Analysis of callouts made in relation to wild urban marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) and their implications for urban species management

Abstract

In this study, we investigated what problems urban marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) face in a city environment through the analysis of responses to callouts (N= 348) made by the environmental police of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in the period from 2002 to 2007. Our objective was to characterise the problems faced by the marmosets and human city dwellers. The environmental police responded to two types of callouts:(1) solicitation whereby a person called them to report a problem (N=218); and (2) the report of a hurt or injured animal (N=127). On average, one callout per week was made in relation to urban marmosets. We found no time of year effects in relation to callouts, or any effect of gender or age of the person making the callout (P>0.05). Furthermore, we found no environmental (e.g. percentage of "green area") or socioeconomical variables (e.g. salary levels) of the city's administrative regions associated with callouts (P>0.05). The majority of callouts resulted in the attempt to capture marmosets (N=345), and usually, only one animal was captured (N=309). Many of these animals were released into city forest fragments (N=146). Some sick animals were sent to veterinary clinics (N=25) whereas others or confiscated animals were sent to the government's wildlife processing centre (N=143). From this data, we were able to make a series of recommendation about how the management of urban marmosets could be improved.

Anthropogenic noise reduces bird species richness and diversity in urban parks

“…species richness increasing with area; Jokim€ aki & Suhonen 1998, Jokim€ aki 1999). However, the effects of the urban matrix on species richness in urban studies should also be considered -Juricic (2001b) argued that a possible reason for the absence of isolation effects is the connectivity promoted by wooded streets, which is expected in the city of Belo Horizonte (Goulart et al 2010). We observed a positive relationship between bird diversity and tree cover around parks and a negative relationhip with open areas (fields, lawns, etc.…”

“…Fernández‐Juricic () argued that a possible reason for the absence of isolation effects is the connectivity promoted by wooded streets, which is expected in the city of Belo Horizonte (Goulart et al . ). We observed a positive relationship between bird diversity and tree cover around parks and a negative relationhip with open areas (fields, lawns, etc.…”

International consensus principles for ethical wildlife control

“…They have entered houses when exploring new environments to search for food and seek protection from predation (Goulart et al. ). Many such conflicts have been caused by people feeding animals in gardens or buildings, the result of which is the animals became habituated and aggressive toward people (Goulart et al.…”

Hematology and blood biochemistry in wild hybrid marmosets from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

“…The more diverse biotope of Atlantic Forest has four species, namely, C. fl aviceps, C. geoffroyi, C. aurita, and C. kuhlii (RYLANDS & FARIA, 1993). However, there was a common and illegal introduction of C. jacchus (common marmoset) or C. penicillata in many cities of Minas Gerais, and this species commonly occurs in urban areas of the state (GOULART et al, 2010 of hybridism in many places of Brazil. Most primate populations of the Atlantic Forest are restricted to small fragments and that natural populations, particularly marmosets, are threatened by humanintroduced marmosets (PEREIRA et al, 2008).…”