Papers by Ubiratan Piovezan
Parasites & Vectors
Background Small mammals (rodents and marsupials) have been poorly explored for the occurrence of... more Background Small mammals (rodents and marsupials) have been poorly explored for the occurrence of apicomplexan (genus Hepatozoon and genera of the order Piroplasmorida) and Anaplasmataceae agents in Brazil. Thus, this study investigated the occurrence of Hepatozoon spp., Piroplasmorida, and Anaplasmataceae agents in small mammals in seven forest fragments in Brazil. Methods During 2015–2018, small mammals were captured in six forest fragments in the State of São Paulo (Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes) and one fragment in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (Pantanal biome). Mammal blood, liver, spleen, and lung samples were tested molecularly for the presence of DNA of Hepatozoon, Piroplasmorida, and Anaplasmataceae agents. Results A total of 524 mammals were captured, comprising seven species of marsupials, 14 rodents, two carnivores, and one Cingulata. Four novel haplotypes (1, 2, 3, 4) of Hepatozoon spp. were detected in small mammals from different biomes. In São Paulo state, hap...
Journal of Mammalogy
The expansion of human activity forces species to co-exist with people in human-modified landscap... more The expansion of human activity forces species to co-exist with people in human-modified landscapes (HMLs). However, living in HMLs demands behavioral adaptations, and the proximity between wildlife and people heightens human–wildlife conflicts. Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a thriving rodent species in HMLs in Brazil and as such, is involved in human–wildlife conflicts, such as vehicle collisions and transmission of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF). Despite their public importance, the effects of HMLs on capybara movement behavior have never been investigated. Our study aimed to investigate changes in home range, ranging pattern, and activity, for capybaras in six HMLs and two natural landscapes (NLs) by monitoring capybaras with GPS collars. We found home ranges 2.43 times greater in NLs than in HMLs and differences in ranging pattern in HMLs. Capybaras tended to be more nocturnal and move shorter distances across HMLs than NLs. Our results confirm the impacts of the HMLs a...
Veterinary Sciences
The capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, is the largest extant rodent of the world. To better und... more The capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, is the largest extant rodent of the world. To better understand the correlation between size and body mass, and biochemical parameters of capybaras from areas with different degrees of anthropization (i.e., different food supplies), we sampled free-ranging capybaras from areas of natural landscapes (NLs) and human-modified landscapes (HMLs) in Brazil. Analyses of biometrical and biochemical parameters of capybaras showed that animals from HMLs were heavier (higher body mass) than those from NL, a condition possibly related to fat deposit rather than body length, as indicated by Body Condition Index (BCI) analyses. Biochemical parameters indicated higher serum levels of albumin, creatine kinase, cholesterol, fructosamine and total protein among capybaras from HMLs than from NLs; however, when all adult capybaras were analyzed together only cholesterol and triglycerides were positively correlated with body mass. We propose that the biochemical ...
The objective was to estimate abundance of marsh deer in the Paraná River basin of this work. The... more The objective was to estimate abundance of marsh deer in the Paraná River basin of this work. The results provided information to support further analysis of the impact of the Porto Primavera flooding lake over population. Sixtynine animals were recorded by aerial survey using distance sampling methodology. Animals were widely distributed throughout the study area. The uncorrected data resulted in a estimate density of 0.0035 ind/ha and a population size of 636 individuals. Correcting the ˆg ( 0) for the animals that could be missed the calculated abundance was 896 (CV=0.27) individuals. This methodology was applied with success to survey marsh deer. The result was important to evaluate the marsh deer status in the area, and for future analysis of the impact of the flooding dam.
O porco monteiro chegou ao Pantanal ha cerca de dois seculos e, desde entao, tem sido considerado... more O porco monteiro chegou ao Pantanal ha cerca de dois seculos e, desde entao, tem sido considerado como a principal especie cinegetica (de interesse para a caca) na regiao. Suas populacoes vivem livres na planicie e independentes da atividade humana, exceto pelo manejo tradicional que age como fator de controle populacional dos rebanhos. Considerando que a especie apresenta potencial para utilizacao economica e que pode vir a compor a pauta de produtos com certificacao de origem no Pantanal, informacoes sobre a ecologia das populacoes presentes na planicie sao estrategicas. Este artigo apresenta um apanhado sobre as informacoes disponiveis a respeito da especie e discute aspectos da dinâmica de suas populacoes, com base em projecoes obtidas utilizando-se o software VORTEX 9.6.
The objective of this work was to estimate an index of the relative biomass per species, in a med... more The objective of this work was to estimate an index of the relative biomass per species, in a medium to large-sized mammal community, as well as to determine how the introduced wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) fits into this index, and to verify if the occupancy of sites by domestic dogs interferes with those of wild boars and how much the periods of dogs’ activity overlap those of wild boars. The biomass/effort index was measured for each native mammal species and for the introduced wild boar, in two surveyed farms in Brazil’s Western Atlantic Forest range, through the use of camera trappings that were also used to verify if dogs and wild boar overlap in space and activity time. Wild boars seem to dominate the community, just a few years after their presence was first recorded in the region. Surprisingly, several native endangered mammal species persist in the highly modified landscape of the studied areas, but their population trends are still unknown. Wild boars and dogs generally occupy...
A economia do Pantanal Mato-grossense e essencialmente baseada na pecuaria extensiva, onde os ani... more A economia do Pantanal Mato-grossense e essencialmente baseada na pecuaria extensiva, onde os animais domesticos dividem os ambientes com a fauna nativa. A regiao foi designada pela UNESCO como Reserva da Biosfera e e considerado um dos mais bem preservados biomas da America do Sul. Como mais de 70% da area total do Pantanal e ocupada por propriedades privadas e a pecuaria vem sofrendo mudancas em sua economia ocorrem na regiao um crescente desmatamento e consequente alteracao na interface da fauna com os animais domesticos. O grande desafio para a regiao do Pantanal para o seculo 21 e promover o desenvolvimento sustentavel. Nesse sentido, objetivando conciliar a producao e a manutencao do ambiente natural, esse trabalho relata algumas estrategias de manejo com o gado e acoes conservacionistas que estao sendo realizadas em uma fazenda tradicional no Pantanal da Nhecolândia.
A identificacao de especies a partir de pelos e aplicavel no controle da qualidade de alimentos d... more A identificacao de especies a partir de pelos e aplicavel no controle da qualidade de alimentos destinados ao consumo humano, bem como para apoiar laudos forenses. Finalidades cientificas, como as pesquisas taxonomicas, ecologicas, paleontologicas, arqueologicas, levantamento de mamiferos de uma area, avaliacao da dieta de carnivoros e averiguacao de predacao em animais domesticos, sao usos comuns da tricologia. Embora muitas tecnologias geradas por diversas instituicoes de pesquisa estejam disponiveis em fontes de informacoes tecnico-cientificas, grande parte do conhecimento aplicavel alcancado pelas pesquisas encontra-se dispersa e, de certa forma, vinculada aos textos das publicacoes. Diante disso, apresentamos um software com a finalidade de organizar em uma plataforma eletronica dados que permitam a consulta online, facilitando a classificacao, identificacao, diagnostico ou tomada de decisao, com base na comparacao de imagens ou opcao por alternativas na forma de texto.
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
We studied communities of small mammals and their ticks in endemic (E) and non-endemic (NE) areas... more We studied communities of small mammals and their ticks in endemic (E) and non-endemic (NE) areas for Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), aiming to infer if diversity parameters of parasites and hosts could be related to occurrence and prevalence of rickettsial infection, especially Rickettsia rickettsii. We compared E and NE areas in human-modified landscapes (HMLs) and natural areas (BIO) with no report of BSF cases. Composition and equitability were important components of diversity explaining differences among areas. The marsupial Didelphis albiventris was dominant in HMLs, but not in natural areas, and this opossum was the main host for the tick Amblyomma sculptum, principal vector of R. rickettsii, especially in E areas. Communities of ticks were dominated by A. sculptum, followed by Amblyomma dubitatum in E areas. In NE areas, this dominance was inverted, with more A. dubitatum than A. sculptum infesting small mammals, but the numbers of ticks were much lower than in E areas. Composition and abundance of ticks in natural areas were very dissimilar from HMLs, with the lowest tick burdens. Didelphis albiventris in E areas presented higher seroprevalence and endpoint titres against R. rickettsii than in other areas. At least three Rickettsia species, non-pathogenic to humans, were detected in natural areas (Rickettsia bellii, Rickettsia amblyommatis and 'Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae'), and only one non-pathogenic species in HMLs (R. bellii). Our results suggest that higher diversity of ticks, hosts and rickettsiae could be relevant factors in buffering the effect in BSF occurrence. Particularly for D. albiventris, its importance has to be quantified in further studies considering the epidemiological scenario of BSF.
Nacameh
This study aimed to evaluate carcass and meat characteristics of free-living capybaras (Hydrochoe... more This study aimed to evaluate carcass and meat characteristics of free-living capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) from agricultural areas of Grande Dourados, MS, Brazil. Carcass weight, yield and measures, as well as of commercial cuts weight of five animals (2 males and 3 females, body weight between 63.4-100 kg) were determined. The following parameters: moisture, protein, fat, ash, Ca, P and Fe, water holding capacity, cooking losses, shear force and color Instrumental color in CIE-Lab coordinates were determined to meat cuts (Loin, ribs, L. dorsi, chuck/brisket, ham and bottom sirloin). The dressing percentage average value was 62.47% of body weight and cold carcass yield was 57.89% of body weight, with no difference between sexes. The mean percentage of cold loss was 4.10%. Cuts yielding (ribs 24.98% and ham 27.29%) were not statistically different (P>0.05). There was no significantly (P> 0.05) difference between the moisture, protein and minerals content between the different cuts, but lipids content was significantly (P< 0.05) lower in loin. The results shown that free-living capybara have characteristics appropriate for commercialization, thus it is possible to development projects for the sustainable management of rural populations.
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Papers by Ubiratan Piovezan