Treetop shelter of a Neotropical River Otter cuba (Lontra longicaudis - Carnivora: Mustelidae) in an Amazonian flooded forest

SANTOS, P.M.R.S.; KINUPP, V.F.; COLETTO-SILVA, A. 2007. Treetop shelter of a Neotropical River Otter cuba (Lontra longicaudis - Carnivora: Mustelidae) in an Amazonian flooded forest. Acta Amazonica 37(2):309-312.

Abstract. The finding of a Neotropical river otter (Lontra longicaudis) cub occupying a shelter in a hollowed treetop is reported. The observation was made in a seasonally flooded forest in Central Amazonia, during the high water peak of the annual inundation cycle. A literature review indicates that this is the first description of a shelter of the species, both in a hollowed tree and in Amazonia. This observation can indicate a strong relationship between the species’ breeding cycle with the annual dynamics of Amazonian rivers. We discuss potential advantages and disadvantages of breeding when water level is high.

First record of the bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta, Thomas, 1912, (Didelphimorphia) from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

CALZADA, J.; DELIBES, M.; KELLER, C.; PALOMARES, F.; MAGNUSSON, W. 2008. First record of the bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta, Thomas, 1912, (Didelphimorphia) from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Acta Amazonica 38(4):807-810.

Abstract. A new record of a very rarely observed mammal, the bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta (Didelphimorphia), was obtained for the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. Only 17 other records existed of this species, most from the 1980s. There were only three previous records of the species from Brazil (in the states of Pará, Amazonas and Rondônia). This new record supports the notion that G. venusta is a locally rare species throughout its range, but widely distributed in Brazilian Amazonia.

The historical ecology of human and wild primate malarias in the New World

CORMIER, L.A. 2010. The historical ecology of human and wild primate malarias in the New World. Diversity 2(2):256-280. doi: 10.3390/d2020256.

Abstract. The origin and subsequent proliferation of malarias capable of infecting humans in South America remain unclear, particularly with respect to the role of Neotropical monkeys in the infectious chain. The evidence to date will be reviewed for Pre-Columbian human malaria, introduction with colonization, zoonotic transfer from cebid monkeys, and anthroponotic transfer to monkeys. Cultural behaviors (primate hunting and pet-keeping) and ecological changes favorable to proliferation of mosquito vectors are also addressed.

The question of scale in threat analysis: a case study with Brazilian mammals

GRELLE, C.E.V.; FONSECA, G.A.B.; FONSECA, M.T.; COSTA, L.P. 1999. The question of scale in threat analysis: a case study with Brazilian mammals. Animal Conservation 2:149-152.

Abstract. Rates of biodiversity loss are clearly associated with a reduction in the extent of original habitat. The most frequently used method to derive such estimates comes from the well-known species–area relationship. We explored the relationship between habitat loss and area for the Brazilian mammal fauna on a biome level (Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin), as well as on a smaller regional scale (the Rio Doce Valley of the Atlantic Forest). Habitat loss overestimates the number of threatened species when the entire species pool is considered (endemics and wideranging species). Restricting the analyses to the endemic species, the predicted extinction as a function of habitat loss in the Atlantic Forest and in the Cerrado is found to be greater than the number of taxa actually listed as threatened. This relation is reversed in the Amazon. When considering only the localized species pool for the Rio Doce Valley region of the Atlantic Forest, the function accurately predicts the number of extinctions resulting from habitat loss. We suggest that there is both theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that threat analysis will generate more accurate estimates of species loss when conducted on a more local scale, particularly for the fauna of non-insular, continental regions. Furthermore, other phenomena affecting the likelihood of extinction of certain groups of species, such as hunting, need to be taken into account in order to better understand the dynamics of biodiversity loss.