A DNA test to sex most birds.

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals. A Field Guide, Louise H. Emmons. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1990), xiv, Illustrations by François Feer, +281. Price $45·00 hardback, $19·95 paperback

Handbook of North American Birds Edited by Ralph S. Palmer. Vol. 1: Loons through Flamingos. Pp. vii + 567 + 6 plates. (New Haven, Conn., and London: Yale University Press, 1962.) 105s.

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Birds of North America

Carbon storage is widely acknowledged as one of the most valuable forest ecosystem services. Deforestation, logging, fragmentation, fire, and climate change have significant effects on tropical carbon stocks; however, an elusive and yet undetected decrease in carbon storage may be due to defaunation of large seed dispersers. Many large tropical trees with sizeable contributions to carbon stock rely on large vertebrates for seed dispersal and regeneration, however many of these frugivores are threatened by hunting, illegal trade, and habitat loss. We used a large data set on tree species composition and abundance, seed, fruit, and carbon-related traits, and plant-animal interactions to estimate the loss of carbon storage capacity of tropical forests in defaunated scenarios. By simulating the local extinction of trees that depend on large frugivores in 31 Atlantic Forest communities, we found that defaunation has the potential to significantly erode carbon storage even when only a small proportion of large-seeded trees are extirpated. Although intergovernmental policies to reduce carbon emissions and reforestation programs have been mostly focused on deforestation, our results demonstrate that defaunation, and the loss of key ecological interactions, also poses a serious risk for the maintenance of tropical forest carbon storage.

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Defaunation affects carbon storage in tropical forests

Snakes, the evolution of mystery in nature

Analysis of 105 scats of the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) collected in central Brazil yielded 304 occurrences of food items of which fruits of Solanum lycocarpum, rodents, and birds accounted for 61.5%. By analysis of minimum number of individual animals, rodents and birds were 75% of a total of 156 prey. On the other hand, fruits of S. lycocarpum and armadillos (Dasypus spp.) were the bulk of the total estimated biomass consumption, yielding 63.7% in a total of 73.5 kg. Rodents were mostly captured during the dry season, while miscellaneous fruits were consumed mostly in the wet season. The consumption of S. lycocarpum fruits and armadillos was aseasonal. Small rodents were taken in about the ranks of abundance in the study area, but S. lycocarpum fruits were actively searched by maned wolves, for its occurrence is limited to secondary savanna. Prey and fruits typical of savanna (‘cerrado’) and grassland (‘campo’) were the bulk of species, occurrences, prey numbers, and biomass consumed. These findings reinforce the importance of conservation of cerrado and campo in central Brazil. Despite maned wolf being a vulnerable species, its feeding habits are opportunistic, and the main reasons for its decline are likely to be habitat destruction and human disturbance.

Diet of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus, in central Brazil

El aguara guazu (Chrysocyon brachyurus) y el zorro del monte (Cerdocyon thous) son dos canidos sudamericanos cuyas distribuciones geograficas se sobreponen extensamente. Sin embargo, hay pocos datos sobre la ecologia comparativa de estas especies. El objetivo de esta investigacion fue cuantificar la dieta de estos dos canidos en sintopia en cuanto a tres niveles: frecuencia de ocurrencia, numero minimo de individuos depredados y biomasa ingerida estimada. Ademas, se evaluaron la estacionalidad en el consumo de grupos de presas mayores y la distribucion de tamano de las presas consumidas. El estudio tuvo lugar en la Estacion Experimental de Itapetininga, en el Estado de Sao Paulo, Brasil. Los resultados mostraron que ambos canidos son omnivoros. El aguara guazu consumio partes vegetales y animales en proporciones similares, pero los zorros consumieron mas presas animales, principalmente insectos. En relacion a la biomasa de las presas, ambas especies consumieron presas animales. El aguara guazu consumio muchos frutos de Solanum lycocarpum y micromamiferos en la estacion seca, mientras que los frutos miscelaneos dominaron la dieta durante la estacion lluviosa. El zorro del monte tambien ingirio mas frutos miscelaneos en la estacion lluviosa, mientras que los insectos fueron principalmente consumidos en los meses secos. El zorro es mas generalista que el aguara guazu, pero en lo que se refiere a habilidades de captura, el aguara parece ser capaz de manipular mas tipos de presas y frutos diferentes. La distribucion de tamanos de las presas consumidas sugiere una separacion de nicho trofico entre ambas especies: mientras que el aguara guazu consumio un espectro mas amplio de tamanos de presas, especialmente los vertebrados pequenos entre 10,1 y 100,0 g, el zorro consumio presas mas pequenas, principalmente insectos entre 0,01 y 0,1 g

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Food habits of two syntopic canids, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), in southeastern Brazil

Notes on Crab-eating fox (Dusicyon thous) seed dispersal and food habits in southeastern Brazil

Currently the Cerrado biome is one of the most threatened in the world because high taxes of destruction, mostly by agriculture and cattle. Few assessments of local bird diversity have been made in this biome, particularly in non core areas. The Estacao Ecologica de Itirapina (EEI) maintains one of the last natural grassland savannah remnants of state of Sao Paulo, south-east Brazil. We conducted casual and systematic observations of birds in this reserve between 1998 and 2007, which altogether with additional literature revision yielded 231 species with recent occurrence. We report 38 species (16.4%) threatened with extinction in Sao Paulo and/or endemic to the Cerrado Region, an impressive result in comparison to other cerrado areas in Sao Paulo and even in Central Brazil. These results reinforce the importance of EEI for bird conservation and mean EEI is maintaining its function as a conservation unity. However, as a result of several menaces observed to this reserve during our ten years study, we suggest some management practices for the maintenance or even increasing of bird diversity in this reserve.

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Aves da Estação Ecológica de Itirapina, estado de São Paulo, Brasil

The feeding ecology of the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) was studied from 1998 to 2002 in the Ecological Station of Itirapina, Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil, including estimates of prey number and biomass consumption. A total of 325 faecal samples was collected in the area. The species is omnivorous, with a broad diet including 68 species or morphospecies of fruits and animals. Armadillos (Dasypodidae), wolf's fruit (Solanum lycocarpum) and small mammals (mostly Clyomys bishopi) were the bulk of the diet, comprising 72.8 % of the total estimated biomass consumed (185,323.4 g). In terms of frequency of occurrence, on the other hand, only small mammals and other miscella-neous fruits yielded 43.4 % of the total occurrences (N = 1,054). Animal prey ranging from 0.01 and 0.1 Kg were the most captured category, resulting in 44.2 % of 507 captured animals. The maned wolf seems to be seasonally opportunistic, at least for fruits and insects, as indicated by the variation of the consumption of these items along the year. The higher consumption of fruits and animals characteristic of savannah can be an important factor to consider in future management plans for the species.

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Feeding ecology of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815) (Mammalia: Canidae), in the Ecological Station of Itirapina, São Paulo state, Brazil

José Carlos Motta-Junior

Papers

Diet of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus, in central Brazil

Food habits of two syntopic canids, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), in southeastern Brazil

Notes on Crab-eating fox (Dusicyon thous) seed dispersal and food habits in southeastern Brazil

Aves da Estação Ecológica de Itirapina, estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Feeding ecology of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815) (Mammalia: Canidae), in the Ecological Station of Itirapina, São Paulo state, Brazil