Identifying predictors of the relative abundance of the giant anteater in agroforestry landscapes

Abstract

The northeastern region of São Paulo state retains the most relevant Cerrado fragments in the state. However, these are immersed in matrices strongly dominated by intensive agriculture and forestry. Thus, the survival in this region of mammals that naturally occur in low densities and have specialized feeding habits is of concern. This is the case of the giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, a taxon threatened not only in the state of São Paulo, but nationally and internationally, and that still persists in this region. This study aims to estimate and compare the relative abundance of the giant anteater in 55 landscapes with different degrees of natural and anthropized vegetation cover in the northeastern region of the state of São Paulo. We will do tis identifying the main cover and landscape configuration variables in the study region with significant effect on relative abundance. We will also investigate whether the set of environmental factors with an effect on the relative abundance of breeding individuals (females detected with pups) differs from individuals with no evidence of reproduction. The data to be used have already been collected in a previous FAPESP project (Auxílio Regular FAPESP number 2016/19106-1), where sampling protocols with camera traps were used. In the analysis we will use a parameterization of occupancy models in which the variation of relative abundance (number of individuals available for detection), our main parameter of interest, is modeled by the heterogeneity of detection, without the need for individual identification. All analyses will be done via PRESENCE and MARK softwares and by the unmarked package of R. The results will indicate the features and characteristics of the landscape most important to the retention of populations of the species, improving the understanding of the conservation status of the species, and providing data to support decision making on the best strategies for its conservation.