|
Reserve
of the Peccaries, São Paolo State, Brazil
This
isolated 2,200-hectare island reserve of Atlantic rain forest
is surrounded by a vast rolling sea of coffee plantations,
which is fine if you like coffee. But peccaries prefer small
coconuts and other rainforest fruits. For these large, pig-like
mammals that search the forest floor for fruit, the new landscape
is an unwanted coffee break. As for other rainforest animals,
such isolation is a quantum leap toward local extinction.
In the peccaries’ case, forest fragments offer a more
limited supply of fruit than large expanses of forest, especially
in the dry season. Where they once might have traveled to
other parts of the forest to forage, they must now make do
with the resources in this small fragment. Your team is here
to investigate how peccaries and other mammals respond to
this isolation, and to measure their vulnerability to local
extinction.
Brazil’s
Atlantic rain forest is one of the most threatened ecosystems
in the world, with only 2 percent of its original range remaining.
Having felt the pressures of human exploitation since the
16th century, most of this area is now used for agriculture,
pasture, and timber production. In the state of São
Paulo, only 4 percent of the standing forest is managed by
the government, leaving the rest vulnerable to further destruction.
This tiny patch of protected forest is 400 kilometers from
São Paulo, a city of more than 15 million. An understanding
of mammal ecology here could help in the management and conservation
of other forest patches before they disappear.
Two
species of peccary, the white-lipped and the collared, make
their home here along with a full complement of other unusual
rainforest animals, such as coatis, capuchins, and black lion
tamarins. The white-lipped peccary is larger, more aggressive,
and ranges more widely for food, while the collared peccary
tends to keep to one small range. You will help ecologist
Alexine Keuroghlian (University of Nevada, Reno) find out
how these animals respond to fruit scarcity during the dry
season. Do they expand their range, or shift to other food
sources? Do they leave the reserve in search of fruit? Do
they follow different strategies to avoid competition? Your
team will trailblaze their way through the dense, storied
forest, past waterfalls, swamps, and crystal streams, to find
answers that could determine the future of the peccary here
and elsewhere in Brazil.
2000
TEAMS
Max
team size: 6
•
V: Feb 2-16
•
Other teams, call for details
MEMBERS
SHARE OF COSTS
from US$1,595 • £990 • Aus$2,450 • Yen
¥187,200
RENDEZVOUS
SITE
Guarulhos São Paulo International Airport, Cumbica,
Brazil
VOLUNTEER
TASKS
Rising
early to pack a lunch and all your gear, your team will split
into two groups to perform rotating tasks. Some of you will
head out with Keuroghlian with the radio-tracking equipment,
to track radio-tagged peccaries throughout the reserve and
observe their behavior. The rest will participate in opening
up existing transect trails through the dense underbrush,
establishing new ones with machete and compass, and walking
the transects to perform censuses. On these hikes you will
note the presence of the two peccary species, as well as other
variables such as location, group size, behavior, and food
items. You will also opportunistically census other mammals
such as endangered black lion tamarins, participate in bird
community and freshwater ecology projects, and sample fruit
resource availability. Hiking through lush forest for up to
12 kilometers in a day and spending up to 10 hours a day in
the field is well-rewarded by the sheer richness of this vanishing
habitat and the knowledge that you are furthering its conservation.
FIELD
CONDITIONS • RIGOROUS
Teams will stay in a cozy log cabin on the reserve, with beds,
electricity, flush toilets and a hot shower. You will all
help preparing simple meals of rice and beans, meat, and vegetables.
Contact
us at sales@mindbodytravel.com to receive more information
and to make your reservation on any Expedition.
|
programs