Rodrigo Cambará Printes

Canopy bridges as road overpasses for wildlife in urban fragmented landscapes

Os efeitos do desmatamento e da fragmentacao de habitats sao exacerbados por elementos como rodovias e redes eletricas, que podem atuar como filtros ou barreiras aos movimentos da vida silvestre. Com o objetivo de mitigar a mortalidade e restaurar a conectividade, passagens de fauna tem sido construidas como corredores lineares. A instalacao dessas estruturas deve ser seguida de monitoramento sistematico, visando a avaliacao de seu uso e efetividade e a geracao de informacoes para seu manejo e para convencer os tomadores de decisao sobre seu valor. Neste artigo, apresentamos os resultados do monitoramento do uso de seis pontes de corda, realizado durante 15 meses, entre agosto de 2008 e outubro de 2009, nas imediacoes da Reserva Biologica do Lami Jose Lutzenberger, em Porto Alegre, Brasil. As pontes de dossel foram instaladas pelo Nucleo de Extensao Macacos Urbanos em locais com registros de atropelamentos e choques eletricos de bugios-ruivos (Alouatta guariba clamitans Cabrera, 1940). Instalamos armadilhas fotograficas em cada ponte e selecionamos moradores locais para registrarem seu uso. Tres especies foram registradas usando as pontes de corda: o bugio-ruivo (Alouatta guariba clamitans Cabrera, 1940), o gamba-de-orelha-branca (Didelphis albiventris Lund, 1840) e o ourico-cacheiro (Sphiggurus villosus Cuvier, 1823). As pontes de corda mais usadas por maior numero de especies sao aquelas situadas nas areas de maior cobertura florestal e menor area urbanizada, em relacao as pontes menos usadas pelas especies. Nossos resultados indicam que as pontes de corda funcionam como um corredor linear entre os remanescentes florestais, embora nao tenhamos avaliado os efeitos das pontes sobre a sobrevivencia dos individuos, persistencia e demografia dos grupos e fluxo genico na populacao. Alem disso, as pontes podem ser usadas para mitigar o impacto de redes eletricas e rodovias sobre a mortalidade, mas os cabos eletricos tambem devem ser completamente isolados quando presentes.

Primatology in southern Brazil: a transdisciplinary approach to the conservation of the brown-howler-monkey Alouatta guariba clamitans (Primates, Atelidae)

Human interventions in natural environments are the main cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. The situation is not different in southern Brazil, home of five primate species. Although some earlier studies exist, studies on the primates of this region began to be consistently carried out in the 1980s and have continued since then. In addition to important initiatives to study and protect the highly endangered Leontopithecus caissara Lorrini & Persson, 1990 and Brachyteles arachnoides E. Geoffroy, 1806, other species, including locally threatened ones, have been the focus of research, management, and protection initiatives. Since 1993, the urban monkeys program (PMU, Programa Macacos Urbanos) has surveyed the distribution and assessed threats to populations of Alouatta guariba clamitans (Cabrera, 1940) in Porto Alegre and vicinity. PMU has developed conservation strategies on four fronts: (1) scientific research on biology and ecology, providing basic knowledge to support all other activities of the group; (2) conservation education, which emphasizes educational presentations and long-term projects in schools near howler populations, based on the flagship species approach; (3) management, analyzing conflicts involving howlers and human communities, focusing on mitigating these problems and on appropriate relocation of injured or at-risk individuals; and finally, (4) Public Policies aimed at reducing and/or preventing the impact of urban expansion, contributing to create protected areas and to strengthen environmental laws. These different approaches have contributed to protect howler monkey populations over the short term, indicating that working collectively and acting on diversified and interrelated fronts are essential to achieve conservation goals. The synergistic results of these approaches and their relationship to the prospects for primatology in southern Brazil are presented in this review.

The Urban Monkeys Program: A Survey of Alouatta clamitans in the South of Porto Alegre and Its Influence on Land use Policy between 1997 and 2007

Abstract: Endemic to the Atlantic Forest, the southern brown howler monkey, Alouatta clamitans, can still be found in forest fragments in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil. The Urban Monkeys Program (UMP) has been monitoring their numbers since 1994. Here we report on the results of the initial surveys carried out from 1994 to 1996 and discuss the variables that are determining the loss or survival of the howler monkey groups. We also examine how our results have influenced the politics of land use over the last ten years (1997–2007). Porto Alegre has an area of 47,630 ha. About 30% is a rural/urban matrix and the remainder is entirely urban. There are 44 hills in the municipality and all have been affected by human occupation and activities. We overlaid a grid on a map 1/50,000, with quadrates of 1 km2 divided into four quadrates of 500 m2 each. We surveyed all the quadrates that contained forest. The presence of howler monkeys was recorded by direct observation, the presence of feces, and by their vocalizations. Complementary information was obtained by talking to the local people. We used a field protocol to record the absence or presence of howlers, habitat quality and the extent and type of human disturbance or use. We surveyed 5,125 ha and found howler monkeys in 2,921 ha (57%). The physiognomy, altitude and connectivity with forest in other quadrates were the three predictors of the presence of howler monkeys. Reasons for this include the fact that human use for such as agriculture, cattle breeding, housing estates, and roads is more concentrated in the lowlands than in the more hilly areas. Our findings suggest that the brown howler monkeys of Porto Alegre live as a meta-population. We participated in forums to discuss land use and management decisions. UMP influenced the creation of 895 ha of municipal protected areas over the 10 years. UMP initiated a civil enquiry concerning problems of the electrocution of howler monkeys using power lines. Two years after, as a result, the Rio Grande do Sul State Electricity Company insulated the cables in the areas where they presented a hazard. In 2002, a bill of amendment was passed (municipal law no 482/99), which provided for tax exemption for landowners who conserve natural areas or use their land for agriculture. Our recommendations for the future include: 1) maintenance of the current rural matrix in the south of Porto Alegre; 2) the creation of the “Morro São Pedro Natural Park”; 3) the establishment of a federal strategy for primate conservation in urban areas in Brazil; and 4) the inclusion of a criterion concerning human population density in the areas of occurrence for the threatened categories of the IUCN Red List.

Surviving in the urban-rural interface: Feeding and ranging behavior of brown howlers (Alouatta guariba clamitans) in an urban fragment in southern Brazil

Wild primates that live in urban areas face extreme threats that are less frequent in nonurban fragments, such as the presence of dangerous matrix elements (e.g., roads, power lines, buildings, and a high density of domestic dogs near food patches), that could influence their movements, feeding behavior, and survival. However, the scarcity of studies addressing this issue hinders our understanding of the behavioral adjustments that favor the survival of primates in urban areas. For 12 months, we studied a six‐individual group of brown howlers (Alouatta guariba clamitans) in an urban fragment to determine (i) their diet richness and its relationships with food availability, (ii) their daily path length (DPL) and the matrix elements used during movement, and (iii) the main ecological drivers of the DPL. Sampling effort totaled 72 days, 787 hr, and 3,224 instantaneous scans. We found that the diet of brown howlers contained 35 plant species (including seven cultivated crops) belonging to 33 genera and 21 families. The consumption of fruits and young leaves was directly related to their temporal availability. The average DPL (446 m) was smaller than that reported for groups of howlers inhabiting large nonurban fragments. To move between food patches, animals used three main matrix elements: trees, power lines, and roofs. The number of plant species used during the day was the main driver of DPL. Our findings highlighted that the generalist‐opportunistic diet of brown howlers and their ability to move across the anthropogenic matrix using artificial elements such as power lines, roofs, and wildlife crossings represent a remarkable part of their behavioral repertory in Lami. However, there are potential costs associated with these strategies, namely, electrocution and predation by domestic dogs. Thus, it is urgent to further investigate how these behaviors could affect the long‐term survival of these animals.