Feeding habits of giant otters Pteronura brasiliensis (Carnivora: Mustelidae) in the Balbina hydroelectric reservoir, Central Brazilian Amazon

Top of the food chain predators are often not predated upon. However, even though the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is in that category, the literature mentions many species as potential predators, including the jaguar (Panthera onca). Notwithstanding up until now there has been no registered confirmation of jaguar predation on giant otters. A predation of a jaguar on an adult female giant otter was recorded for the first time during our radio-telemetry study on giant otters in Balbina hydroelectric reservoir in Central Brazilian Amazon. The female had had a transmitter implanted on February 2012 and was killed by a jaguar ninety-four days after the surgery. This giant otter was a solitary specimen, which was captured by a jaguar while asleep in a shelter under a fallen tree trunk on the banks of one of the reservoir’s islands. The solitary pattern found in such individuals combined with the frequent use of shelters, allows predators to access them more easily and may have contributed to the predation observed in this study.

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Short Note: Sleeping Sites Used by Giant Otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) in the Balbina Hydroelectric Reservoir, Central Brazilian Amazon

Aquatic Mammals ◽

10.1578/am.41.2.2015.143 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 143-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fernando C. W. Rosas ◽

Claudiane S. Ramalheira ◽

Bruno F. Bozzetti ◽

Ana F. Palmeirim ◽

Andrews D. Cruz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Short Note ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Hydroelectric Reservoir ◽

Sleeping Sites ◽

Pteronura Brasiliensis

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Using reliable predator identification to investigate feeding habits of Neotropical carnivores (Mammalia, Carnivora) in a deforestation frontier of the Brazilian Amazon

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2018-0106 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 83 (5) ◽

pp. 415-427 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Flávia P. Tirelli ◽

Thales R.O. de Freitas ◽

Fernanda Michalski ◽

Alexandre R. Percequillo ◽

Eduardo Eizirik

Keyword(s):

Feeding Habits ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Ecological Studies ◽

Accurate Identification ◽

Predator Species ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Carnivore Species ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

Critical Requirement ◽

Better Than

Abstract Accurate identification of predator species is a critical requirement to investigate their diet using faecal samples. We used non-invasive sampling and two methods of predator identification to investigate the diets of sympatric carnivores in a highly deforested region of the Brazilian Amazon. Of 108 scats, 81 could be identified at the species level using DNA sequencing and/or trichology. The former performed better than the latter (81.5% vs. 54.3% of the identified samples), and results were quite congruent (89.7% concordance in the 29 samples that could be assessed with both approaches). Nine species were identified, out of which four (crab-eating fox, ocelot, puma and jaguar) presented a sufficient number of samples to allow dietary analyses. The crab-eating fox was the most generalist (BA=0.92); ocelots focused on small- to medium-sized prey; pumas fed mostly on medium-sized items; and jaguars mostly targeted large-sized prey. A considerable overlap was observed between ocelots and pumas in all estimations (O=0.47–0.83). The presence of jaguars in the same region could be driving pumas to select medium- and small-sized prey. The results of this study highlight the importance of reliable predator identification and the need for in-depth ecological studies in areas where carnivore species are sympatric.

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Habitat, limnological signatures and spatial modeling: a zoning proposal for the Curuá-Una hydroelectric reservoir, Pará, Brazil

Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia ◽

10.1590/s2179-975x12017 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

Author(s):

Juciley de Almeida Santos ◽

Keid Nolan Silva Sousa ◽

Paulo Roberto Brasil Santos ◽

Joelson Leal de Lima ◽

Rivolo de Jesus Bacelar

Keyword(s):

Correspondence Analysis ◽

Spatial Modeling ◽

Longitudinal Axis ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Geostatistical Analysis ◽

Hydroelectric Dams ◽

Hydroelectric Reservoir ◽

Data Variability ◽

Degree Of Association ◽

Local Gradient

Abstract Aim The objective of this work is to characterize, spatially model and to perform the zoning of the aquatic environment in the Curuá-Una HPP reservoir, in the state of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. Methods The data were collected from 77 sampling points distributed over 20 transects in the Curuá-Una reservoir, in November 2016. The data were obtained through descriptive templates of the landscape, and assessment of limnological, bathymetry and georeferencing variables. To describe and model spatial patterns for the limnological Proxies, geostatistical analysis was used with semivariogram fitting, and interpolation using Ordinary Kriging to generate the maps. To determine the degree of association of the landscape Proxies, Correspondence Analysis (CA) was chosen, and to relate the landscape Proxies with the limnological Proxies, Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was carried out. Results The results of the analysis of the limnological Proxies showed that the variables presented normal distribution according to the Shapiro-Wilk test (5%) except for transparency and temperature. Most of the variables obtained well-defined, level and good geostatistical analysis. There was a prevalence of gaussian and spherical adjustment models. Different zones in the distribution of the limnological variables in the longitudinal axis of the reservoir were observed. The CA showed a short local gradient in the variables, which effectively characterizes the interface of landscape and human. In Figure 5, the first two axes of the CCA showed 61.17% of the data variability. The limnological signatures showed 42.3% of variability, with high correlation between the landscape Proxies and the environmental Proxies in both axes. Conclusions This type of approach should be useful in managing Brazilian river basins, especially in the Amazon, a focus for the construction of numerous hydroelectric dams, as it can indicate the limnological and environmental state and provide a clearer view of these environments.

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Conflict between Fishermen and Giant Otters Pteronura brasiliensis in Western Brazilian Amazon

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/j.1744-7429.2011.00828.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 437-444 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Patrícia F. Rosas-Ribeiro ◽

Fernando C.W. Rosas ◽

Jansen Zuanon

Keyword(s):

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Pteronura Brasiliensis

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Cub biometry, litter size and reproductive period of giant oters (Pteronura brasiliensis) at the Balbina Hydroelectric Reservoir, Amazonas, Brazil

Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals ◽

10.5597/lajam00203 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 115-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bruno Freitas Bozzetti ◽

Márcia Munick Mendes Cabral ◽

Fernando Weber Rosas

Keyword(s):

Litter Size ◽

Reproductive Period ◽

Average Weight ◽

Reproductive Parameters ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Hydroelectric Reservoir ◽

Flood Season ◽

Pteronura Brasiliensis ◽

Birth Records ◽

Free Ranging

According to the literature, giant otters produce one to six cubs at each gestation, with birth peaks occurring from the end of the flood season to the beginning of the low-water period. With the aim of describing some reproductive parameters of the giant otters living in a hydroelectric lake, 56 field excursions to Balbina Hydroelectric Reservoir, hereafter Balbina Lake, were carried out between September 2001 and September 2010 in order to gather information about cub weight and length, litter size and reproductive period of the species in that area. About 80% of the birth records occurred between September and December, characterized by the receding water season and the beginning of the dry season. The number of cubs per gestation varied from one to three animals (mean = 2; n = 36) and average weight and length of neonates were 316.25 ± 64.21g (n = 4) and 31.75 ± 4.86cm (n = 4), respectively. The reproductive period and the litter size produced by giant otters in Balbina Lake were within the range reported in literature for non-dammed areas, indicating that these reproductive parameters were not changed by the reservoir. The weight of cubs analyzed in the reservoir was in average 35% greater than the weight of captive newborn cubs reported in the literature. However, as the animals here analyzed were healthy, it is reasonable to assumethat they represent the weight of free-ranging newborn cubs. Artificial lakes had been reported in the literature as favorable environments for giant otters in Guyana, and the results obtained here seem to corroborate this hypothesis and show the plasticity of the species in its use of different habitats as long as the habitats are inside some category of protection, in this way minimizing additional impacts caused by an intense human occupation of the area.

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Return to the wild and reintegration of a giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) cub to its family group in Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve, Brazilian Amazon

Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals ◽

10.5597/lajam00183 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 164-167

Author(s):

Danielle dos Santos Lima ◽

Miriam Marmontel

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Family Group ◽

River Otter ◽

Pteronura Brasiliensis

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Descripción del macho de la mosca coprófaga Psychoda serraorobonensis Bravo, Cordeiro & Chagas, 2006 (Diptera: Psychodidae)

ACTA ZOOLÓGICA MEXICANA (N S ) ◽

10.21829/azm.2018.3412101 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jéssica Luna Camico ◽

Danilo Pacheco Cordeiro ◽

Dayana Andrade de Lima

Keyword(s):

Room Temperature ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Cow Dung ◽

Number Of Species

ABSTRACT. In the diverse genus Psychoda, a great number of species are described based only on one sex, mainly for the difficulties of sexual association in this taxon. Immatures of coprophagous moth flies were captured on a sample of cow dung left exposed during five days at Reserva Ducke (Manaus, Brazil), in the Brazilian Amazon. The presence of Psychodidae larvae was confirmed with a stereomicroscope and the material was kept resting at room temperature until the emergence of adults. Male and females of Psychoda serraorobonensis Bravo, Cordeiro & Chagas, 2006 were obtained and associated by the morphology of the immatures and adults. The male of P. serraorobonensis is herein described and illustrated and the distribution of this species in Brasil is updated. This is the first data about the feeding habits of this species.

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