Reintroduction is an increasingly important tool to restore local extinctions and ecological interactions. Evaluating the success of reintroduction projects allows conservationists to learn from previous experience. Here we report on the reintroduction of agoutis, Dasyprocta leporina, to a Brazilian Atlantic Forest reserve in order to (1) determine the short-term status of the reintroduction; (2) describe and evaluate the management procedures that contributed to reintroduction success; and (3) identify the fruits and seeds consumed and buried by the agoutis, as an indication of their role in restoring ecological processes. We captured and tagged 21 adult individuals from a semi-captive population and reintroduced four males and seven females. One male died and almost all individuals lost weight (range=0-620 g; n=11) during quarantine (median=133 days; range=67-243 days; n=20). Six males and three females died, but the others gained weight during acclimatization (range=150-260 g; n=5). Individuals abandoned the food supplement up to 87 days after release, establishing home-ranges at least three times larger than in natural populations of agoutis. The estimated annual survival rate was 0.83, and 10 nature-born cubs were observed. The reintroduction was considered successful in the short-term. Among the main recommendations for future reintroductions, we suggest the reduction of quarantine and the maintenance of acclimatization periods, with structural improvements for both. Agoutis were seen eating fruits and seeds of 10 species and burying seeds of three of them. The buried seeds are from zoochoric large-seeded trees, thus enhancing recruitment in a disperser-impoverished forest.Keywords: Dasyprocta leporina, frugivory, radiotracking, reintroduction, spatial patterns. Resumo A reintrodução é uma ferramenta cada vez mais importante para restaurar extinções locais e interações ecológicas. Avaliar o sucesso de projetos de reintrodução permite que conservacionistas aprendam com experiências prévias. Aqui nós reportamos a reintrodução de cutias Dasyprocta leporina em uma reserva da Mata Atlântica brasileira, objetivando (1) determinar o status da reintrodução em curto prazo, (2) descrever e avaliar os procedimentos de manejo que contribuíram para o processo de reintrodução e (3) identificar os frutos e sementes consumidos e enterrados pelas cutias, como um indicativo do seu papel na restauração de processos ecológicos. Nós capturamos e marcamos 21 indivíduos adultos originários de uma população semicativa e reintroduzimos quatro machos e sete fêmeas. Um macho morreu e quase todos perderam peso (variação=0-620 g, n=11) durante a quarentena (mediana=133 dias, variação=67-243 dias, n=20). Seis machos e três fêmeas morreram, mas os outros ganharam peso durante a aclimatação (variação=150-260 g; n=5). Os indivíduos abandonaram a suplementação alimentar em até 87 dias depois da soltura, estabelecendo áreas de vida pelo menos três vezes maiores do que as encontradas para populações naturais de cutias. A taxa de sobr...

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Activity range – the amount of time spent active per day – is a fundamental aspect contributing to the optimization process by which animals achieve energetic balance. Based on their size and the nature of their diet, theoretical expectations are that larger carnivores need more time active to fulfil their energetic needs than do smaller ones and also more time active than similar‐sized non‐carnivores. Despite the relationship between daily activity, individual range and energy acquisition, large‐scale relationships between activity range and body mass among wild mammals have never been properly addressed. This study aimed to understand the scaling of activity range with body mass, while controlling for phylogeny and diet. We built simple empirical predictions for the scaling of activity range with body mass for mammals of different trophic guilds and used a phylogenetically controlled mixed model to test these predictions using activity records of 249 mammal populations (128 species) in 19 tropical forests (in 15 countries) obtained using camera traps. Our scaling model predicted a steeper scaling of activity range in carnivores (0.21) with higher levels of activity (higher intercept), and near‐zero scaling in herbivores (0.04). Empirical data showed that activity ranges scaled positively with body mass for carnivores (0.061), which also had higher intercept value, but not for herbivores, omnivores and insectivores, in general, corresponding with the predictions. Despite the many factors that shape animal activity at local scales, we found a general pattern showing that large carnivores need more time active in a day to meet their energetic demands.

As defaunation spreads through the world, there is an urgent need for restoring ecological interactions, thus assuring ecosystem processes. Here, we define the new concept of credit of ecological interactions, as the number of interactions that can be restored in a focal area by species colonization or reintroduction. We also define rewiring time, as the time span until all the links that build the credit of ecological interactions of a focal area have become functional again. We expect that the credit will be gradually cashed following refaunation in rates that are proportional to (1) the abundance of the reintroduced species (that is expected to increase in time since release), (2) the abundance of the local species that interact with them, and (3) the traits of reintroduced species. We illustrated this approach using a theoretical model and an empirical case study where the credit of ecological interactions was estimated. This new conceptual framework is useful for setting reintroduction priorities and for evaluating the success of conservation initiatives that aim to restore ecosystem services.

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