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Large felids as predators of wild boars in the Atlantic Forest: reconciling Verdade et al . and Rosa et al .
2018; Wiley; Volume: 21; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/acv.12402
ISSN1469-1795
AutoresCarla Grasiele Zanin Hegel, Miguel Ângelo Marini,
Tópico(s)Human-Animal Interaction Studies
ResumoAnimal ConservationVolume 21, Issue 5 p. 363-364 Letter to the EditorFree Access Large felids as predators of wild boars in the Atlantic Forest: reconciling Verdade et al. and Rosa et al. C. G. Z. Hegel, Corresponding Author C. G. Z. Hegel carlinhahehe@yahoo.com.br Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões-Campus Erechim, Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Correspondence Carla G. Z. Hegel, Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Morcegos, Departamento de Zoologia, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal 70910-900, Brazil. Email: carlinhahehe@yahoo.com.brSearch for more papers by this authorM. Â. Marini, M. Â. Marini Departamento de Zoologia, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, BrazilSearch for more papers by this author C. G. Z. Hegel, Corresponding Author C. G. Z. Hegel carlinhahehe@yahoo.com.br Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões-Campus Erechim, Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Correspondence Carla G. Z. Hegel, Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Morcegos, Departamento de Zoologia, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal 70910-900, Brazil. Email: carlinhahehe@yahoo.com.brSearch for more papers by this authorM. Â. Marini, M. Â. Marini Departamento de Zoologia, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Distrito Federal, BrazilSearch for more papers by this author First published: 23 January 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12402Citations: 9AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat In their ‘Letter from the Conservation Front Line’ published in Animal Conservation, Verdade et al. (2015) question the role of predation by jaguars Panthera onca on the demography of wild boar Sus scrofa in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and how this predator-prey relationship might change with time. They suggest that wild boars might be an alternative prey for jaguars in the Atlantic Forest. Their arguments were questioned by Rosa, Puertas & Galetti (2016) in their ‘Letter to the Editor’ published in Animal Conservation, where the authors raised doubts about jaguars’ ability to control wild boar invasion in Brazil, because of the large body size of adult wild boars in relation to jaguars, except for when they prey upon juveniles and piglets. Verdade et al. (2017) responded to Rosa et al. (2016) reinforcing the idea that jaguars could prey upon wild boars since they are known to prey upon other large preys such as capybaras, and caimans. Here, we provide evidence that large felids do prey upon wild boar juveniles and piglets in the Atlantic Forest. During a study of the impacts of wild boars on vegetation, mammals and birds of the Atlantic Forest (Hegel & Marini, 2013; Hegel, 2017), we found three apparent predation events upon both juveniles and piglets by the puma (Puma concolor) in the northeast of State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Two sets of faeces from puma were found, one in April 2011 on a trail inside a reserve (Estação Ecológica de Aracuri-Esmeralda, Muitos Capões municipality) (28°13′40.7″S; 51°09′49.1″W), and another in September 2015 on a post-harvest corn plantation also at Muitos Capões (28°16′21.0″S; 51°14′48.4″W) (Fig. 1a). Both set of faeces had typical hair of wild boar piglets and small hoof fragments, and puma footprints were found nearby. The second set of evidence was a fresh, partially eaten carcass of a juvenile wild boar, found in March 2013 inside a forest fragment at the municipality of Dois Lajeados (29°00′04.6″S; 51°46′26.8″W) (Fig. 1b). The carcass was partially covered with leaves and twigs (typical caching behaviour of pumas), had an almost intact skull, small bite marks in the neck, wild boar hairs around the carcass, crushed and broken bones, and puma footprints near the carcass. These suggest predation by puma, following the criteria of Hornocker (1970), Hayes et al. (2000) and Skewes et al. (2012). Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Records of wild boar predation by puma. (a) Faeces of puma with hairs and hoof fragments of piglets; (b) Carcass of juvenile wild boar. [Colour figure can be viewed at zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com] We show that pumas have the capacity to adapt their diet to newly available prey. Considering that jaguars are much larger than pumas (60–130 and 30–60 kg respectively; Silva, 1994), we expect that jaguars will also be able to prey upon at least juveniles and piglets, as pumas do. Thus, even though pumas and especially jaguars currently have low population densities in the Atlantic Forest (Haag et al., 2010; Beisiegel, Sana & Moraes, 2012), the potential of these large felids to control wild boar populations is real and deserves further consideration. Acknowledgements We thank Agenor Gedoz, Alcides Faraon and Jaime Diehl for help in the field, and CAPES and CNPq for fellowships. J.A.B. Monsalvo criticized a previous draft. References Beisiegel, B.M., Sana, D.A. & Moraes, E.A. Jr (2012). The jaguar in the Atlantic Forest. CAT News Special Issue 7, 14– 18. Haag, T., Santos, A.S., Sana, D.A., Morato, R.G., Cullen, L. Jr, Crawshaw, P.G. Jr, De Angelo, C., Di Bitetti, M.S., Salzano, F.M. & Eizirik, E. (2010). The effect of habitat fragmentation on the genetic structure of a top predator: loss of diversity and high differentiation among remnant populations of Atlantic Forest jaguars (Panthera onca). Mol. Ecol. 19, 4906– 4921. Hayes, C.L., Rubin, E.S., Jorgensen, M.C., Botta, R.A. & Boyce, W.M. (2000). Mountain lion predation of bighorn sheep in the Peninsular Ranges, California. J. Wildl. Manag. 64, 954– 959. Hegel, C.G.Z. (2017). Padrões de ocupação do javali (Sus scrofa L.) na Mata Atlântica sul-brasileira. MSc Dissertation, Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões at Erechim. Hegel, C.G.Z. & Marini, M.Â. (2013). Impact of the wild boar, Sus scrofa, on a fragment of Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Neotrop. Biol. Conserv. 8, 17– 24. Hornocker, M.G. (1970). An analysis of mountain lion predation upon mule deer and elk in the Idaho Primitive Area. Wildlife Monogr. 21, 3– 39. Rosa, C.A., Puertas, F. & Galetti, M. (2016). The feral pig as prey for jaguars: a reply to the ‘Letter from the Conservation Front Line’ by Verdade et al.. Anim. Conserv. 20, 111– 112. Silva, F. (1994). Mamíferos silvestres do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre: Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul. Skewes, O., Moraga, C.A., Arriagada, P. & Rau, J.R. (2012). El jabalí europeo (Sus scrofa): un invasor biológico como presa reciente del puma (Puma concolor) en el sur de Chile. Rev. Chil. Hist. Nat. 85, 227– 232. Verdade, L.M., Palomares, F., Couto, H.T.Z. & Polizel, J.L. (2015). Recent land-use changes and the expansion of an exotic potential prey: a possible redemption for Atlantic forest jaguars? Anim. Conserv. 19, 209– 211. Verdade, L.M., Palomares, F., Couto, H.T.Z. & Polizel, J.L. (2017). Land-use change and an exotic potential prey for the jaguar: a reply to da Rosa et al.. Anim. Conserv. 21, 89– 90. Citing Literature Volume21, Issue5October 2018Pages 363-364 FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation
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