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This case report discusses the pharmacological induction of parturition in a pacarana (Dinomys branickii), a rare South American rodent with a reproductive biology that is still poorly understood. The aim of this case report was to induce labor in a pacarana in the final third of gestation after fetal death was confirmed due to a maternal cardiopulmonary arrest lasting 4 min. Using a pharmacological protocol similar to that applied in ruminants, the induction of labor was successfully carried out, resulting in the expulsion of two dead fetuses 2 h and 15 min after the administration of cloprostenol (0.275 mg; im) and dexamethasone (4 mg; im). This case, the first documented instance of pharmacological induction in pacarana, underscores the efficacy of the procedure and the need for further research to understand the reproductive physiology of the species, potentially aiding in the conservation of this and other Hystricomorpha species.

Abstract Vertebrates, overall, present a daily activity pattern when managing their needs, such as foraging, resting or searching for sexual partners. Most of the available information regarding the circadian rhythm in birds comes from controlled laboratory conditions, and little is known about these patterns in the wild. In this study we used camera traps to describe the daily activity patterns of three cracid species in the Pantanal of Rio Negro, Brazil. We had a sampling effort of 9,617 camera trap-days along 231 days (5,544 hours) from September 2013 to May 2014. This resulted in 4,833 independent records of cracids from a total of 7,713 individuals. Crax fasciolata was the species with the most records (nrec = 3,792) and individuals (nind = 5,781), followed by Ortalis canicollis (nrec = 934; nind = 1,758) and Aburria grayi (nrec = 107; nind = 174). None of the species was uniformly distributed throughout the day, thus evidencing a periodization of their activities. The mean vectors of the activity patterns of C. fasciolata, O. canicollis and A. grayi were, respectively, mμ = 10:36 ± 04:26 (SD), mμ = 11:42 ± 03:57 and mμ = 11:44 ± 03:47. We observed a temporal overlap between A. grayi and O. canicollis, whereas C. fasciolata significantly differed from them. Because of their large home ranges, cracids are important indicators of environmental quality, and, as frugivores, they play key roles in the ecological dynamics of forests. In this sense, and given that cracids are notably more susceptible to extinction, the knowledge on their circadian activity patterns may be useful when establishing effective management and conservation strategies.

This study investigated the exposure of jaguar populations and domestic animals to smooth Brucella, Leptospira spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon biomes of Brazil. Between February 2000 and January 2010, serum samples from 31 jaguars (Panthera onca), 1,245 cattle (Bos taurus), 168 domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and 29 domestic cats (Felis catus) were collected and analysed by rose bengal test for smooth Brucella, microscopic agglutination test for Leptospira spp. and modified agglutination test for T. gondii. Cattle populations from all sites (9.88%) were exposed to smooth Brucella, but only one jaguar from Cerrado was exposed to this agent. Jaguars captured in the Cerrado (60.0%) and in the Pantanal (45.5%) were seropositive for different serovars of Leptospira spp., cattle (72.18%) and domestic dogs (13.1%) from the three sites and one domestic cat from Pantanal were also seropositive for the agent. The most prevalent serotype of Leptospira spp. identified in jaguars from the Cerrado (Grippotyphosa) and the Pantanal (Pomona) biomes were distinct from those found in the domestic animals sampled. Jaguars (100%), domestic dogs (38.28%) and domestic cats (82.76%) from the three areas were exposed to T. gondii. Our results show that brucellosis and leptospirosis could have been transmitted to jaguars by domestic animals; and jaguars probably play an important role in the maintenance of T. gondii in nature.

A análise da variabilidade genética das espécies nativas passou a ter hoje um papel de destaque na definição das estratégias de conservação e manejo de populações naturais, dentro de um contexto de pecuária alternativa. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o padrão de amplificação de diversos primers de marcador tipo RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) a fim de fazer uma seleção com base na resolução das bandas no gel e no nível de polimorfismo encontrado para cada primer, para bandos de queixada (Tayassu pecari) na região do Parque Nacional das Emas, GO. Foram amplificados 40 primers utilizando-se reações de PCR a partir do DNA de 18 indivíduos. Os fragmentos amplificados foram analisados por eletroforese em gel de agarose. Trinta primers foram amplificados com sucesso, fornecendo um total de 203 locos, com uma média de 7 locos por primer. Considerando os dois bandos analisados, cerca de 72% dos locos são polimórficos. A análise de variância molecular (AMOVA) realizada para todos os locos mostrou que existe uma tendência de estruturação da variabilidade genética nos bandos, com um fST igual a 0,081 (P=0,07). Uma análise de coordenadas principais confirma esses resultados, sugerindo que a espécie tende a formar bandos que podem ser unidades reprodutivas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Divergência genética, queixadas, RAPD, Tayassu pecari.

Faeces provide relevant biological information which includes, with the application of genetic techniques, the sex and identity of individuals that defecated, thus providing potentially useful data on the behaviour and ecology of individuals, as well as the dynamics and structure of populations. This paper presents estimates of the sex ratio of different felid species (jaguar, Panthera onca; puma, Puma concolor; and ocelot/margay, Leopardus pardalis/Leopardus wiedi) as observed in field collected faeces, and proposes several hypotheses that could explain the strikingly high proportion of faeces from male jaguars. The proportion of male and female faeces was estimated using a non-invasive faecal sampling method in 14 study areas in Mexico and Brazil. Faecal samples were genetically analysed to identify the species, the sex and the individual (the latter only for samples identified as belonging to jaguars). Considering the three species, 72.6% of faeces (n = 493) were from males; however, there were significant differences among them, with the proportion from males being higher for jaguars than for pumas and ocelots/margays. A male-bias was consistently observed in all study areas for jaguar faeces, but not for the other species. For jaguars the trend was the same when considering the number of individuals identified (n = 68), with an average of 4.2±0.56 faeces per male and 2.0±0.36 per female. The observed faecal marking patterns might be related to the behaviour of female jaguars directed toward protecting litters from males, and in both male and female pumas, to prevent interspecific aggressions from male jaguars. The hypothesis that there are effectively more males than females in jaguar populations cannot be discarded, which could be due to the fact that females are territorial and males are not, or a tendency for males to disperse into suboptimal areas for the species.

A análise da variabilidade genética das espécies nativas passou a ter hoje um papel de destaque na definição das estratégias de conservação e manejo de populações naturais, dentro de um contexto de pecuária alternativa. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o padrão de amplificação de diversos primers de marcador tipo RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) a fim de fazer uma seleção com base na resolução das bandas no gel e no nível de polimorfismo encontrado para cada primer, para bandos de queixada (Tayassu pecari) na região do Parque Nacional das Emas, GO. Foram amplificados 40 primers utilizando-se reações de PCR a partir do DNA de 18 indivíduos. Os fragmentos amplificados foram analisados por eletroforese em gel de agarose. Trinta primers foram amplificados com sucesso, fornecendo um total de 203 locos, com uma média de 7 locos por primer. Considerando os dois bandos analisados, cerca de 72% dos locos são polimórficos. A análise de variância molecular (AMOVA) realizada para todos os locos mostrou que existe uma tendência de estruturação da variabilidade genética nos bandos, com um fST igual a 0,081 (P=0,07). Uma análise de coordenadas principais confirma esses resultados, sugerindo que a espécie tende a formar bandos que podem ser unidades reprodutivas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Divergência genética, queixadas, RAPD, Tayassu pecari.