Abstract
For the first time, we observed and photographed nests of the elusive and endangered Russet rice rat, Euryoryzomys russatus. Sensitive to deforestation, the Russet rice rat is restricted to areas of contiguous Atlantic Forest in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. All five nests that we found were located at the base of endangered tree species, suggesting that loss of nesting habitat in deforested areas might contribute to population declines. We also observed litter size, antagonistic behavior and behavior suggestive of monogamy, rare in small mammals. Our discoveries open new questions about Russet rice rat ecology; questions that will likely help us to better understand why they’re more sensitive to deforestation than other closely related species.
Funding source: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2008/55483-8
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2009/16009-1
Funding statement: Financial support for this research was provided by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP process 2008/55483-8 and 2009/16009-1). We thank JR Nali (Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo), R Pardini, T Püttker (Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo) and AP Cruz-Neto (Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro) for the logistic field support. We are also indebted to W Boone and RA McCleery, and to the anonymous reviewers, for valuable comments and suggestions on earlier drafts.
Acknowledgments:
Financial support for this research was provided by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP process 2008/55483-8 and 2009/16009-1). We thank JR Nali (Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo), R Pardini, T Püttker (Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo) and AP Cruz-Neto (Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro) for the logistic field support. We are also indebted to W Boone and RA McCleery, and to the anonymous reviewers, for valuable comments and suggestions on earlier drafts.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Phylogeny explains better than ecology or body size the variation of the first lower molar in didelphid marsupials
- Morphology and mitochondrial gene divergence in Hipposideros armiger armiger occurs only in China
- Subspecies differentiation of the house mouse Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 in the center and east of the Iranian plateau and Afghanistan
- Biogeography and conservation of non-volant mammals from the Urucum Mountains: a Chiquitano dry forest ecoregion in western Brazil
- Update of the distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae, Caprini) in Tunisia
- Geographical variation in the body size of adult female sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) – an example of McNab’s resource rule?
- Short Notes
- Estimated population size of two South American sea lion male haulouts from the northern coast of Argentina
- A first view of the unseen: nests of an endangered Atlantic Forest rat species
- Predation upon small mammals by Caluromys lanatus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) and Callithrix penicillata (Primates: Callitrichidae) in the Brazilian savanna
- Forest surveys extend the range of the Krau woolly bat (Kerivoula krauensis) in the Malay-Thai Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra
- A reflection on recent trends in wildlife protection in Italy stemming from the question of the Montecristo wild goat
- Eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger, Linnaeus 1758) introduction to the Sonoran Desert
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Phylogeny explains better than ecology or body size the variation of the first lower molar in didelphid marsupials
- Morphology and mitochondrial gene divergence in Hipposideros armiger armiger occurs only in China
- Subspecies differentiation of the house mouse Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 in the center and east of the Iranian plateau and Afghanistan
- Biogeography and conservation of non-volant mammals from the Urucum Mountains: a Chiquitano dry forest ecoregion in western Brazil
- Update of the distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae, Caprini) in Tunisia
- Geographical variation in the body size of adult female sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) – an example of McNab’s resource rule?
- Short Notes
- Estimated population size of two South American sea lion male haulouts from the northern coast of Argentina
- A first view of the unseen: nests of an endangered Atlantic Forest rat species
- Predation upon small mammals by Caluromys lanatus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) and Callithrix penicillata (Primates: Callitrichidae) in the Brazilian savanna
- Forest surveys extend the range of the Krau woolly bat (Kerivoula krauensis) in the Malay-Thai Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra
- A reflection on recent trends in wildlife protection in Italy stemming from the question of the Montecristo wild goat
- Eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger, Linnaeus 1758) introduction to the Sonoran Desert