Canadian Journal of Zoology Occupancy, detectability and density of Crab-eating Fox Cerdocyon thous in two protected areas of restinga habitats in Brazil Journal: Canadian Journal of Zoology Manuscript ID cjz-2018-0322.R2 Manuscript Type: Article Date Submitted by the 07-May-2019 Author: Complete List of Authors: Monteiro-Alves, Priscila; Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Ecology Molino Helmer, Débora; Centro Universitário Espírito-Santense/FAESA, DepartmentDraft of Biology Ferreguetti, Átilla; Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Ecology Pereira-Ribeiro, Juliane; Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rocha, Carlos Frederico; Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Bergallo, Helena; Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Is your manuscript invited for consideration in a Special Not applicable (regular submission) Issue?: Activity, Atlantic Forest, Carnivora, Cerdocyon thous, Crab-eating Fox, Keyword: Random Encounter Models, Roadkill https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjz-pubs Page 1 of 29 Canadian Journal of Zoology 1 Occupancy, detectability and density of Crab-eating Fox Cerdocyon thous in two 2 protected areas of restinga habitats in Brazil 3 4 Priscila Stéfani Monteiro-Alves1, Débora Molino Helmer2, Atilla Colombo 5 Ferreguetti1*, Juliane Pereira-Ribeiro1, Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha1 and Helena 6 Godoy Bergallo1 7 8 1Department of Ecology, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rua São Francisco Xavier, nº 9 524, Pavilhão Haroldo Lisboa da Cunha, 2º andar, sala 224. Bairro Maracanã, CEP: 10 20550-013. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Phone: 55(21)2334094 11 2Department of Biology, Centro Universitário Espírito-Santense/FAESA, Rua Anselmo 12 Serrat, nº 199, Bairro Ilha de MonteDraft Belo, CEP: 29053-250, Vitória, ES, Brazil, Phone: 13 55(27)33221158 14 * [email protected] 15 1 https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjz-pubs Canadian Journal of Zoology Page 2 of 29 16 Occupancy, detectability and density of Crab-eating Fox Cerdocyon thous in two 17 protected areas of restinga habitats in Brazil 18 19 PSMA, DMH, ACF, JPR, CFDR and HGB 20 21 Abstract 22 Crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous Linnaeus, 1766) are frequently recorded in lists of 23 mammal communities. However, studies quantifying aspects of the species’ ecology are 24 uncommon in the literature. Thus, we aimed to quantify the density, activity, habitat 25 use, and potential threats of C. thous in two protected areas (PA) in Espírito Santo State, 26 Brazil. We used data derived camera traps and sand plots to model occupancy, 27 detectability, activity and, using RandomDraft Encounter Models (REMs), density and 28 abundance. We also estimate the species’ activity. Density of C. thous was 0.82 ind / 29 km2 with a total abundance of 119 individuals. We concluded that, in the PAs studied, 30 C. thous had bimodal, twilight-nocturnal activity patterns and was associated with water 31 sources. Although the species in the area has a relatively high density compared to that 32 from other areas in Brazil, it could be locally threatened by highway the road that 33 intercept the two PAs, promoting roadkill events and by domestic dogs recorded in 34 these areas. Results presented herein can be a starting point to support future work in 35 the region and to make predictions regarding the management and conservation of Crab- 36 eating fox, a widely distributed species. 37 38 Key words: Activity, Atlantic Forest, Carnivora, Cerdocyon thous, Crab-eating Fox, 39 Random Encounter Models, Roadkill 40 2 https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjz-pubs Page 3 of 29 Canadian Journal of Zoology 41 Introduction 42 Understanding the abundance, habitat associations, and activity pattern of a 43 species is essential for effective wildlife conservation planning (Cove et al. 2013; Rich 44 et al. 2014; Rovero et al. 2014). Each animal species is associated in different ways to 45 habitat structural features (Downes et al. 1998; Tews et al. 2004); for example, the 46 vegetation type (Trovati et al. 2002), the presence of water resources (Goulart et al. 47 2009) and elements that could represent some level of impact for the species, for 48 example, invasive species and roads (Carvalho et al. 2015; Lessa et al. 2016). Roads 49 have several negative impacts on animal populations, including habitat fragmentation 50 and reduction in habitat quality (Holderegger and Di Giulio 2010; Van Der Ree et al. 51 2015). Likewise, the introduction of invasive exotic species can pose as a major cause 52 of extinction of species, and in the caseDraft of mammals the impacts imposed by interaction 53 with dogs is one of the most relevant factors for the loss of individuals of the native 54 fauna (Young et al. 2011; Hughes and MacDonald 2013). Thus, understanding which 55 factors determine the presence of a species in a region as threatened as the Atlantic 56 Forest contributes to the development of conservation measures to ensure their survival 57 in such areas (Jones 2001). 58 The Crab-eating Fox Cerdocyon thous Linnaeus 1766 is a medium-sized 59 mammal endemic to South America, having the most widespread geographical range 60 among neotropical canids (Courtnay and Maffei 2004; Lucherini 2015). In Brazil, this 61 species can be found in the Cerrado (savanna like vegetation), Pantanal (wetland), 62 Caatinga (semiarid region), Atlantic Forest, pastures, agriculture and in the Amazon 63 (Courtnay and Maffei 2004; Lucherini 2015). This broad distribution across multiple 64 habitat types is due to behavioral plasticity and a generalist diet (Delgado 2002; Rocha 65 et al. 2004; Pedó et al. 2006; Raíces and Bergallo 2010). 3 https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjz-pubs Canadian Journal of Zoology Page 4 of 29 66 The Crab-eating Fox is classified as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, mainly 67 because its wide distribution and its population being considered stable (Lucherini 68 2015). However, estimates of population size for this species are inaccurate and 69 outdated (Beisiegel et al. 2013). The Crab-eating Fox it is a species under some threats 70 related to roadkill risks (Rosa and Mauh 2004; Jorge et al. 2007; Cáceres et al. 2010), 71 persecution by humans (Beisiegel et al. 2013), confrontations with domestic dogs 72 (Lemos et al. 2011), and being infected by zoonoses (Carnieli et al. 2008). The species 73 is often cited in studies on the composition of the mammal community (Chiarello 1999, 74 Goulart et al. 2009, Delciellos 2016; Magioli et al. 2016) and in the evaluation of their 75 diet (Juarez and Marinho-Filho 2002; Gatti et al. 2006; Cazetta and Galetti 2009; Raíces 76 and Bergallo 2010) but studies evaluating the ecological aspects of C. thous are 77 uncommon in the literature (BeisiegelDraft et al. 2013). 78 Our study presents the first estimates of density and abundance of the species in 79 the two largest remnants of coastal sandy plains (hereafter restinga) in the State o 80 Espírito Santo, located in Brazil. By using occupancy and detectability modeling, we 81 explore the spatial distribution and habitat use of the species, from which we predicted 82 the direction of response to six covariates based on prior knowledge of C. thous ecology 83 (Beisiegel et al. 2013; Lucherini 2015). We tested the following hypothesis: 1) 84 occupancy probability would be higher in sites closest to water resources and human- 85 made trails; and 2) occupancy probability would be lower in sites closest to the road and 86 with the presence of domestic dogs. To better understand the ecological aspects, we also 87 tested if there were differences between the dry and rainy seasons in both the spatial and 88 temporal distribution and analyzed the possible impact of the Rodovia do Sol (ES-060 89 road) by quantifying roadkill events. We hypothesized that ES-060 road would be one 90 of the major threats for the species in the areas. 91 4 https://mc06.manuscriptcentral.com/cjz-pubs Page 5 of 29 Canadian Journal of Zoology 92 Methods 93 Study Area 94 The study was carried out in two protected areas (hereafter PA), the Paulo César 95 Vinha State Park (PEPCV) and the Setiba Environmental Protection Area (EPA of 96 Setiba) located in the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil (Figure 1). The two 97 PAs are separated only by the Rodovia do Sol (ES-060 road) connecting the 98 municipalities of Guarapari and Vila Velha. The PEPCV (20º33'-20º38'S, 40º23'- 99 40º26'W) covers an area of approximately 1,500 ha, while the EPA of Setiba (20°32'- 100 20º39’S, 40º22’-40° 32'W) has approximately 12,960 hectares (IEMA 2016). 101 These two areas present four different habitats, usually following the succession 102 of beach vegetation zone (BVZ, closer to the sea, with herbaceous vegetation), shrub 103 vegetation zone (SVZ , with low shrubs,Draft usually cacti and bromeliads), open Clusia 104 formations (OCZ, composed of higher shrubs, high density of bromeliads and presence 105 of tree species, Clusia spp.) and restinga forests (RF, dominated by tree species) 106 (Oliveira et al. 2007; Oprea et al. 2009). 107 108 Data collection 109 Camera-trapping and sand-plots 110 Data were collected from February to October 2017. We placed a random grid 111 over a digital map of the Reserve and identified the sampling points by selecting grid 112 cells (i.e. each grid cell with 500 m2). We selected 35 sampling sites using a random 113 design distributed in 4 restinga vegetation types, 20 sites in the EPA of Setiba and 15 in 114 the PEPCV (Figure 1). We used the center point of each grid cell as the location for 115 sampling. This scheme was designed to model occupancy probability of the areas by the 116 Crab-eating Fox, as well as estimate density and abundance and to document its activity 117 pattern.