Name: Joana Zorzal Nodari
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 28/03/2016
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Sérgio Lucena Mendes | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Adriano Pereira Paglia | External Examiner * |
| Albert David Ditchfield | Internal Examiner * |
| Sérgio Lucena Mendes | Advisor * |
Summary: Species in a community have differences in their trophic, spatial or temporal niches to coexist. The description of the activity pattern is essential to comprehend of the temporal niche and help us to understand the mecanisms regulating species coexistence. Thus, the present study determined the activity pattern (time of activity and seasonality) of medium and large mammals and the temporal segregation strategies in a reminiscent of Atlantic Forest. For it, camera trap records were used, operating in different sampling periods, between 2005 and 2010. The 24 hours of the day were divided in intervals of an hour and the results of the activity period were represented in a rose diagram. To understand the variation of seasonality in the record number and activity period of each species, chi-square test and Mardia-Whatson-Wheeler test were used, respectively. To assess the temporal segregation the ten mammals taxa were divided in to four trophic guilds: Medium-sized herbivores, large herbivores, omnivores and carnivores, and were subsequently compared using the Mardia-Whatson-Wheeler test. All Mammal activity periods were similar to the ones in other studies, demonstrating to be a species-specific feature. There were seasonal changes in the activity period of some species, such as spotted pacas and lowland tapirs. Three trophic guilds showed temporal segregation and only the carnivorous guild showed temporal overlap between their representatives, being the different prey size consumption the mechanism that regulates the coexistence of these cats. Activity pattern studies are important, because they provide information on the natural history and the temporal niche of species and subsidizes the understanding of the interactions between taxa competing for the same resources and between preys and predators. In Addition, it helps to plan conservation action linked to human actions such as illegal hunting, domesticated dogs and roads.
