The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city markets in Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meat eaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State of Amazonas in Brazil through 1046 door‐to‐door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With these data, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We then scaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an average of 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by a family member (14.9%). Twenty‐one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles (23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated with the proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality (administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat might be consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person per year. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figure is comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in central Amazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies that allow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting.

The tick fauna of Brazil is currently composed by 72 species. The state of Amazonas is the largest of Brazil, with an area of ≈ 19% of the Brazilian land. Besides its vast geographic area, only 19 tick species have been reported for Amazonas. Herein, lots containing ticks from the state of Amazonas were examined in three major tick collections from Brazil. A total of 5933 tick specimens were examined and recorded, comprising 2693 males, 1247 females, 1509 nymphs, and 484 larvae. These ticks were identified into the following 22 species: Amblyomma cajennense sensu lato, Amblyomma calcaratum, Amblyomma coelebs, Amblyomma dissimile, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma geayi, Amblyomma goeldii, Amblyomma humerale, Amblyomma latepunctatun, Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma rotundatum, Amblyomma scalpturatum, Amblyomma varium, Dermacentor nitens, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Ixodes cf. Ixodes fuscipes, Ixodes luciae, Rhipicephalus microplus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato. Ticks were collected from 17 (27.4%) out of the 62 municipalities that currently compose the state of Amazonas. The following four species are reported for the first time in the state of Amazonas: A. coelebs, A. dubitatum, H. juxtakochi, and Ixodes cf. I. fuscipes. The only tick species previously reported for Amazonas and not found in the present study is Amblyomma parvum. This study provides a great expansion of geographical and host records of ticks for the state of Amazonas, which is now considered to have a tick fauna composed by 23 species. It is noteworthy that we report 1391 Amblyomma nymphs that were identified to 13 different species.

The uniqueness of the Mamirauá Sustenainable Development Reserve (MSDR), a continuous area of floodplain and 1.124.000 ha bounded by large rivers (Solimões, Japurá and Auati-Paraná), allows only the survival of aquatic, arboreal or scansorial animals in the area throughout the seasonal cycle. Thus the profile of hunting in RDSM should be distinct from those reported in other studies. The aim of this study was to describe the hunting activity conducted in five communities in a flooded forest area, characterizing the wildlife killed and the profile of hunters in these communities. Between January and December of 2005, 238 hunting events were held and 459 animals were slaughtered, totalizing 1850.5 Kg. Reptiles are the main group hunted and accounted for 92.12% of those killed and 64.27% of the total weight obtained. The most susceptible species are those hunted (Podocnemis unifilis, Podocnemis sextuberculata, Podocnemis expansa, Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris, Crax globulosa, Alouatta seniculus, Cairina moschata and Pauxi tuberosa). Despite the frequency of hunting events, the activity did not contribute much to the income of the families. Hunting is a predominantly male activity and starts at early ages in the monitored communities. RESUMOA singularidade da Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá (RDSM), uma área contínua de várzea de 1.124.000ha e limitada por grandes rios (Solimões, Japurá e Auatí-paraná), permite que somente animais aquáticos, arborícolas ou escansoriais sobrevivam durante todo o ciclo sazonal na área. Dessa forma o perfil da caça na RDSM deve ser distinto daqueles registrados em outros estudos. O objetivo desse estudo foi descrever a atividade de caça realizada em cinco comunidades de várzea, caracterizando a fauna abatida e o perfil dos caçadores dessas comunidades. Entre os meses de janeiro e dezembro de 2005 foram realizados 238 eventos de caça, e foram abatidos 459 animais que totalizaram 1.850,5 Kg. Os répteis constituem o principal grupo caçado, e representaram 92,12% dos indivíduos abatidos e 64,27% do peso total obtido. As espécies mais susceptíveis à caça são as principais abatidas (Podocnemis unifilis, P. sextuberculata, P. expansa, H. hydrochaeris, Crax globulosa, Alouatta seniculus, Cairina moschata e Pauxi tuberosa). Apesar da caça ser realizada com frequência, a atividade tem pouca contribuição na renda das famílias estudadas. A caça é uma atividade predominantemente masculina e é iniciada precocemente nas comunidades monitoradas. HUNTING AND HUNTERS IN LOWLAND COMMUNITIES IN THE REGION OF THE MIDDLE SOLIMÕES, AMAZONAS, BRAZIL.A

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