New results from volunteer-assisted research
Dr. Alexine Keuroghlian of Brazil's Wildlife Conservation Society is a past Earthwatch Principal Investigator, studying peccaries in Brazil's Atlantic Forest with the help of Earthwatch volunteers.
She has just had an article published in the prestigious Journal of Zoology. Its title is "Importance of rare habitats and riparian zones in a tropical forest fragment: preferential use by Tayassu pecari, a wideranging frugivore"
Her research concluded that 2 species of peccary had continued to have viable populations, despite forest fragmentation, because the forest that remained still include a large variety of habitats, including the preservation of some rare habitats.
This means that a healthy peccary population "is an indicator of high habitat diversity in forest fragments and will function as an umbrella species when targeted for conservation."
This is an important step in understanding how to conserve areas that have already been fragmented by logging and development, and how to measure the overall viability of an isolated fragment of forest.
This study was done by capturing and radio collaring peccaries, then releasing them and studying their movements through the different types of habitat, both in the wet and dry seasons.
Many of our expeditions catch, collar and release animals, and usually the animals are examined and measured to determine their age and health. These studies are crucial to understanding human-wildlife conflicts, the need for specific habitat conservation, and use of wildlife corridors, among other things.
It's great to know that our volunteers worked on a study that will enable Brazil to better manage and preserve its natural areas.
Kathy, the Earthwatch webmaster
She has just had an article published in the prestigious Journal of Zoology. Its title is "Importance of rare habitats and riparian zones in a tropical forest fragment: preferential use by Tayassu pecari, a wideranging frugivore"
Her research concluded that 2 species of peccary had continued to have viable populations, despite forest fragmentation, because the forest that remained still include a large variety of habitats, including the preservation of some rare habitats.
This means that a healthy peccary population "is an indicator of high habitat diversity in forest fragments and will function as an umbrella species when targeted for conservation."
This is an important step in understanding how to conserve areas that have already been fragmented by logging and development, and how to measure the overall viability of an isolated fragment of forest.
This study was done by capturing and radio collaring peccaries, then releasing them and studying their movements through the different types of habitat, both in the wet and dry seasons.
Many of our expeditions catch, collar and release animals, and usually the animals are examined and measured to determine their age and health. These studies are crucial to understanding human-wildlife conflicts, the need for specific habitat conservation, and use of wildlife corridors, among other things.
It's great to know that our volunteers worked on a study that will enable Brazil to better manage and preserve its natural areas.
Kathy, the Earthwatch webmaster
