Influência da caça ilegal sobre mamíferos e aves das matas de tabuleiro do norte do estado do Espírito Santo
Boletim do Museu de Biologia Mello Leitão
2000
Journal Article
11/12
229-247
The influence of illegal hunting on mammals and birds in Tabuleiro forest in Espírito Santo state, Brazil. Six Atlantic forest fragments ranging in size from 210 to 24,000 ha were surveyed for hunted species of mammals and birds. Nocturnal and diurnal censuses were carried out on a total of 460 km of trails during 18 months in the six sites. Of the species traditionally hunted in the Atlantic Forest, 12 species of mammals and 9 of birds were recorded in the region, being the most abundant the capuchin monkey (Cebus apella), the agouti (Dasyprocta leporina), the brocket deer (Mazama spp.) among mammals, and the common guan (Penelope superciliaris), the red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii), and the wood-quail (Odontophorus capueira) among birds. As expected from the species-area relationship, the larger fragments had the richest communities, including rare species such as the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), and large-sized species like tapirs (Tapirus terrestris), and peccaries (Pecari tajacu and Tayassu pecari) which, however, were extinct in the fragments of small size. Direct (encounter with hunters, dogs, shots listened) and indirect evidences (traps, hunting devices and trails, etc.) of the action of hunters were observed in all sites, indicating that illegal hunting is a common practice both in private as well as state reserves administered by IBAMA. However, the comparison of the encounter rate with hunted species among the six sites demonstrated that the abundance of mammals and birds were significantly higher in Linhares Forest Reserve (CVRD), a result of this reserve's efficient surveillance apparatus. The long term survivorship of these species is questioned, as populations remaining in fragments are already small and isolated, making them highly susceptible to extinction even under slight hunting pressure.