Biotemas (Sep 2009)
Knowledge of dwellers about frugivory by birds in an urbanized region with restinga fragments in southeastern Brazil
Abstract
Ecological knowledge can be important to reveal in raising the awareness of people which becomes reflected in action on their local environment. This study evaluated the knowledge of dwellers about frugivory by birds in restinga fragments, an ecosystem threatened due to the rapid increase of human demographic expansion. A semi-structured interview was applied to 73 dwellers from two districts of Itanhaém on the south coast of São Paulo state. The majority of answers indicated little observation of bird frugivory in native plants. Dwellers found it difficult to identify birds and to discriminate native plants in nature. However, they had some logical knowledge of the ecological processes involved in bird-plant interactions. The Brazilian Tanager (Ramphocelus bresilius) and Jerivá Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) were the most cited species. These species are most easily found in the restinga and present some characteristics that attract the attention of people, such as: intense red color and great height, respectively. These species may be used as initial steps for works involving the identification of birds and plants in the ecosystem as well as for a deepening of environmental education by the local population.
