Influência do ciclo lunar no padrão de atividade de Cuniculus paca (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) em uma floresta de Mata Atlântica no Sul do Brasil

Abstract

InfluêncIa do cIclo lunar no padrão de atIvIdade de CuniCulus paCa (rodentIa: cunIculIdae) em uma floresta de mata atlântIca no sul do BrasIl alan deIvId pereIra¹⁴ elvIra de BastIanI² sergIo BazIlIo³ ABSTRACT Information on the activity period is relevant to understand how species adapt themselves and persist in their environment. The influence of moonlight on the activity pattern of mammals has already been reported for certain species. Ten photo-traps set during 12 months were distributed in a fragment of the Atlantic Rainforest in southern Brazil to verify whether moon phases had any effect on the activity period of Cuniculus paca. Ninety-six registers of C. paca were obtained in 8,928 hours of photo-traps. A prevalent night activity pattern (92%) was reported, with most registries occurring during the new moon phase (40%) and the lowest number during the full moon phase (12%), with differences between activity peaks according to the moon phases. Data showed that C. paca reacts negatively to high moonlight and decreases its circadian cycle in nights with a full moon.

Activity patterns of mammals at Quedas do Rio Bonito Ecological Park, Lavras City, Minas Gerais State, Brazil

“…The activity patterns of medium and large mammals of the present work corroborated other studies for N. nasua, E. barbara, C. paca, C. brachyurus and S. brasiliensis (CIOCHETI, 2007;MICHALSKI;NORRIS, 2011;LIRA-TORRES;BRIONES-SALAS, 2012;LUNA, 2014;ROCHA, 2015;PINHEIRO, 2015;SANTIAGO, 2015;PEREIRA et al, 2016;NODARI, 2016). Cuniculus paca was classified as nocturnal, differing from the results observed by Luna (2014).…”

Ethnography, ethnobiology and natural history: narratives on hunting and ecology of mammals among quilombolas from Southeast Brazil

“…This information is associated with the concepts of photophobia in general and of lunar phobia in particular, a behavior attributed to species as an antipredator strategy. It has also been suggested that pacas exhibit photophobia in settings such as open fields [51] and secondary forests [52] in the Amazon, and it has been shown in an Atlantic Forest fragment in southern Brazil [53]. In primary forests in the Amazon, however, Michalski and Norris [54] did not observe a clear correlation between lunar phases and the occurrence of pacas in samplings using camera traps.…”