Diversity, abundance and the impact of hunting on large mammals in two contrasting forest sites in northern amazon

A variety of Amazonian mammals serve as sources of food for its human inhabitants, but hunting can have a strong negative impact on them. Diversity, abundance, biomass, and average group size of medium-sized and large mammals are compared across two forest areas of the northern Amazon: the Virua National Park (protected) and the Novo Paraiso settlement (a human settlement where hunting is permitted). Hunting pressure was also characterized in Novo Paraiso. A total of 33 mammal species were recorded. There were no significant differences in the sighting rates, relative abundance and biomass, and mammal group sizes between the two areas, although the totals of all these variables were higher in Virua due to the higher abundance of Tayassu pecari, which was not recorded at Novo Paraiso. It is suggested that T. pecari may be on the verge of local extinction, as it was the most hunted species in the settlement area. Through interviews with 50 hunters, we estimate that 541 mammals of 20 species were hunted duri...