Navegando por Autor "Rodrigues, Marcos"
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Item Does people’s knowledge about an endangered bird species differ between rural and urban communities? : the case of the Greater Rhea (Rhea americana, Rheidae) in Minas Gerais, Brazil.(2012) Azevedo, Cristiano Schetini de; Rúbio, Karina Taciana Santos; Ferraz, João Bosco; Tinoco, Herlandes Penha; Young, Robert John; Rodrigues, MarcosEmas são aves sul-americanas ameaçadas de extinção; a perda de habitat, a predação e a caça são os principais fatores responsáveis pelo declínio da espécie. Populações dessa espécie estão sendo mantidas em cativeiro para futuros programas conservacionistas. Entretanto, para um programa conservacionista obter sucesso, é necessário que a comunidade humana se envolva. Então, as percepções da comunidade humana precisam seravaliadas e incorporadas aos planos de conservação. Espera-se que as comunidades humanas inseridas no ambiente onde a espécie ameaçada ocorre deem mais importância à sua conservação do que comunidades humanas não inseridas no ambiente de ocorrência da espécie. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar se as percepções de comunidades urbanas e rurais sobre as emas diferem devido à proximidade ao problema. O estudo foi conduzido em São José do Buriti (comunidade rural; emas ocorrem no local) e no zoológico de Belo Horizonte (comunidade urbana), ambas localizadas no Estado de Minas Gerais, sudeste do Brasil. Cento e trinta e cinco questionários foram aplicados nas duas áreas. Pessoas da área rural reconheceram melhor as emas se comparadas às pessoas da área urbana. O conhecimento sobre os riscos de extinção das emas diferiu em alguns aspectos entre as duas comunidades, mas ambas concordaram que a extinção da espécie traria problemas ecológicos. Programas de educação ambiental devem ser implementados em ambas as áreas a fim de maximizar os efeitos das ações conservacionistas.Item Effect of passage through the gut of Greater Rheas on the germination of seeds of plants of cerrado and caatinga grasslands.(2013) Azevedo, Cristiano Schetini de; Silva, Mayara Correa da; Teixeira, Tatiane Pinho; Young, Robert John; Garcia, Queila de Souza; Rodrigues, MarcosFrugivorous seed-dispersers play an important role in the maintenance or regeneration of plant populations and communities. Greater Rheas are potentially one of the most import dispersers of seeds in South American grassland biomes owing to their capacity to swallow large seeds and their habitat of walking long distances each day. We studied the potential role of Greater Rheas in the dispersion of seeds of plants of the cerrado and caatinga grassland biomes through germination experiments. We evaluated the rate of seed germination and the mean time of germination of passage through the gut (seeds that passed through the digestive system of Rheas) compared with a control (seeds extracted directly from fruits). Nine species of plant from cerrado grasslands and three plant species from caatinga grasslands were tested. All three caatinga plant species germinated at a lower rate and took longer to germinate after passage through the gut, whereas two of nine cerrado plant species germinated at a higher rate and in less time after passage through the gut. Greater Rheas are probably good dispersers of some of the plant species we examined and may therefore be important in maintenance and regeneration of habitat. Future experiments will investigate the factors causing the variation in germination of seeds seen in this experiment.Item Failure of captive-born greater rheas (Rhea americana, Rheidae, Aves) to discriminate between predator and nonpredator models.(2012) Azevedo, Cristiano Schetini de; Young, Robert John; Rodrigues, MarcosThe capacity to recognize and respond to predators can be lost by captive animals. Habituation to humans caused by the captive environment can be transferred to other stimuli, such as predators, a situation that conservation biologists wish to avoid. Greater rheas are threatened South American birds, for which there are plans for reintroduction programs in Brazil. The goal of this study was to evaluate the behavioral responses of captive-born greater rheas to different models of predators and nonpredators. Seventeen captive-born greater rheas, divided into four groups, from the Belo Horizonte Zoo, Brazil were studied. Three predator and three nonpredator models were presented to the birds and their behavioral responses recorded. Predators versus nonpredator models and the behavior of rheas in three experimental phases (baseline, models, and postmodels) were analyzed. Captive-born greater rheas modified their behaviors in the presence of both predator/nonpredator models, increasing alert and wary behaviors (alert, observing, and pacing behaviors: P<0.01), showing some degree of antipredator behavior persistence, but they were unable to discriminate between predator and nonpredator models (all behaviors: P>0.05). In conclusion, antipredator training should be implemented to develop the expression of this behavior before reintroductions are attempted.Item Using environmental enrichment to reduce the expression of abnormal behaviours in Greater rhea Rhea americana at Belo Horizonte Zoo.(2012) Azevedo, Cristiano Schetini de; Lima, Márcia Fontes Figueiredo; Cipreste, Cynthia Fernandes; Young, Robert John; Rodrigues, MarcosAnimals kept by zoos may express abnormal behaviours that are indicators of poor welfare. Environmental enrichment is a technique of providing items to animals that stimulate the expression of normal behaviours. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of providing simple environmental enrichment in the reduction of the expression of abnormal behaviour in captive-born Greater rhea Rhea americana at Belo Horizonte Zoo, south-eastern Brazil. As enrichment, fruit and vegetables were scatter fed to a group of seven birds from April to September 2009, and the behaviour of the birds was recorded using scan sampling with instantaneous recording of behaviour every 1 minute for 1 hour daily (90 hours of observation). The study was divided into three phases: baseline, enrichment and post-enrichment. The abnormal behaviours ‘pacing’, ‘eating faeces’ and ‘escaping behaviour’ reduced during the enrichment phase, but only the first two behaviours differed significantly between the phases; ‘walking’ and ‘foraging’, both positive behaviours, increased during the enrichment phase. These results showed that the implementation of simple environmental enrichment can stimulate the Greater rhea to exhibit more natural behaviours and improve their welfare.Item Visitor influence on the behavior of captive greater rheas (Rhea americana, Rheidae aves).(2012) Azevedo, Cristiano Schetini de; Lima, Márcia Fontes Figueiredo; Silva, Vitor Caetano Alves da; Young, Robert John; Rodrigues, MarcosVisitors can affect and reduce the welfare of nonhuman animals. The Belo Horizonte Zoo, Brazil, had a group of greater rheas intended for reintroduction to the wild. Because this group received public visitation, evaluating its effect on the birds’ behavior and welfare was important. The study conducted 60 hr of behavioral observations: 30 with, and 30 without, visitors in front of the birds’ enclosure. The study, conducted April–December 2009, collected data using scan sampling with instantaneous recording of behavior every minute. The study collected data on public behavior, visitor density, and time spent observing the birds. More than 4,000 persons visited the birds’ enclosure: 9.86 s average time spent. Public behaviors most expressed were walking-watching-talking and stopped-watchingtalking; visitors or not, greater rheas’ most expressed behaviors (inversed between treatments) were foraging and walking alert; defecating/urinating and other behaviors differed statistically between treatments. Walking alert was most expressed in the presence of visitors; defecating/urinating and other behaviors were most expressed in their absence. Greater rheas seemed to habituate to visitors. Birds’ behaviors differed little in visitors’ presence or absence.