Tapirs: Keystone Species for Conservation
Ecological research of keystone species generates information to guide habitat
conservation initiatives, as well as to promote education and local community
participation. This will then lead to landscape conservation efforts that will
ultimately influence decision- and policy-making. The research and conservation
of keystone species can help design the necessary steps to safeguard a biome and
influence policy-making. Tapirs are such a keystone species.
Conservation Status of Lowland Tapirs
The four living species of tapirs occur in the tropics of Central America
(Baird's tapir, Tapirus bairdii), South America (lowland tapir, Tapirus
terrestris, and mountain tapir, Tapirus pinchaque), and Southeast Asia (Malayan
tapir, Tapirus indicus). The lowland tapir has the broadest range of the four
living species extending from north-central Colombia and east of the Andes
throughout most of tropical South America down to north eastern Argentina and
Paraguay at elevations up to 2,000 masl. The species occurs in 11 different
countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana,
French Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
At the international level, the lowland tapir is currently listed by the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “Vulnerable to
Extinction” in the categories A2cde+3cde (IUCN/SSC Red List 2008; IUCN/SSC
Global Mammal Assessment 2008). Additionally, lowland tapirs are listed in CITES
Appendix II (CITES 2005), and as Endangered on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
list. In Brazil, although the species is not included in the national list of
species threatened with extinction (Lista de Espécies Ameaçadas de Extinção
2003), the lowland tapir is reported in six out of seven state lists. In the
states of Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, the species is listed as
“Critically Endangered” and in the Paraná, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Rio de
Janeiro states it is included within the category “Endangered”.
The tapir is one of the first species in its habitat to be adversely affected by
human disturbance. The new Lowland Tapir Status Survey and Conservation Action
Plan developed during the Lowland Tapir Population and Habitat Viability
Assessment (PHVA) Workshop held in Brazil in 2007 identified habitat destruction
and fragmentation, with resulting population isolation, and intensive hunting as
the main factors behind the decline of lowland tapir populations throughout
their geographic range.
Project History
In 1996, Patrícia Medici started a long-term research and conservation program
on lowland tapirs in the Atlantic Forests of the Pontal do Paranapanema Region,
São Paulo, Brazil. This program has included studies in ecology, population
demography, epidemiology, genetics, habitat use and effects of habitat
fragmentation, as well as promotion of community involvement, environmental
education and habitat restoration efforts. One of the main achievements of the
Atlantic Forest Tapir Program has been providing scientific information to
restore critical tapir habitat (corridors and stepping-stones) identified
through telemetry studies. Results of the project are currently being used to
design a Regional Action Plan for Tapir Research and Conservation in the
Atlantic Forest biome which will be implemented throughout the next years.
The Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative
The Atlantic Forest Tapir Program has demonstrated that tapirs are a keystone
species that play a critical role in shaping and maintaining biological
diversity and forest structure, and are essential for key ecological processes
such as seed dispersal and predation. In order to advance scientific knowledge
and promote the conservation of this widely spread but seriously imperiled large
mammal, Patrícia has now launched a country-wide Lowland Tapir Conservation
Initiative that will establish tapir research and conservation programs in other
key biomes of Brazil. The first of these is a new Tapir Research and
Conservation Program in the Brazilian Pantanal, where no tapir research has ever
been conducted. The Pantanal is increasingly threatened. Deforestation is now
widespread throughout the region, threatening tapirs and other wildlife with
local extinction.
The Pantanal Tapir Program was established in 2008. The study areas of the
Pantanal Tapir Program are the Hotel Fazenda Baía das Pedras in the Nhecolândia
sub-region of the Pantanal, and the Pousada Xaraés and Fazenda Nossa Senhora do
Carmo in the Abobral sub-region. The main goals of this new long-term program
are to collect ecological, demographic, epidemiological and genetic data to
assess the conservation status and viability of tapir populations in the
Brazilian Pantanal. As in the Atlantic Forest, results will be used as the basis
for the design of a specific set of recommendations for the conservation of the
species in the Pantanal. Some of these recommendations will certainly include
strategies for population and habitat conservation and management, reinforcement
of public protection in existing protected areas, establishment of new protected
areas, and promotion of conservation awareness among local landowners. Tapirs
will be used as ambassadors for conservation in the Pantanal, catalyzing habitat
conservation efforts, environmental education, as well as training and
capacity-building and scientific tourism initiatives.
The next biomes where the initiative will be established in the near future are
the Amazon and Cerrado. Tapir Programs in each biome will aim to benefit tapirs
as well as a large number of other species and key habitats while having
long-term positive impacts on the local communities. The combined database of
tapir information coming from different Brazilian biomes will contribute to the
process of implementing the IUCN/TSG Lowland Tapir Action Plan and for the
design of a National Action Plan for Tapir Conservation in Brazil.
Team Members
Patrícia Medici
M.Sc. in Wildlife Ecology, Conservation and Management
Ph.D. Student, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University
of Kent, UK
Coordinator, Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative
IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research)
Chair, IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group (TSG)
Facilitator, IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) - Brazil
Network
E-mail: epmedici@uol.com.br; medici@ipe.org.br
Patricia Medici is a Brazilian conservation biologist whose main professional
interests are tapir conservation, tropical forest conservation, metapopulation
management, landscape ecology, and community-based conservation. Patrícia has a
Bachelor's Degree in Forestry Sciences from the São Paulo University (USP -
Universidade de São Paulo), and a Masters Degree in Wildlife Ecology,
Conservation and Management from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG -
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Brazil. Currently, Patrícia is a Ph.D.
Student at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the
University of Kent in the United Kingdom. For the past 16 years, Patrícia has
been working for IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for
Ecological Research) of which she was one of the founding members together with
Cláudio and Suzana Padua. Since 1996, Patrícia coordinates a long-term research
and conservation program on lowland tapirs in the Atlantic Forests of São Paulo
State, Brazil. Currently, Patrícia is expanding this program to other Brazilian
biomes, establishing a nation-wide Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative.
Patrícia has also been the Chairperson of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group
(TSG) since 2000, and Facilitator of the Brazilian Network of the IUCN/SSC
Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) since 2004.
Paulo Rogerio Mangini
D.V.M. M.Sc. in Wildlife Medicine
Ph.D. Student, Universidade Federal do Estado do Paraná, Brazil
Veterinarian, Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative
IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research)
Member, IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group (TSG)
Member, IUCN/SSC Peccary Specialist Group (PSG)
Member, IUCN/SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group (WHSG)
E-mail: pmangini@uol.com.br; pmangini@ipe.org.br
Paulo Rogerio Mangini is a Brazilian veterinarian with extensive experience on
wildlife medicine including several species such as peccaries and tapirs. Paulo
has a Bachelor's Degree in Veterinary Sciences from the Federal University of
Paraná State (UFPR – Universidade Federal do Paraná), Brazil, and a Masters
Degree in Wildlife Medicine also from the Federal University of Paraná State.
Since 1998, Paulo has been working as a Research Associate with IPÊ - Instituto
de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research), as the coordinator
of the veterinarian component of the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative.
Paulo is a member of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group (TSG), IUCN/SSC Peccary
Specialist Group (PSG), and IUCN/SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group (WHSG).
José Maria de Aragão
Field Technician
Teodoro Sampaio, São Paulo, Brazil
José Maria de Aragão is Brazilian and has almost 20 years of experience working
as field assistant for several research and conservation projects leaded by IPÊ,
including black-lion-tamarins, black-faced-lion-tamarins, tapirs, jaguars, small
mammals, peccaries, and birds among others. Since 1996, José Maria has been
Patrícia Medici´s right and left hand, helping her carry out the activities of
the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative in the Atlantic Forest and Pantanal
biomes.
Links
Other websites that provide information about the Lowland Tapir Conservation
Initiative:
Other websites that provide information about tapir status and conservation: