Abstract
Historic anthropogenic impacts affecting the distribution and ecology of Giant otters are well documented, however little is known regarding the factors affecting the current distribution of this species. Our objective was to determine the relative importance of temporal (seasonal river levels), and anthropogenic (presence of houses, boats and fishing nets) factors on the distribution of Giant otters around a sustainable-use protected area in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We conducted a total of 6836.1 km of boat surveys to record locations of both direct and indirect Giant otter sightings along 198.9 km of waterways. To understand the importance of the factors at different spatial scales we conducted analysis using data summarized at two spatial scales: 50 km river “zones” and 5.1 km river sections. Our results showed that anthropogenic disturbances were the most important determinants of the presence of both direct and indirect signs, with Giant otters rarely detected within 40 km of the nearest town. Giant otters were present in the waterways throughout the annual water cycle (high, decreasing, low and increasing river levels), with direct observations positively related with the number of fishing nets present in the waterways. Our results suggest considerable spatial and temporal overlap between Giant otters and the activities of local fishermen which must be considered for the effective management of conservation conflicts in this rapidly developing region.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ANA, 2013. Sistema de Monitoramento Hidrológico (Hydrological Monitoring System). Agência Nacional de Águas[[nl]]National Water Agency, Available at https://doi.org/www.hidroweb.ana.gov.br (accessed 20.10.13.).
Arrojo, B., Razin, M., 2006. Effect of human activities on bearded vulture behaviour and breeding success in the French Pyrenees. Biol. Conserv. 28, 276–284.
Barbieri, F., Machado, R., Zappes, C.A., de Oliveira, L.R., 2012. Interactions between the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) and gillnet fishery in the southern Brazilian coast. Ocean Coast. Manage. 63, 16–23.
Berman, M., Diggle, P., 1989. Estimating weighted integrals of the second-order intensity of a spatial point process. J. R. Stat. Soc: Ser. B 51, 81–92.
Cardoso, R.S., Freitas, C.E.C., 2007. Desembarque e esforco de pesca da frota pesqueira comercial de Manicoré (Médio Rio Madeira), Amazonas, Brasil [Disembarkation and fishing efforts of the Manicoré (Middle Madeira River) commercial fishing fleet, Amazonas, Brazil]. Acta Amazon. 34, 605–612.
Carter, S.K., Rosas, F.C.W., 1997. Biology and conservation of the giant otter Pteronura brasiliensis. Mammal Rev. 27, 1–26.
Davenport, L.C., 2010. Aid to a declining matriarch in the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). PLoS One 5, e11385.
De la Torre, S., Snowdon, C.T., Bejarano, M., 2000. Effects of human activities on wild pygmy marmosets in Ecuadorian Amazonia. Biol. Conserv. 94, 153–163.
Duplaix, N., 1980. Observation on the ecology and behavior of the giant otter Pteronura brasiliensis in Suriname. Revue Ecologique (Terre Vie) 34, 495–620.
Duplaix, N., 2002. Giant Otter Final Report. WWF—Guianas Rapid River Bio-assessments and Giant Otter Conservation, Suriname.
Duplaix, N., Waldemarin, H.F., Groenedijk, J., Evangelista, E., Munis, M., Valesco, M., Botello, J.C., 2008. Pteronura brasiliensis, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. IUCN, Available at (https://doi.org/www.iucnredlist.org) (accessed 23.08.12), 2011.
Evangelista, E., Rosas, F.C.W., 2011. The home range and movements of giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) in the Xixuan Reserve, Roraima, Brazil. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 28A, 31.
Gómez, J.R., Jorgenson, J.P., 1999. An overview of the giant otter-fisherman problem in the Orinoco Basin of Colombia. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 16, 90–96.
Groenendijk, J., Hajek, F., Duplaix, N., Reuther, C., Van Damme, P., Schenck, C., Staib, E., Wallace, R.B., Waledmarin, H., Notin, R., Marmontel, M., Rosas, F.C.W., Ely de Mattos, G., Evangelista, E., Utreras, V., Lasso, G., Jacques, H., Matos, K., Roopsind, E., Botello, J.C., 2005. Surveying and monitoring distribution and population trends of the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)—guidelines for a standardisation of survey methods as recommended by the giant otter section of the IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group. Habitat 12, 1–100.
Groenendijk, J., Hajek, F., 2006. Giants of the Madre de Dios. Frankfurt Zoological Society, Lima, Peru.
Hengl, T., 2009. A practical Guide to Geostatistical Mapping. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
ICMBio, 2012. Floresta Nacional do Amapá [National Forest of Amapá]. Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade [Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation], Available at https://doi.org/www.icmbio.gov.br/portal/ (accessed 12.09.12).
Junk, W.J., Piedade, M.T.F., Schöngart, J., Wittmann, F., 2012. A classification of major natural habitats of Amazonian white-water river floodplains (várzeas). Wetlands Ecol. Manage. 20, 461–475.
Kloskowski, J., 2011. Human-wildlife conflicts at pond fisheries in eastern Poland: perceptions and management of wildlife damage. Eur. J.Wildl. Res. 57, 295–304.
Leuchtenberger, C., Oliveira-Santos, L.G.R., Magnusson, W., Mourao, G., 2013. Space use by giant otter groups in the Brazilian Pantanal. J. Mammal. 94, 320–330.
Lima, D.S., Marmontel, M., Bernard, E., 2012. Site and refuge use by giant river otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) in the Western Brazilian Amazonia. J. Nat. Hist. 46, 729–739.
Loch, C., Marmontel, M., Simões-Lopes, P.C., 2009. Conflicts with fisheries and intentional killing of freshwater dolphins (Cetacea: Odontoceti) in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Biodivers. Conserv. 18, 3979–3988.
Mantel, N., 1967. The detection of disease clustering and a generalized regression approach. Cancer Res. 27, 209–220.
Michalski, F., Peres, C.A., 2005. Anthropogenic determinants of primate and carnivore local extinctions in a fragmented forest landscape of southern Amazonia. Biol. Conserv. 124, 383–396.
Michalski, F., Boulhosa, R.L.P., Faria, A., Peres, C.A., 2006. Human-wildlife conflicts in a fragmented Amazonian forest landscape: determinants of large felid depredation on livestock. Anim. Conserv. 9, 179–188.
Michalski, F., Conceição, P.C., Amador, J.A., Laufer, J., Norris, D., 2012. Local perceptions and implications for giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) conservation around protected areas in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon. IUCN OtterSpec. Group Bull. 29, 34–45.
Nepstad, D., Mcgrath, D.G., Soares-Filho, B., 2011. System conservation, REDD, and the future of the Amazon Basin. Conserv. Biol. 25, 1113–1125.
Norris, D., Michalski, F., 2013. Socio-economic and spatial determinants of anthropogenic predation on yellow-spotted river turtle, Podocnemis unifilis (Testudines: Pelomedusidae), nests in the Brazilian Amazon: implications for sustainable conservation and management. Zoologia 30, 482–490.
Peres, C.A., 2011. Conservation in sustainable-use tropical forest reserves. Conserv. Biol. 25, 1124–1129.
Peres, C.A., Carkeeka, A.M., 1993. How caimans protect fish stocks in western Brazilian Amazonia—a case for maintaining the ban on caiman hunting. Oryx 27, 225–230.
R Core Team, 2013. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Version 3.0.2. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, https://doi.org/www.R-project.org/.
Ranta, E., Kaitala, V., Lundberg, P., 1998. Population variability in space and time: the dynamics of synchronous population fluctuations. Oikos 83, 376–382.
Recharte, M., Bowler, M., Bodmer, R., 2008. Potential conflict between fishermen and giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) populations by fishermen in response to declining stocks of arowana fish (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) in Northeastern Peru. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 25, 89–93.
Redpath, S.M., Young, J., Evely, A., Adams, W.N., Sutherland, W.J., Whitehouse, A., Amar, A., Lambert, R.A., Linnell, J.B.C., Watt, A., Gutiérrez, R.J., 2013. Understanding and managing conservation conflicts. Trends Ecol. Evol. 28, 100–109.
Ribas, C., Mourao, G., 2004. Intraspecific agonism between giant otter groups. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 21, 1–4.
Romero, L.M., Wikelski, M., 2002. Exposure to tourism reduces stress-induced corticosterone levels in Galapagos marine iguanas. Biol. Conserv. 108, 371–374.
Rosas, F.C.W., de Mattos, G.E., Cabral, M.M.M., 2007. The use of hydroelectric lakes by giant otters Pteronura brasiliensis: Balbina lake in central Amazonia, Brazil. Oryx 41, 520–524.
Rosas, F.C.W., da Rocha, C.S., de Mattos, G.E., Lazzarini, S.M., 2009. Body weight-length relationships in giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) (Carnivora, Mustelidae). Braz. Arch. Biol. Technol. 52, 587–591.
Rosas-Ribeiro, P.F., Rosas, F.C.W., Zuanon, J., 2012. Conflict between fishermen and giant otters Pteronura brasiliensis in Western Brazilian Amazon. Biotropica 44, 437–444.
Silva, V.M.F., Best, R.C., 1996. Freshwaterdolphin/fisheries interaction in the Central Amazon (Brazil). Amazoniana 14, 165–175.
Soares-Filho, B., Moutinho, P., Nepstad, D., Anderson, A., Rodrigues, H., Garcia, R., Dietzsch, L., Merry, F., Bowman, M., Hissa, L., Silvestrini, R., Maretti, C., 2010. Role of Brazilian Amazon protected areas in climate change mitigation. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 10821–10826.
Staib, E., Schenck, C., 1994. Giant otters and ecotourism in Peru. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 9, 3–4.
Utreras, V.B., Suárez, E.R., Zapata-Ríos, G., Lasso, G., Pino, L., 2005. Dry and rainy season estimations of giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis, home range in the Yasuní National Park, Ecuador. LAJAM 4, 1–4.
Venables, W.N., Ripley, B.D., 2002. Modern Applied Statistics with S, fourth ed. Springer, New York, NY.
Wood, S.N., 2006. Generalized Additive Models: An Introduction with R. Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL.
Wood, S.N., 2013. MGCV: Mixed GAM Computation Vehicle with GCV/AIC/REML Smoothness Estimation Version 1.7–27, Available online at https://doi.org/CRAN.Rproject.org/package=mgcv(accessed: 22 October 2013).
Zuur, A.F., Ieno, E.N., Smith, G.M., 2007. Analysing Ecological Data. Springer, New York, NY.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Oliveira, I.A.P., Norris, D. & Michalski, F. Anthropogenic and seasonal determinants of giant otter sightings along waterways in the northern Brazilian Amazon. Mamm Biol 80, 39–46 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2014.07.006
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2014.07.006