The Pantanal is the largest wetland of the world and one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in South America. An unprecedented ongoing megadrought is severely affecting its ecological functioning, flood pulse dynamics, and fire regime. Regarding this problematic, the present study generates reliable information about the following key issues: 1—Evolution and dynamics, 2—Origin and determinants, and 3—Forecast based on identified determinants and current trends. Results show that the evolution of the megadrought has been differentiable in both, space and time. As for its origin and determinants, Climate Change was ratified as one of the most important threats to the Pantanal, and to vast areas of South America, since a strong correlation was identified between megadrought’s dynamics and the occurrence of intense marine heatwaves at Northern Hemisphere oceanic waters, and more specifically, at the Northeast Pacific. Results also show that the megadrought is expected to continue at both the Pantanal and the surrounding Highlands, at least until December 2023. Thus, an intensification of fires risk, extending now to areas historically flooded or perhumid should be expected, concomitantly to a very negative impact on non-fire-resistant vegetation cover, as well as ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, perhaps even worse than those from 2020, widely covered by the international media.

There is little knowledge about the behavior strategies used by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus texanus) females with fawns. This study analyzed the variation in home range and the use of vegetation types by eight females during the breeding season in a brushland in northeastern Mexico and compared the strategies of females with and without fawns. Eight females were captured and radiotelemetry collars were fitted to them. We sampled two to three 24-hour cycles at 1-hour intervals monthly from April to October 1997 and 1998. In 1997 all females had fawns, whereas in 1998 some of these females had no fawns. This allowed comparing the strategies of females with and without offspring. The home range was significantly larger in females with fawns. In particular, no monthly variations in the home range were observed when females had fawns, while the home range was larger in August in females without fawns. Females preferred two of the seven habitat types (plant associations) studied, the ones dominated by Acacia-Prosopis and by Leucophyllum frutescens. Monthly variations were noted in both home-range size and use of plant associations when females were raising fawns. These data allow a better understanding of the behavioral strategies of females, which may contribute to the development of management strategies.Se conoce poco acerca de las estrategias conductuales que emplean las hembras de venado cola blanca Odocoileus virginianus texanus con crías. En este estudio se analizó la variación del tamaño de ámbito hogareño y el uso de asociaciones vegetales de hembras durante la época de crianza en un matorral xerófilo del noreste de México y se hicieron comparaciones entre hembras con y sin crías. Se utilizó la técnica de radiotelemetría para registrar los movimientos de ocho hembras capturadas, realizando dos a tres ciclos de 24 horas (localizaciones cada hora), mensuales de abril a octubre de 1997 y 1998. Además se comparó el comportamiento entre hembras con crías (1997) y hembras sin crías (1998). El ámbito hogareño fue significativamente mayor en las hembras con crías. No hubo variación mensual en el ámbito hogareño cuando las hembras tuvieron crías, mientras que en el mes de agosto el ámbito fue mayor en las hembras sin crías. De las siete asociaciones vegetales, todas las hembras tuvieron preferencias por dos, las dominadas por Acacia-Prosopis y Leucophyllum frutescens. Se observó variación mensual en el tamaño del ámbito hogareño y en el uso de las asociaciones vegetales cuando las hembras de venado cola blanca están criando. Estos datos permiten conocer mejor las estrategias exitosas de reclutamiento de nuevos individuos a las poblaciones de venados, lo cual puede ayudar a desarrollar estrategias de manejo.

The bush dog Speothos venaticus is a highly social Neotropical canid categorized globally on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened, as Vulnerable in Brazil and as Critically Endangered in Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil, and the Atlantic Forest as a result of human pressure. As part of the monitoring of this mammal, during January 2019–March 2020 we placed one camera trap in each of 22 forest fragments in various landscapes in 15 municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais and one municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On average, each camera trap was active for 4.3 months in each fragment. In a total of 2,856 trap-days we obtained the first record of S. venaticus in south-eastern Minas Gerais, c. 2 km from Serra de Santa Rita Mítzi Brandão Biological Reserve. This is the northernmost record of S. venaticus in the Atlantic Forest and highlights the importance of forest remnants in a fragmented landscape for this species. Further monitoring of this area should be a priority, to increase knowledge regarding the distribution of this species and for developing conservation strategies appropriate to these fragmented landscapes.

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