{"id":207471,"date":"2015-09-15T12:45:57","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T15:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=207471"},"modified":"2015-12-28T12:52:41","modified_gmt":"2015-12-28T14:52:41","slug":"dogs-working-in-the-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/dogs-working-in-the-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"Dogs working in the forest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brown

Eduardo Cesar<\/span>Brown brocket deer: monitored through tagging and a radio transmitterEduardo Cesar<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Granada the dog has already found over 1,800 deer dropping specimens, but if she were to see one of these animals in nature, she probably wouldn\u2019t know what it is. Although she has contributed to research on species including the Brazilian dwarf brocket (Mazama nana<\/em>), the red brocket (M. americana<\/em>), the small red brocket (M. bororo<\/em>) and the brown brocket (M. gouazoubira<\/em>)\u2014four of the eight deer species catalogued in Brazil\u2014Granada has but one goal: to locate the scent for which she was trained, thereby winning praise in the form of affection and a tennis ball from the members of the Deer Research and Conservation Center (NUPECCE) at S\u00e3o Paulo State University (Unesp) in Jaboticabal. Theirs is the only Brazilian research group focused on the study of these animals.<\/p>\n

During the dog\u2019s most recent outing with researchers led by Professor Jos\u00e9 Maur\u00edcio Barbanti Duarte of the School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences at Unesp, they explored 46 protected areas of southern and southeastern Brazil. Owing in part to the droppings found by Granada and her predecessor Apolo, the researchers were able to define the area of occurrence of the four species in the Atlantic Forest by identifying deer DNA in 555 fecal specimens collected at 30 of those locations. They discovered that the small red brocket, a species described in 1996 by Duarte (see Pesquisa FAPESP<\/em> Issue n\u00ba 65<\/a>) and still little studied, is closely associated with the 37,517 square kilometers of dense forest in the rainy region along the Brazilian coast, which shows its dependence on a limited vegetation type and climate for species survival, according to an as-yet-unpublished paper. \u201cIt is Brazil\u2019s largest endemic animal, and possibly the one with the smallest geographic distribution among all neotropical deer described to date,\u201d Duarte says.<\/p>\n

The use of sniffer dogs is one of the NUPECCE researcher and group leader\u2019s greatest triumphs. He has been using dogs in field collections since 2002. Before Granada, a mixed breed, the searches were done by Apolo, a Springer Spaniel, who died in 2007 at the age of 12. Sniffer dogs are used in research to locate droppings of maned wolves, jaguars, cougars and anteaters in Brazil, as well as foxes and even whales, in other countries\u2014in the latter case, aboard a ship whose pilot follows the signals of a canine partner to steer towards floating feces.<\/p>\n

Without the dogs, we would probably know even less about Brazilian deer, whose sharp hearing and keen sense of smell cause them to jump and run at the slightest sign of danger. \u201cIt does no good to stake them out; they pick up our scent,\u201d says Duarte, who has been in the habit of going into the forest in search of these mammals\u2014usually without success\u2014since he finished his undergraduate studies. \u201cIn a research project on the small red brocket deer, we captured just three individuals in four years of searching,\u201d he comments.<\/p>\n

\"060-063_Cervos_235\"<\/a>Added to the difficulty in finding them is the fact that species of the genus Mazama<\/em> are cryptic, that is, they look so similar that one can only distinguish the difference between them with any certainty through DNA testing. Samples of blood and other tissue are ideal for extracting the genetic material of any animal, but since deer are rarely captured in nature, the researchers\u2019 only other option has been to use droppings. In 2013 they showed this to be a feasible method for research on deer, in a paper published in Genetics and Molecular Research<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And that involves Granada, who was trained by the police corps. The training is similar to that used for drug-sniffing dogs at airports, but with a different target scent. \u201cWhen looking for drugs, the dogs are on a leash and have only a small area to search, such as a room or a few suitcases. Here, we have forests or entire fields,\u201d says M\u00e1rcio Leite de Oliveira, a Ph.D. student at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (ESALQ-USP) who is doing research at NUPECCE.<\/p>\n

Part two of the dogs\u2019 training, therefore, is done with the researchers themselves, walking through the forest off leash. After about a week of going into the field every day, the animals begin to learn what they are supposed to do. In a month, they are already helpful to the researchers. \u201cWhen we\u2019re tracking, the dog searches for droppings in a radius around us, and this greatly expands the search area,\u201d explains Pedro Peres, a researcher at NUPECCE. \u201cShe can find a single coprolite underneath vegetation without even seeing it,\u201d he says, using the term that refers to pellet-shaped droppings.<\/p>\n

Even after droppings are collected, however, problems remain. While DNA extraction from blood and tissue is a well-established technique, the same cannot be said about fecal matter. One of the difficulties lies in obtaining enough DNA from the samples, because amounts are limited, and it degrades rapidly in that type of material. \u201cEnzymes and microorganisms degrade the DNA as soon as the droppings hit the ground,\u201d Duarte explains. To add to the problem, each sample contains not only the genetic material of the animal that produced it, but also that of the plants it ate and the bacteria that were present in its digestive system and in the soil. \u201cAny hair from another animal that was there, or even from the person who collected it, can contaminate the sample,\u201d he points out.<\/p>\n

Therefore, in addition to searching for fresh samples in which the DNA is less degraded, the researchers need to separate out what is actually the genetic material of the deer. To do just that, in 2002 Duarte\u2019s team created the first genetic markers specific to the genus Mazama<\/em>, which enabled them to differentiate the genus and its five species in any sample.<\/p>\n

Once they find the droppings, mark the coordinates on the GPS and identify the species found there, the NUPECCE researchers have a valuable set of data on the deer\u2019s area of occurrence. In addition, they can link the animals to the environment where they are found (vegetation type, humidity, temperature). The compiled datasets yield an estimate of where the animals are found and what their habitat is\u2014essential information on which to base conservation policies such as the designation of protected areas.<\/p>\n

\"Granada:

Eduardo Cesar<\/span>Granada: rewarded with a ball and affection when she finds deer droppingsEduardo Cesar<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

On the trail of deer<\/strong>
\nSome of the data from the most recent paper, on Atlantic Forest species, is the product of the doctoral research being carried out by Oliveira, who is defining high-priority areas for conservation of the red brocket and the Brazilian dwarf brocket and is expected to defend his dissertation in the next few months. \u201cBy learning where they are located and which vegetation type they live on, we can provide data that will enable these areas to be protected,\u201d he says. Brazilian deer are endangered mainly through habitat loss, but livestock-transmitted diseases, hunting and predation by dogs are also factors.<\/p>\n

Encounters between wildlife and dogs are common at the boundaries between conservation units and human-occupied areas. Even when alone, dogs can detect deer and pursue them for hours. Deer are known for their agility and quick reaction, which are ideal for fleeing jaguars (Panthera onca<\/em>) and cougars (Puma concolor<\/em>), but not dogs, which can run for long distances. Even when they are not caught, deer can die from capture myopathy, a syndrome caused by intense physical activity during flight. Since Granada has been trained to locate only droppings, she doesn\u2019t pose a threat to deer. Another consequence of contact with human-occupied areas is transmission of bovine diseases such as bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease, which do not kill cattle but cause fatal hemorrhaging in deer.<\/p>\n

The research on fecal DNA is producing data that could change the very definition of species that live on Brazilian soil. \u201cWe already have evidence to propose a division of the genus Mazama<\/em>, which is present from Mexico to Argentina,\u201d Duarte notes. He says that at least two genera will probably be created to accommodate the current Mazama nemorivaga<\/em>, known as the Amazonian brown brocket, and M. gouazoubira<\/em>, the brown brocket. \u201cWe may get descriptions for another four or five new cryptic species of animals that are already known but classified as other species,\u201d he says. In order to get nationwide coverage and the number of individuals necessary for the reorganization, droppings may be the only option.<\/p>\n

The researchers are also doing an extensive historical review of the literature and are gathering DNA samples from material in natural history museums to genetically confirm what was described through morphology. Some of the work is being done by Aline Mantellatto, a doctoral candidate who obtained bone fragments from about 400 deer skeletons of the genus Mazama <\/em>from the Atlantic Forest that are held in the collections of 10 Brazilian museums and at the Natural History Museum in London.<\/p>\n

Detective work<\/strong>
\nHalf of the fragments have now been classified, and 20 of them have been shown to belong to Mazama bororo<\/em> but were identified in the museums as other species. Mantellatto also discovered that the species described by Duarte in 1996 had already been recorded in 1901 as a subspecies, M. americana jacunda<\/em>. If this finding is confirmed, M. bororo<\/em> will likely get its name changed to Mazama jacunda<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The field and laboratory work done by the researchers is receiving additional support from an arboretum at NUPECCE, where 58 individuals from seven species that occur in Brazil serve as a genetic repository and enable research studies without the need to capture wild animals. This living collection can help researchers review the classification of these animals, though with some limitations. The very species that was described by Duarte, for example, is not represented there due to the difficulty of finding them in nature.<\/p>\n

Also hard to find, at least in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo, is the Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus<\/em>). If the species is not sighted in the next few years, it may become classified as regionally extinct. At Santa Barbara Ecological Station, where the state\u2019s last known population of the species lived, Peres recently collected 73 fecal samples with Granada\u2019s help\u2014all of them from brown brocket deer. The Pampas deer may no longer be present in that area. During a break-in in early August 2015, the only female of the species in captivity in Brazil disappeared at NUPECCE, where researchers had hoped to begin a breeding program.<\/p>\n

In an effort to keep the marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus<\/em>) from suffering the same fate, the group at Jaboticabal has successfully produced embryos from a captive population in order to implant them in a wild female. The animal was captured in the wild and brought to NUPECCE, where she will receive an embryo following hormonal treatment. After impregnation, the female will be returned to the original location to give birth and raise the surrogate\u2019s fawn in the wild. The phases of the pregnancy will also be monitored through droppings, since the researchers have developed a method that now enables them to recognize the different hormones excreted during pregnancy, as shown in a 2012 paper in Animal Reproduction Science<\/em>. The idea is to increase genetic diversity and the breeding chances for this species, which is vulnerable to extinction, largely due to flooding of its habitat by hydroelectric dams. The operation even involved a helicopter to locate and capture the future mother in the wild. This time, Granada stayed home.<\/p>\n

Project<\/strong>
\nThe gray brockets in Brazil (Mammalia; Cervidae; Mazama): detection of the genetic, morphologic and ecologic variants to explain the complex evolution in this group (n\u00ba 2010\/50748-3<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong>\u00a0Thematic project; Principal Investigator<\/strong>\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Maur\u00edcio Barbanti Duarte (FCAV-Unesp); Investment<\/strong>\u00a0R$808,564.00.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles<\/em>
\nOLIVEIRA, M. L. & DUARTE, J. M. B. Amplifiability of mitochondrial, microsatellite and amelogenin DNA loci from fecal samples of red brocket deer Mazama americana<\/em> (Cetartiodactyla, Cervidae).<\/a> Genetics and Molecular Research<\/strong>. V. 12, No. 1, p. 44-52, January 16, 2013.
\nKREPSCHI, V. G. et al.<\/em> Fecal progestins during pregnancy and postpartum periods of captive red brocket deer (Mazama americana<\/em>)<\/a>. Animal Reproduction Science<\/strong>. V. 137, No. 1-2, p. 62. February 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dogs help identify deer habitat areas by tracking the scent of droppings","protected":false},"author":576,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[209,237,266],"coauthors":[1539],"class_list":["post-207471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","tag-biology","tag-genetics","tag-zoology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/576"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207471"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=207471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}