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The Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis has been categorized as Vulnerable by the IUCN. There have been few studies on the species in its natural habitats due to its elusive nature and the low visibility of its aquatic habitats. Understanding the conservation status of Amazonian manatees, as well as any changes in their population trends and direct threats, is the basis for their management and conservation. Our study was carried out in 2 localities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Tambococha-Jatuncocha and the Lagarto River), in the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana. We surveyed Amazonian manatees along rivers and in lagoons, using fish finder side-scan sonar to increase detectability rates. We estimated encounter rates, population density and occupancy. With a sampling effort of 573 km, we obtained an average encounter rate of 0.90 records 10 km-1 and estimated a population density of 1.09 and 0.94 ind. km-2 in Tambococha-Jatuncocha and the Lagarto River, respectively. In addition, occupancy rates varied between 0.51 and 0.57, and presence and distribution of the species were associated with distance to humans. The Amazonian manatee population estimates presented here represent a baseline for future research, and additional surveys will be needed to understand population fluctuations over time. An evaluation of population viability in Tambococha-Jatuncocha and the Lagarto River would also be required to determine whether these populations will be able to persist over the long term under different deterministic and stochastic scenarios.

Subsistence hunting has been a vital activity for local people across Neotropical rain forests (NRF). While providing a reliable source of protein, subsistence hunting also reflected the strong relationships that connected local people with the species and ecosystems in which they inhabited. However, the social and ecological context in which subsistence hunting can be sustainable has been altered. The relatively small groups that hunted in large and mostly undisturbed forests, using traditional weapons, have been replaced by a growing population using fragmented habitats and modern hunting methods. Thus, subsistence hunting is less likely to be sustainable, threatening the food security of local people and the persistence of species with critical roles in the functioning of NRF. Managing subsistence hunting in this changing context will require a more efficient combination of tools which might include banning the hunting of large and sensitive species, strengthening protected areas, alternatives to reduce the role of wildlife protein on local people's subsistence and, in some cases, voluntary resettlements of local people, from areas that could still be used as refuge for endangered species.

The persistent high deforestation rate and fragmentation of the Amazon forests are the main threats to their biodiversity. To anticipate and mitigate these threats, it is important to understand and predict how species respond to the rapidly changing landscape. The short-eared dog Atelocynus microtis is the only Amazon-endemic canid and one of the most understudied wild dogs worldwide. We investigated short-eared dog habitat associations on two spatial scales. First, we used the largest record database ever compiled for short-eared dogs in combination with species distribution models to map species habitat suitability, estimate its distribution range and predict shifts in species distribution in response to predicted deforestation across the entire Amazon (regional scale). Second, we used systematic camera trap surveys and occupancy models to investigate how forest cover and forest fragmentation affect the space use of this species in the Southern Brazilian Amazon (local scale). Species distribution models suggested that the short-eared dog potentially occurs over an extensive and continuous area, through most of the Amazon region south of the Amazon River. However, approximately 30% of the short-eared dog's current distribution is expected to be lost or suffer sharp declines in habitat suitability by 2027 (within three generations) due to forest loss. This proportion might reach 40% of the species distribution in unprotected areas and exceed 60% in some interfluves (i.e. portions of land separated by large rivers) of the Amazon basin. Our local-scale analysis indicated that the presence of forest positively affected short-eared dog space use, while the density of forest edges had a negative effect. Beyond shedding light on the ecology of the short-eared dog and refining its distribution range, our results stress that forest loss poses a serious threat to the conservation of the species in a short time frame. Hence, we propose a re-assessment of the short-eared dog's current IUCN Red List status (Near Threatened) based on findings presented here. Our study exemplifies how data can be integrated across sources and modelling procedures to improve our knowledge of relatively understudied species.

Incluye contenido parcial de los autores Abstract.Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecologicalhealth and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carni-vores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide managementand conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropicalregion: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; andUrsidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropicalcarnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTRO-PICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data wereobtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organi-zations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including cameratrapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature(peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated inthis compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n=79,343; 79.7%) butalso includes non-detection data (n=20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data(n=43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute tomacroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspec-tives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distri-bution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans andsafeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combinedwith other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and relatedecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restric-tion for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of theinformation used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data.

The yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) plays ecological roles in the Amazonian aquatic ecosystem and has cultural and economic significance for indigenous peoples. Because spatial ecology and movement data are nonexistent for this species, we radio tracked 63 individuals in the Napo River between August 2015 and February 2017. Mean linear range size was 16.2 km (n = 31) and mean home range size was 5.2 km2 (n = 27). Our results are the first range size estimates for P. unifilis and suggest that the species could be treated as a short-distance facultative migrant with local seasonal movements.

Llanganates National Park (LNP) was created in the Andes of Ecuador with the goal of protecting the biodiverse biota of the Napo and Pastaza river watersheds. Data on richness and abundance of the mammal community in this park are scarce. From February to August 2016 we installed 58 camera-trap stations along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 2000 to 4000 m. With a sampling effort of 2320 trap-nights, we recorded 2034 pictures of 13 species of large native mammals, 10 of which are included in Ecuador’s Red List of Endangered Mammal Species. Relative abundance ranged from 0.17 to 3.58 photos/100 trap-nights. Our results are similar to those of other protected areas in the Ecuadorian Andes. During field work, we found evidence of uncontrolled and threating activities for conservation. There is an urgent need to strengthen patrol and law enforcement in the park to reduce human impacts on wildlife and habitat.

Negative impacts of some introduced carnivores like feral cats are well documented, widespread, and significant. Comparatively, the effects of feral dogs (individuals that are not associated with people or human settlements) on native wildlife are poorly known, even though feral dogs occur worldwide. We assessed the density of feral dogs and compared relative abundance, activity patterns and habitat use of 10 species of mammals in areas with and without feral dogs in Cayambe-Coca National Park in the northern Ecuadorian Andes using line transect surveys, camera traps, and track and sign surveys. In areas where feral dogs were present, four native mammals were absent: mountain coati (Nasuella olivacea), mountain paca (Cuniculus taczanowskii), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), and northern pudu (Pudu mephistophiles). Relative abundances of six species were lower compared to areas without feral dogs: puma (Puma concolor), Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus), Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus), mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), and little red brocket deer (Mazama rufina). Three species significantly altered activity patterns where feral dogs were present (Andean bear, mountain tapir, and little red brocket deer). In contrast, none of the native mammal species exhibited shifts in habitat use in areas with feral dogs. Dogs used all habitat types according to availability. Our results point to feral dogs as a significant problem for the native mammal community of this Andean region, and highlight the need to consider feral dogs as a potential threat to wildlife in other regions where anthropogenic effects appear to be low but feral dogs are present, particularly natural areas that contain endangered and endemic species.

For the first time in Ecuador, a defecation rate is calculated from three captured paramo rabbit Sylvilagus brasiliensis andinus individuals. Combining this defecation rate, the pellet count method, and Novaro et al.'s (1992) hare density equation, paramo rabbit densities were calculated in four paramo localities with different vegetation structures. A correlation was found between the paramos' vegetation diversity and paramo rabbit densities. This study shows that pellet counting is an economical and non-invasive method that permits the estimation of paramo rabbit abundances in paramo ecosystems. Paramo rabbit abundances may serve as a tool to measure the effects of human activity over small mammal population sizes. Further studies of small paramo mammals will help better understand paramo ecosystem functions and will provide insights into its land management and conservation.

The Andean Ibis (Theristicus branickii) is discontinuously distributed in western South America from Ecuador to northern Chile. In Ecuador, it inhabits high elevations (>3,700 m) where it is classified as critically endangered because of its low population number caused by hunting and habitat loss. However, the population size of Andean Ibis in Ecuador is unknown, hindering the implementation of conservation actions. We performed a survey to estimate the abundance of Andean Ibis in the Ecuadorian Andes. In February 2016, and January 2017 and 2018, we conducted 11 point counts. Point counts were located in two provinces, each point count had nine 30-min visits. We recorded Andean Ibis in eight point counts, all in the Province of Napo. Detectability was explained by the amount of nontree vegetation cover and terrain slope, whereas abundance corresponded to gross primary productivity, annual mean temperature, and annual precipitation. We estimated there were 85 (95% credible interval [CI]: 63–117), 94 (95% CI: 32–125), and 134 (95% CI = 77–210) individuals of Andean Ibis in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively. The fact that abundance increased in the past 3 years could be explained by an increase in gross primary productivity. We suggest continuing population monitoring and adopting the sampling protocol and data analysis methods presented here as a baseline to better understand the spatiotemporal variation in abundance.

Abstract ContextEstimating population abundance can be plagued by the violation of methodological assumptions, which can be overcome with standardised protocols. The black caiman (BC) is considered a conservation-dependent species, and previous abundance estimates are surrounded by uncertainty and flaws in the survey (e.g. different survey design and efforts) and analytical approach used (e.g. relative abundance index, which ignores imperfect detection). Its conservation status assessment demands the implementation of a standardised monitoring protocol. AimsThe protocol provides guidelines to collect and analyse data in a consistent manner to survey BC. Besides accounting for imperfect detection to produce reliable abundance estimates, the protocol aimed to be easily implemented by park rangers, and to fit field observations into a hierarchical modelling approach to assess how environmental variables affects detectability and abundance. MethodsThe protocol subdivides a 20-km transect into 10 2-km segments; each transect is surveyed four consecutive nights, starting at 1900 hours and finishing when the 20km are completed. For each caiman detected, the observers estimated head size to classify the individual by age. We tested the protocol in Ecuador during January and December 2017, and field data were analysed using N-mixture models. We compared abundance estimates derived with this protocol with commonly used relative abundance indexes. Key resultsWe surveyed 460km that resulted in 177 detections. Percentage of moonlight and distance from human settlement best explained detectability and abundance respectively. Mean detection probability was 0.14 (95% BCI: 0.1–0.18), whereas absolute abundance was 196 (95% BCI: 147–370). The overall adult to immature ratio was 1:1.3. ConclusionsThis is the first estimate of detectability and absolute abundance for BC by using a standardised survey with a clearly defined and repeatable survey and analysis methods. Relative abundance indexes did not reflect absolute abundance estimates. We recommend the use of this protocol in future surveys across the Amazon region to effectively evaluate BC conservation status. ImplicationsPopulation size cannot be estimated from relative abundance indexes; they lead to bias estimates for ignoring imperfect detection. We discourage the use of relative abundance indexes to evaluate the conservation status of this species.

Although the Andes have long been occupied by people, habitat loss, fragmentation through deforestation, and other human activities such as introduction of invasive species have increased drastically during the past century. The Ecuadorian Andes are considered a biodiversity hotspot. However, the fauna and threats to the region are poorly studied, and understanding of factors that shape the distribution of species in habitats disturbed by human activities is needed to identify and mitigate region-wide threats to wildlife. We evaluated factors associated with patterns of occurrence of Andean carnivores in landscapes of the northern Ecuadorian Andes, particularly habitat loss, fragmentation, and occupancy of domestic dogs, and determined whether thresholds occurred for these factors beyond which carnivore occurrence declined markedly. Five study areas (each 20 x 20 km) were surveyed with a total effort of 2,800 camera trap nights. Occupancies of four of the eight carnivores known from the region were best predicted by occupancy of domestic dogs rather than measures of habitat loss and fragmentation [Andean fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus), puma (Puma concolor), striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus), and Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus)]. The two largest carnivores, puma and Andean bear, demonstrated significant threshold responses to the presence of domestic dogs at two sites. Four smaller carnivores were recorded too infrequently to model occupancy, and at least two of these species appear to be in decline. The magnitude of domestic dog impacts on native species in tropical areas like the Ecuadorian Andes currently are not recognized. Results of our study indicate that small and large carnivores are in urgent need of conservation and clearly point to dogs as a significant threat to a broad range of native species.

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) in Ecuador is classified as Critically Endangered. Before 2015, standardized and systematic estimates of geographic distribution, population size and structure were not available for this species, hampering the assessment of its current status and hindering the design and implementation of effective conservation actions. In this study, we performed the first quantitative assessment of geographic distribution, population size and population viability of Andean Condor in Ecuador. We used a methodological approach that included an ecological niche model to study geographic distribution, a simultaneous survey of 70 roosting sites to estimate population size and a population viability analysis (PVA) for the next 100 years. Geographic distribution in the form of extent of occurrence was 49 725 km2. During a two-day census, 93 Andean Condors were recorded and a population of 94 to 102 individuals was estimated. In this population, adult-to-immature ratio was 1:0.5. In the modeled PVA scenarios, the probability of extinction, mean time to extinction and minimum population size varied from zero to 100%, 63 years and 193 individuals, respectively. Habitat loss is the greatest threat to the conservation of Andean Condor populations in Ecuador. Population size reduction in scenarios that included habitat loss began within the first 15 years of this threat. Population reinforcement had no effects on the recovery of Andean Condor populations given the current status of the species in Ecuador. The population size estimate presented in this study is the lower than those reported previously in other countries where the species occur. The inferences derived from the population viability analysis have implications for Condor management in Ecuador. This study highlights the need to redirect efforts from captive breeding and population reinforcement to habitat conservation.