Tropical deforestation and forest fragmentation are among the most important biodiversity conservation issues worldwide, yet local extinctions of millions of animal and plant populations stranded in unprotected forest remnants remain poorly explained. Here, we report unprecedented rates of local extinctions of medium to large-bodied mammals in one of the world's most important tropical biodiversity hotspots. We scrutinized 8,846 person-years of local knowledge to derive patch occupancy data for 18 mammal species within 196 forest patches across a 252,669-km2 study region of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We uncovered a staggering rate of local extinctions in the mammal fauna, with only 767 from a possible 3,528 populations still persisting. On average, forest patches retained 3.9 out of 18 potential species occupancies, and geographic ranges had contracted to 0–14.4% of their former distributions, including five large-bodied species that had been extirpated at a regional scale. Forest fragments were highly accessible to hunters and exposed to edge effects and fires, thereby severely diminishing the predictive power of species-area relationships, with the power model explaining only ∼9% of the variation in species richness per patch. Hence, conventional species-area curves provided over-optimistic estimates of species persistence in that most forest fragments had lost species at a much faster rate than predicted by habitat loss alone.

Reports on use of stones as hammers and anvils to open hard nuts by wild capuchin monkeys are scarce and limited to Cebus libidinosus. Here, we report for the first time data on tool use-stones as hammer and anvils to open nuts-in wild C. xanthosternos and a description of new tool using sites for C. libidinosus. Our records were made by visiting anvil sites and by information obtained from local residents. We surveyed three different biomes: Caatinga (dry forest and thorn scrub), Cerrado (Brazilian bush savannah), and Atlantic forest (wet forest), all records of tool use were from Caatinga or transitional areas between habitats. The behavior is suggested to be routinely performed and widespread among several populations. The fruits of six plant species in different localities were opened with hammer stones by C. xanthosternos. Hammer stones were of similar weigh as those described in other studies of C. libidinosus. Conditions found in Caatinga, such as a more frequent use of the ground by the monkeys and/or food scarcity, may play an important role in the acquisition of nut-cracking behavior. The absence of more reports of nut cracking and other forms of tool use in other species of wild Cebus is likely to result from a lack of surveys in very dry and food-limited habitats or intrinsic characteristics of other Cebus species.

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co‐occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

foram listadas como as principais ameaças para os mamíferos da Bahia. Trinta e três das 45 espécies ameaçadas ou 'Quase Ameaçadas' tiveram registros em 21 Unidades de Conservação (UC) de proteção integral, localizadas inteira ou parcialmente na Bahia, e 32 das 45 espécies são cobertas por Planos de Ação Nacional (PAN). A lista de mamíferos ameaçados de extinção na Bahia inclui percentual elevado de carnívoros, mamíferos aquáticos, primatas e ungulados, seguindo o padrão observado em listas vermelhas. O alto número de espécies 'Dados Insuficientes' e a concentração de esforços de pesquisa em regiões restritas do estado são alarmantes e sugerem ausência de planejamento e baixa aplicação de recursos para descrever a biodiversidade, resultando em um conhecimento limitado sobre as populações de mamíferos e suas distribuições geográficas. A Bahia ocupa uma posição de destaque para a conservação de alguns taxa cuja distribuição é total ou majoritariamente incluída no estado. Os biomas Caatinga, Cerrado e Marinho carecem de UC de proteção integral para representar sua mastofauna característica. A publicação da lista de mamíferos ameaçados de extinção, investimentos para a criação e proteção efetiva de UC existentes e outras ações previstas em PAN são instrumentos complementares que devem ser fomentados por instituições governamentais e não-governamentais no intuito de proteger a rica diversidade de mamíferos da Bahia. Palavras-chave: conservação de biodiversidade; espécies ameaçadas; Mammalia. ABSTRACT-FIRST EVALUATION OF MAMMALS CONSERVATION STATUS IN BAHIA, BRAZIL Endangered species lists identify real and potential taxa extinction risks at global and regional scales, supporting decision-making processes and public policy. The construction of the first list of threatened species in Bahia state started in 2013. This paper describes the evaluation of conservation status of mammals in Bahia and its main results. The list was built in three phases: (1) preparatory, (2) evaluation and (3) final (validation). One species was considered regionally extinct, 41 were included in categories of threat ('Critically Endangered', 'Endangered' or 'Vulnerable') and four were considered 'Near Threatened'. Moreover, 51 species were classified as 'Data Deficient'. Habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting and roadkill were listed as the main threats for mammals in Bahia state. Thirty three out of 45 threatened or 'Near Threatened' species were recorded in 21 strictly protected areas (PA), completely or partially located in Bahia, and 32 of the 45 species are included in National Action Plans (PAN). The list of threatened mammals of Bahia includes a high percentage of carnivores, aquatic mammals, primates and ungulates, following the pattern of red lists. The high number of 'Data Deficient' species and research effort concentration in relatively small regions along the state are alarming and suggest the absence of planning and insufficient resource destination for biodiversity description, resulting in a limited knowledge on mammal populatio...