María Martha Martínez

Doutorado | 3° ano

canasmarianita@gmail.com


Orientador

Fernando Passos


Coorientador

Héctor E. Ramírez-Chaves

Conservation issues in Andean porcupine species: The dilemma of assessing little-known species of Coendou

Neotropical porcupines of genus Coendou are represented by 15 recognized species. They are distributed from southern Mexico to northern Argentina and represent one of the least studied mammals in the Neotropics, with information gaps on their natural history, distribution, ecology, and conservation. Some species of Coendou have highly restricted distributions (e.g., C. vestitus and C. speratus), whereas other species have a wider distribution (e.g., C. bicolor and C. prehensilis). The global threat category has listed six species of Coendou as Data Deficient [DD], eight as Least Concern [LC], and only one as Endangered [EN]. In particular, three Andean species, C. quichua, C. rufescens and C. vestitus are within the species with restricted distribution, or lack of information. C. quichua and C. vestitus are globally listed as Data Deficient and C. rufescens as Least Concern. These species inhabit a highly threatened ecosystem such as the Andes, and the lack of information limits the assessment of the threaten category, representing a challenge in terms of conservation actions. Using niche models, information on distribution and protected areas data, we present an assessment of the threaten category for this little-known Andean porcupine species and propose an effective conservation approach in one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world.
Poster_D_3_Maria_Torres.pdf