The presence of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in Brazilian protected areas is fairly frequent. The interaction of such dogs with native animals leads to population declines for many species, particularly carnivores. In this paper the main threats dogs bring about Brazilian biodiversity are assessed with a focus on protected areas. We collected information from papers on the interaction of dogs and wildlife species as well as from interviews with National Park managers. Studies in protected areas in Brazil listed 37 native species affected by the presence of dogs due to competition, predation, or pathogen transmission. Among the 69 threatened species of the Brazilian fauna, 55% have been cited in studies on dogs. Dog occurrence was assessed for 31 National Parks in Brazil. The presence of human residents and hunters in protected areas were the factors most often quoted as facilitating dog occurrence. These may be feral, street or domestically owned dogs found in protected areas in urban, rural or natural areas. Effective actions to control this invasive alien species in natural areas must consider dog dependence upon humans, pathways of entry, and the surrounding landscape and context

Patterns of vertical stratification and canopy utilization by rodents and marsupials were analysed in two contiguous Atlantic forests at different altitudes (100 m and 900 m asl). Twenty-two species were captured using live traps placed at ground level, in the understorey (1.5–2.0 m), and in the canopy (6–15 m) over 2 y; seven species (32%) were mainly or exclusively arboreal. Community composition and relative abundance of species in the different vertical strata were not similar, with a general reduction in the number of species, and in abundance in the upper layers. The following species were captured mainly or exclusively in the canopy: Micoureus demerarae and Gracilinanus microtarsus (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae); Wilfredomys pictipes, Oecomys aff. concolor, and Rhipidomys aff. macrurus (Rodentia, Muridae); and Nelomys nigrispinus (Rodentia, Echimyidae). Our results indicated that altitudinal changes in Atlantic forest areas may alter the community composition of different forest layers but they do not seem to alter greatly specific patterns of vertical habitat utilization. Similar-sized species tended to differ in their patterns of vertical utilization of habitat with the exception of terrestrial akodontine rodents (genera Akodon, Thaptomys, Oxymycterus and Brucepattersonius). Rodents (mainly Oryzomys russatus) dominated captures at ground level at both sites but Akodontinii were numerous only at the highest site. Unlike other neotropical forests, marsupials did not dominate canopy captures.

Designing landscapes that can meet human needs, while maintaining functioning ecosystems, is essential for long-term sustainability. To achieve this goal, we must better understand the trade-offs and thresholds in the provision of ecosystem services and economic returns. To this end, we integrate spatially explicit economic and biophysical models to jointly optimize agricultural profit (sugarcane production and cattle ranching), biodiversity (bird and mammal species), and freshwater quality (nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment retention) in the Brazilian Cerrado. We generate efficiency frontiers to evaluate the economic and environmental trade-offs and map efficient combinations of agricultural land and natural habitat under varying service importance. To assess the potential impact of the Brazilian Forest Code (FC), a federal policy that aims to promote biodiversity and ecosystem services on private lands, we compare the frontiers with optimizations that mimic the habitat requirements in the region. We find significant opportunities to improve both economic and environmental outcomes relative to the current landscape. Substantial trade-offs between biodiversity and water quality exist when land use planning targets a single service, but these trade-offs can be minimized through multi-objective planning. We also detect non-linear profit-ecosystem services relationships that result in land use thresholds that coincide with the FC requirements. Further, we demonstrate that landscape-level planning can greatly improve the performance of the FC relative to traditional farm-level planning. These findings suggest that through joint planning for economic and environmental goals at a landscape-scale, Brazil's agricultural sector can expand production and meet regulatory requirements, while maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem service provision

Mechanisms that favour the co‐occurrence of morphologically and ecologically similar species in South America are potentially relevant, because two or more species often occur in sympatry. In the present study, we investigated possible mechanisms of resource partitioning between two sympatric species of foxes, the crab‐eating foxCerdocyon thousand the pampas foxPseudalopex gymnocercus, in the National Park of Aparados da Serra in southern Brazil (29°10′S, 50°05′W). We considered three main niche dimensions – habitat, diet and time – and evaluated the overlap between the two species in these dimensions. We conducted the study from June 2000 to October 2001 in an area composed of open grasslands andAraucariaforests. We studied the foxes by using a combination of scat analysis and direct observation. A comparison of their diet indicated that it was very similar for both species in all seasons (Pianka's indexes ranging from 0.920 to 0.957). The most common food item for both species of foxes was rodents, followed by coleopterans, birds and plant remains (seeds and fruits). As expected by the niche‐complementarity hypothesis, we detected differences along other niche axes.Pseudalopex gymnocercusseemed to occur only in open areas, including grasslands and dirt roads, whereasC. thouswas more generalist in habitat use, occurring both inside and at the edge of forests. However, both fox species were common in grassland habitats, where they might compete for resources. The differences were more marked for activity time, with the crab‐eating fox being significantly more nocturnal (circular mean of time of sighting=23:39 h,se=56 min) than the pampas fox (circular mean=19:56 h,se=64 min; Watson'sF=6.06,P=0.02). We suggest that the largerC.thouscould be limiting the activity ofP.gymnocercusby interference competition.