|
|
|
The
hunting and its effect on the occurrence of medium and large mammals in
preserved areas of Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest in the Serra de
Paranapiaca (SP)
The Paranapiacaba
mountain range has the greatest continuous remaining stretch of
Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil. Few studies about
hunting of wild animals in this ecosystem have been reported until
this moment. There are no data regarding to hunting of mammals and
fiscalization in preserved areas in the State of Sao Paulo
southeastern continuous stretch of Atlantic Rainforest. This study
has been developed in three areas in the Paranapiacaba mountain
range: two areas in the Carlos Botelho State
Park - PECB (Sede and Turvinho Base) and
one in Zizo’s Park Particular Reserve - RPPZ. The objective of this
study was to quantify the frequency of hunting and of occurrence
from mammals of medium and big size, as well as to evaluate the
differences in the frequency of the mammals between areas with
different intensities of hunting pressure and fiscalization. The
hunting frequency in the areas in question was analyzed based in
direct observations and vestiges of hunters, as well as interviews
with residents of the areas boundaries and data of the PECB
fiscalization. To register the frequency of the medium and large
size terrestrial mammals it was used the sand parcel method. For the
arboreal species was used the method of line transect to obtain the
encounter rate of the species and individuals. During a seven months
study seventeen registers of hunting activities were observed in two
of the studied areas: six in Zizo and eleven in Turvinho. According
to fiscalization data, hunting evidences didn’t occurs in the Sede
area, in the Zizo also was registered a small number of evidences
comparing to Turvinho. The hunting pressure was considered moderate.
In the areas studied were registered 20 species were registered in
the studied areas: 15 of them by sand parcels and 5 by encounters.
In an amostral effort of 2700 parcels monitored, 426 registers of
presence in the parcels were registered of the three areas. The
frequency registered of species and the encounter rate such as of
species as individuals was bigger in the area of the Sede area,
followed by Turvinho and Zizo. The omnivores were more frequent in
the Sede area, with prominence for the frequent use of the trails by
the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) with 51, 8% of the total of
the registers. The herbivores and the cinegetic species were more
registered in the Turvinho, and the carnivores in the Zizo. The
species diversity was similar in the areas, Sede and Turvinho (n=11)
and Zizo (n=10). The biggest record number in the parcels was gotten
in the dry station. These results, associate to current context of
human pressures in the region, demonstrate that the areas with a
lesser frequency of mammals, present minor fiscalization intensity
and bigger pressure. The conclusions is that efficient fiscalization
in the areas can be important in the conservation of medium and
large mammals in the region, as it seems that, even in areas with
moderate hunting pressure, the presence of fiscalization contributes
for a bigger frequency of mammals.
Researcher
checking sand boxes for mammal tracks in the CUs trails
|
|
|
