Ecologia e conservação da onça parda (Puma concolor Linnaeus, 1771) no Parque Estadual do Rio Doce (PERD) e entorno do Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro (PESB), Minas Gerais

• Autor(a) principal: Barros, João Bosco Gonçalves de
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/1429
• topic: Ecologia; Onça parda; Puma concolor; Sêmen; Ecology; Cougar; Puma concolor; Semen; CNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::MORFOLOGIA

Due to high degradation of the Atlantic Forest in the last two centuries, nowadays this is the largest threatened Brazilian Biome. The comprehension of the behavior of key- species of large mammals species like the cougar (Puma concolor), becomes important for elaboration of conservation strategies. We evaluated the conservation status of this species and of other large felids in the southern portion of the Rio Doce State Park (RDSP), in Marliéria, Minas Gerais. Also, we collected data about one subadult male of cougar reintroduced in the Serra do Brigadeiro State Park (SBSP), in Araponga, MG, using radio tracking; and, finally, we evaluated semen samplings of captive specimens of P. concolor. Eight sampling points of camera traps were used in RDSP, for 120 days (960 trap- nights), in an approximate area of 1 km2. The data were analyzed as for the heterogeneity model for closed populations in the software CAPTURE®. The estimates for density of L. pardalis, P. concolor and P. onca were, respectively, 6.75 4.75 2.87. The monitoring of the male cougar in SBSP lasted for about 110 days, in which the individual was accompannied randomly, at irregular intervals, to avoid dependence among consecutive locations. The preliminary data for radio tracking suggest that the home range used by this specimen is, approximately, 26 km2. It configures the smallest range described already for this species. However, the relevance of this result should be seen with caution due to the possible unusual behavior of a large cat re-introduced in a natural habitat after long period in captivity. Samples of semen of five cougars in captivity were collected by eletroejaculation for analysis of the sperm quality and mobility. The medium values found for total volume ejaculated (ml), sperm concentration (106/ml) and the total of spermatozoids per ejaculate (106) were, respectively, 0.43, 165.0 and 75.2. The mobility and status did not present significant individual variation. However, as well as other parameters, they presented great differences when compared to data from other species of wild felines.