Polycystic Echinococcosis (PE), a neglected life-threatening zoonotic disease caused by the cestode
is endemic in the Amazon. Despite being treatable, PE reaches a case fatality rate of around 29% ...due to late or missed diagnosis. PE is sustained in Pan-Amazonia by a complex sylvatic cycle. The hunting of its infected intermediate hosts (especially the lowland paca
) enables the disease to further transmit to humans, when their viscera are improperly handled. In this study, we compiled a unique dataset of host occurrences (~86000 records) and disease infections (~400 cases) covering the entire Pan-Amazonia and employed different modeling and statistical tools to unveil the spatial distribution of PE's key animal hosts. Subsequently, we derived a set of ecological, environmental, climatic, and hunting covariates that potentially act as transmission risk factors and used them as predictors of two independent Maximum Entropy models, one for animal infections and one for human infections. Our findings indicate that temperature stability promotes the sylvatic circulation of the disease. Additionally, we show how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) extreme events disrupt hunting patterns throughout Pan-Amazonia, ultimately affecting the probability of spillover. In a scenario where climate extremes are projected to intensify, climate change at regional level appears to be indirectly driving the spillover of
. These results hold substantial implications for a wide range of zoonoses acquired at the wildlife-human interface for which transmission is related to the manipulation and consumption of wild meat, underscoring the pressing need for enhanced awareness and intervention strategies.
Subsistence hunting provides an important food source for rural populations in tropical forests but can lead to wildlife depletion. Management of wildlife resources depends on assessments of hunting ...sustainability. We assessed the sustainability of subsistence hunting in two Amazonian Extractive Reserves. We examined hunting data from a community-based monitoring programme conducted in 30 communities during 63 consecutive months to address temporal trends in hunting yields in terms of catch per unit of effort of all game species and the six most hunted species. We also assessed the prey profiles across different communities. Game species composition did not differ between monitored communities, and the most hunted species were Tayassu pecari, large cracids, Cuniculus paca, Mazama spp., Tapirus terrestris and Pecari tajacu. Catch per unit of effort was stable for all game species and each of the most hunted species, indicating that hunting was generally sustainable. These findings reflect the exceptionally low human population density and continuous forest cover of the study landscape, and long-term hunting sustainability and local protein acquisition will depend on maintaining these social and environmental settings. The results also show that large Sustainable Use Protected Areas can help foster sustainable game management and should thus be included in public policies.
Subsistence hunting can change the demographic structure of wild mammal populations, increasing the proportion of young animals, inducing females to reproduce early and increasing litter sizes. We ...examined the relationship between hunting pressure and age structure in the Vulnerable white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari, analysing the distribution of age classes at seven sites in the region Terra do Meio in the Brazilian Amazon. These sites differ in the number of human inhabitants and hence were subject to differing hunting pressures. We completed semi-structured interviews with local people to assess the importance of hunting and of the white-lipped peccary as food. We also estimated the age of hunted white-lipped peccaries by assessing tooth eruption and tooth wear in skulls of hunted individuals. Our results indicated that the white-lipped peccary was the most frequently hunted terrestrial animal in the region. Fishing, followed by hunting, provided the main sources of animal protein. Our data suggest there is no relationship between age structure and hunting at the study sites. The social structure and mobility of white-lipped peccaries seem to minimize the effects of hunting on age structure. Our results, similar to previous studies, show that the age structure of the white-lipped peccary is robust to hunting impacts. Other factors may have stronger effects on age structure than subsistence hunting. We suggest that deforestation may explain the prevalence of older individuals in peccary populations to the north of our study sites.
A review on human attitudes towards reptiles in Brazil Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega; Vieira, Kleber Silva; Santana, Gindomar Gomes ...
Environmental monitoring and assessment,
11/2012, Letnik:
184, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
For many millennia humans and reptiles have interacted, but the attitude of humans towards these animals has depended on culture, environment, and personal experience. At least 719 reptile species ...are known to occur in Brazil and about 11% of this fauna has been exploited for many different purposes, including bushmeat, leather, ornamental and magic/religious uses, and as folk medicines. Brazil can therefore serve as an interesting case study for better understanding reptile use by human societies, and the present paper catalogues some of the reptile species being used in Brazil and discusses implications for their conservation. A literature review indicated that 81 reptile species are culturally important in this country, with 47 (58%) species having multiple uses, 54 being used for medicinal purposes, 38 as food, 28 for ornamental or decorative purposes, 20 used in magic/religious practices, 18 as pets, and 40 are commonly killed when they come into contact with humans. Regarding their conservation status, 30 (37.5%) are included on State's Red List, Brazilian Red List or the IUCN Red List. There are many forms of interaction between reptiles and humans in Brazil—although most of them are quite negative in terms of wildlife conservation—which reinforces the importance of understanding such uses and interactions in the context of protecting reptiles in Brazil. A better understanding of the cultural, social, and traditional roles of these reptiles is fundamental to establishing management plans for their sustainable use.
Amazon river turtles are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and alteration due to the Brazilian energy policy based on construction of hydroelectric dams, meanwhile, populational studies remain ...scarce. We described the population structure, and established body allometric relationships of Podocnemis unifilis in the Terra do Meio Ecological Station in the Iriri River, tributary of the Xingu River upstream the Belo Monte dam under construction Turtles were captured by hand net and diving in 2012 and 2013 dry seasons, and 2013 rainy season. A total of 728 males, 296 females and four juveniles were captured. Adult sex ratio was male-biased by 9.15 ♂:1 ♀. Females were significantly larger than males. Mean straight carapace length was 268.9 ± 46.7 mm (165 - 403) for females; and 232.7 ± 24.8 mm (167 - 303) for males. The sexes were morphologically distinct in function of a proportionally larger plastron, and higher carapace, on females. Allometric relationships between straight carapace length and other morphometric traits were strong for males (R2 range = 0.87 - 0.96 and females (R2 range =0.79 - 0.98. Exploitation of P. unifilis in biomass extirpated from the Middle Xingu River may be estimated from body parts found post-consumption by the presented regressions.
Consumption of turtles by natives and settlers in the Amazon and Orinoco has been widely studied in scientific communities. Accepted cultural customs and the local dietary and monetary needs need to ...be taken into account in conservation programs, and when implementing federal laws related to consumption and fishing methods. This study was conducted around the Purus River, a region known for the consumption and illegal trade of turtles. The objective of this study was to quantify the illegal turtle trade in Tapauá and to understand its effect on the local economy.
This study was conducted in the municipality of Tapauá in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. To estimate turtle consumption, interviews were conducted over 2 consecutive years (2006 and 2007) in urban areas and isolated communities. The experimental design was randomized with respect to type of household. To study the turtle fishery and trade chain, we used snowball sampling methodology.
During our study period, 100% of respondents reported consuming at least three species of turtles (Podocnemis spp.). Our estimates indicate that about 34 tons of animals are consumed annually in Tapauá along the margins of a major fishing river in the Amazon. At least five components related to the chain of commercialization of turtles on the Purus River are identified: Indigenous Apurinã and (2) residents of bordering villages (communities); (3) of local smugglers buy and sell turtles to the community in exchange for manufactured goods, and (4) regional smugglers buy in Tapauá, Lábrea, and Beruri to sell in Manaus and Manacapuru; Finally, (5) there are professional fishermen.
We quantify the full impact of turtle consumption and advocate the conservation of the region's turtle populations. The Brazilian government should initiate a new turtle consumption management program which involves the opinions of consumers. With these measures the conservation of freshwater turtles in the Brazilian Amazon, is possible.
•Subsistence hunting is crucial for Amazonian culture and local food security.•Subsistence hunting occupies a controversial legal status in Brazil.•A regulatory framework for subsistence hunting is ...urgent in Brazil.•Wildlife co-management is imperative to promote subsistence hunting rights.
Subsistence hunting is an important cultural activity and a major source of dietary protein and other products for indigenous and non-indigenous populations throughout Amazonia. Nonetheless, subsistence hunting occupies an uncertain legal status in Brazil, leaving many traditional and rural Amazonian populations subject to arbitrary interpretation and enforcement of contradictory laws. The Brazilian Wildlife Protection Act of 1967, which helped to stem the slaughter of wild animals for the international hide market, made the hunting of all wild animals illegal. Later, only indigenous peoples had their rights to hunting explicitly recognized in Brazilian laws. Exceptions for other traditional and rural populations were then introduced, allowing subsistence hunters to own and license guns and hunt with them in a “state of necessity” or “to quench hunger” through the Brazilian Disarmament Statute and Environmental Crimes Law. These legal inconsistences mean that there is no single regulatory framework for subsistence hunting in Brazil. This scenario of uncertainties jeopardizes the establishment of consistent sustainable hunting management practices across Brazilian indigenous lands, sustainable use reserves and agrarian reform settlement areas. This article analyzes the relevant legislation and examines evidence from key studies with a view towards implementing robust, scientifically informed and practically feasible co-management strategies for indigenous and sustainable use reserves in the Brazilian Amazon. By focusing on subsistence rights, food sovereignty and organizational autonomy as guaranteed in international agreements ratified in Brazil, the framework presented here involves empowerment and technical training of local people in Amazonia to monitor and manage their own resource base.
•Brazil’s Amazonian hydroelectric dams are a concern regarding Lula’s presidency.•Lula initiated and still defends the Belo Monte Dam, which has catastrophic impacts.•The Volta Grande, a 130-km river ...stretch, has lost over 80% of its natural flow.•Traditional people, including three indigenous groups, have lost food security.•Renewal of Belo Monte’s operating license tests Lula’s socioenvironmental commitment.
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Lula’s presidency in Brazil offers great hope for the environment but plans for hydroelectric dams in Amazonia represent an area of concern. The Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant that Lula promoted in his previous administrations and still defends illustrates the contradictions. In 2015 Belo Monte diverted water from the Xingu River through a canal that, since 2019, has left a 130-km river stretch with less than 30% of its natural annual discharge. This has compromised the food security of three Indigenous groups and of traditional non-indigenous river-dwelling people dependent on the river’s fish and turtles. Endemic (and threatened) species and unique ecosystems are now being eliminated. The pending renewal of Belo Monte’s operating license poses a test for the Lula administration’s socioenvironmental commitment. We offer suggestions for improved governance for existing dams like Belo Monte but conclude that no more large dams should be built in Amazonia.
Freshwater turtles are a valuable food resource for riverine human communities and have been historically overharvested throughout all major tropical large river basins, with consequent gradual ...population decreases. Even species considered to be abundant are declining, and in many cases were brought to a condition of near extinction. The collection of adult females during breeding season on nesting beaches is considered a major factor in population decline and subsequent loss of food sources for humans. There is growing consensus that adult females constitute the category which turtle populations can least afford to lose. In the Negro River Basin, the podocnemidid big-headed Amazon River turtle,
Peltocephalus dumerilianus
, is heavily exploited for consumption and poached for illegal trade among riverine communities and cities. Between 1997 and 2002 and in 2019, we measured live turtles and carapaces of big-headed turtles in the city of Barcelos and its surroundings, and among the riverine families living in the Jaú National Park. We compared body sizes and sex ratios between areas, periods, and between consumed and traded individuals. We found no differences between areas, even those close to Barcelos and the ones belonging to remote areas where pressure levels are lower. The individuals consumed in Jaú National Park are larger than those poached for illegal trade in both areas. There was an increase in average size between 1997 and 2002. Sex ratio was slightly skewed toward males, which were larger, and did not differ between areas and periods. Results indicate stability on size of harvested populations, which may be supporting current extraction levels. Data suggest this could be related to the absence of adult female capture during nesting for this species. We recommend protection strategies for other Amazon Podocnemidid species that focus on the protection of nesting beaches and surrounding areas where adults occupy, specifically in areas under communal protection.
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