Status of the Globally Threatened Forest Birds of Northeast Brazil
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Volume 54(14):177‑194, 2014 STATUS OF THE GLOBALLY THREATENED FOREST BIRDS OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL GLAUCO ALVES PEREIRA1 SIDNEI DE MELO DANTAS2 LUÍS FÁBIO SILVEIRA3 SÔNIA ALINE RODA4 CIRO ALBANO5 FREDERICO ACAZ SONNTAG6 SERGIO LEAL7 MAURICIO CABRAL PERIQUITO4 GUSTAVO BERNARDINO MALACCO8 ALEXANDER CHARLES LEES9 ABSTRACT The Atlantic Forest of northeast Brazil hosts a unique biota which is among the most threat- ened in the Neotropics. Near-total conversion of forest habitat to sugar cane monocultures has left the region’s endemic forest-dependent avifauna marooned in a few highly-fragmented and degraded forest remnants. Here we summarise the current status of 16 globally threatened spe- cies based on surveys conducted over the last 11 years. We found a bleak situation for most of these species and consider that three endemics: Glaucidium mooreorum (Pernambuco Pyg- my-owl), Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti (Cryptic Treehunter) and Philydor novaesi (Alagoas Foliage-gleaner) are most likely globally extinct. Some positive news can, however, be reported for both Leptodon forbesi (White-collared Kite) and Synallaxis infuscata (Pinto’s Spinetail) 1. Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza. Rua Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CEP 52171-900, Recife, PE, Brasil and Observadores de Aves de Pernambuco (OAP). E-mail for correspondence: [email protected] 2. Coordenação de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66040-170, Belém, Pará, Brasil and Observadores de Aves de Pernambuco (OAP). 3. Curador das coleções ornitológicas, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 42.494, CEP 04218-970, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. 4. Observadores de Aves de Pernambuco (OAP). Rua Agamenon Magalhães, 28, QC13, Engenho Maranguape, CEP 53423-440, Paulista, PE, Brasil. 5. NE Brazil Birding. Rua das Laranjeiras, 485, Lagoa Redonda, CEP 60831-620, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil. 6. Rua David Ferreira Luna, 151, Apartamento 1002, Brisamar, CEP 58033-090, João Pessoa, PB, Brasil. 7. Organização de Preservação Ambiental (OPA). Loteamento Valparaíso, Rua 02, Quadra D, 281, CEP 57043-015, Feitosa, Maceió, AL, Brasil. 8. Associação para a Gestão Socioambiental do Triângulo Mineiro (ANGÁ), Av. Anselmo Alves dos Santos, 119, sala 04, Saraiva, CEP 38408-008, Uberlândia, MG, Brasil. 9. Coordenação de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66040-170, Belém, Pará, Brasil. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0031-1049.2014.54.14 178 Pereira, G.A. ET AL.: Threatened birds of northeast Brazil which may warrant re-evaluation of their respective red list statuses. We outline a road map to prioritise conservation interventions in the region directed at preventing the extinction of this suite of threatened bird species and their companion biota. Key-Words: Fragmentation; Species-area relationship; Conservation intervention; Pro- tected areas. INTRODUCTION ternational IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2013), making the PCE the Brazilian ecosystem with the highest rela- The Atlantic Forest stretches across eastern tive number of threatened birds (Olmos, 2005) and Brazil, eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina probably one of the most threatened in the world (see (Rizzini, 1997). It is subdivided into regional biogeo- the list of endemic and threatened species in Silveira graphic provinces or centres of endemism with their et al., 2003a). Distributional data for these threatened own unique biotas (Silva & Casteletti, 2003; Silva taxa is critical for effective conservation planning, to et al., 2004). The most threatened of these endemic revise threat assessments and more pessimistically to areas is the Pernambuco Centre of Endemism (hence- document the likely imminent extinction of some of forth PCE) in northeastern Brazil, a strip of Atlantic these bird species. Here we present new records for Forest north of the São Francisco River, encompassing globally threatened species, synthesise knowledge on the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba and Rio their tolerance to habitat loss and fragmentation, and Grande do Norte (Brown, 1982; Prance, 1982). assess their future conservation prospects. This region has suffered from both the first (dating back to the 16th century) and the most severe waves of forest loss observed in any Brazilian ecore- METHODS gion. Deforestation rates accelerated during the late 1970s and early 1980s (Silveira et al., 2003a) when Study area and bird surveys the last remaining large tracts of lowland forest were lost. This pulse of forest loss was driven by a Brazilian The PCE is divided into three geographical sub- government program (with the support of the World units: the coastal plain, the São Franciscana depression Bank) called PROALCOOL which was launched in and the Planalto da Borborema (IBGE, 1985), this 1975 and aimed to increase ethanol production as a last stretching across the entire PCE over 900 m asl substitute for gasoline, helping Brazil to reduce its de- (Moreira, 1977). The regional climate is hot and hu- pendence on oil following the global petroleum crisis mid (Nimer, 1972), with the rainfall decreasing from of the early 1970s (Teixeira, 1986; Cavalcanti, 1992; the coastal plain to the interior, and increasing again at Silveira et al., 2003a; Martinelli & Filoso, 2008). This the highest altitudes (Annel, 1998 apud Roda, 2003). drive for energy independence came at a cost of most On the coast, annual rainfall varies from 1,750 to remaining forest, leaving the regional landscape dom- 2,000 mm, with a dry season lasting from October inated by sugar-cane monocultures (Silveira et al., to January. In the interior annual rainfall varies from 2003a; Tabarelli et al., 2010). Regional forest cover is 1,250 to 1,750 mm, with a longer dry season extend- now reduced to 12.1% of its original pre-Columbian ing between October and March (Coutinho et al., extent (Ribeiro et al., 2009). 1998; IBGE, 1985). Broadly interpreted, the Atlan- The legacy of this assault on the region’s forests tic Forest in the PCE includes mangroves, restingas, is that 48% of the remaining fragments are smaller semideciduous and ombrophilous forests, and their than 10 ha and very few are larger than 1,000 ha, contact zones (IBGE, 2004; Tabarelli et al., 2006). moreover all are embedded in a hostile matrix of sug- Ombrophilous forests are dominated by trees in the ar cane plantations (Ranta et al., 1998). Remaining families Leguminosae, Lauraceae, Sapotaceae, Chryso- forest patches are threatened by on-going degrada- balanaceae, and Lecythidaceae (Grillo et al., 2006). tion from fire, selective-logging and firewood removal We compiled data from both intensive targeted and the large-bodied vertebrate fauna is threatened by bird surveys and opportunistic observations in the hunting (Silveira et al., 2003a). PCE over the course of the last 11 years, accumulating Of the 434 bird species recorded in the PCE, data for many globally-threatened bird species. These 65% are strongly associated with forest habitats (Roda, surveys were undertaken in Atlantic Forest fragments 2003). Fifteen of these are currently listed on the In- of varying size, from 6 to 1,200 hectares, all with lit- Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 54(14), 2014 179 TABLE 1: Localities visited in the PCE. Geographic Coordinates Area Reference Locality Municipality State Latitude (S) Longitude (W) (ha) PB-01 PE Mata do Pau Ferro Areia PB 6° 58’ 35° 42’ 607 PB-02 Serraria PB 6° 49’ 35° 37’ c. 25 PB-03 RPPN Engenho Gargaú Santa Rita PB 7° 01’ 34° 57’ 1058 PB-04 RPPN Fazenda Pacatuba Sapé PB 7° 02’ 35° 09’ 266 PB-05 APP Mata do Buraquinho João Pessoa PB 7° 08’ 34° 51’ 471 PB-06 Fazenda Cidade Viva Conde PB 7° 01’ 34° 57’ c. 7 PE-01 Mata do Estado São Vicente Férrer PE 7° 37’ 35° 30’ 600 PE-02 Engenho Água Azul Timbaúba PE 7° 36’ 35° 23’ c. 600 PE-03 Mata de Aldeia Camaragibe/Abreu e Lima PE 7° 52’ 35° 04’ c. 1200 PE-04 ESEC Caetés Paulista PE 7° 55’ 34° 55’ 157 PE-05 PE Dois Irmãos Recife PE 8° 00’ 34° 56’ 387 PE-06 RVS Mata do Curado Recife PE 8° 04’ 34° 57’ 102 PE-07 Mata do CMNE Recife PE 8° 04’ 34° 58’ c. 52 PE-08 Sancho neiborhood Recife PE 8° 05’ 34° 57’ PE-09 Campus da UFRPE Recife PE 8° 01’ 34° 56’ c. 8 PE-10 Engenho Jussará Gravatá PE 8° 17’ 35° 35’ c. 400 PE-11 Sítio Vale Verde Gravatá PE 8° 20’ 35° 32’ c. 430 PE-12 Sítio do Contente Gravatá PE 8° 16’ 35° 32’ c. 420 PE-13 Sítio Palmeira Gravatá PE 8° 19’ 35° 30’ c. 150 PE-14 RPPN Bituri Brejo da Madre de Deus PE 8° 16’ 36° 25’ 110 PE-15 Engenho Utinga Cabo de Santo Agostinho PE 8° 20’ 35° 03’ c. 250 PE-16 Engenho Bita Ipojuca PE 8° 22’ 35° 03’ c. 69 PE-17 Engenho Aparauá Goiana PE 7° 32’ 35° 02’ c. 20 PE-18 Bonito PE 8° 35’ 35° 47’ c. 65 PE-19 PNM Mucuri-Hymalaia Bonito PE 8° 32’ 35° 43’ 104 PE-20 Pedra do Rosário Bonito PE 8° 33’ 35° 43’ PE-21 Engenho Brejão Bonito PE 8° 34’ 35° 42’ PE-22 Mata da Chuva Bonito PE 8° 32’ 35° 41’ PE-23 Bonito Eco Parque Bonito PE 8° 37’ 35° 43’ c. 54 PE-24 Mata da Pedra da Pimenta Bonito PE 8° 31’ 35° 42’ PE-25 Engenho Opinioso Amaraji PE 8° 22’ 35° 32’ c. 350 PE-26 RPPN Eco Fazenda Morim São José da Coroa Grande PE 8° 52’ 35° 12’ 209 PE-27 Mata das Cobras (Usina Trapiche) Sirinhaém PE 8° 33’ 08° 10’ c. 43 PE-28 Mata do Dêra (Usina Trapiche) Sirinhaém PE 8° 33’ 35° 09’ c. 319 PE-29 Mata de Santo Antônio (Usina Trapiche) Sirinhaém PE 8° 33’ 35° 09’ c.