Ocorrencia de cães domesticos (canis familiaris) em fragmentos de mata atlantica em zona rural e urbana e sua relação com a ocupação humana do entorno / Domestic dogs (canis familiaris) in atlantic forest fragments in rural and urban areas and their relationship with the surrounding human occupation

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have been acting as invasive exotic species in many instances, disturbing and modifying natural ecosystems in many ways. Still, little is know about the dogs population size near areas of conservation interest and if that can influence dog’s chance of using those areas. In addiction, despite their close relationship with humans, little is know about the people’s attitudes towards the dog population. Thus, this study intends to estimate dog populations sizes in urban and rural areas near forest patches, to investigate the people’s attitudes towards dogs in those areas and to quantify dog frequencies inside forest patches. For that purpose, questionnaires with local residents were conducted to obtain information about dogs’ number and the owners’ attitudes towards caring for their dogs. Censuses on the areas were conducted to estimate numbers of unrestricted and stray dogs. Scent-stations were installed inside the forest patches, at different distances from the edge, to evaluate the frequency of those animals and see if it differed between patches’ edge and their interior. Having a dog is more common in the rural area, as well as keeping them unrestricted. Yet, dogs’ population is larger in the urban areas studied, due to high human densities. Also, in those areas there are stray dogs, which is uncommon in the rural areas studied. The dogs’ population size in the surroundings don’t influence their presence inside the forest patches and in both landscapes (rural and urban), dogs seems to be an edge effect. Despite not being very common inside the patches other than in its edge, these animals seem to occur more frequently than wild carnivores. For that reason they can represent another important negative impact cause by the human presence in those areas. Domestic dogs’ direct effects on wildlife still have to be studied in Brazil, nonetheless these potential impacts can be minored by preventing dogs from entering the forest patches. To do so, the residents’ attitudes towards dogs, in the surrounding areas, are of extreme importance.

ASSUNTO(S)

fragmentação florestal canis familiaris edge effect animais - população parque estadual da cantareira (sp) canis familiaris efeito de borda forest fragmentation animal populations

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