Patagonian rainforests fauna: searching for small, discrete and almost unknown mammals.

Patagonian rainforests fauna:

searching for small, discrete and almost unknown mammals.

“Among dense shadowed thickets and underbrush, surrounded y long strips of “quila” (southern bamboo) and evergreen trees, live some of the most tiny and discrete mammals on Earth, remaining hidden most of the time into the deep gloomy forests. Low-size mammals and little accessibility to the southern rainforests make the observation, study and identification of local fauna a very complex process, preventing to determine with clarity their conservation status (UICN). However, studies performed with trophy cameras inside Anihue Reserve have contributed to get some valuable information regarding presence and distribution of species in area where there were no concrete registers until now”.

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Settling trophy camera inside costal forest.

In Chile’s central and southern zone, temperate-rainy weather dominates originating a unique “temperate rainforest” in South America, known also as the “evergreen forest”.

This environment extends from the Araucanía Region to the Patagonia (between 37º and 48º South), counting with more than 300 thousand square kilometers, including areas bordering Argentina. This region isolated by the Andes Mountain Chain and the Pacific Ocean has been called the Valdivian Eco-region and is considered one of the 34 most diverse points in the planet, where a significant number of endemic species can be found.

There are more than 4000 plant species within this forest, producing a varied and thick habitat characterized by abundant strips of

vegetation, where small and medium-size land mammals (also known as meso-mammals), can hide. Here, due to geographic isolation, these species have developed different features adapting to the Valdivia Rainforest, such as camouflaged furs or the reduction of their body size in comparison to same group mammals in other parts of the world.

This old tempered forest has been the home for many years of the Mapuche People, who had ample knowledge of its ecosystem.

They knew their forest mates, giving them names in the Mapudungun Language, such as the “Wiña”(Leopardus guigna) and “Püdü” (Puda pudu), names still in use today.

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Currently there is still lack of knowledge in our local fauna, including meso-mammals. Some state organizations such as the Cattle Agricultural Service (SAG, as per its acronym in Spanish for Servicio Agrícola Ganadero) and Forestry National Corporation (CONAF, as per its acronym in Spanish for Corporación Nacional Forestal) through continuous work for several decades have contributed information regarding the population status of the species, conservation states and invasion of exotic species. However, it is still necessary to understand the ecological sense of our ecosystems. In the specific case of these mammals in the Valdivia Rainforest, we need to know how different species interact, how they share the habitat, which are their distribution ranges at a small scale and more important still how we can contribute to their conservation.

The first time "conservation" word was heard of in Chile was around 1870, very quickly allocating a significant number of territories for this purpose. In the following years hectares continued to be added leading to count more than 14 million hectares today, forming part of Protected Wild Areas (SNASPE as per is acronym in Spanish for Áreas Silvestres Protegidas).

Valdivia Rainforest at the Colorado Hill, Anihue Reserve .

Different natural parks or private reserves are added to the above, such as the emblematic Pumalin Park south of the Los Lagos Region.

Thus, protected areas, whether state-owned or private generate one of the main contributions to the conservation of both ecosystems and the fauna.

Wetland or marshland deep in the forest, a source of fresh water ideal for the traps camera’s recordings.

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There is no doubt that the main conservation threat at present time is human species. Human beings have reached a point of no return, where the growth of the population and demand for food and services has fragmented habitats not only in the Valdivian Rainforest but throughout the entire planet. Recent studies developed in the School of Forestry Sciences of the Universidad de Chile deem that starting from the arrival of the Spanish people, Chile has suffered a loss of more than 80% of its native forest, five times greater than what has happened in the Amazonas1.

Concretely speaking, forestry demand, building highways, hydroelectric power plants, industrialization and urbanization in general produce direct impacts on the habitat, leading to its fragmentation, exponentially growing in the Patagonia. Additionally, at smaller scale other threats raise, such as direct hunting (poachers) and indirectly (due to domestic dogs in rural areas), elimination of predator carnivores by poisoning or shooting (in cattle raising zones), which are recurrent practices still in use particularly in southern Chile.

Despite these threats and increasing vulnerability of the Patagonina ecosystem, most of these mammals do not have a conservation status according to UICN. Groups of species that are currently "under threat" UT are mainly carnivores, including minor felines and otters.

Southern river Otter or HuillĂ­n (Lontra provocax) in Anihue Bay .

1 A.Salzar et al. 2016 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/

Evergreen forest in Anihue Reserve .

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Anihue Reserve´s objective.

Anihue Reserve, within the Valdivian Rainforest, holds a rather particular area, sheltering a forest within an extensive coastal border originated by the Palena River mouth. This component generates a dynamic environment, allowing the presence of greater diversity of meso-mammals. During the last years, the Reserve has targeted to build a biodiversity baseline both in maritime and land areas. In order to study the in-site biodiversity, work was performed by using trophy cameras, allowing the extension of knowledge about mammals species found here and how they use the habitat.

Specifically within Anihue Reserve, records were taken during approximately 4 years, contemplating 2 to 4 weeks registers, and counting also with opportunist records.

Two important study areas were considered within the investigation: Zone A, characterized by little accessibility with a wide coastal border and Zone B, with a larger forest coverage, greater accessibility and the presence of wetlands (“mallín”). The Anihue Reserve team installed the trophy cameras using a standardized protocol in order not to interfere in the study areas, avoiding to let olfactive tracks for example. In addition the cameras were switched every so often in order to try to cover the largest possible area inside both zones.

¿How is the study carried out with trophy cameras?

Trophy or trap cameras are good tools that help to acknowledge the presence of animals, seeing local distribution ranges and even evidencing their behaviors. These cameras work autonomously thus allow them to be left alone for long periods of time at a given place.

Cameras have an infrared sensor activated by movement and registers activity in a video or photograph rushes, showing animals that could not be easily seen when walking in the forest during day time.

Settling, setting and renewing trophy cameras.

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¿How do you know where to settle the cameras?

The scientific team working in the reserve has always kept in mind this underlying question at the time of settling trophy cameras, since animals, speaking theoretically, could be moving everywhere and anywhere. Differently from other studies using the same technology, the objective of the reserve were to register everything, without planting any bait to attract animals. Then, the success key to get registers was focused on finding clues. Thus, the presence of prints, marks, feces, trails, and bodies of water as assumed drinking holes were references taken into account at the time of positioning the cameras in the extensive coastal forest.

¿What has been discovered?

At the end of the investigation period, 1540 days were registered with the trophy cameras; of them only a small percentage had positive registers, reflecting the difficulty of observing these animals. The first photographs and tapes confirmed the presence of the small deer , “Pudú” (Pudu puda) and the wild smallest cat, “Güiña (Leopardus guigna). Afterwards, some mustelids such as Sothern river otter or "Huillines" (Lontra provocax) and sea otter or "Chungungos" (Lontra felina) were also captured by the camera. Although their presence was assumed to be verified all along the coastal border, it was surprisingly recorded deep in the forest. Finally, larger carnivores were also seen, recording a fox “Zorro culpeo”(Lycalopex culpaeus) and a Mountain lion or “Puma” (Puma CT registers, from top to bottom: Puma, Pudú, Guiña melánica (black fur) and Culpeo fox. concolor).

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In total 9 mammal species were recorded, adding to the list a Coypu or Coipo (Myocastor coypus) , a big rodent associated to the wetlands and a Quique (Galactis cuja). Unfortunately, there were also registers of an introduced mammal, the Mink (Neovison vison). This mustelid, relative of the Huillín and Chungungo was brought from North America between the 30’s and the 70’s, for furrier purposes. Today, it is a great threat for the wild life of the Chilean south and the Patagonia, competing with other species and depredating a significant number of wild birds and other animals.

About the comparison of Zones A and B, from one hand no big differences were found speaking about diversity of species. “Pudú” and “güiña” were the most registered animals in both areas. On the other hand, it was possible to appreciate that “Pudú” prefers daily activities, more frequently in the afternoon, From top to bottom: Mink (introduced) and Quique while the “Güiña” prefers night and early (native), both mustelid species. morning activities.

¿How to continue contributing to conservation?

If fragmentation's habitat seems to be an impossible issue to stop, protected wild areas whether public or private, constitute the main points where there is hope to pursuit effective conservation purposes. In these protected areas, it´s possible to study the fauna in its natural and relatively pristine habitat, making extremely important to valuate scientific initiatives, to encourage and spread them. Different studies have set forth the grounds to generate a raise of awareness both at the individual, group and government levels in protecting and preserving our patrimonial flora and fauna.

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Anihue Reserve with a private protected area attempts to continue in this objective, with its trophy camera registers in order to go deeper in topics such as introduced species (Mink), and also contributing with information on behaviors and seasonality, presence and absence of species, among others. Thus, it is expected that such study will participate in two major goals. First this kind of study will improve the global knowledge of local meso-mammal dynamics in Patagonian rainforests, allowing further environmental management decisions within a legal framework. Second, it will contribute to open general knowledge about our natural patrimony to the local community.

By the Anihue Reserve team

Photographs by M.I. Meza, H. Pacheco, J.P.Espinoza, J.Poblete.

www.anihuereserve.com aquiros@anihuereserve.com Tel (56 9) 62196002 (56 9) 94449449

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