Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The rusty-margined guan (Penelope superciliaris) in the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest: density, population size, activity and habitat use

Juliane Pereira-Ribeiro A D , Átilla Colombo Ferreguetti A , Walfrido Moraes Tomas B , Helena Godoy Bergallo A , Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha A and Daniel M. Brooks C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Ecology, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20550-019, Brazil.

B Wildlife Laboratory, Embrapa Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, CEP 79320-900, Brazil.

C Department. Vertebrate Zoology, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email: julianeribeiro25@gmail.com

Wildlife Research 45(6) 551-558 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR17161
Submitted: 13 November 2017  Accepted: 14 July 2018   Published: 27 September 2018

Abstract

Context: Population estimation and monitoring are important tools for the support of programs and actions of conservation for most wildlife species, including birds. For validation of such support, a set of reliable, consistent and comparable parameter estimates is essential (through systematic monitoring over time), in addition to studies on ecological aspects of the species.

Aims: In this study, our aim was to analyse the population of Penelope superciliaris in the Vale Natural Reserve (VNR), located in north-eastern Espírito Santo, Brazil, providing estimates of density, population size and activity. We also analysed occupancy and detectability of the species, relating them to six covariates (distance from forest edge, water and road, as well as poaching intensity, canopy cover and understorey cover) based on previous knowledge of the ecology of rusty-margined guan.

Methods: We used line-transect surveys to estimate density and abundance, and camera traps to estimate habitat use by P. superciliaris, using the occupancy modelling approach.

Key results: Estimated density for P. superciliaris was 2.5 ± 1.0 groups per km2 with a group size of 6.0 ± 2.0 individuals, and estimated population size for the entire VNR was 3544 ± 495 individuals. Occupancy by P. superciliaris was best described by three covariates: (1) distance to road; (2) distance to water; and (3) poaching intensity. Detectability was affected by two covariates: (1) understorey cover; and (2) poaching intensity.

Conclusions: Our results provide the first information on density, habitat use and activity of P. superciliaris in the VNR. We concluded that P. superciliaris is active diurnally, especially during morning and late afternoon, prefers areas near water sources in denser forests and tends to avoid areas with habitat modification and intense poaching activity.

Implications: Our data highlight the impact of poaching on the species and can be useful as a baseline for future studies and Cracid conservation plans.

Additional keywords: Cracidae, detectability, distance sampling, guans, occupancy modelling, population abundance.


References

Alves, F., López-Iborra, G. M., and Silveira, L. F. (2015). Population size assessment of the endangered red-billed curassow Crax blumenbachii: accounting for variation in detectability and sex-biased estimates. Oryx 49, 1–9.

Alves, F., López-Iborra, G. M., Stojanovic, D., and Silveira, L. F. (2017). Habitat selection by the endangered red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii) in an Atlantic forest remnant. Emu 117, 316–324.
Habitat selection by the endangered red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii) in an Atlantic forest remnant.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Antunes, A. Z. (2008). Diurnal and seasonal variability in bird counts in a forest fragment in southeastern Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 25, 228–237.
Diurnal and seasonal variability in bird counts in a forest fragment in southeastern Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Barrio, J. (2011). Hunting pressure on cracids (Cracidae: Aves) in forest concessions in Peru. Revista Peruana de Biología 18, 225–230.
Hunting pressure on cracids (Cracidae: Aves) in forest concessions in Peru.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Barros, F. B., Pereira, H. M., and Vicente, L. (2011). Use and knowledge of the razor–billed curassow Pauxi tuberosa (Spix, 1825) (Galliformes, Cracidae) by a riverine community of the Oriental Amazonia, Brazil. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 7, 1–11.
Use and knowledge of the razor–billed curassow Pauxi tuberosa (Spix, 1825) (Galliformes, Cracidae) by a riverine community of the Oriental Amazonia, Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Begazo, A. J., and Bodmer, R. E. (1998). Use and conservation of Cracidae (Aves: Galliformes) in the Peruvian Amazon. Oryx 32, 301–309.
Use and conservation of Cracidae (Aves: Galliformes) in the Peruvian Amazon.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

BirdLife International (2016). Penelope superciliaris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22678370A92770303. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678370A927 70303.en [Accessed 19 July 2017]

Blake, J. G. (1992). Temporal variation in point counts of birds in a lowland wet forest in Costa Rica. The Condor 94, 265–275.
Temporal variation in point counts of birds in a lowland wet forest in Costa Rica.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Borges, S. H. (1999). Relative use of secondary forests by cracids in central Amazonia. Ornitologia Neotropical 10, 77–80.

Brooks, D. M., and Fuller, R. (2006). Biology and conservation of cracids. In ‘Conserving Cracids: the Most Threatened Family of Birds in the Americas’. (Eds D. M. Brooks, L. Cancino and S. L. Pereira.) pp. 11–17. (Houston Museum of Natural Science: Houston, TX.)

Brooks, D. M., and Strahl, S. D. (Eds.) (2000). ‘Curassows, Guans and Chachalacas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Cracids 2000–2004’. (IUCN/SSC Cracid Specialist Group: Cambridge, UK.)

Brooks, D. M., Pando-Vasquez, L., Ocmin-Petit, A., and Tejada-R, J. (1999). Separacion de recursos en una comunidad de aves de caza napo-amazonicas. In ‘Manejo y Conservacion de Fauna Silvestre en America Latina’. (Eds T. G. Fang, O. L. Montenegro and R. E. Bodmer.) pp. 409–413. (Instituto de Ecologia: La Paz, Bolivia.)

Buckland, S. T., Anderson, D. R., Burnham, K. P., Laake, J. L., Borchers, D. L., and Thomas, L. (Eds) (2001). ‘Introduction to Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Population.’ (Oxford University Press: Cary, NC.)

Buckland, S. T., Marsden, S. J., and Green, R. E. (2008). Estimating bird abundance: making methods work. Bird Conservation International 18, 91–108.
Estimating bird abundance: making methods work.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Burnham, K. P., and Anderson, D. R. (Eds) (2002). ‘Model Selection and Multimodel Inference. A Practical Information-theoretic Approach.’ (Springer: New York.)

Chiarello, A. G. (2000). Influência da caça ilegal sobre mamíferos e aves das matas de tabuleiro do norte do estado do Espírito Santo. Boletim do Museu de Biologia Mello Leitão 12, 229–247.

Cullen, L., Bodmer, R. E., and Valladares-Padua, C. (2000). Effects of hunting in habitat fragments of the Atlantic forests, Brazil. Biological Conservation 95, 49–56.
Effects of hunting in habitat fragments of the Atlantic forests, Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Delacour, J., and Amadon, D. (Eds) (1973). ‘Curassows and Related Birds.’ (American Museum of Natural History: Washington, DC.)

Ferreguetti, A. C., Tomas, W. M., and Bergallo, H. G. (2015). Density, occupancy, and activity pattern of two sympatric deer (Mazama) in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy 96, 1245–1254.
Density, occupancy, and activity pattern of two sympatric deer (Mazama) in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ferreguetti, A. C., Tomas, W. M., and Bergallo, H. G. (2016). Density and niche segregation of two armadillo species (Xenarthra: Dasypodidae) in the Vale Natural Reserve, Brazil. Mammalian Biology 81, 138–145.
Density and niche segregation of two armadillo species (Xenarthra: Dasypodidae) in the Vale Natural Reserve, Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ferreguetti, A. C., Tomas, W. M., and Bergallo, H. G. (2017). Density, occupancy, and detectability of lowland tapirs, Tapirus terrestris, in Vale Natural Reserve, southeastern Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy 98, 114–123.
Density, occupancy, and detectability of lowland tapirs, Tapirus terrestris, in Vale Natural Reserve, southeastern Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ferreguetti, A. C., Pereira-Ribeiro, J., Tomas, W. M., Bergallo, H. G., and Rocha, C. F. D. (2018). Density, habitat use, and activity patterns of a vulnerable population of Tinamus solitarius (Vieillot, 1819) in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragment. Canadian Journal of Zoology 96, 245–252.
Density, habitat use, and activity patterns of a vulnerable population of Tinamus solitarius (Vieillot, 1819) in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragment.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Fiske, I., and Chandler, R. (2011). Unmarked: an R package for fitting hierarchical models of wildlife occurrence and abundance. Journal of Statistical Software 43, 1–23.
Unmarked: an R package for fitting hierarchical models of wildlife occurrence and abundance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Guix, J. C. (1997). Exclusão geográfica e ecológica de Penelope obscura, Penelope superciliaris e Pipile jacutinga (Galliformes, Cracidae) no estado de São Paulo. Ararajuba 5, 195–202.

Hayes, F. E., Sanasie, B., and Samad, I. (2009). Status and conservation of the critically endangered Trinidad piping-guan Aburria pipile. Endangered Species Research 7, 77–84.
Status and conservation of the critically endangered Trinidad piping-guan Aburria pipile.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Hill, D. L., Arañibar-Rojas, H., and MacLeod, R. (2008). Wattled Curassows in Bolivia: abundance, habitat use, and conservation status. Journal of Field Ornithology 79, 345–351.
Wattled Curassows in Bolivia: abundance, habitat use, and conservation status.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Jacobs, M. D., and Walker, J. S. (1999). Density estimates of birds inhabiting fragments of cloud forest in southern Ecuador. Bird Conservation International 9, 73–79.
Density estimates of birds inhabiting fragments of cloud forest in southern Ecuador.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Järvinen, O., Väisänen, R. A., and Haila, Y. (1977). Bird census results in different years, stages of the breeding season, and times of the day. Ornis Fennica 54, 108–118.

Jesus, R. M. (1987). Mata Atlântica de Linhares: Aspectos Florestais. In ‘Desenvolvimento Econômico e Impacto Ambiental em Áreas de Trópico Úmido Brasileiro – A experiência da CVRD’. (Eds Secretaria Estadual de Meio Ambiente, Idaho Water Resource Board, and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce), pp. 35–71. (CVRD, Rio de Janeiro: Brazil)

Kattan, G. H., Munoz, M. C., and Kikuchi, D. W. (2016). Population densities of curassows, guans, and chachalacas (Cracidae): effects of body size, habitat, season, and hunting. The Condor 118, 24–32.
Population densities of curassows, guans, and chachalacas (Cracidae): effects of body size, habitat, season, and hunting.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Kierulff, M. C., Avelar, L. H. S., Ferreira, M. E. S., Povoa, K. F., and Bernils, R. S. (2014). Reserva Natural Vale: história e aspectos físicos. Ciência & Ambiente 49, 7–40.

Laake, J., Buckland, S., Anderson, D., and Burnham, K. (Eds) (1994). ‘Distance User’s Guide’. (Colorado State University Press: Fort Collins, CO.)

Leite, G. A., Farias, I. P., Peres, C. A., and Brooks, D. M. (2017). Reproductive biology of the endangered wattled curassow (Crax globulosa) in the Juruá River Basin, Brazil. Journal of Natural History 2017, 1–11.

Lemmon, P. E. (1957). A new instrument for measuring forest overstory density. Journal of Forestry 55, 667–668.

Loures-Ribeiro, A., Manhães, M. A., and Dias, M. M. (2011). Sensitivity of understorey bird species in two different successional stages of the lowland Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 83, 973–980.
Sensitivity of understorey bird species in two different successional stages of the lowland Atlantic Forest, Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Luna-Maira, L., Alarcón-Nieto, G., Haugaasen, T., and Brooks, D. (2013). Habitat use and ecology of Wattled Curassows on islands in the lower Caquetá River, Colombia. Journal of Field Ornithology 84, 23–31.
Habitat use and ecology of Wattled Curassows on islands in the lower Caquetá River, Colombia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Lund, U., and Agostinelli, C. (2007). Circular: circular statistics. Available at http://cran.r-project.org/package5circular [Accessed 27 July 2017]

Mackenzie, D., Nichols, J., Royle, J., Pollock, K., Bailey, L., and Hines, J. (Eds) (2006). ‘Occupancy Estimation and Modeling: Inferring Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence.’ (Elsevier: Amsterdam, Netherlands.)

Magnusson, W. E., Lima, A. P., Luizão, R., Luizão, F., Costa, F. R. C., Castilho, C. V., and Kinupp, V. F. (2005). RAPELD: Uma modificação do método de Gentry para o levantamento da biodiversidade em áreas. Biota Neotropica 5, 1–6.

Martinez-Morales, M. A. (1999). Conservation status and habitat preferences of the Cozumel curassow. The Condor 101, 14–20.
Conservation status and habitat preferences of the Cozumel curassow.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Mikich, S. B. (2002). A dieta frugívora de Penelope superciliaris (Cracidae) em remanescentes de floresta estacional semidecidual no centro-oeste do Paraná, Brasil e sua relação com Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae). Ararajuba 10, 207–217.

O’Brien, T. G., and Kinnaird, M. F. (2008). A picture is worth a thousand words: the application of camera trapping to the study of birds. Bird Conservation International 18, 144–162.
A picture is worth a thousand words: the application of camera trapping to the study of birds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Oliveira-Santos, L. G. R., Zucco, C. A., and Agostinelli, C. (2013). Using conditional circular kernel density functions to test hypotheses on animal circadian activity. Animal Behaviour 85, 269–280.
Using conditional circular kernel density functions to test hypotheses on animal circadian activity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Pereira, S.L. and Brooks D.M. (2006). Conservando os Cracídeos: a família de aves mais ameaçadas das Américas. Miscellaneous Publications of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Number 6, Houston, TX.

Pietz, P. J., and Granfors, D. A. (2005). Parental nest defense on videotape: more reality than “myth”. The Auk 122, 701–705.
Parental nest defense on videotape: more reality than “myth”.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Ribon, R., Simon, J. E., and Mattos, G. T. (2003). Bird extinctions in Atlantic Forest fragments of the Viçosa Region, southeastern Brazil. Conservation Biology 17, 1827–1839.
Bird extinctions in Atlantic Forest fragments of the Viçosa Region, southeastern Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sick, H. (Ed) (2001). ‘Ornitologia Brasileira.’ 4th edn (Nova Fronteira: Rio de Janeiro.)

Sousa, J. A. C., and Srbek-Araujo, A. C. (2017). Are we headed towards the defaunation of the last large Atlantic Forest remnants? Poaching activities in one of the largest remnants of the Tabuleiro forests in southeastern Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 189, 129.
Are we headed towards the defaunation of the last large Atlantic Forest remnants? Poaching activities in one of the largest remnants of the Tabuleiro forests in southeastern Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Srbek-Araujo, A. C., Silveira, L. F., and Chiarello, A. G. (2012). The red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii): social organization and daily activity patterns. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124, 321–327.
The red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii): social organization and daily activity patterns.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sutherland, W. J. (Ed.) (2000). ‘The Conservation Handbook: Research, Management and Policy.’ (Blackwell Science: Oxford, UK.)

Taylor, S. L., and Pollard, K. S. (2008). Evaluation of two methods to estimate and monitor bird populations. PLoS One 3, e3047.
Evaluation of two methods to estimate and monitor bird populations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Thel, T. N., Teixeira, P. H., Lyra-Neves, R. M., Telino-Júnior, W. R., Ferreira, J. M., and Azevedo-Júnior, S. M. (2015). Aspects of the ecology of Penelope superciliaris Temminck, 1815 (Aves: Cracidae) in the Araripe National Forest, Ceará, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 75, 126–135.
Aspects of the ecology of Penelope superciliaris Temminck, 1815 (Aves: Cracidae) in the Araripe National Forest, Ceará, Brazil.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Zaca, W., Silva, W. R., and Pedroni, F. (2006). Diet of the rusty-margined Guan (Penelope superciliaris) in an altitudinal forest fragment of southeastern Brazil. Ornitologia Neotropical 17, 373–382.