PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 13: Landscape Ecology / Geomorphology
Tuesday, August 9, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
The fragmented Atlantic forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Landscape mosaics and mammal potential occurrence.
Oliveira, Maria Elaine*,1, Vivas, Dácio1, Vidal da Silva, Viviane1, Oliveira, Luiz Flamarion2, 1 Programa de Pós-Graduação Ciência Ambiental, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil2 Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
ABSTRACT- In southeastern Brazil the former intense use of soil for coffee plantation and the present increase of exotic forests and pastures lead to Atlantic forest degradation. Consequence of such processes is an intense forest fragmentation and natural habitat reduction to several mammal species of medium to great body size. Regarding mammal fauna the study area (Paraiba do Sul and Capivari river basin) is still incomplete inventoried. Mammals and their habitats are strongly influenced by processes originating outside fragment boundaries. The research intend to estimate the potential occurrence of native mammal species regarding forest fragmentation in southeastern Brazil; to assess the importance of fragment size on species assemblages; and to identify fragment and landscape features that probably affect mammal species abundance and occurrence. The matrix of modified habitats surrounding fragments act as a selective filter. Arboreality are expected to be particularly restrictive for movement, and the species are clearly affected by the nature of modified habitats surrounding fragments. Matrix tolerance emerged as an overriding correlate of vulnerability. The relation between the area and the dimensions of species sugests a threshold for population viability based on the dimensions of the fragments observed in the mosaic of the landscape in southeastern Brazil. A mass extinction is expected for certain classes of body size in the current conditions of the region. The tolerance of the species in relation to the matrix is a facilitative factor of populations viability. Information regarding mammals species of the Atlantic forest and their relationships with the matrix of the degraded landscapes are scarce. Even in fragmented landscapes populations are commonly observed. This suggests that expressive investments should be made for the evaluation of the internal conditions (composition and structure) of patches. An appropriate identification of habitat specialists and matrix-tolerant species should be developed in sense of ordering conservation efforts. On the other side, human intolerance may be a key factor in extinction prevailing over habitat features or patches sizes for an important set of the Atlantic forest mammal fauna.
Key words: Atlantic forest, fragmentation, mammals