This thesis explores how indigenous communities in the neotropics affect the biodiversity of the forests in which they live; and assesses how the culture, preferences and perceptions of communities can influence the outcome of this relationship. This is first investigated via a case study that compares primate populations between a protected area in the Ecuadorian Amazon and a territory in its adjacent buffer zone that is owned by an indigenous Kichwa community. I then use an ethnoprimatological approach to investigate the attitudes of this community to primates, namely looking at (a) whether primates are seen as a distinct group, (b) the relative importance of primates as sources of bushmeat and pets and (c) the perceived value of primates in terms of their value as a resource or their ecological role. I show that diurnal primates are seen as a cohesive group, but that tree-dwelling non-primates including sloths, kinkajous and tamanduas are also frequently classified as 'monkeys'. The community's perceptions of the value of primates are more closely associated with their potential as bushmeat and pets, whereas few respondents view their importance in terms of their role in the forest ecosystem. I compare our findings to those in studies of other indigenous groups and discuss how they could contribute to more effective conservation planning. Next, I assess how hunting preferences for mammals and birds vary across communities over the whole of central America, Amazonia and the Guianan shield. I show that primates, cetartiodactyls and rodents are the mammalian cornerstones of prey provision for hunters in neotropical communities, whereas Galliformes, Tinamiformes, Psittaciformes, Gruiformes, Piciformes are the most commonly hunted bird orders. The location of a community alone is a significant but weak predictor of the structure of its hunting profile in terms of order preferences. In addition, I found no relationship between a community's age and size and the average biomass of birds or mammals hunted, or the number of mammal species that are targeted. I discuss whether the age and size of communities are robust indicators of past and current hunting pressure, as well as the suitability of cross-sectional data for monitoring large-scale hunting patterns.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Crop raiding by wild animals is becoming increasingly common. In recent years, the management company of the Dona Francisca Hydroelectric Power Plant has received complaints from local residents about a supposed increase in the population of capuchin monkeys, which were allegedly causing "losses" to some farming households. It is crucial to understand people´s perceptions and attitudes towards monkeys to clarify the social factors that intensify conflicts, as well as the factors which favor the coexistence between humans and capuchin monkeys in farmlands. To identify human-wildlife conflicts and their possible causes, this study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of rural community residents in Ibarama (in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul), in the vicinity of the Dona Francisca dam, with respect to capuchin monkeys. The study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with farm owners and the subsequent categorization of their answers. Thirty-one interviews were conducted between September 2010 and January 2012. Most respondents were over 40 years old and had been living in the area since childhood. Most of them stated that monkeys have always existed in that region, and only two respondents associated the "emergence" of monkeys and the building of the dam. Maize is the main crop consumed. A significant portion of the respondents claimed that monkeys cause damage to their property, but most of them could not estimate the extent of their loss. Nevertheless, most of them consider monkeys to be important to nature and believe that the coexistence of humans and monkeys is possible in those areas. Although these losses financially commit some properties, you can see a scenario favorable to the adoption of conservation and educational practices aimed at protecting the capuchin monkey and its habitat. / As invasões de cultivos agrícolas por animais silvestres vêm se tornando cada vez mais comuns. Em anos recentes a empresa gestora da Usina Hidrelétrica Dona Francisca tem recebido queixas de moradores locais sobre um suposto aumento da população de macacos-prego, os quais estariam provocando prejuízos em algumas propriedades rurais. Compreender as concepções e atitudes do ser humano com relação aos macacos é importante para esclarecer os fatores sociais que intensificam os conflitos, bem como os que favorecem a coexistência entre humanos e macacos-prego nessas áreas. O objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar as percepções e as atitudes de moradores das comunidades rurais em Ibarama, RS, no entorno da barragem Dona Francisca, com relação aos macacos-prego, visando à identificação de conflitos e suas possíveis causas. O estudo foi realizado através de entrevista semi-estruturada com o responsável pela propriedade e categorização das respostas a posteriori. Foram realizadas 31 entrevistas, entre setembro de 2010 e janeiro de 2012. A maioria dos entrevistados possui mais de 40 anos e mora no local desde a infância. A maior parte deles afirma que sempre existiram macacos nessa região e apenas dois associaram o "aparecimento" dos macacos à construção da barragem. O milho é o principal cultivo agrícola consumido. Uma parcela significativa dos entrevistados afirma que os macacos causam prejuízo em sua propriedade, mas a maioria desses não soube precisar as perdas. Apesar disso, a grande maioria considera os macacos importantes para a natureza e acredita ser possível a coexistência entre macacos e humanos nessas áreas. Embora esses prejuízos comprometam financeiramente algumas propriedades, é possível observar um cenário favorável à adoção de práticas educativas e conservacionistas que visem à proteção do macaco-prego e de seu hábitat.

Submitted by Carlos Augusto Rolim da Silva Junior (carlos_jrolim@hotmail.com) on 2015-11-20T14:44:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1719945 bytes, checksum: f769796be60ff2d983cd3f12f2f215e3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-20T14:44:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1719945 bytes, checksum: f769796be60ff2d983cd3f12f2f215e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The ecological knowledge, derived from human handling natural resources, is related to each individual perception of the environment where one lives. This study had as main goals, evaluate the ecological knowledge and the environmental perception of a rural community towards primates, located in the surroundings of the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) “Engenho Gargaú”, in the state of Paraíba, where Alouatta belzebul (redhanded howler monkey), Sapajus flavius (blond capuchin monkey) and Callithrix jacchus (common marmoset) species live. Two hundred semi-structured interviews with adults were The ecological knowledge, derived from human handling natural resources, is related to each individual perception of the environment where one lives. This study had as main goals, evaluate the ecological knowledge and the environmental perception of a rural community towards primates, located in the surroundings of the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) “Engenho Gargaú”, in the state of Paraíba, where Alouatta belzebul (redhanded howler monkey), Sapajus flavius (blond capuchin monkey) and Callithrix jacchus (common marmoset) species live. Two hundred semi-structured interviews with adults were performed and one hundred and two children’s mental maps were collected. The answers from the interviews were evaluated by the Thematic Content Analysis and they received specific scores to formulate a wise Local Ecological Knowledge measure (CELP). In spite of the proximity with RPPN “Engenho Gargaú” the interviewed adults had a poor ecological knowledge. However, the ones who had a more significant contact with primates, the man and residents who lived longer in the community showed a significantly higher CELP compared to the other residents. The age group did not influence the CELP results. Apparently, the community does not overly explore RPPN resources, justifying the poor ecological knowledge among residents. According to the mental maps, the children who had already seen primates showed a more realistic and detailed environmental perception than the ones who had never seen primates, showing a bigger contact with the environment and, possibly, with the RPPN. These data are able to help future researches and Environmental Education actions, specifically involving A. belzebul and S. flavius from RPPN “Engenho Gargaú”, two of the five target species included in the Brazilian government conservation action planning system “Plano de Ação Nacional para Conservação dos Primatas do Nordeste” (PAN PriNE). performed and one hundred and two children’s mental maps were collected. The answers from the interviews were evaluated by the Thematic Content Analysis and they received specific scores to formulate a wise Local Ecological Knowledge measure (CELP). In spite of the proximity with RPPN “Engenho Gargaú” the interviewed adults had a poor ecological knowledge. However, the ones who had a more significant contact with primates, the man and residents who lived longer in the community showed a significantly higher CELP compared to the other residents. The age group did not influence the CELP results. Apparently, the community does not overly explore RPPN resources, justifying the poor ecological knowledge among residents. According to the mental maps, the children who had already seen primates showed a more realistic and detailed environmental perception than the ones who had never seen primates, showing a bigger contact with the environment and, possibly, with the RPPN. These data are able to help future researches and Environmental Education actions, specifically involving A. belzebul and S. flavius from RPPN “Engenho Gargaú”, two of the five target species included in the Brazilian government conservation action planning system “Plano de Ação Nacional para Conservação dos Primatas do Nordeste” (PAN PriNE). / O conhecimento ecológico, proveniente do contato humano com os recursos naturais, está relacionado com a percepção que cada indivíduo tem do ambiente em que vive. O presente estudo teve por objetivos avaliar o conhecimento ecológico e a percepção ambiental sobre primatas por uma comunidade rural no entorno da Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) Engenho Gargaú, na Paraíba, onde habitam as espécies Alouatta belzebul (guariba-de-mãos-ruivas), Sapajus flavius (macaco-prego-galego) e Callithrix jacchus (saguido-nordeste). Foram realizadas 200 entrevistas semiestruturadas com adultos e coletados 102 mapas mentais de crianças. As respostas das entrevistas foram avaliadas pela Análise de Conteúdo Temático que receberam pesos específicos para formulação de uma medida ponderada do Conhecimento Ecológico Local (CELP). Apesar da proximidade com a RPPN Engenho Gargaú, os adultos apresentaram um baixo conhecimento ecológico. No entanto, os que possuem um maior contato com os primatas, os homens e os moradores mais antigos apresentaram um CELP significativamente mais elevado comparado aos demais. A faixa etária não influenciou no CELP. A comunidade aparentemente não explora intensamente recursos da RPPN, justificando o baixo conhecimento encontrado no local. De acordo com os mapas mentais, as crianças que já avistaram primatas mostraram uma percepção ambiental mais realista e detalhada do que aquelas que nunca avistaram, evidenciando um maior contato com o meio ambiente e, possivelmente, com a RPPN. Tais dados podem subsidiar futuras pesquisas e ações de Educação Ambiental, especificamente envolvendo A. belzebul e S. flavius da RPPN Engenho Gargaú, duas das cinco espécies alvo do Plano de Ação Nacional para Conservação dos Primatas do Nordeste (PAN PriNE).