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Location of camera traps and release pens in Tijuca National Park, Brazil. The minimum convex polygon of the camera trap grid is . ha.
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Reintroduction of locally extirpated species is an increasingly popular conservation tool. However, few initiatives focus on the restoration of ecological processes. In addition, many reintroductions fail to conduct post-release monitoring, hampering both assessment of their success and implementation of adaptive management actions. In 2009 a reint...
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This repository contains supplementary information regarding the paper "Walking on their own legs: unassisted population growth of agoutis reintroduced to restore seed dispersal in an Atlantic Forest reserve", authored by Caio Fittipaldi Kenup, Raissa Sepulvida, Catharina Kreischer and Fernando Antonio dos Santos Fernandez Contained here are: R Scr...
Dasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein, 1823 is currently distributed in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, with controversial records in Bolivia. Recent records using trail cameras have expanded its distribution in the Chaco region of Paraguay, but its distribution remains unclear because of its morphological similarity to species in Bolivia and northwester...
This review serves to summarize blood cell and serum biochemical values of the agouti (Dasyprocta spp.). The majority of the researches on the blood and biochemical profiles on the agouti were done in many countries, namely Columbia, Brazil, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago. The literature collected for this review spanned over twenty (20) years from 1997...
Chinchillas are small, long-lived hystricomorph rodents closely related to guinea pigs, porcupines and agoutis.
Used extensively in scientific research and fur production, its use as a pet has grown exponentially in the last decade,
increasing their presence in veterinary clinics and hospitals. The most common health conditions for chinchillas kept...
Citations
... The black agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa) is a species classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List [24]. Despite that, this species plays an important ecological role as seed dispersers [25,26], and human factors such as habitat fragmentation [27] and hunting [16,17] can cause severe population declines. Therefore, it is important to develop studies on the black agouti to understand reproductive aspects as well as the habits of these animals. ...
This study describes the bone development during the intrauterine phase of the black agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa), discussing its relationship with the species’ adaptive strategies and comparing it with other precocial and altricial species. We analyzed 33 conceptuses (four embryos and twenty-nine fetuses) obtained through collaboration with local hunters in the Amazon. Mineralization measurements of the axial and appendicular skeletons were performed by ultrasonography using a 10–18 MHz linear transducer. The chronological order of occurrence of mineralization in relation to the total dorsal length (TDL) and to the percentage of the total gestational period (GP) was: skull, ribs, vertebral bodies, clavicle, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, ilium, ischium, femur, tibia, and fibula (TDL = 8.2 cm, 48 % GP); metacarpi, metatarsi and pubis (TDL = 9 cm, 51 % GP); thoracic and pelvic limb phalanges (TDL = 13.2 cm, 65 % GP); carpus (TDL = 15.10 cm, 72 % GP) and distal row of tarsus (TDL = 19.6 cm, 87 % GP). Mineralization of the patella was not observed in any advanced fetus (fetus with > 80 % GP). Regarding secondary ossification centers, the first signs of mineralization were observed in the distal epiphysis of the radius, distal epiphysis of the femur, and proximal and distal epiphysis of the tibia (TDL = 13.2 cm, 65 % GP). Fetuses at birth (TDL > 21.5 cm, 93.5 % GP) showed mineralization in all primary
centers, and in most secondary ossification centers. Black agouti neonates have a high level of precociality with well-developed skeletal system at birth, which promotes independent postnatal locomotion and dexterity to
manipulate and forage in search of food. Our results can contribute to the monitoring of bone development in other wild species, providing parameters for the identification of gestational age and serving as a model for comparisons between precocial and altricial mammals, ultimately helping understand life history strategies in different species.
... The clear dominance of a few species, such as D. leporina, D. novemcinctus and D. aurita is emblematic of fragmented areas surrounded by anthropogenic habitats (Magioli et al. 2015). Omnivore D. aurita is relatively common in fragmented habitats (Vieira et al. 2009) and herbivore D. leporina is an important scatterhoarder and seed predator rodent (Kenup et al. 2017). In fragmented areas, where there is largesized mammal defaunation, the abundance of D. leporina, D. novemcinctus and D. aurita tends to be higher than in areas that can harbor larger herbivore species such as white-lipped peccari Tayassu pecari (Link, 1795) (Galetti et al. 2015) or tapir Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758), that were not recorded at RBU. ...
Mammal populations are declining due to habitat fragmentation and loss, but protected areas can maintain these populations at viable numbers and reduce their risk of extinction. This study assessed the mammal community composition, diversity profiles, seasonal variation, and habitat use in a protected area in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. With an effort of 5,023 camera trap days, we registered 1,889 independent records of 20 species, with an additional 13 species recorded through direct observation. There was no difference in the seasonal diversity profiles of mammal communities. The diversity in submontane areas was consistently larger than in lowland ones, but the number of records was higher in lowland areas. The diversity profiles decrease when more weight is given to the common species. The reserve is the protected area with the third highest mammal richness in the state of Rio de Janeiro and harbors 11 threatened mammals. This study shows the importance of small protected areas for the conservation of mammalian diversity in a fragmented anthropogenic landscape.
... They are excellent dispersers of seeds in short distances in tropical forests throughout all of its geographical distribution (Silvius and Fragoso 2003;Mendieta-Aguilar et al. 2015). Several researches have demonstrated the utility of the agouties in the recuperation of species of tropical trees with big seeds (Kenup et al. 2017;Mittelman et al. 2020). The greatest threats facing agouties are hunting and loss of habitat (Gallina and González-Romero 2018). ...
Some neotropical rodents are of special interest because they are an important source of animal protein for human indigenous
populations throughout Latin America. This is the case of the genus Dasyprocta (agouties). However, we still do not know
how many species, taxa, or lineages are within Dasyprocta. To address this issue, we analyzed the complete mitogenomes
of 93 specimens in addition to three mitochondrial genes of 128 specimens of Dasyprocta belonging to six supposed species
(D. fuliginosa, D. punctata, D. leporina, D. kalinowski, D. ruatanica, and D. azarae). The phylogenetic results indicated fve
diferent lineages within D. fuliginosa, with two being polyphyletic (one more related to D. leporina and another more related
to D. punctata). D. kalinowski, a species endemic to Peru, was un-diferentiable from one of these D. fuliginosa lineages.
D. azarae was related with some of the lineages of D. fuliginosa. Within D. leporina, two signifcant lineages were found
(in central Atlantic Brazil and on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago). Within D. punctata, three lineages were
detected, one in Central America (central and northern), including D. ruatanica, a supposed endemic species on Roatan
Island, Honduras, another in central and southern Panama, and another in trans-Andean and Pacifc Colombia and Ecuador.
Some of the lineages of D. fuliginosa from the western Amazon yielded the most ancestral haplotypes (around 7 million
years ago, MYA, Late Miocene). In contrast, haplotypes of a lineage of D. punctata and those of a lineage of D. leporina
(Trinidad and Tobago) were the most derived (around 0.2–0.3 MYA, Pleistocene). Other population genetic results showed
that all groups or lineages presented elevated levels of genetic diversity, with the exception D. leporina in Trinidad and
Tobago. Their lower genetic diversity is probably related to founder efect during the colonization of the Caribbean island,
due to a bottleneck. Some of these Dasyprocta taxa showed some population expansions during the Pleistocene, but all of
the lineages experienced some population decrease during the last 10,000–20,000 years. Note that some lineages showed
a small population increase in the last few centuries. The spatial genetic structure was highly developed throughout the
Neotropics for Dasyprocta. According to this study, (1) coat color (routinely used in the systematics of this rodent) is not
valuable from a phylogenetic and systematics perspective and (2) two supposedly endemic species (D. kalinowski and D.
ruatanica) were not full species. These results are of vital importance for the biological conservation of the diferent taxa
and lineages of this rodent.
... They are excellent dispersers of seeds in short distances in tropical forests throughout all of its geographical distribution (Silvius and Fragoso 2003;Mendieta-Aguilar et al. 2015). Several researches have demonstrated the utility of the agouties in the recuperation of species of tropical trees with big seeds (Kenup et al. 2017;Mittelman et al. 2020). The greatest threats facing agouties are hunting and loss of habitat (Gallina and González-Romero 2018). ...
Some neotropical rodents are of special interest because they are an important source of animal protein for human indigenous populations throughout Latin America. This is the case of the genus Dasyprocta (agouties). However, we still do not know how many species, taxa, or lineages are within Dasyprocta. To address this issue, we analyzed the complete mitogenomes of 93 specimens in addition to three mitochondrial genes of 128 specimens of Dasyprocta belonging to six supposed species (D. fuliginosa, D. punctata, D. leporina, D. kalinowski, D. ruatanica, and D. azarae). The phylogenetic results indicated five different lineages within D. fuliginosa, with two being polyphyletic (one more related to D. leporina and another more related to D. punctata). D. kalinowski, a species endemic to Peru, was un-differentiable from one of these D. fuliginosa lineages. D. azarae was related with some of the lineages of D. fuliginosa. Within D. leporina, two significant lineages were found (in central Atlantic Brazil and on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago). Within D. punctata, three lineages were detected, one in Central America (central and northern), including D. ruatanica, a supposed endemic species on Roatan Island, Honduras, another in central and southern Panama, and another in trans-Andean and Pacific Colombia and Ecuador. Some of the lineages of D. fuliginosa from the western Amazon yielded the most ancestral haplotypes (around 7 million years ago, MYA, Late Miocene). In contrast, haplotypes of a lineage of D. punctata and those of a lineage of D. leporina (Trinidad and Tobago) were the most derived (around 0.2–0.3 MYA, Pleistocene). Other population genetic results showed that all groups or lineages presented elevated levels of genetic diversity, with the exception D. leporina in Trinidad and Tobago. Their lower genetic diversity is probably related to founder effect during the colonization of the Caribbean island, due to a bottleneck. Some of these Dasyprocta taxa showed some population expansions during the Pleistocene, but all of the lineages experienced some population decrease during the last 10,000–20,000 years. Note that some lineages showed a small population increase in the last few centuries. The spatial genetic structure was highly developed throughout the Neotropics for Dasyprocta. According to this study, (1) coat color (routinely used in the systematics of this rodent) is not valuable from a phylogenetic and systematics perspective and (2) two supposedly endemic species (D. kalinowski and D. ruatanica) were not full species. These results are of vital importance for the biological conservation of the different taxa and lineages of this rodent.
... Cfb: temperate without dry season, warm summer (oceanic climate); Cfa: temperate without dry season, hot summer (humid subtropical climate); Aw: equatorial savannah with dry winter; Dfb: snow climate without dry season (humid continental climate); BWh: hot desert climate; Af: equatorial rainforest, fully humid; BSk: cold semi-arid climates; Csb: temperate with dry summer (cool-summer Mediterranean climate); Csa: temperate with dry summer (hot-summer Mediterranean climate); BSh: Arid hot climates (steppe); Dfc: cold without dry season cold-summer (sub-arctic climate); Cwa: warm temperate climate with dry winter Hot summer (humid subtropical climate); BWk: cold desert climates; Am: equatorial monsoon; Cwb: temperate dry winter warm summer (subtropical highland climate); Dfa: Cold Without dry season Hot summer (humid continental climate); Cfc: temperate without dry season, cold summer (oceanic climate); As: equatorial savannah with dry summer; ET: tundra climates; Dwa: cold dry winter hot summer (humid continental climate); Dsb: snow climate with dry-warm summer (humid continental climate); Dsc: snow climate with dry, cold summer (sub-Arctic climate) while others, for instance, only reported transfer modality costs excluding salaries or other expenditures commonly associated with translocation programmes. For example, Kenup et al. [77], reported total costs of $6300 which included monitoring, captivity and release of Dasyprocta leporina. Whereas Bennett et al. [78] reported total expenditures of up to $185,000 for a reintroduction project of Climacteris picumnus. ...
Background
Ecosystem degradation, mainly through overexploitation and destruction of natural habitats, is a well-known threat to the viability and persistence of many species’ populations worldwide. The use of translocations as a viable conservation tool in conjunction with protected areas has been rapidly increasing over the last few decades. Protected areas such as strict nature reserves, national parks, and species management areas continue to be central tools for biodiversity conservation as they provide vital habitats set aside from various human pressures. Because action consistently runs ahead of policy, the need for a clearer evidence base on the outcomes of wildlife translocations undertaken at a global scale is becoming increasingly urgent for scientific and decision-making communities, in order to build clear strategy frameworks around conservation translocations. We therefore conducted a systematic mapping exercise to provide an overview of the existing evidence on the outcomes of wildlife translocations in protected areas.
Methods
We searched two bibliographic databases, four web-based search engines with search-by-key-words capacity, 5 specialist websites, and conducted a grey literature call through two project stakeholders. We screened articles by title, abstract, and full text using pre-defined inclusion criteria all the while assessing the consistency of the reviewers. All relevant translocations were coded from retained publications. Key variables of interest were extracted and coded for each translocation event. The quantity and characteristics of the available evidence and knowledge gaps/clusters are summarised. The distribution and frequency of translocations are presented in heat- and geographical maps.
Review findings
A total of 613 articles were considered eligible for coding bibliometric data. Metapopulation management and review articles were not coded for quantitative and qualitative variables. Linked data (duplicated translocations) were also excluded. Finally, 841 studies of different translocation events were fully coded from 498 articles. Most of these translocations were carried out in North America and Oceania. The most commonly undertaken intervention types were one-off supplementations and “supplemented reintroductions”. Mammals were by far the most transferred group among animals. Magnoliopsida was the most translocated plant group. Survival, space use, and demography metrics were the most studied outcomes on translocated species.
Conclusions
This systematic map provides an up-to-date global catalogue of the available evidence on wildlife translocations to, from, or within protected areas. It should enable protected area managers to better understand their role in the global network of protected areas, regarding translocation practice, both as suppliers or recipients of translocated species. It may help managers and practitioners make their own choices by comparing previous experiences, regarding both the species concerned and the precise translocation modalities (number of individuals, etc . ). Finally, it constitutes a decision-making tool for managers as well as for policy makers for future translocations.
... The red-rumped agouti Dasyprocta leporina (Linnaeus 1758) (Rodentia, Dasyproctidae) is a medium sized terrestrial rodent which is widely distributed in the Neotropics in the Guianas, and into Northern Brazil (Emmons and Feer 1997). Agoutis are regarded as excellent dispersers of large seeded plants in Neotropical forests, as their scatterhoarding behaviour facilitates large-seed dispersal and plant recruitment (Kenup et al. 2018). They might therefore be categorised as key components of Neotropical forests in order to maintain these large seeded plants. ...
... The red-rumped agouti Dasyprocta leporina (Linnaeus 1758) (Rodentia, Dasyproctidae) is a medium sized terrestrial rodent which is widely distributed in the Neotropics in the Guianas, and into Northern Brazil (Emmons and Feer 1997). Agoutis are regarded as excellent dispersers of large seeded plants in Neotropical forests, as their scatterhoarding behaviour facilitates large-seed dispersal and plant recruitment (Kenup et al. 2018). They might therefore be categorised as key components of Neotropical forests in order to maintain these large seeded plants. ...
Despite their economic, ecological and cultural
importance, few studies have examined the population size,
distribution and trends of the red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta
leporina) on the island of Trinidad. This study reports
densities of agouti on Trinidad during a three-year period,
including two years of a moratorium on hunting. Diurnal
transect surveyswere conducted and density estimateswere
calculated using the DISTANCE programme and King’s
Estimator. Density varied between 7 and 44 individuals/km2
between different sites, 19–28 individuals/km2 island-wide,
and with two of four sites showing a potential decline in
estimated density in the final year of sampling after hunting
resumed.
... The redrumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) is a scatterhoarder rodent from the family Dasyproctidae, that weighs from 2 to 6 kg and is found in South America wet forests from southern Brazil until northern Venezuela (Emmons and Reid 2016). On TNP, agoutis were reintroduced in 2010 (Cid et al. 2014), successfully established a population (Kenup et al. 2018) and have an average home range of 5.85 ha (SD = 1.79). The last agouti census in April 2017 indicated a population of 34 individuals (95% CI 29.6 to 40.2 individuals) in our 183-ha study plot, representing a density of 18.6 individuals per km 2 . ...
Seed dispersal and predation are paramount for tropical plant diversity. When encountered by scatter-hoarding frugivores, seeds can be either eaten, dispersed or ignored. But even after dispersal, seed caches are still subjected to predation. Many factors are known to influence these dynamics; however, how frequently hoarders use certain patches has seldom been related to cache predation rates. We used the interaction between agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina), a scatter-hoarding rodent, and Joannesia princeps, a tropical tree, as a model to investigate how the number of visits by hoarders in certain areas influences cache predation and seed fate. Camera-traps were used for 30 days in twenty different locations in Tijuca National Park to assess number of visits by agoutis. Thereafter, we placed seed piles on the same areas and determined their fate using the spool-and-line method to track seeds for over one hundred days. We found a non-linear relationship between how often an area is used by hoarders and the final proportion of dispersed seeds. At areas with a low number of visits, proportion of dispersed seeds was low due to low removal. As frequency of visits by hoarders increased, seed removal and the number of dispersal events increased but so did cache predation. Thus, in areas intensively used by hoarders, high cache predation resulted in a low number of dispersed seeds that remained alive in caches. As a result, dispersal was maximized in areas with intermediate use by scatter-hoarders, where there was a balance between primary seed dispersal and cache predation.
... The first species reintroduced to Tijuca National Park by Refauna was the agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) in 2010; the animals came from semi-captivity in an urban park and the reintroduction was considered successful (Cid et al. 2014;Kenup et al. 2018). The second species was the howler monkey (Alouatta guariba), reintroduced in 2015, from a variety of captive sources. ...
With a wide distribution across eastern South America, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a mosaic of lowland and montane vegetation types, such as evergreen forest, semideciduous and deciduous forest, mixed forest (e.g., Araucaria), mangroves, and restingas. It has long been recognized as having one of the most diversified biotas on the planet, with high levels of endemism of plants and animals. Due to its location, European colonization and exploration began six centuries ago in the coastal areas, spreading to the interior and increasing over the last 70 years. In response to long-standing deforestation, many conservation actions have been planned and performed by federal and state governments, NGOs, and universities. Here, we compiled some of these initiatives, showing the conservationists’ goals and multi-institutional actions to save species and ecosystems across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Furthermore, we confirmed here that with a dialogue among government, NGOs, and universities, it is possible to design and perform actions to the conservation of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
... Aiming to restore animal populations and ecological processes, a series of reintroductions are currently taking place in TNP . The first animals to be reintroduced were the red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) in 2010 (Cid, Figueira, Mello, & Pires, and Fernandez., 2014;Kenup, Sepulvida, Kreischer, & Fernandez, 2018) and the howler monkey in 2015 (Genes et al., 2019). Agouti reintroduction sought to restore seed dispersal of large-seeded plants by scatter-hoarding. ...
The aim of animal reintroductions has mainly been species recovery; only few reintroduction initiatives focus on ecosystem restoration. Therefore, reintroduction consequences on ecological interactions are seldom assessed. We used the interaction between a reintroduced population of agoutis ( Dasyprocta leporina ) and a vulnerable tropical endemic tree ( Joannesia princeps ) to examine reintroduction effects on seed dispersal and seedling establishment. To test the outcomes of this interaction, we tracked seeds of J. princeps in two adjacent forest areas with and without reintroduced agoutis. We also assessed if dispersal distances affected seedling survival. To determine seed fate and dispersal distance, we used spool‐and‐line tracking, together with camera traps to identify dispersers. Agoutis were the only species removing J. princeps seeds, thus dispersal only occurred where agoutis had been reintroduced; in the area without agoutis, all seeds remained intact on the soil, even one year after the experiment's beginning. At the reintroduction area, most seeds were preyed upon by agoutis but 7% remained dispersed and 2% germinated after ten months. Only seeds buried by agoutis were able to germinate. Most dispersed seeds were dispersed 15 m or farther and longer dispersal distances benefited J. princeps , since seedlings farther from a conspecific adult tree had greater survival probability. Agoutis were also seen burying seeds of two other plant species; these mammals have the potential to benefit dozens of large‐seeded species in our study system. Agouti reintroduction thus exemplifies the value of trophic rewilding programs to re‐establish ecological interactions and restore ecosystem functioning.
Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material
