Historically, the most obvious threats to the Pantanal have been due to human occupation, which has resulted in deforestation for development of cattle ranching and agricultural activities. Additionally, fishing tourism has degraded several waterways and has had a negative effect on the Pantanal fish stocks in some areas. Ecotourism is now increasing in the area, and because it does not disturb cattle ranching (the main economic activity of the region), rural landowners are regarding it as a profitable alternative activity. As a result, many of the region’s farms are being run partly as hotels. Although tourism has arisen as a possible ally to conservation, the great increase in this activity can have serious effects on the bird, reptile and mammal species in the Pantanal, as well as on their environment.

There Wildlife of Brazil's Pantanal expedition with Earthwatch Scientist Ellen Wang (above) involves four different research areas - Bats, Birds, Otters and Amphibians & Reptiles. The research focus of this particular TeachLive Program will be Amphibians, Reptiles and Otters.

Ellen Wang - Amphibians and Reptiles

Ellen Wang is a Ph.D. candidate at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS) in Brazil. She has a Master’s degree in Zoology from São Paulo State University and brings a considerable amount of field biology experience to the project. She has worked in the Pantanal since 1992. Her work on the feeding habits of the ocelot has been published in Herpetological Review. She possesses a wide ranging knowledge on the vertebrates of the Pantanal, which she shares with much enthusiasm.

Amphibians & Reptiles

The first phase of this project was designed to determine the species of amphibians and reptiles that occur in the Middle Rio Negro in order to better understand what is necessary for their conservation in the Pantanal. Through establishment of a amphibians and reptiles database, it is possible to determine the ecology of various species, such as the caiman, red foot tortoise, false water cobra, yellow anaconda and anuran (frog and toad) species in general. The survey was conducted at Fazenda Rio Negro from 2004 to 2007.

Since early 2007, the project started collecting data at Fazenda Campo Lourdes, neighbor to Pousada Araraúna. The goal of this new phase is to evaluate how the cattle activity impacts the amphibians and reptile biodiversity in this cattle ranching farm in the southern Pantanal. Areas have been classified as high or low impacted by cattle based on a system that considered period and intensity of use by the cattle in a determined area.

Manoel Comes Muanis - Otters

Manoel Muanis is an Masters of Science candidate in Zoology at the National Museum/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He received his B.A. in Biology from the University in 2004.

Mr. Muanis is very experienced in the ecology and biology of Neotropical and giant otters, having spent six years studying Neotropical otters in Rio de Janeiro state and five years studying giant and Neotropical otters in the Pantanal. He conducted his B.A. thesis research on the diets of otters in the Pantanal and for his M.Sc. thesis he is studying the effects of habitat structure on Pantanal otters. He is proficient in Portuguese and English.

Otters

In part, this project aims to determine how tourism is affecting the Pantanal’s aquatic habitats and wildlife, using the Neotropical river otter and the giant otter as focal species. These two otter species are closely-related species that occupy the same geographic areas of the Pantanal without interbreeding. The otters are aquatic predators and use the water for feeding, however they have a strong connection with the margins of the water bodies where they live.

The resting and grooming activities, territorial demarcation, as well as birth and rearing of cubs are undertaken on the banks of rivers, lakes, etc. Previous studies showed that the activities otters develop in a water body are mainly related to fish availability and the presence of safe natal dens. The negative impacts caused to these aquatic habitats through misuse of the land, unplanned ecotourism activities, etc. strongly affect the health of otter populations.