Levantamento e monitoramento de mastofauna da Estação Ecológica de Tapacurá, Pernambuco, Brasil

Abstract

Current rates of biodiversity loss are being driven by several anthropogenic pressures that result in rapid population declines, a process known as defaunation. In megadiverse biomes such as the Atlantic Forest, defaunation is exacerbated due by deforestation and habitat fragmentation, and figure as a major threat to biodiversity conservation by promoting local extinction processes. In this context, the knowledge about the historical loss of mammals and its current situation in threatened areas of the Atlantic Forest biome is extremely important. This study aimed to perform a systematic review based on historical data and current fieldwork effort, and evaluate the conservation status of mammals at the Pernambuco Endemism Center (CEP) through the noninvasive method of camera trapping. The study was conducted at the Tapacurá Ecological Station, Protected Area (PA) located in the municipality of São Lourenço da Mata, Pernambuco State, with a total area of 776 hectares. Sixteen sample stations with a spacing of about 350 meters were used to ensure the independence of the records, to cover the largest fragment of the UC with an area of 428 hectares. The total sampling effort was 13,801 hours, and eleven species of native mammals were identified: Dasyprocta prymnolopha, Cuniculus paca, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, Sylvilagus brasiliensis, Leopardus pardalis, Leopardus tigrinus, Nasua nasua, Cerdocyon thous, Galictis vittata, Callithrix jacchus, Bradypus variegatus, beyond the introduced Canis lupus familiaris and Felis catus. The activity pattern of some species was identified: Dasyprocta prymnolopha (diurnal), Cuniculus paca (nocturnal), Nasua nasua (diurnal), Canis lupus familiaris (diurnal). Of the historically documented species from ESEC Tapacurá, Panthera onca, Puma concolor, Alouatta belzebul, Sapajus flavius, Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Leopardus wiedii, Eira barbara and Tamandua tetradactyla have not been recorded. Many of them are suggested to be locally extinct, especially in the case of big cats and primates. However, the presence of introduced species such as the domestic dog accelerates the local defaunation processes and figure as further threat to biodiversity. Documenting CEP's historical defaunation process can serve significantly as baseline for conservation strategies in extremely fragmented and endangered areas as the Atlantic Forest.