Uso do espaço vertical por pequenos mamíferos no Parque Nacional Serra dos Órgãos, RJ: um estudo de 10 anos utilizando três métodos de amostragem

PREVEDELLO, J.A.; FERREIRA, P.; PAPI, B.S.; LORETTO, D.; VIEIRA, M.V. 2008. Uso do espaço vertical por pequenos mamíferos no Parque Nacional Serra dos Órgãos, RJ: um estudo de 10 anos utilizando três métodos de amostragem. Espaço & Geografia 11(1):95-119.

Abstract. In this study we analyze the use of forest strata by species of small mammals using three sampling methods: livetraps, artificial nests, and spool-and-line devices. With livetraps and a total effort of 69,525 trap-nights (17,550 in the canopy) there were 2,759 captures of 1,172 individuals of 15 species, eight marsupials and seven rodents. In the nests, the effort was 6,018 nest verifications, with 71 individuals of six species registered. With the spool-and-line devices, 53,000 m of line were tracked in 403 paths of 272 individuals of four species of marsupials. Sampling the canopy was essential to properly characterize the structure of the community, particularly regarding relative abundance of species. The results of the different sampling methods were complementary, each one with its own advantages and limitations to study the vertical use of the forest by small mammals. The combination of the three methods revealed that the small mammal community in Garrafão is clearly stratified, but the vertical use of the forest by small mammals is more complex and sophisticated than a simple classification by dominant strata used. Some species use predominantly the ground, others the canopy, but only these extremes are detected by livetraps. This method alone does not allow a detailed analysis of use of the understory and even the canopy by predominantly terrestrial or scansorial species.