Journal
JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY
Volume 23, Issue -, Pages 427-435Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0266467407004142
Keywords
Atlantic forest; Caluromys philander; forest fragmentation; home range; marsupials; Micoureus demerarae; Philander frenata; spatial patterns
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Spatial patterns presented by the opossums Caluromys philander, Philander frenata and Micoureus demerarae were studied, through radio-tracking, in a landscape composed of eight small (1.3-13.3 ha) forest fragments surrounded by a matrix of open vegetation in south-eastern Brazil. Sixteen individuals were fitted with radio-collar transmitters and monitored for 2-8 mo. Fixes were obtained by the 'homing-in on the animal' technique. Numbers of locations of each individual varied from 6 to 1.17, Home ranges sizes ranged from 2.5-7.0 ha for C. philander, 0.6-7.4 ha for P. frenata and 0.8-1.7 ha for M. demerarae. Fragments, both edges and interiors, were used more often than the matrix; they are the primary habitat for these marsupials in the landscape. The matrix was used for foraging by P. frenata and C. philander, and traversed in five movements between fragments by P. frenata. Ability to use fragment edges and the matrix is important in explaining how these marsupials are able to persist in the landscape.
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