Bertassoni Alessandra, Mourão Guilherme, Bianchi Rita de Cassia
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) Goiania Brazil.
Instituto de Pesquisa e Conservação de Tamanduás no Brasil - Projeto Tamanduá Parnaíba Brazil.
Ecol Evol. 2020 Jul 13;10(15):7981-7994. doi: 10.1002/ece3.5911. eCollection 2020 Aug.
Spatial ecology data are essential for conservation purposes, especially when extinction risk is influenced by anthropogenic actions. Space use can reveal how individuals use the habitat, how they organize in space, and which components are key resources for the species.We evaluated the space use and multiscale habitat selection of giant anteaters (), a vulnerable Neotropical mammal, in a Cerrado site within a human-modified landscape in southeastern Brazil.We used GPS transmitters to track eight anteaters in the wild. With the resulting dataset, we estimated home range and core-area sizes and then used two overlap indexes. We assessed habitat selection by compositional analysis and analyzed events of spatio-temporal proximity.The average Brownian bridge kernel estimate of home range size was 3.41 km (0.92-7.9). Regarding home range establishment, five individuals showed resident behavior. Males ( = 4) had larger home ranges and were more active than females ( = 4). Despite the spatial overlap of home range (above 40% in four dyads), maximum temporal space sharing was 18%. Giant anteaters were found in proximity. Habitat selection favored savanna, and exotic timber plantation was always avoided. Roads and built-up areas were selected secondarily at the landscape level.The selection of anthropogenic sites denotes behavioral plasticity regarding modified habitats. However, the high selectivity for savanna, at all levels, demonstrates a high dependence on natural habitats, which provide the necessary resources for the species. The recurrent proximity of male-to-female anteaters may indicate reproductive behavior, which is essential for maintaining this isolated population.
空间生态学数据对于保护目的至关重要，尤其是当灭绝风险受到人为活动影响时。空间利用可以揭示个体如何利用栖息地、它们如何在空间中组织以及哪些组成部分是该物种的关键资源。我们评估了大食蚁兽（一种易危的新热带哺乳动物）在巴西东南部人类改造景观中的一个塞拉多地区的空间利用和多尺度栖息地选择。我们使用GPS发射器在野外追踪了八只食蚁兽。利用所得数据集，我们估计了家域和核心区域大小，然后使用了两个重叠指数。我们通过成分分析评估栖息地选择，并分析了时空接近事件。家域大小的平均布朗桥核估计值为3.41平方千米（0.92 - 7.9）。关于家域建立，五只个体表现出定居行为。雄性（n = 4）的家域更大，比雌性（n = 4）更活跃。尽管家域存在空间重叠（四个二元组中超过40%），但最大时间空间共享率为18%。大食蚁兽被发现彼此接近。栖息地选择倾向于稀树草原，并且总是避开外来人工林。道路和建成区在景观层面被其次选择。对人为场所的选择表明在改造栖息地方面的行为可塑性。然而，在所有层面上对稀树草原的高度选择性表明对自然栖息地的高度依赖，自然栖息地为该物种提供了必要资源。雄性与雌性食蚁兽的反复接近可能表明繁殖行为，这对于维持这个孤立种群至关重要。
