Wild dogs at stake: deforestation threatens the only Amazon endemic canid, the short-eared dog ( Atelocynus microtis )

Abstract

The persistent high deforestation rate and fragmentation of the Amazon forests are the main threats to their biodiversity. To anticipate and mitigate these threats, it is important to understand and predict how species respond to the rapidly changing landscape. The short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis is the only Amazon-endemic canid and one of the most understudied wild dogs worldwide. We investigated short-eared dog habitat associations on two spatial scales. First, we used the largest record database ever compiled for short-eared dogs in combination with species distribution models to map species habitat suitability, estimate its distribution range and predict shifts in species distribution in response to predicted deforestation across the entire Amazon (regional scale). Second, we used systematic camera trap surveys and occupancy models to investigate how forest cover and forest fragmentation affect the space use of this species in the Southern Brazilian Amazon (local scale). Species distribution models suggested that the short-eared dog potentially occurs over an extensive and continuous area, through most of the Amazon region south of the Amazon River. However, approximately 30% of the short-eared dog's current distribution is expected to be lost or suffer sharp declines in habitat suitability by 2027 (within three generations) due to forest loss. This proportion might reach 40% of the species distribution in unprotected areas and exceed 60% in some interfluves (i.e. portions of land separated by large rivers) of the Amazon basin. Our local-scale analysis indicated that the presence of forest positively affected short-eared dog space use, while the density of forest edges had a negative effect. Beyond shedding light on the ecology of the short-eared dog and refining its distribution range, our results stress that forest loss poses a serious threat to the conservation of the species in a short time frame. Hence, we propose a re-assessment of the short-eared dog's current IUCN Red List status (Near Threatened) based on findings presented here. Our study exemplifies how data can be integrated across sources and modelling procedures to improve our knowledge of relatively understudied species.

Wild canids and ecological traps, facing deforestation and climate change in the Amazon Rainforest

“…Apparently, this species is a specialist in forest habitats, in particular in continuous and preserved forest (Michalski, 2010;Leite-Pitman and Willians, 2011). Probably, the loss of suitability for this species is directly related to the loss of deforestation and forest degradation (Rocha et al, 2020). In addition to the distribution of the climatic niche of this species mainly coinciding with the most conserved regions of the Amazon Forest, our results showed a strong influence of Forests and Water on the occurrence of A. microtis .…”

“…It is solitary (Peres, 1991), usually with a diurnal activity (Leite- Pitman and Williams, 2004;Blake et al, 2012). Individuals of this species does not seem to tolerate disturbed habitats and prefer continuous primary lowland and upland forests (Michalski, 2010;Leite-Pitman and Willians, 2011;Rocha et al, 2020). This species is classified as "Near Threatened" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Leite- Pitman and Willians, 2011).…”

“…The database of geographic records of the three species was built from literature data and online databases, such as Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; http://www.gbif.org/; GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.dyy7qk) and Species Link (http://splink.cria.org.br/) (Figure 1, Supplemental Material-Table S1). Especially for A. microtis , we used most of the records from Rocha et al (2020) publication. In addition, we used data from unprecedented inventories of camera traps and Linear Transection census, carried out by the team of the Laboratory of Ecology and Zoology of Vertebrates of the Federal University of Pará (Brazil), between 2000 and 2019 (Appendix-Figure 1 and Supplemental Material-Table S1).…”

“…These are small to medium-sized (from 4 to 11 Kg) canids with a broad and partly sympatric distribution in the Amazon region. The occurrence and distribution of canids have been associated with environmental characteristics and interspecific competition (De Oliveira and Pereira, 2014;De Moura Bubadué et al, 2016;Rocha et al, 2020). Rocha et al (2020) showed a strong connection of A. microtis to forest habitats, and how it has been negatively affected by deforestation in the Amazon.…”

Patch characteristics and domestic dogs differentially affect carnivore space use in fragmented landscapes in southern Chile

“…For example, a disturbance from fragmentation may shuffle species distributions and facilitate the invasion of non-native competitors or other species (Crooks, 2002;Echeverría et al, 2007;Jessen et al, 2018). Overall, the impacts of fragmentation are even less clear for mesocarnivores, many of which are generalists and have smaller home ranges than their larger counterparts, and thus may be more resistant to or even benefit from fragmentation (but see Crooks et al, 2017;Rocha et al, 2020). Similar to fragmentation, our expectations for the effect of habitat loss on carnivores are not straightforward, and the importance of habitat type may be superseded by intraguild dynamics (Randa & Yunger, 2006).…”