RESUMO
Wildlife is often blamed for causing damage to human activities, including agricultural practices and the result may be a conflict between human interests and species conservation. A formal assessment of the magnitude of damage is necessary to adequately conduct management practices and an assessment of the efficiency of different management practices is necessary to enable managers to mitigate the conflict with rural people. This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural management practices and controlled hunting in reducing damage to subsistence annual crops at the Cotapata National Park and Natural Area of Integrated Management. The design included seven fields with modified agricultural practices, four fields subjected to control hunting, and five fields held as controls. We registered cultivar type, density, frequency of visiting species to the field, crops lost to wildlife, species responsible for damage, and crop biomass. Most frequent species in the fields were Dasyprocta punctata and Dasypus novemcinctus. Hunted plots were visited 1.6 times more frequently than agriculturally managed plots. Crop lost to wildlife averaged 7.28% at agriculturally managed plots, 4.59% in plots subjected to hunting, and 27.61% in control plots. Species mainly responsible for damage were Pecari tajacu, D. punctata, and Sapajus apella. We concluded that both management strategies were effective to reduce damage by >50% as compared to unmanaged crop plots. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (4): 1495-1507. Epub 2014 December 01.
El daño causado por fauna silvestre en cultivos agrícolas es una de las causas principales de conflicto dentro y fuera de áreas protegidas. Para un adecuado manejo del conflicto se requieren evaluaciones del daño y de la aplicación de distintos métodos de mitigación. El objetivo del trabajo fue evaluar la efectividad de prácticas agroculturales y cacería de control, para reducir daños por vertebrados silvestres en cultivos agrícolas anuales en el PN ANMI Cotapata. Se trabajó en siete parcelas con prácticas agroculturales, cuatro parcelas con cacería de control y cinco parcelas control, registrándose el tipo y densidad de cultivo, frecuencia de visitas de especies dañinas a huelleros, plantación perdida, especies responsables y biomasa de cosecha. Los resultados muestran que las especies más frecuentes fueron: Dasyprocta sp. y Dasypus novemcinctus, siendo estas 1.6 veces más frecuentes en parcelas con prácticas agroculturales. En promedio se perdió 7.3% de la plantación en parcelas agroculturales, 4.6% en parcelas sujetas a cacería de control, y 27.6% en parcelas control. Las principales especies responsables de las pérdidas fueron: P. tajacu, seguido por Dasyprocta sp. y S. apella. A través de estas estrategias de manejo, redujo las pérdidas en >50%, con lo cual se considera que los métodos puestos a prueba son útiles y se recomienda utilizarlos a gran escala con la consideración de que podría ser necesario innovar cada cierto tiempo, pues los animales silvestres tienden a acostumbrarse a los métodos de ahuyentamiento en ejecución.
Assuntos
Animais , Humanos , Animais Selvagens , Conservação dos Recursos Naturais , Produtos Agrícolas , Animais Selvagens/classificação , Biomassa , Bolívia , FlorestasRESUMO
This study aimed to assess the yield loss caused by capybaras in rural areas of Dourados-MS, their feeding periods, crop preferences and the landscape characteristics of farms that may affect the occurrence of capybara's herds. Semi-structured interviews in 24 different farms were done during a period between April 2010 and August 2011. Field observations were held at different times of the day, and also during the night in order to record peaks of the feeding behavior in six farms. Direct counting of capybaras along with the group of animals reported as seen by the farmers during the interviews was used to estimate the size of herds. Data was analyzed using the Principal Components Analyses and the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The average number of capybaras found in a regular herd was 18.8 ± 7.90 animals. The average number of capybara herd by farms was of 1.38 ± 0.92 while the average number of capybaras by farms was 32.33 ± 27.87. Capybaras selected rice (Oryza sativa) when it was available (14.5% of devastation in 1.18% of total planted area); however, the most eaten crop was corn (Zea mays) with 38.55% of loss rate in 16.17% of the total planted area. Capybaras ate mostly in the evening and during the night. The availability of water resources in the rural area predisposed the occurrence of capybara's herds.
Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a perda de safra causada por capivaras em áreas rurais de Dourados-MS, os períodos de alimentação, preferências por culturas instaladas e as características da paisagem nas fazendas que podem influenciar a ocorrência de rebanhos de capivaras. Entrevistas semiestruturadas em 24 propriedades diferentes foram feitas durante o período entre abril de 2010 e agosto de 2011. As observações de campo foram realizadas em diferentes momentos do dia e também durante a noite, a fim de registrar picos do comportamento alimentar em seis das fazendas amostradas. Contagens diretas de capivaras juntamente com as informações obtidas dos agricultores foram utilizadas para estimar o tamanho dos rebanhos. Utilizou-se a Análise de Componentes Principais e a Análise Multicriterial (Processo de Análise Hierárquica – AHP) para as análises estatísticas. O número médio de capivaras por rebanho foi de 18,8 ± 7,90 animais. o número médio de grupos de capivaras por fazendas foi de 1,38 ± 0,92, e o número médio de capivaras por fazendas foi 32,33 ± 27,87. Capivaras selecionaram arroz (Oryza sativa) quando disponível (14,5% da predação em 1,18% do total da área plantada), no entanto, a cultura mais consumida foi o milho (Zea mays), com 38,55% de perdas em 16,17% da área plantada total, de acordo com os fazendeiros. Capivaras comeram principalmente ao anoitecer e durante a noite. A disponibilidade de recursos hídricos na área rural é um indicador da possibilidade de ocorrência de rebanhos de capivaras.