Leonardo Domingues de Paula ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Large Mammals ◽

Semideciduous Forest ◽

Domestic Species ◽

Direct Observations ◽

Forest Remnants ◽

Chrysocyon Brachyurus

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most biodiverse biomes in the world and has been severely degraded and fragmented, with the extirpation of most medium-sized and large vertebrates from the forest remnants. Here we present the results of a survey of medium-sized and large mammals in an area of protected seasonal semideciduous forest, the Floresta da Cicuta Area of Relevant Ecological Interest (ARIE-FC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, part the Atlantic Forest biome. We used camera traps (2,257 camera days) and direct observations over a 23-month period. We recorded 19 species (including two domestic species), seven of which are classified as at-risk, such as Leopardus guttulus (Hensel, 1872), Sylvilagus tapetillus Thomas, 1913, Alouatta clamitans Cabrera, 1940, and Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815). A diverse terrestrial mammal assemblage in the ARIE-FC reinforces the importance of small forest fragments for the conservation of biodiversity in human-modified landscapes of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

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