Diversity and Activity Pattern of Terrestrial Mammal Species in Serra do Amolar, Brazilian Pantanal

Abstract

Serra do Amolar, a mountainous and isolated region located in the Brazilian Pantanal, is a priority area for biodiversity conservation. This sparsely populated and inaccessible area is poorly studied and lacks basic information such as species inventories as well as essential knowledge to develop conservation strategies. We aimed to update the occurrence records of mammal species and evaluate the activity patterns of a subset of species. We installed camera traps in four primary sampling periods between 2019 and 2022. We recorded 29 mammals over 9060 trap-nights, including two endangered species. We recorded three species of rodents in the area for the first time: Cavia aperea, Cuniculus paca, and Holochilus chacarius. Seven species previously registered in the area were not documented in this survey, possibly because of extreme drought and fires that occurred during collection. This study emphasizes the importance of long-term faunal surveys to support ongoing conservation strategies in Serra do Amolar.

Keywords

conservation / diel activity / neotropics / Panthera onca / wetlands

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