Rewilding the Atlantic Forest: Restoring the fauna and ecological interactions of a protected area

Fernandez, Fernando A. S.; Rheingantz, Marcelo Lopes; Genes, Luísa; Kenup, Caio Fittipaldi; Galliez, Maron; Cezimbra, Tomaz; Cid, Bruno; Macedo, Leandro; Araujo, Bernardo B.A.; Moraes, Bruno; Monjeau, Adrián; Pires, Alexandra S.

doi:10.1016/j.pecon.2017.09.004

Cited by 32 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Also, the absence of dog pups in the park area indicated that dogs were probably derived from regions around the park, suggesting a steady flow of these animals between the park and urban areas. These results, together with other fundamental studies (Galetti and Sazima, 2006;Srbek-Araujo and Chiarello, 2008;Lacerda et al, 2009;Torres and Prado, 2010;Curi et al, 2016;Lessa et al, 2016;Paschoal et al, 2016;Fernandez et al, 2017;Rosa and Souza, 2017;Vieira et al, 2017;Paschoal et al, 2018), clearly confirm that Brazilian forest areas (mainly those close to urban centers) are strongly influenced by the activity of domestic/free-ranging dogs.…”

supporting

confidence: 82%

The triad “dogs, conservation and zoonotic diseases” – An old and still neglected problem in Brazil

Ellwanger

2019

Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation

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a b s t r a c tThe presence of domestic/free-ranging dogs in Brazilian protected areas and native vegetation fragments is an important problem, mainly because these animals pose a threat to wild species that live in such areas. In addition, dogs constantly circulate between wildlife environments and urban regions, acting as "bridges" in spillover events. Dogs are traditionally recognized as vectors of zoonoses, which are correct, but their roles as facilitating agents for the "jump" of pathogens from wild animals to humans (and vice versa) are sparsely debated. In this context, this work briefly describes the different roles of dogs in the dynamics and ecology of infectious diseases, using the Brazilian scenario as a study model.

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supporting

confidence: 82%

The triad “dogs, conservation and zoonotic diseases” – An old and still neglected problem in Brazil

Ellwanger

2019

Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation

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“…For example, we note that rapid environmental change, including extreme heat events, is an ongoing challenge to successful ecological rewilding that attempts to reduce ongoing human intervention (Corlett, 2016), despite historical calls for the development of techniques and strategies that are proactive rather than strictly reactive (Hobbs and Cramer, 2008). Recent examples and reviews have focused heavily on the use of captive populations in reintroduction and rewilding attempts (Fernandez et al, 2017;Zamboni et al, 2017), and we suggest these captive populations may be an ideal focus for future conservation applications of this study. Through the application of organismal priming (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can physiological engineering/programming increase multi-generational thermal tolerance to extreme temperature events?

Sorby

Green

Dempster

et al. 2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Organisms increasingly encounter higher frequencies of extreme weather events as a consequence of global climate change. Currently, few strategies are available to mitigate climate change effects on animals arising from acute extreme high-temperature events. We tested the capacity of physiological engineering to influence the intra- and multi-generational upper thermal tolerance capacity of a model organism, , subjected to extreme high temperatures. Enhancement of specific physiological regulators during development could affect thermal tolerance or life-history attributes affecting subsequent fitness. Using experimental populations, we exposed F0 individuals to one of four treatments: heat hardening (28°C to 36°C, 1°C per 10 min), heat hardening plus serotonin (0.056 μg ml), heat hardening plus methionine (0.79 mg ml) and a control treatment. Regulator concentrations were based on previous literature. Serotonin may promote thermal tolerance, acting upon metabolism and life history. Methionine acts as a methylation agent across generations. For all groups, measurements were collected for three performance traits of individual thermal tolerance (upper sublethal thermal limit, lethal limit and dysregulation range) over two generations. The results showed that no treatment increased the upper thermal limit during acute thermal stress, although serotonin-treated and methionine-treated individuals outperformed controls across multiple thermal performance traits. Additionally, some effects were evident across generations. Together, these results suggest that phenotypic engineering provides complex outcomes, and if implemented with heat hardening can further influence performance in multiple thermal tolerance traits, within and across generations. Potentially, such techniques could be up-scaled to provide resilience and stability in populations susceptible to extreme temperature events.

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“…Currently, a refaunation program is in place that aims to restore lost ecological interactions and processes (Fernandez et al. ). Agoutis ( Dasyprocta leporina ) were reintroduced in 2010 (Cid et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and howler monkeys in late 2015 (Fernandez et al. ). This was the first primate reintroduction specifically designed to restore ecological interactions and seed dispersal (Andresen et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We investigated the restoration of ecological interactions and associated processes following the reintroduction of the brown howler monkey ( Alouatta guariba clamitans ) to Tijuca National Park (TNP) in Brazil, a largely defaunated Atlantic Forest fragment (Fernandez et al. ). We expected reintroduction would restore lost ecological interactions among howler monkeys, dung beetles and plants, and that howler monkeys would have the potential to disperse seeds of more plant species than other frugivores in the area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of howler monkey reintroduction on ecological interactions and processes

Genes

Fernandez

Vaz‐de‐Mello

et al. 2018

Conservation Biology

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Rewilding has been an increasingly popular tool to restore plant-animal interactions and ecological processes impaired by defaunation. However, the reestablishment of such processes has seldom been assessed. We investigated the restoration of ecological interactions following the reintroduction of the brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) to a defaunated Atlantic forest site. We expected the reintroduction to restore plant-animal interactions and interactions between howlers and dung beetles, which promote secondary seed dispersal. We estimated the number of interactions expected to be restored by the reintroduction to provide the baseline interaction richness that could be restored. We followed the reintroduced howler monkeys twice a week for 24 months (337 hours total) to assess their diet. We used howler monkey dung in secondary seed dispersal experiments with 2484 seed mimics to estimate the removal rates by dung beetles and collected the beetles to assess community attributes. We compared the potential future contribution of howler monkeys and other frugivores to seed dispersal based on the seed sizes they disperse in other areas where they occur. In 2 years, howler monkeys consumed 60 animal-dispersed plant species out of the 330 estimated. Twenty-one dung beetle species were attracted to experimentally provided dung; most of them were tunnelers, nocturnal, and large-sized (>10 mm). On average 30% (range 0-100%) of the large seed mimics (14 mm) were moved by dung beetles. About 91% of the species consumed by howlers (size range 0.3-34.3 mm) overlapped in seed size with those removed by dung beetles. In our study area, howler monkeys may consume more large-seeded fruit species than most other frugivores, highlighting their potential to affect forest regeneration. Our results show reintroductions may effectively restore ecological links and enhance ecological processes.

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Rewilding the Atlantic Forest: Restoring the fauna and ecological interactions of a protected area

Cited by 32 publications

References 30 publications

The triad “dogs, conservation and zoonotic diseases” – An old and still neglected problem in Brazil

The triad “dogs, conservation and zoonotic diseases” – An old and still neglected problem in Brazil

Can physiological engineering/programming increase multi-generational thermal tolerance to extreme temperature events?

Effects of howler monkey reintroduction on ecological interactions and processes

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