Amazon Blue Fronted Parrot

Collaboration from a PhD in Applied Ecology

blueparrot — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:52:44 +0000

During May, Glaucia, Vandir, and Thayane received Dr. Vivian Ribeiro Baptista-Maria, a biologist and PhD in Applied Ecology from ESALQ/Universidade de São Paulo, accompanied by Daniela Masumoto, a BS in Tourism. During the field trip, Dr. Vivian helped us to identify the plant species consumed by the parrots or used as nest cavity. Dr. Vivian is consultant of Fundação Neotrópica do Brasil and is responsible for the environmental consulting Bíon – Consultoria Ambiental (vrbmaria@gmail.com). Two days (and nights!) of hard work, rain, sun, mosquitoes, and ticks. Dr. Vivian’s voluntary collaboration was fundamental for this part of the project, when the data of 11 years of project are being analyzed for results compilation and publishing.Vivian and Daniela identifying plant species.Vandir, Glaucia and Vivian checking the trees.Vivian checking the books.We deeply appreciate her collaboration, as well as Daniela’s help on the field work. We are also thankful to the superintendent of Fundação Neotrópica do Brasil, Eleri Rafael Muniz Paulino, who supported the trip by making funds for gas and a vehicle available.Some more pictures of this field trip for you!Vivian and the ticks! :0)Vivian and Glaucia at riparian forest.Vandir and Daniela in a haze.Glaucia, Daniela, Vivian, and Vandir in the riparian forest.The guides at Estancia Caiman taking a look at out work.Vandir and Vivian appreciating the trees.Vandir, Vivian, Daniela, and Thayane.Vivian and Daniela registering the data.Vivian and Glaucia double checking the data. Vivian in her way to the sampling spots at riparian forest of Aquidauana river. :0)

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Diet of blue-fronted amazon parrot in Pantanal…

blueparrot — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:14:38 +0000

Since June 2005 we have been studying the dietary ecology of the blue-fronted amazon parrot in Pantanal, Brazil. Every month during the field trips we observe and register the vegetal species consumed by the parrots. When is not possible to recognize the vegetal species in the field, we take pictures and collect samples for further identification at the Ecology and Botanic Laboratory at the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), a federal university in the state. Vandir and me observing the parrots eating (top) and samples of leaves and fruits to be submitted to the lab (bottom). The identification of the species used to be done by Dr. Ubirazilda Maria Resende, and now is done by the biology undergraduate students at UFMS: Tatiana Souza do Amaral, Thales Henrique Dias, Thayane Ely Lima and Verónica Ramírez Martinez. Tatiana and Veronica checking references for identifying the samples. Thales and Thayane identifying samples in the lab. The specialized bibliographies used are ‘Frutos e Sementes’ [Fruits and Seeds] (Barroso et al., 2004) and ‘Botânica Sistemática’ [Systematic Botanic] (Souza & Lorenzi, 2005). Thanks to the constant efforts and dedication of this team we soon will be able to make available the diet of blue-fronted amazon parrots in Pantanal!Thank you all! A great team of biology students: Veronica, Thales, Thayane, and Tatiana. Thank you guys!

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New partners and support…

admin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:59:43 +0000

During February and March, the field activities of the Project were done under the financial support of Parrots International. The funds were donated trough the representatives Mark e Marie Stafford. I presented them the Project, after the invitation of Dr. Neiva Guedes, when they were visiting the Hyacinth Macaw Project in Pantanal. The financial support from Parrots International during these months was essential and we really appreciate their contribution!!
Other important moment for the Project during the past days was the signature of a technical cooperation contract between the Blue-Fronted Amazon Parrot Project (via Fundação Neotropica do Brasil) and the Instituto de Meio Ambiente de Mato Grosso do Sul (IMASUL). This cooperation will facilitate data, equipment, and personnel exchange between us and will strengthen the Project. We would like to thanks Dr. Francisca Fernandes, the manager of the Fauna e Pesca/IMASUL, Dr. Vinicius Lopes, and all the team at CRAS (Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center) for their cooperation and support for the parrots’ conservation.
We are very grateful and would like to thanks Emerentiane and anonymous person for their donations to the Project !!!

Thayane (top) and Veronica (bottom) in a field trip in February.

The beginning of the partnership with CRAS.

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The flood season at Pantanal

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:14:27 +0000

The flood season at Pantanal has started. Dr. Sergio Galdino, a researcher at EMBRAPA-Pantanal, explains that Pantanal is a plain surrounded by plateaus where springs of the main Pantanal’s rivers can be found. The large extension of the plain (140,000 km2) associated with its low declivity collaborate to a complex flood system in the region. At the flood season (Dec to May), the water from the rains at the plateaus associated with the rains at the plain area overflow the flat landscape – the water levels rise more than three meters!

A big group of herons (can you see the white dots on the threes?) at their roosting site.

The cattle raisers must transfers the herd to higher lands, in attempt to avoid the flood. But it is not only the Pantaneiro cowboy who works under rain – our team too! On our March field trip we counted the parrots and analyzed their behavior during the rainy season. In several occasion we had to leave the car and evaluate the area by foot.

Joao and Vandir are checking if the car will be able to cross this flood area.

Vandir and Veronica.

Vandir and Thayane.

Our boots…

Veronica checking the parrot’s behavior.

Veronica’s boots were full of water!

Despite making out work harder, we are happy with the flood, because it is a blessing for the whole ecosystem of Pantanal!

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The Project at the XXVII Brazilian Congress of Zoology

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:24:20 +0000

Between February 17th and 21st, the externs Veronica and Thayane, which are biology college students, participate at the XXVII Brazilian Congress of Zoology at Curitiba, PR – Brazil. The subject ‘Zoology in the next 30 years’ promoted a huge and polemic debate about the future ways of this area. The event congregated 4,500 people, including professional zoologists and students from Brazil and abroad.

Veronica presented a poster entitled ‘Associated arthopods at the Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot’s (Amazona aestiva) nest at Pantanal’. This study had the participation of another extern (Lelis) and was oriented by Dr. Gustavo Graciolli, a professor at the Biological Sciences Department, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul.

This study revealed the presence of adult acari and insects at the Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot’s nests. The most frequent group were adult Coleoptera (46,7%), Dermestidae larvae (20%), adult Formicidae (26,7%) and Calliphoridae (Diptera) larvae (26,7%).
Other groups found with less frequency (<20%) were Acari, Blattodea, Stratyomiidae, Muscidae (Diptera), and Mordellidae (Coleoptera). The high prevalence of the order Coleoptera was expected, once this is the biggest order of insect, with more that 250,000 known species.

The poster was very popular and several people were interested on the Project. Congratulations Veronica!

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The “Eco-Initiative of the Month” award – Jan 2008

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:57:15 +0000

Since January 2008 the information and results of the Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot Project are available at the website “ECO-INDEX: better conservation through communication”. The Eco-Index was launched in 2001 by The Rain Forest Alliance to provide conservation community with a quickly and easily vehicle to share project data and reports, lessons earned, and best practices in a succinct and consistent format.
The Project also received the award “Eco-Initiative of the Month” (http://www.eco-index.org/search/resultsp.cfm?projectID=1208)!!! We are very happy with this award! Thank you Rainforest Alliance for the recognition of our efforts!!

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The Excitement and Setbacks from our last field trip

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:31:03 +0000

We have just gotten back from the Pantanal, after a field trip full of exciting findings and setbacks to our research. The exciting findings from this trip were mostly related to the rainy season in Pantanal, which is when farms become flooded and the wild life rejuvenates with the return of the rains.

A tipical “Pantaneiro” and his horse, during the rainy season in the Pantanal

Also, the beautiful nestlings of black-hooded parakeet (Nandayus nenday), sharp-tailed conure (Aratinga acuticaudata), and white-eyed conure (Aratinga leucophthalma) that were monitored were beneficial to our research as well.

A black-hooded parakeet mom with its nestling and one egg.

Glaucia holds 2 young white-eyed conures

Vandir holds a young sharp-tailed conure

However, during this trip (and the past two), we experienced several setbacks to our research…The worst of all was the loss of ALL our biometry and banding materials and equipment. This equipment and materials are valued at US$600 all together. The scale (worth US$200), leg bands and pliers (worth US$300), and caliper (worth US$100) were all lost. The loss of this equipment was due to another problem with our car – a broken trunk door, which opened during the trip, allowing the bag with the equipment to fall off!!! We only realized that this equipment had been lost during our travels the following day, when we were about to start measuring the nestlings! We retraced our route along the road in an attempt to find our equipment, but we were unsuccessful…:-(

Besides all the equipment that was lost, we are in desperate need of a new vehicle that costs about UD$50,000, because our current vehicle is too old (too old means 14 years old) to perform field work, and is in need of being replaced. We are spending lots of money on maintaining this car, and it is cheaper to buy a new one than to keep paying to maintain the old one…and buy new equipment that falls out of the back door!

Our actual vehicle, crossing a flood area

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The “Prince” of Pantanal

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:43:29 +0000

The Black-hooded Parakeet (Nandayus nenday) is native to South America, more specifically, from Pantanal. In Portuguese it is known as “Príncipe Negro”, what means “Black Prince”, due the black facial mask, its main characteristic.

They live in small bands, but can be seen in hundreds in some regions. Little is known about this species and we are intensifying the studies about them in Pantanal, Brazil. During the reproductive season (from October to February), we have seen several birds investigating a tree hole, where they establish their nests.

This is an adult at the nest entrance.

Two nestlings in a palm tree

A male feeding the female

We still do not know if other birds from the band collaborate with the care of the nestlings. Besides the aspects regarding their feeding and behavior, we are monitoring the nestlings and collecting material to study sanitary issues. During January, Vandir and the externs Veronica and Diana monitored several nestlings of the “Prince” of Pantanal!

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Happy New Year!

admin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:17:43 +0000

HAPPY NEW YEAR dear friends!
On 2007, the Blue-fronted Parrot Project completed 10 years of constantly research for the conservation of this species and its environment.
A large part of this success is due to YOU, who worked, helped and cheered for us and for the parrots during these years.

WE SINCERELY THANK YOU! Gláucia H. F. Seixas and Team

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New residents at the nest cavities of Blue Fronted Parrot

admin — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:39:19 +0000

Vandir and Jackson are currently on a field expedition investigating the available cavities in trees, at different environments. These environments include the ciliary forest, dry forest, floodplain and man-made pasture. On each environment, the trees that have more than 20 cm of DBH (diameter at breast height) are closely analyzed.

Jackson is marking a tree.

Those that have cavities are marked; later Vandir and Jackson climb them to measure the cavity and verify if the blue fronted parrot or another bird species previously used it. We have a total of 160 marked trees, which are checked on each field trip.

Here he is measuring the cavity.

Sometimes is not so simple to reach the cavity. Often rapel is necessary.

Vandir measuring a cavity.

During these check ups, new residents are found and the most frequent this year was the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco). So far, we have found 6 nests of toco toucan, which use the same cavities of the blue fronted parrot to reproduce.

Nestlings of toco toucan (Ramphastos toco).

The toco toucan occurs at Pantanal, Savannah and Amazon. It is also the biggest toucan species and its reproductive season begin in late October, a little bit before the end of the blue fronted parrot’s reproductive season, at the same area. Often the toco toucan dislodges the blue fronted parrot from to start the posture on its nest cavity.

Can you see the adult on the top of the tree?!

The nests that we have found have between 2 and 4 nestlings, and the parents are always around while we investigate the cavities. This is the law of nature!

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