Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Artigo Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

BIBTEX RIS

Activity patterns of giant otters recorded by telemetry and camera traps

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 26; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03949370.2013.821673

1828-7131

Caroline Leuchtenberger, Carlos André Zucco, Camila C. Ribas, William E. Magnusson, Guilherme Mourão,

Fish biology, ecology, and behavior

AbstractThe giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a social species that defends territories along water bodies. Although some researchers have visually monitored otters during long periods at night, no nocturnal activity of the species has been recorded and giant otters are currently believed to be strictly diurnal. In this study, we present information about the activity patterns of groups of giant otters in the Brazilian Pantanal, using radio telemetry and camera trap data. We captured, implanted transmitters in, and monitored three male giant otters from different groups in the Miranda and the Vermelho Rivers between November 2009 and June 2011. The locations and behavior of the group were recorded at 30-min intervals from 05:00 to 19:00. Camera traps were positioned at the active dens and latrines of eight groups of giant otters in the Miranda, Vermelho and Negro Rivers between June 2010 and October 2011. The groups of giant otters were mostly crepuscular and diurnal, but 31% of the camera-trap recordings were nocturnal. Fishing was the most frequent (64%) behavior recorded by telemetry. Giant otters were recorded exiting the den mostly in the early morning (06:00) and entering the den at the end of the day (16:00 to 19:00). Nocturnal activity appeared to be associated with the need to defecate, prey availability nearby the den and predation risk.key words: Pteronura brasiliensisdenlatrineprey availabilitypredation riskscent-marknight activity ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe thank CNPq (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development) (Grant No. 476939/2008-9), the Rufford Small Grants Foundation (Grant No. 88.08.09), the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (Project No. 10051040) and the IDEA Wild for their financial support. We are also indebted to Embrapa Pantanal, Barranco Alto Farm and the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul for their logistic support. Three of the authors (C. Leuchtenberger, C.A. Zucco and C. Ribas) were recipients of CNPq scholarships. Paulo R. dos Santos, Waldomiro de L. e Silva, Sidnei Benício, Procópio de Almeida and José A.D. da Silva assisted us in the field. Lucas Leuzinger, Marina Schweizer and Jorge Schweizer helped with the camera trap survey and aerial monitoring. Luiz G.R.O. Santos performed some of the data analysis. Peter Crawshaw offered many useful suggestions and improved the English of a draft manuscript. We are particularly grateful to Mariana M. Furtado, Mario A.F. Rego and Marina Bueno for their unstinting assistance and support during the capture and surgical procedures.