A Study of the Giant Armadillo Priodontes Maximus in Central Brazil
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Surveying in highly-modified landscapes to document the occurrence of threatened species: a study of the giant armadillo Priodontes maximus in central Brazil F REDERICO G. LEMOS,ALAN N. COSTA,FERNANDA C. AZEVEDO C ARLOS E. FRAGOSO,MOZART C. FREITAS-JUNIOR and E DNALDO C. ROCHA Abstract Studies on threatened species in highly modified Supplementary material for this article is available at and unprotected landscapes are necessary for the develop- https://doi.org/./S ment of appropriate conservation policies. This is particu- larly important for species with large home ranges, such as the giant armadillo Priodontes maximus, whose occur- Introduction rence in anthropogenic landscapes is poorly known despite its categorization as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. We ata on the demography, ecological interactions and en- searched and surveyed for the giant armadillo within Dvironmental requirements of Neotropical wildlife, and human-modified areas in central Brazil using direct and in- anthropogenic threats, have been used in the management direct methods across a wide region dominated by diverse of several species (e.g. Sanderson et al., ; Medici et al., farming environments and scattered remnants of natural ; ICMBio, b). Although data accuracy and general- vegetation. During a -year period (–), we located ity are paramount for conservation and management, most records of the species, including three road-kills and two studies are context-dependent, concentrated either in re- instances of poaching. Most of the occurrence points (%) gions dominated by pristine ecosystems or in medium to were in native vegetation, with % in anthropogenic envi- large protected areas (Fazey et al., ). For threatened spe- ronments (pastures and roads). We confirmed the presence cies, however, studies across landscapes modified and man- of the giant armadillo within a wide, intensely human- aged by humans are fundamental for the development of altered region. These findings indicate that Cerrado and appropriate conservation policies (Chazdon et al., ). Atlantic Forest remnants in modified landscapes in central Armadillos (Cingulata: Dasypodidae) are limited to the Brazil play an important role as refuges for this armadillo Neotropics (Wetzel, ) and some species are sensitive species. In addition to habitat loss, road-kills and poaching to environmental change (Abba & Superina, ). Of persist as threats to the giant armadillo. Conservation ac- species recorded in Brazil (ICMBio, a), the giant arma- tions are necessary to minimize human impacts and facili- dillo Priodontes maximus is categorized as Vulnerable on tate the persistence of the giant armadillo in this region. the IUCN Red List (Anacleto et al., ). Populations of Policies that both deter illegal deforestation and strengthen this armadillo are decreasing as a result of habitat loss, incentives for the protection of natural vegetation remnants poaching, road-kills and the indiscriminate use of fire to re- and restoration of biological corridors such as gallery forests move natural vegetation or induce regrowth of pastures would aid conservation of the giant armadillo in this area. (Abba & Superina, ; Martins et al., ). The lack of Keywords Agro-ecosystems, biodiversity loss, Cingulata, knowledge about the giant armadillo hinders the implemen- extinction debt, fragmented landscapes, Neotropical habi- tation of conservation actions, especially those focused on tat, Priodontes maximus, wildlife conservation human-dominated landscapes (Meritt, ; Superina & Abba, ). For example, although the predicted range of P. maximus extends from Venezuela to northern Argentina, including a large portion of Brazil (Anacleto FREDERICO G. LEMOS (Corresponding author) and ALAN N. COSTA Programa de Conservação Mamíferos do Cerrado, Unidade Acadêmica Especial de et al., ; Chiarello et al., ), it encompasses broad re- Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Av. Lamartine P. Avelar 1120, gions without records, and the species has been considered Catalão, CEP 75704-020, Goiás, Brazil. E-mail [email protected] extinct in areas with high levels of urbanization/agricultural FERNANDA C. AZEVEDO Programa de Conservação Mamíferos do Cerrado, activities or without official records (Chiarello et al., ; Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, – Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil Srbek-Araujo et al., ). Despite its size ( kg; Superina & Abba, ) the giant armadillo is rarely ob- CARLOS E. FRAGOSO and MOZART C. FREITAS-JUNIOR Programa de Conservação Mamíferos do Cerrado, Cumari, Goiás, Brazil served because of its naturally low density and because it EDNALDO C. ROCHA Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Ipameri, Goiás, Brazil is nocturnal and fossorial (Noss et al., ; Silveira et al., Received March . Revision requested July . ; Srbek-Araujo et al., ; Aya-Cuero et al., ). Accepted November . First published online August . The absence of records of this species in highly modified Oryx, 2020, 54(1), 133–139 © 2018 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317001867 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.19, on 01 Oct 2021 at 17:42:30, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317001867 134 F. G. Lemos et al. areas could be a result of low survey effort rather than ab- temperature of – °C and mean annual total precipitation sence per se. of ,–, mm. Central Brazil lies within the range of P. maximus (Anacleto et al., ; Chiarello et al., ) and is dominated by the Cerrado biome, with the Atlantic Forest biome repre- Methods sented by enclaves of seasonal forest along watercourses (e.g. – the Paranaíba river basin; Ribeiro et al., ). As a result, Data on P. maximus occurrence were obtained during there is a rich mosaic of physiognomies, ranging from open in natural vegetation remnants in farmlands, private grasslands to forest patches, favouring a high regional bio- reserves, and protected areas, from camera trapping diversity (Lopes et al., ). However, agricultural activities (Plate a), sightings (Plate b), tracks (Plate a) and fresh and urbanization have resulted in the replacement of . % burrows (Plate b). We did not include old, abandoned bur- of the natural vegetation by anthropogenic environments rows or those where there was evidence they had been used (Machado et al., ). The landscape now comprises a ma- by other species (Desbiez & Kluyber ). Camera-trap sur- trix of exotic pastures and crops surrounding fragments of veys were in private natural vegetation remnants in the mu- – natural vegetation, the latter located mainly on higher slopes nicipalities of Araguari (Minas Gerais; ), in – or in rugged terrain (Klink & Machado, ; Carvalho pastures with dense bushes in Cumari (Goiás; ), et al., ). The occurrence of P. maximus in central in the Serra de Caldas Novas State Park (Caldas Novas, – Brazil remains poorly known (Martins et al., ). Here, Goiás; ), and in the private reserve Pé do Morro we present records of the giant armadillo in modified land- Farm of the Universidade Federal de Goiás (Catalão, – scapes of the Cerrado biome and ecotone areas with the Goiás; ). Camera-trap records in different months Atlantic Forest biome in the border area of the states of at each location were considered separately. To determine if Goiás and Minas Gerais. We also present data on the spe- camera-trap photographs were taken during the day or cies’ activity period and its habitat use in agroecosystems. night we calculated the time of sunrise and sunset for the location and date of each photograph, using Rv.. (R Development Core Team, ). We also included data Study area from road-kills (Plate a) and poaching by local people, re- ported voluntarily during occasional visits to farms Our study area lies in municipalities of Goiás and Minas (Plate b). We compared our findings with those of previous Gerais States (Supplementary Table ; Fig. ), in a region studies (Martinelli et al., ; Araújo et al., ; Chiarello where –% of the area is occupied by cattle ranches et al., ; Estrela et al., ; Gomes et al., ; Rocha et al., with exotic pastures, and the remainder comprises scattered ; Fig. ). natural patches of savannah (Cerrado) and mesophytic sea- To determine habitat use we classified the vegetation in sonal forest (Atlantic Forest). The regional climate is mark- each location as savannah, forest or pasture. Savannah has a edly seasonal (Alvares et al., ), with a mean annual relative predominance of native grasses and scattered shrubs FIG. 1. Records of the giant armadillo Priodontes maximus in municipalities in the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais, Brazil. Municipalities: , Água Limpa; , Caldas Novas; , Ipameri; , Urutaí; , Campo Alegre; , Catalão; , Goiandira; , Cumari; , Araguari; , Uberaba; , Perdizes. Previous records are from Martinelli et al. (), Araújo et al. (), Chiarello et al. (), Estrela et al. (), Gomes et al. (), and Rocha et al. (). Oryx, 2020, 54(1), 133–139 © 2018 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605317001867 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.19, on 01 Oct 2021 at 17:42:30, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605317001867 Giant armadillos 135 PLATE 3. Carcasses of the giant armadillo recorded in the state of Goiás: (a) killed on the GO- highway, and (b) the carapace of a poached animal. PLATE 1. Giant armadillos Priodontes