An updated species list of medium and large-sized mammals of the augusto ruschi biological reserve, using a novel sampling design

Abstract

Monitoring biological communities through time helps reveal the state of habitat conservation. We performed a new inventory of the medium and large-sized mammals in the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve, southeastern Brazil. Our assessment was based on a new camera-trapping sampling design that incorporates a one-year Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) to characterize environmental heterogeneity across the study area. We selected sampling locations in different microhabitats to conduct a 90-day camera trap monitoring. Our sampling effort was 28,704 hours, resulting in 755 photographic records, from which we identified 15 native medium and large-sized mammals, one small-sized mammal (Guerlinguetus brasiliensis), and one exotic species (Canis familiaris). The native mammals included four species not listed in the last inventory carried out in the study area: Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo), Tamandua tetradactyla (collared anteater), Herpailurus yagouaroundi (jaguarundi), and Cerdocyon thous (crab-eating fox). This outcome may indicate the efficiency of our sampling design, which represents an innovative approach to characterizing local mammal communities across an environmental gradient, ensuring broad representation of different resources and habitat characteristics. Consequently, our approach may ensure the recording of the local mammal assemblage and is an appropriate option for inventorying and monitoring medium to large-sized mammals.