Environmental factors influencing the abundance of four species of threatened mammals in degraded habitats in the eastern Brazilian Amazon

PLoS One. 2020 Feb 26;15(2):e0229459. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229459. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

On the latest 60 years the degradation and fragmentation of native habitats have been modifying the landscape in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. The adaptive plasticity of an organism has been crucial for its long-term survival and success in these novel ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the response of four endangered species of large terrestrial mammals to the variations in the quality of their original habitats, in a context of high anthropogenic pressure. The distribution of the Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Giant anteater), Priodontes maximus (Giant armadillo), Tapirus terrestris (Lowland tapir) and Tayassu pecari (White-lipped peccary) in all sampled habitats suggests their tolerance to degradation. However, the survival ability of each species in the different habitats was not the same. Among the four species, T. pecari seems to be the one with the least ability to survive in more altered environments. The positive influence of the anthropogenically altered habitats on abundances of three of the four species studied, as observed at the regeneration areas, can be considered as a potential indication of the ecological trap phenomenon. This study reinforces the importance of the forest remnants for the survival of endangered mammal species, in regions of high anthropogenic pressure, as in the eastern Brazilian Amazon.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brazil
  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Ecosystem*
  • Endangered Species
  • Environment*
  • Forests
  • Mammals / classification*
  • Population Density

Grants and funding

Biodiversity Research Consortium Brazil-Norway (BRC) and Hydro Paragominas supported this research; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Masters Scholarship for Juliana Teixeira Santos and Lorrane Gabrielle Cantanhede; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) - Research Productivity Scholarship for Ana Cristina Mendes-Oliveira and Masters Scholarship for Ana Carolina da Cunha Ribeiro. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.