Riqueza y abundancia relativa de mamíferos medianos y grandes en una localidad en la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, Oaxaca, México

THERYA, 2015, Vol. 6 (2): 435-448
DOI: 10.12933/therya-15-277, ISSN 2007-3364

Riqueza y abundancia relativa de mamíferos medianos y grandes en una localidad en la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, Oaxaca, México

Oscar Cruz-Jácome • Eva López-Tello •
Christian A. Delfín-Alfonso • Salvador Mandujano

Introduction: In Mexico, the state of Oaxaca is the second with higher mammalian richness. However, habitat loss and poaching have resulted in the decline and extinction of several species of flora and fauna. The present study focused on identifying the species richness and the relative abundance of medium and large mammals in the community of San Gabriel Casa Blanca, in the Biosphere Reserve Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. The work is important for the management and conservation of wildlife.
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Cascading impacts of anthropogenically driven habitat loss: deforestation, flooding, and possible lead poisoning in howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)

ISSN: 0032-8332 (print version)
ISSN: 1610-7365 (electronic version)

Cascading impacts of anthropogenically driven habitat loss: deforestation, flooding, and possible lead poisoning in howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)

Juan Carlos Serio-Silva •Eugenia J. Olguín •
Luis Garcia-Feria • Karla Tapia-Fierro •
Colin A. Chapman

Abstract
To construct informed conservation plans, researchers must go beyond understanding readily apparent threats such as habitat loss and bush-meat hunting. They must predict subtle and cascading effects of anthropogenic environmental modifications. This study considered a potential cascading effect of deforestation on the howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) of Balancán, Mexico. Deforestation intensifies flooding. Thus, we predicted that increased flooding of the Usumacinta River, which creates large bodies of water that slowly evaporate, would produce increased lead content in the soils and plants, resulting in lead exposure in the howler monkeys. The average lead levels were 18.18 ± 6.76 ppm in the soils and 5.85 ± 4.37 ppm in the plants. However, the average lead content of the hair of 13 captured howler monkeys was 24.12 ± 5.84 ppm. The lead levels in the animals were correlated with 2 of 15 blood traits (lactate dehydrogenase and total bilirubin) previously documented to be associated with exposure to lead. Our research illustrates the urgent need to set reference values indicating when adverse impacts of high environmental lead levels occur, whether anthropogenic or natural, and the need to evaluate possible cascading effects of deforestation on primates.

Predicting the density and abundance of white-tailed deer based on ecological niche theory

Abstract
Based on the theory of ecological niche modeling, a novel approach known as the Distance to the Niche Centroid (DNC) method was recently proposed for mapping the abundance/density of species. To illustrate the utility of this approach, we present the application of DNC, to predict white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus distribution, density and population size in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (TCBR), Mexico. Using a distribution map based on occurrence data, estimation of DNC, and regression analysis between DNC and 14 independent sites containing local density information pertaining to this species from 2010 to 2011, we generated a map of the potential distribution of white-tailed deer density in the 4,906 km2 that comprise the TCBR. Abundance (total number of deer) in the TCBR was calculated using both field estimations and the predicted map of density. We briefly discuss some biological, management and conservation implications of this novel conceptual and methodological approach.
Informes Dr. Salvador Mandujano