Habitat selection for resting sites by the water opossum (Chironectes minimus) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest |
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| Authors: | Ana Filipa Palmeirim Melina de Souza Leite Margarida Santos-Reis Fernando A S Fernandez |
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| Institution: | 1. Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de Biologia Ambiental/Departamento de Biologia Animal;2. Faculdade de Ciências;3. Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal;4. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conserva??o de Popula??es;5. Departamento de Ecologia;6. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro;7. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazilanafilipapalmeirim@gmail.com;9. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conserva??o de Popula??es;10. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | We evaluated the selection of resting sites occupied by the water opossum Chironectes minimus, between 2004 and 2010, in streams of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Fourteen radio-tracked adult (males and females) opossums used natural cavities as resting sites. Opossums selected narrow river stretches and selected their resting sites mainly according to characteristics favoring protection against adverse weather conditions. Likewise, opossums avoided disturbed habitats and established their resting sites in well-preserved riparian forest sites, selecting river sections containing a high density of trees and a high proportion of forest cover between the river banks and 50 m from the river. Besides increasing our knowledge on this species habitat selection, such findings further highlight this species’ sensitivity to human disturbance. |
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| Keywords: | habitat resource habitat selection marsupial Neotropics semi-aquatic mammal |
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