The role of the artificial ponds for the conservation of mammals in the state of Santa Catarina

Abstract Man has profoundly modified the upper valley of the Uruguay River and its basin. The plains of these valleys and the lower areas of the hills have been modified for agricultural production, leaving small patches of wild forest on the tops of the hills, where wildlife takes refuge. These less modified sectors generally lack water. Therefore, the wild mammals must descend to the bottom of the valleys to drink. However, there are numerous fence lines between the hills and the rivers and streams which prevent the fauna access to these watercourses, so they ingest water from artificial ponds present in the agricultural establishments instead, which is reflected in the high values of δ18O observed in the bone bioapatite of local wild mammals. This finding highlights the importance of artificial reservoirs distributed in the agricultural landscape of Santa Catarina for the preservation of wildlife and the importance of their sanitary monitoring to prevent the transmission of diseases from livestock to wildlife.

摘要：人类已对乌拉圭河上游河谷及其流域造成了深刻改造。该河谷平原与丘陵缓坡地带均被开发用于农业生产，仅在丘陵顶部残留小片原生林，成为野生动物的避难栖息之所。这些受干扰程度较低的区域普遍缺乏天然水源，因此野生哺乳类动物不得不下至河谷底部取水。然而，丘陵与河流、溪流之间遍布围栏，阻断了野生动物前往这些天然水体的通路，使其转而取食农业生产设施内人工水塘的水源。这一现象可通过当地野生哺乳类动物骨骼生物磷灰石中检测到的高δ¹⁸O值得到印证。本研究结果凸显了圣卡塔琳娜州农业景观中人工蓄水设施对野生动物保护的重要意义，同时也强调了对其开展卫生监测以防范畜禽与野生动物间跨物种疾病传播的必要性。