Distribution and conservation status of four Myrmotherula antwrens (Formicariidae) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Abstract

We review the distribution and habitat of four Myrmotherula antwrens endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, and present data to correct and update the information available in the literature. Based primarily on field experience over the past several years, we show that these birds are highly threatened despite having beenrecorded in several reserves. The chief issue affecting the continuedsurvival of these Myrmotherulas is that very little lowland (i.e. below 300 m) forest is included in the reserve system, and almostnone exists outside the protected areas. Those lowland forests that do exist, both within and outside of reserves, are invariably under greater human pressure than the much more extensive forests of the adjacent uplands, and are disappearing at a much greater rate. With the aim of protecting not only these Myrmotherulas but also the entire lowland fauna of the Atlantic Forest, we recommend that funding for a significant and monitored increase in the guard system be made available to help ensure the integrity of the existing forest reservesinto the future. As probably the single most important lowland forestpatch in Espirito Santo/Rio de Janeiro that does not have official reserve status, we highly recommend that negotiation to establish “Fazenda Uniāo” in northern Rio de Janeiro as a carefully maintained protection area be initiated immediately, before thepossibility to preserve it passes. © 1995, Birdlife International. All rights reserved.