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Capybara pp 357–370Cite as

Counting Capybaras

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Abstract

The decision-making process leading to management actions requires reliable estimates of the target population density or at least its abundance variation in space and time (Caughley 1977; Abercrombie and Verdade 1995). Capybaras apparently stand up well to anthropogenic pressures like environmental change (Verdade and Ferraz 2006) and hunting (Verdade 1996). For this reason, the species is not considered endangered in any country within its range. On the contrary, in some circumstances capybaras are considered a pest in agricultural and urban landscapes (Moreira et al. 2001; Cavalcanti 2003; Ferraz et al. 2003). In addition, they are hunted in many countries of South America (Ojasti 1991; Kaplan and Kopischke 1992). Therefore, there are two main reasons to count capybaras: sustainable use and damage control.

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Acknowledgments

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) partially funded this study. JRM is grateful for the support provided by Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa Família Alencar (Brazil).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia Isotópica, CENA, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 96, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Luciano M. Verdade

  2. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Parque Estação Biológica, Final W5 Norte, 70770-900, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    José Roberto Moreira

  3. Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Katia Maria P. M. B. Ferraz

Authors
  1. Luciano M. Verdade
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  2. José Roberto Moreira
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  3. Katia Maria P. M. B. Ferraz
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Correspondence to Luciano M. Verdade .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnolog, Av. W5 Norte, Brasília, DF-70770, Brazil

    José Roberto Moreira

  2. , Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba, 13418-900, São Paulo, Brazil

    Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz

  3. Universidad Simón Bolívar, Miranda-Apartado, Caracas, 8900, Venezuela

    Emilio A. Herrera

  4. , Zoology Dept., University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Oxford, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom

    David W. Macdonald

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Verdade, L.M., Moreira, J.R., Ferraz, K.M.P.M.B. (2013). Counting Capybaras. In: Moreira, J., Ferraz, K., Herrera, E., Macdonald, D. (eds) Capybara. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_22

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