Title
Densities of the vulnerable marsh deer Blastocerus dichotomus in Bolivia's northern savannahs
Author(s)
Rios-Uzeda, B.;Mourao, G.
Published
2012
Publisher
ORYX
Abstract
Aerial surveys have been used successfully to estimate vertebrate populations in open habitats. The marsh deer Blastocerus dichotomus, categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, lives in such habitats and is suitable for aerial counting because it is conspicuous. This species, the largest South American deer, is native to Argentina, Boliva, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru but no reliable information has previously been available on its populations in Bolivia. From May to August 2007 we conducted aerial transects to survey marsh deer in three large areas of savannah. We used a modified mark-recapture method to improve the accuracy of the counts and estimated density and abundance. The corrected, estimated density of the marsh deer was 0.24 km(-2) in the northern La Paz Department, 0.12 km(-2) in Mamore and 0.15 km(-2) in Itenez. These densities are similar to the mean density of the species on other South American savannahs. This is the first large-scale survey of the marsh deer in Bolivia and the first to provide information about the density of the species in the Amazon. We recommend the creation of protected areas in these savannahs, and wildlife and domestic health programmes to conserve the marsh deer of this region.

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PUB14607