CSIRO Publishing blank image blank image blank image blank imageBooksblank image blank image blank image blank imageJournalsblank image blank image blank image blank imageAbout Usblank image blank image blank image blank imageShopping Cartblank image blank image blank image You are here: Journals > Wildlife Research   
Wildlife Research
Journal Banner
  Ecology, Management and Conservation in Natural and Modified Habitats
 
blank image Search
 
blank image blank image
blank image
 
  Advanced Search
   

Journal Home
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Contacts
Content
Online Early
Current Issue
Just Accepted
All Issues
Special Issues
Sample Issue
For Authors
General Information
Notice to Authors
Submit Article
Open Access
For Referees
General Information
Review Article
Referee Guidelines
Annual Referee Index
For Subscribers
Subscription Prices
Customer Service
Print Publication Dates

blue arrow e-Alerts
blank image
Subscribe to our Email Alert or RSS feeds for the latest journal papers.

red arrow Connect with us
blank image
facebook   youtube

 

Article << Previous     |     Next >>   Contents Vol 39(6)

First telemetry study of bush dogs: home range, activity and habitat selection

Edson de Souza Lima A B G I , Karen E. DeMatteo C D , Rodrigo S. P. Jorge B E G , Maria Luisa S. P. Jorge F G , Julio Cesar Dalponte G , Herson Souza Lima A and Stuart A. Klorfine H

A UNEMAT, Departamento de Ciência Biológicas, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil.
B Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (CENAP/ICMBio), Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
C University of Missouri-St Louis, Department of Biology, St Louis, Missouri, USA.
D University of Missouri-Columbia, Division of Biological Sciences, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
E Instituto Brasileiro para a Medicina da Conservação – TRÍADE, Recife, PE, Brazil.
F Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, UNESP – Campus Rio Claro, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
G Instituto para a Conservação dos Carnivoros Neotropicais/Pro-Carnívoros, Atibaia, SP, Brazil.
H University of Washington, Department of Professional and Continuing Education, Seattle, Washington, USA.
I Corresponding author. Email: edsolima@hotmail.com

Wildlife Research 39(6) 512-519 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WR11176
Submitted: 18 October 2011  Accepted: 17 May 2012   Published: 1 August 2012
 
PDF (369 KB) $25
 Export Citation
 Print
  
Abstract

Context: The bush dog (Speothos venaticus) is difficult to observe, capture, and study. To date, indirect evidence and opportunistic field observations have been the primary sources of information about the species’ ecology. Field data are urgently needed to clarify the species’ ecological requirements, behaviour and movement patterns.

Aims: The present study uses 13 months of telemetry data from a group of bush dogs to begin to address questions about area requirements, habitat preferences and movement patterns of this difficult-to-study species.

Methods: We tracked a group of bush dogs (two adults, one juvenile, four young) in an area of intact and altered Cerrado (woodland–savanna biome) in eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil (Nova Xavantina District).

Key results: The group had a total home range of 140 km2 (fixed kernel 95%), with smaller seasonal ‘subareas’ (areas used for 1–2 months before moving to another area, with repetition of some areas over time) and demonstrated a preference for native habitats.

Conclusions: The bush dog’s home range is greater than that of other canids of the same size, even correcting for group size. Patterns of seasonal movement are also different from what has been observed in other South American canids.

Implications: From our observations in the Brazilian savanna, bush dogs need large tracks of native habitat for their long-term persistence. Although the present study is based on a single pack, it is highly relevant for bush dog conservation because it provides novel information on the species’ spatial requirements and habitat preferences.

Additional keywords: canid, habitat use, social living, Speothos venaticus.


References

Aebischer, N. J., Robertson, P. A., and Kenward, R. E. (1993). Compositional analyses of habitat use from animal radio-tracking date. Ecology 74, 1313–1325.
| CrossRef |

Aquino, R., and Puertas, P. (1997). Observations of Speothos venaticus (Canidae: Carnivora) in its natural habitat in Peruvian Amazonia. Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde 62, 117–118.

Barnett, A., Shapley, R., and Engstrom, M. (2001). Records of the bush dog, Speothos venaticus (Lund, 1842) from Guyana. Mammalia 65, 232–237.

Beisiegel, B. M. (1999). Contribuição ao estudo da história natural do cachorro do mato, Cerdocyon thous, e do cachorro vinagre, Speothos venaticus. Ph.D. Thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Beisiegel, B. M. (2009). First camera trap record of bush dogs in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Canid News 12.5 [online]. Available at http://www.canids.org/canidnews/12/Bush_dogs_in Sao_Paulo.pdf [verified 20 January 2011].

Beisiegel, B. M., and Zuercher, G. L. (2005). Speothos venaticus. Mammalian Species 783, 1–6.
| CrossRef |

Börger, I., Franconi, N., De Michele, G., Gantz, A., Meschi, F., Manica, A., Lovari, S., and Coulson, T. (2006). Effects of sampling regime on the mean and variance of home range size estimates. Journal of Animal Ecology 75, 1393–1405.
| CrossRef |

Courtenay, O., Macdonald, D. W., Gillingham, S., Almeida, G., and Dias, R. (2006). First observations on South America’s largely insectivorous canid: the hoary fox (Pseudalopex vetulus). Journal of Zoology 268, 45–54.
| CrossRef |

DeMatteo, K. E. (2008). Using a survey of carnivore conservationists to gain insight into the ecology and conservation status of the bush dog. Canid News 11.3 [online]. Available at http://www.canids.org/canidnews/11/Bush_dog_data_survey.pdf [verified 20 December 2010].

DeMatteo, K. E., and Kochanny, C. (2004). Determining an effective and safe radio-tracking collar for bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) Canid News 7.7 [online]. Available at http://www.canids.org/canidnews/7/Radiotracking_collar_for_bush_dogs.pdf [verified 12 January 2011].

DeMatteo, K. E., and Loiselle, B. A. (2008). New data on the status and distribution of the bush dog (Speothos venaticus): evaluating its quality of protection and directing research efforts. Biological Conservation 141, 2494–2505.
| CrossRef |

DeMatteo, K. E., Carrillo, O., Zuercher, G. L., Ramírez, S., Smith, K., and Porton, I. J. (2004). A technique for attracting bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) in the wild. Canid News 7.6 [online]. Available at http://www.canids.org/canidnews/7/Attracting_bush_dogs.pdf [verified 10 December 2010].

DeMatteo, K. E., Porton, I. J., Kleiman, D. G., and Asa, C. S. (2006). The effect of the male bush dog (Speothos venaticus) on the female reproductive cycle. Journal of Mammalogy 87, 723–732.
| CrossRef |

DeMatteo, K. E., Rinas, M. A., Sede, M. M., Davenport, B., Argüelles, C., Lovett, K., and Parker, P. G. (2009). Detector dogs: an effective technique for bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) surveys. The Journal of Wildlife Management 73, 1436–1440.
| CrossRef |

Emmons, L. H., and Feer, F. (1990). ‘Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: a Field Guide.’ (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.)

Harris, S., Cresswell, W. J., Forde, P. G., Trewhella, W. J., Woollard, T., and Wray, S. (1990). Home-range analysis using radio-tracking data: a review of problems and techniques particularly as applied to the study of mammals. Mammal Review 20, 97–123.
| CrossRef |

Jacob, A. A., and Rudran, R. (2003). Radiotelemetria em estudos populacionais. In ‘Métodos de Estudos em Biologia da Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre’. (Eds L. Cullen Jr, R. Rudran and C. Valladares-Padua.) pp. 285–342. (Editora UFPR: Curitiba, Brazil.)

Jácomo, A. T. A., Silveira, L., and Diniz-Filho, J. A. F. (2004). Niche separation between the maned wolf (Chysocyon brachyurus), the creab-eating fox (Dusicyon thous) and the hoary fox (Dusicyon vetulus) in Central Brazil. Journal of Zoology 262, 99–106.
| CrossRef |

Jácomo, A. T. A., Kashivakura, C. K., Ferro, C., Furtado, M. M., Astete, S. P., Tôrres, N. M., Sollmann, R., and Silveira, L. (2009). Home range and spatial organization of maned wolves in the Brazilian grasslands. Journal of Mammalogy 90, 150–157.
| CrossRef |

Jorge, R. S. P., Lima, E. S., and Lucarts, L. E. B. (2008). Sarna sarcóptica ameaçando cachorros-vinagres (Speothos venaticus) de vida livre em Nova Xavantina – MT. In ‘Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Zoos (SZB)’. Available at http://www.szb.org.br/ [verified 15 December 2010].

Kleiman, D. G. (1972). Social behavior of the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and bush dog (Speothos venaticus): a study in contrast. Journal of Mammalogy 53, 791–806.
| CrossRef |

Lima, E. S., Jorge, R. S. P., and Dalponte, J. C. (2009). Habitat use and diet of bush dogs, Speothos venaticus, in the northern Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Mammalia 73, 13–19.
| CrossRef |

Macdonald, D. W., and Courtenay, O. (1996). Enduring social relationships in a population of crab-eating zorros, Cerdocyon thous, in Amazonian Brazil (Carnivora, Canidae). Journal of Zoology 239, 329–355.
| CrossRef |

Marzluff, J. M., Millspaugh, J. J., Hurvitz, P., and Handcock, M. S. (2004). Relating resources to a probabilistic measure of space use: forest fragments and Steller’s jays. Ecology 85, 1411–1427.
| CrossRef |

Michalski, F. (2010). The bush dog Speothos venaticus and short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis in a fragmented landscape in southern Amazonia. Oryx 44, 300–303.
| CrossRef |

Millspaugh, J. M, Nielson, R. M., McDonald, L., Marzluff, J. M., Gitzen, R. A., Rittenhouse, C. D., Hubbard, M. W., and Sheriff, S. L. (2006). Analysis of resources selection using utilization distributions. The Journal of Wildlife Management 70, 384–395.
| CrossRef |

MMA (Ministry of the Environment of Brazil) (2003). Instrução normativa, n°. 3. In ‘Diário Oficial de União’, 101. (Ed. Brazilian Government.) pp. 88–97 (Imprensa Nacional: Brasília, Brazil.)

MME (Ministry of Mining and Energy of Brazil) (1981). Goias: geologia, geomorfologia, vegetação, uso potencial da terra. In ‘Projeto RADAMBRASIL. Levantamento de Recursos Naturais’. (Ed. Ministry of Mining and Energy of Brazil.) p. SD.22. (Ministry of Mining and Energy of Brazil: Rio de Janeiro.)

Montalli, R. J., and Kelly, K. (1989). Pathologic survey and review of diseases of captive maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and bush dogs (Speothos venaticus). Erkrankungen Der Zootiere 61, 67–79.

Nimer, E. (Ed.) (1989). ‘Climatologia do Brasil.’ (Fundação IBGE: Rio de Janeiro.)

Oliveira, T. G. (2009). Distribution, habitat utilization and conservation of the vulnerable bush dog Speothos venaticus in northern Brazil. Oryx 43, 247–253.
| CrossRef |

Peres, C. A. (1991). Observations on hunting by small-eared (Atelocynus microtis) and bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) in central-western Amazonia. Mammalia 55, 635–639.

Porton, I., Kleiman, D. G., and Rodden, M. (1987). Aseasonality of bush dog reproduction and the influence of social factors on the estrous cycle. Journal of Mammalogy 68, 867–871.
| CrossRef |

Seaman, D. E., Millspaugh, J. J., Kernohan, B. J., Brundige, G. C., Raedeke, K. J., and Gitzen, R. A. (1999). Effects of sample size on kernal home range estimates. The Journal of Wildlife Management 63, 739–747.
| CrossRef |

Sillero-Zubiri, C., Hoffmann, M., and Macdonald, D. W. (2004). ’Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals, and Dogs.’ (IUCN Publication Services Unit: Cambridge, UK.)

Silveira, L., Jácomo, A. T. A., Rodrigues, F. H. G., and Diniz-Filho, J. A. F. (1998). Bush dogs (Speothos venaticus), in Emas National Park, Central Brazil. Mammalia 62, 446–449.

Van Humbeck, J., and Pérez, N. (Eds.) (1998). ‘Estudios del Jagua Yvyguy, Speothos venaticus, en el Centro de Investigación de Animales Silvestres de Itaipu, CIASI.’ (Superintendência de Médio Ambiente de la Itaipu Binacional: Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.)

Wauters, L. A., Preatoni, D. G., Molinari, A., and Tosi, G. (2007). Radio-tracking squirrels: performance of home range density and linkage estimators with small range and sample size. Ecological Modelling 202, 333–344.
| CrossRef |

Worton, B. J. (1987). A review of models of home range for animal movement. Ecological Modelling 38, 277–298.
| CrossRef |

Worton, B. J. (1989). Kernel methods for estimating the utilization distribution in home-range studies. Ecology 70, 164–168.
| CrossRef |

Zuercher, G. L., Gipson, P. S., and Carrillo, O. (2005). Diet and habitat associations of bush dogs Speothos venaticus in the Interior Atlantic Forest of eastern Paraguay. Oryx 39, 86–89.
| CrossRef |

Zuercher, G. L., Swarner, M., Silveira, L., and Carrillo, O. (2008). Speothos venaticus. In ‘IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1’. Available at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/20468/0 [verified 17 October 2011].


   
Subscriber Login
Username:
Password:  

 
    
Legal & Privacy | Contact Us | Help

CSIRO

© CSIRO 1996-2013