Mammals of medium and large size in a fragmented cerrado landscape in northeastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil

Abstract

The diversity of Brazilian mammals is among the highest of the world. However this exceptional diversity is still widely unknown and great part of it is seriously threatened by human activities. In the present study we estimated species richness and relative abundance of medium and large size mammals for the region of Brasilândia de Minas, a city situated in a fragmented and poorly studied cerrado area of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. We obtained 63 records of 24 species, including eight species threatened with extinction. Our results support the hypothesis that many of the cerrado mammal species may be able to persist in fragmented agricultural landscapes. This paper shows that despite the anthropogenic disturbances detected, the studied area plays an important role in the conservation of medium and large size mammals in the cerrado biome.