Víctor Pacheco

Ecological and anthropogenic drivers of rabies exposure in vampire bats: implications for transmission and control

Despite extensive culling of common vampire bats in Latin America, lethal human rabies outbreaks transmitted by this species are increasingly recognized, and livestock rabies occurs with striking frequency. To identify the individual and population-level factors driving rabies virus (RV) transmission in vampire bats, we conducted a longitudinal capture–recapture study in 20 vampire bat colonies spanning four regions of Peru. Serology demonstrated the circulation of RV in vampire bats from all regions in all years. Seroprevalence ranged from 3 to 28 per cent and was highest in juvenile and sub-adult bats. RV exposure was independent of bat colony size, consistent with an absence of population density thresholds for viral invasion and extinction. Culling campaigns implemented during our study failed to reduce seroprevalence and were perhaps counterproductive for disease control owing to the targeted removal of adults, but potentially greater importance of juvenile and sub-adult bats for transmission. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of RV maintenance in vampire bats and highlight the need for ecologically informed approaches to rabies prevention in Latin America.

Plant and animal endemism in the eastern Andean slope: challenges to conservation

BackgroundThe Andes-Amazon basin of Peru and Bolivia is one of the most data-poor, biologically rich, and rapidly changing areas of the world. Conservation scientists agree that this area hosts extremely high endemism, perhaps the highest in the world, yet we know little about the geographic distributions of these species and ecosystems within country boundaries. To address this need, we have developed conservation data on endemic biodiversity (~800 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and plants) and terrestrial ecological systems (~90; groups of vegetation communities resulting from the action of ecological processes, substrates, and/or environmental gradients) with which we conduct a fine scale conservation prioritization across the Amazon watershed of Peru and Bolivia. We modelled the geographic distributions of 435 endemic plants and all 347 endemic vertebrate species, from existing museum and herbaria specimens at a regional conservation practitioners scale (1:250,000-1:1,000,000), based on the best available tools and geographic data. We mapped ecological systems, endemic species concentrations, and irreplaceable areas with respect to national level protected areas.ResultsWe found that sizes of endemic species distributions ranged widely (< 20 km2 to > 200,000 km2) across the study area. Bird and mammal endemic species richness was greatest within a narrow 2500-3000 m elevation band along the length of the Andes Mountains. Endemic amphibian richness was highest at 1000-1500 m elevation and concentrated in the southern half of the study area. Geographical distribution of plant endemism was highly taxon-dependent. Irreplaceable areas, defined as locations with the highest number of species with narrow ranges, overlapped slightly with areas of high endemism, yet generally exhibited unique patterns across the study area by species group. We found that many endemic species and ecological systems are lacking national-level protection; a third of endemic species have distributions completely outside of national protected areas. Protected areas cover only 20% of areas of high endemism and 20% of irreplaceable areas. Almost 40% of the 91 ecological systems are in serious need of protection (= < 2% of their ranges protected).ConclusionsWe identify for the first time, areas of high endemic species concentrations and high irreplaceability that have only been roughly indicated in the past at the continental scale. We conclude that new complementary protected areas are needed to safeguard these endemics and ecosystems. An expansion in protected areas will be challenged by geographically isolated micro-endemics, varied endemic patterns among taxa, increasing deforestation, resource extraction, and changes in climate. Relying on pre-existing collections, publically accessible datasets and tools, this working framework is exportable to other regions plagued by incomplete conservation data.

Human Rabies and Rabies in Vampire and Nonvampire Bat Species, Southeastern Peru, 2007

After a human rabies outbreak in southeastern Peru, we collected bats to estimate the prevalence of rabies in various species. Among 165 bats from 6 genera and 10 species, 10.3% were antibody positive; antibody prevalence was similar in vampire and nonvampire bats. Thus, nonvampire bats may also be a source for human rabies in Peru.

Mammals of the Manu Biosphere Reserve

MammalsoccurringintheManuBiosphereReserve.Newadditionstothefaunallistaredenotedbyasterisks;commonnamesnotusedbycontributorstoWilsonandReeder(2005)aredenotedbycarets.Records documented during recent NSF-funded surveys of the reserve are in boldface, first listingthosewithmuseumvouchers,whilesight,sound,orsignrecordsappearinparentheses.Localitycodesand their locations are listed in the Gazetteer and shown in Figure 4. Minimum and maximumelevationsalongtheManutransectareinmeters.

A New Genus for Aepeomys fuscatus Allen, 1912, and Oryzomys intectus Thomas, 1921: Enigmatic Murid Rodents from Andean Cloud Forests

Abstract Two nominal species of Neotropical murid rodents (subfamily Sigmodontinae) that have long been referred to different genera are here placed in a new genus in recognition of their distinctness from other named supraspecific taxa. Aepeomys fuscatus Allen and Oryzomys intectus Thomas share a unique combination of external and craniodental character states that diagnose Handleyomys, new genus, with fuscatus as its type species. Morphological comparisons of Handleyomys with the type species of Aepeomys Thomas and Oryzomys Baird provide a basis for preliminary inferences about phylogenetic relationships. Five shared, derived character states support the hypothesis that Handleyomys is an oryzomyine, but no close relationship between the new genus and any particular oryzomyine clade is indicated by the data at hand. All known specimens of Handleyomys are from the western Andes (Cordillera Occidental) and the central Andes (Cordillera Central) of Colombia, where they have been collected at 20 localities ranging in elevation from 1500 to 2800 m above sea level. Analyses of morphological data suggest that two valid allopatric species are represented, of which H. fuscatus is endemic to the western Andes and H. intectus to the central Andes. Although no other mammalian clade is known to have the same geographic distribution, recent analyses of amphibian biogeography in Colombia suggest that Handleyomys is part of a nonvolant cloud-forest vertebrate fauna with allopatric sister taxa in the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central. Much revisionary taxonomic research, however, is needed to assess the generality of this pattern of endemism among other cloud-forest mammals.

Noteworthy bat records from the Pacific Tropical rainforest region and adjacent dry forest in northwestern Peru

ABSTRACT The bat fauna of the Pacific Tropical rainforest region in Peru is poorly known. Here we report noteworthy range extensions of 12 bat species, including: Diaemus youngi, Chrotopterus auritus, Micronycteris minuta, Mimon crenulatum, Vampyrum spectrum, Chiroderma salvini, Enchisthenes hartii, Noctilio leporinus, Thyroptera discifera, Eptesicus chiriquinus, Rhogeessa io, and Myotis riparius. These document the first confirmed records for the department of Tumbes. All, except E. hartii and N. leporinus, are also first records for the western slope of Peru. The record of R. io is the first for Peru, while that of C. auritus is the first for the Pacific versant of the Andes. In total, 41 bat species are present in the Pacific Tropical rainforests and surrounding dry forests, at the new Parque Nacional Cerros de Amotape, in Tumbes. This region requires urgent conservation programs, because the Pacific Tropical rainforest is threatened by human settlement, and resource exploitation in spite of its protected status.

Taxonomy, Natural History and Distribution of the Capybara

When the Iberian colonists arrived in South America in the late fifteenth century, they encountered a diverse and previously unimagined fauna. The unusual anatomy and behavior of these species intrigued the early explorers. In their reports they named the new-found endemic animals after the most analogous European species. In 1576, for example, Pero de Gândavo (2004) described the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) as “a type of pig.” However, capybaras were sufficiently unlike any known European species for most explorers to simply adopt a phonetic representation of the local name. Therefore, in 1557, the capybara was called catiuare by the German Hans Staden (1557), capiyuara in 1560 by the Spaniard Jose de Anchieta (1997), and capijuara in 1625 by the Portuguese Fernao Cardim (1980). The name capybara actually originates from a word in the indigenous Tupi, which in the sixteenth century was the most widely spread language in South America: kapii’gwara meaning grass eater (ka’pii = “grass” + gwara = “eater”; Houaiss et al. 2004).

Reassessment of the hairy long-nosed armadillo "Dasypus" pilosus (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) and revalidation of the genus Cryptophractus Fitzinger, 1856.

The hairy long-nosed armadillo, currently referred as Dasypus (Cryptophractus) pilosus, is an enigmatic species endemic to montane cloud forests and subparamo of Peruvian Andes. Its strikingly different external features, which include the carapace concealed by abundant hair, the presence of more movable bands, and a slender skull, have raised questions regarding its taxonomic status as subgenus or as genus. This paper assesses this issue based on a cladistic study and provides a detailed comparative description of the species, including the first account on the distinctive ornamentation of its osteoderms. Based on several unique characters in the carapace, skull, mandible, and teeth, as well as on the external phylogenetic position relative to other Dasypus, we favor the assignment of the hairy long-nosed armadillo to other genus. As result, we revalidate the original generic epithet, so that the valid name of the species is Cryptophractus pilosus Fitzinger, 1856.

Molecular phylogenetics of mouse opossums: new findings on the phylogeny of Thylamys (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)

The mouse opossums of the genus Thylamys constitute a group of species mainly adapted to open xeric‐like habitats and restricted to the southern portion of South America. We used molecular data (mitochondrial and nuclear sequences) to evaluate the phylogenetic and biogeographical relationships of all currently known living species of the genus, recognizing a new taxon from the middle and high elevations of the Peruvian Andes and evaluating the phylogenetic structuring within T. pallidior and T. elegans, as well as the validity of T. sponsorius, T. cinderella and T. tatei, and the haplogroups recognized within T. pusillus. Our results confirm the monophyly of the genus and that the Caatinga and the Cerrado inhabitants Thylamys karimii and T. velutinus are the most basal species in the radiation of Thylamys. We also calibrated a molecular clock which hypothesized a time of origin of the genus of about 24 My, with most species differentiating in middle and late Miocene and Plio‐Pleistocene times of South America.

A New Species of Thomasomys (Muridae: Sigmodontinae) from the Andes of Southeastern Peru

Abstract We describe a new species of Thomasomys from the Vilcabamba Cordillera, Cuzco, Peru. This thomasomyine is a medium-sized, small-eared, and long-tailed rodent similar in external and cranial features to Thomasomys silvestris, a species from the western Andean slopes of Ecuador. The new species presents a unique combination of characters that includes the absence of genal vibrissae, absence of a “gap” between the hypothenar and thenar pads, short incisive foramina, and a primitive pattern of carotid circulation. The proposed new species is known only from the type locality, suggesting that its restricted distribution could be attributed to the existence of a relict fauna in the area.