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DENSIDAD POBLACIONAL DEL OSO HORMIGUERO GIGANTE (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) EN SISTEMAS GANADEROS DE PORE, CASANARE

2015; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.18636/bioneotropical.v5i1.169

2256-5426

César Rojano, Laura Miranda Cortés, Renzo Ávila Avilán,

Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation

Objective: Population density and biomass of the giant anteater ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) wasestimated in conserved and intervened landscapes of the natural floodable savanna ecosystem in the paths of San Rafael and Cafifies that belong to the Pore municipality, in Casanare, Colombia. Methods: The study area covered a surface of 347.29 km 2 . The Lineal transect method was used to calculate the density and biomass for each landscape. Results: The population density of anteaters for the study area was 0.64 ind/km 2 . A population of 222.08 individuals of M. tridactyla was estimated. The estimated population of anteaters living in the conserved natural savanna landscape was higher (1 ind/km 2 ) than that found in the intervened landscape (0.29 ind/km 2 ). The biomass calculated for the entire study area was 19.51 kg/km 2 . In the conserved natural savanna the estimated biomass was 32.90 kg/km 2 and in the introduced pastures and rice crops were 8.84 kg/km 2 . Conclusions : A decrease in the population density and biomass in the intervened pastures was observed, probably caused by the change of the use of the soil for the establishment of rice crops and introduced pastures. This is the first study that evaluates the population density of the giant anteater in Colombia. It is necessary to complement this investigation with new short and long term studies, in different ecosystems to implement conservation strategies of the species.