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I assessed major factors influencing the interactions between the mestizo community and wildlife of the Impenetrable, in the Argentine Chaco, and the ways in which these interactions are influenced by the larger economic and political context. I used a mixed qualitative and quantitative methods approach, between 2001 and 2005. I found that wildlife represented an important food source, especially for the poorer rural households. The importance of wild meat varied across the community and region, in relation to the socioeconomic characteristics of households, village size, forest condition, season, species biology, and cultural preferences. Some species used by local people, primarily white-lipped and chacoan peccaries, and jaguar, were in decline and their range had been reduced by habitat destruction and overhunting, especially in the humid sub-region. These species persisted in areas of low human density, low hunting pressure and scarce development. Harvest of peccaries for food was unsustainable. Characteristics of the resource and of the community explained the lack of incentives for community-based management of peccaries. The resource was too large in relation to the local technology and the community's institutional capacities were scarcely developed. Changes in property right regimes also influenced people-wildlife interactions and were related with species mobility. Acquisition of land title by peasants did not reduce overexploitation of highly mobile resources such as peccaries, which continued to be hunted as open access resources. The national economic collapse of 2001 had a strong influence in the region. Hunting by villagers increased as a result of growing unemployment, whereas peasants reduced their hunting and turned to forest exploitation. Acquisition of land title by non-locals and intensification of ranching and forest exploitation subsequently increased, thereby affecting the livelihoods of local peasants by reducing grazing areas and affecting wildlife by reducing habitat. This study shows how people-wildlife interactions are complex and dynamic, and indicates that conservation measures are unlikely to succeed without considering the biological, cultural, socio-economic, and political factors involved. External factors require especial consideration. In this case, a national change in economic policy produced a local change in land use that is jeopardizing the peasants culture and the region's biodiversity.

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A queixada (Tayassu pecari) é um ungulado de grande importância tanto no sentido ecológico pelo seu rol vital na estruturação e composição das comunidades vegetais e para a conservação de ecossistemas bem como no sentido sócio-econômico, por ser fonte de alimento e renda para os caçadores de subsistência na Amazônia Peruana. Não obstante varias pesquisas relataram seu declínio em decorrência de sobre extração e citando a presença de epidemias como um problema potencial. Com o objetivo de avaliar a presença de doenças em populações de queixadas de vida livre e caracterizar os padrões de caça nesta espécie foi desenvolvido o presente estudo durante os anos 2008 e 2009 na Região de Madre de Dios. Foram coletados 103 soros provenientes de animais abatidos para caça de subsistência de duas comunidades indígenas e de animais capturados no interior de três áreas naturais protegidas. Os resultados evidenciaram a presença de anticorpos às doenças de brucelose, leptospirose, toxoplasmose, existindo diferencia na prevalência entre os locais de coleta. Esta corresponde à primeira avaliação sanitária de queixadas na Amazônia Peruana. Como parte complementar foram monitoradas as atividades de caça dos caçadores de subsistência das duas comunidades para caracterizar a área de caça utilizada, a produtividade, a pressão de caça e avaliar se a extração era sustentável. A caça das queixadas aparenta ser sustentável e a população caçada esta sendo adequadamente extraída em termos de sustentabilidade em longo prazo. / The peccary (Tayassu pecari) holds an important place in the Amazonian ecosystem. As seed dispersers they have measurable effects on their habitat, partly guiding structure and composition of the vegetation community. Additionally, their socio-economic role is unsurpassed as one of the most important sources of bushmeat for subsistence hunters in the Peruvian Amazon. Various studies have alarmingly reported the decline of several populations, possibly a result of overextraction due to hunting. However, passing reference was also made to disease and its possible role in population fluctuations. The following study, taking place in Madre de Dios during 2008 and 2009, evaluates the presence of disease in three wild peccary populations. It is the first of its kind in the Peruvian Amazon. A complimentary study characterizing human hunting patterns of peccaries in two indigenous communities is also reported. Exactly 103 serum samples from hunted or live-captured animals were obtained for the study. The results indicate the presence of antibodies to brucelose, leptospirose, and toxoplasmose, in wild populations, the distribution of which is not equal among the three sites. The complimentary study characterizes human hunting patterns of peccaries, focusing on the delimitation of hunting grounds and the quantification of hunting pressure, annual animal productivity, and sustainability of hunting activities. Hunting pressure was found to be well within the limits of sustainability.

The late Pleistocene faunal assemblage from Bat Cave, central Ozarks, Missouri provides an opportunity to assess specific aspects of behavior, ecology, and ontogeny of the extinct peccary Platygonus compressus. All identifiable elements referable to this taxon were catalogued and examined, and a minimum number of individuals of 70 was determined for the sample. The presence of distinct, non-overlapping age groups suggests that P. compressus utilized Bat Cave on a seasonal basis. A predator-prey relationship with Canis dirus, the second most abundant vertebrate from the Bat Cave site, is also described in this study. Damage patterns suggest that the feeding patterns of C. dirus at Bat Cave were consistent with its extant relative, and that these predators would periodically enter the cave to hunt and/or scavenge peccaries. Overall, the fossil material from Bat Cave is virtually unweathered and represents one of the most extensive and well-preserved late Pleistocene faunas from the Ozarks.

No description available.

A queixada (Tayassu pecari) é um ungulado de grande importância tanto no sentido ecológico pelo seu rol vital na estruturação e composição das comunidades vegetais e para a conservação de ecossistemas bem como no sentido sócio-econômico, por ser fonte de alimento e renda para os caçadores de subsistência na Amazônia Peruana. Não obstante varias pesquisas relataram seu declínio em decorrência de sobre extração e citando a presença de epidemias como um problema potencial. Com o objetivo de avaliar a presença de doenças em populações de queixadas de vida livre e caracterizar os padrões de caça nesta espécie foi desenvolvido o presente estudo durante os anos 2008 e 2009 na Região de Madre de Dios. Foram coletados 103 soros provenientes de animais abatidos para caça de subsistência de duas comunidades indígenas e de animais capturados no interior de três áreas naturais protegidas. Os resultados evidenciaram a presença de anticorpos às doenças de brucelose, leptospirose, toxoplasmose, existindo diferencia na prevalência entre os locais de coleta. Esta corresponde à primeira avaliação sanitária de queixadas na Amazônia Peruana. Como parte complementar foram monitoradas as atividades de caça dos caçadores de subsistência das duas comunidades para caracterizar a área de caça utilizada, a produtividade, a pressão de caça e avaliar se a extração era sustentável. A caça das queixadas aparenta ser sustentável e a população caçada esta sendo adequadamente extraída em termos de sustentabilidade em longo prazo. / The peccary (Tayassu pecari) holds an important place in the Amazonian ecosystem. As seed dispersers they have measurable effects on their habitat, partly guiding structure and composition of the vegetation community. Additionally, their socio-economic role is unsurpassed as one of the most important sources of bushmeat for subsistence hunters in the Peruvian Amazon. Various studies have alarmingly reported the decline of several populations, possibly a result of overextraction due to hunting. However, passing reference was also made to disease and its possible role in population fluctuations. The following study, taking place in Madre de Dios during 2008 and 2009, evaluates the presence of disease in three wild peccary populations. It is the first of its kind in the Peruvian Amazon. A complimentary study characterizing human hunting patterns of peccaries in two indigenous communities is also reported. Exactly 103 serum samples from hunted or live-captured animals were obtained for the study. The results indicate the presence of antibodies to brucelose, leptospirose, and toxoplasmose, in wild populations, the distribution of which is not equal among the three sites. The complimentary study characterizes human hunting patterns of peccaries, focusing on the delimitation of hunting grounds and the quantification of hunting pressure, annual animal productivity, and sustainability of hunting activities. Hunting pressure was found to be well within the limits of sustainability.

Descriptive and taphonomic analyses of undescribed Pleistocene Tayassuidae from Guy Wilson Cave within the East Tennessee State University and McClung Museum collections revealed a MNI of 16 Platygonus compressus and 2 Mylohyus from left femora and isolated teeth, respectively. Linkage between upper dentition and species identification is suggested by comparing Mylohyus fossilis to M. nasutus from other Pleistocene-aged sites. Long-bone NISP and age profiles show a predominance of Platygonus adults. Tayassuidae upper canines, likely Platygonus, suggest sexual dimorphism. Long bones were analyzed for carnivore damage and utilization revealing light utilization similar to that caused by modern wolves. Long bone weathering is predominantly light and suggests limited exposure prior to burial. Results indicate the cave was likely used as a carnivore den, possibly from dire wolf, for a period of time. No stratigraphical excavation data were available for either collection; therefore, additional excavations are needed to confirm these findings.