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dos Santos, M.d.F.M.; Pellanda, M.; Tomazzoni, A.C.; Hasenack, H.; Hartz, S.M.
Mam¡feros carn¡voros e sua rela‡Æo com a diversidade de h bitats no Parque Nacional dos Aparados da Serra, sul do Brasil
2004  Iheringia - Serie Zoologia (94): 235-245

A survey of carnivore mammals was accomplished in Aparados da Serra National Park from February 1998 to March 2000. The park has 10,250 ha and is considered a biodiversity core area of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve in the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The landscape is characterized by relatively well preserved relicts of _Araucaria angustifolia _(Bertol.) Kuntze forest_, _grasslands and Atlantic Forest, which have contributed for the survival of endangered carnivore mammals. The National Park was divided in a grid of 16 km2 cells using a 1:50,000 scale map. The animals were recorded using indirect methods, by identifying signs (scats, tracks) and direct observation in 2.5 km long and 5 m wide transects, with 10 replicates in each grid cell. Interviews with local people were also used to confirm the animal presence. A total of 13 species was recorded: _Procyon cancrivorus _(Cuvier, 1798), _Pseudalopex gymnocercus _(G. Fischer, 1814), _Leopardus pardalis _(Linnaeus, 1758) and _Cerdocyon thous _(Linnaeus, 1766) were the most frequent species registered. _Nasua nasua _(Linnaeus 1766), _Herpailurus yaguarondi _(Lac‚pŠde, 1809), _Chrysocyon brachyurus _(Illiger, 1815)_, Eira barbara _(Linnaeus, 1758), _Leopardus _sp., _Puma concolor _(Linnaeus, 1771), _Galictis cuja _(Molina, 1782)_, Conepatus chinga _(Molina, 1892) and _Lontra longicaudis _(Olfers, 1818) showed lower frequencies. The Park presented areas with significant differences (Mantel Test, P< 0.05) in species richness and composition related to habitat classes. Areas with high habitat richness presented high species richness. The Araucaria forest was the habitat that presented the higher carnivore richness. The border areas of the Park are influenced by several environmental degradation factors that could be affecting the distribution of carnivores.

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