Blue-fronted Amazon Project

Category: Diet, Pantanal | Date: Jul 16 2009 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

On the first part of my PhD dissertation, I analyzed the feeding behavior of the Blue-fronted Amazon. Once a month, from July 2005 to Dec 2007, my team and I used trails in different environments in Pantanal to observe the parrots.

I registered 1,349 Blue-fronted Amazon eating flowers, fruits, and seeds from 48 different plant species. The high seed consumption indicates that this parrot is mainly a graminivore of canopy trees. In general, the Blue-fronted Amazon is a generalist, with a very diverse diet, in response to the intense variety of resources in a seasonal and heterogeneous environment, such as Pantanal. Our next step will be to evaluate the nutritional composition of the Blue-fronted Amazon diet, with the collaboration of researches from different institutions.

Parrot eating flowers of the Caribbean Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia aurea).

Vandir and I checking the trees.

Tags: Diet, Pantanal, Parrot, PhD

2 responses so far

Category: Award, Pantanal | Date: Jul 06 2009 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

Hi everyone! I think I need to start apologizing for the lack of posts for the past few months… The Project continues very active, with many field trips. But I have been super busy finalizing my PhD dissertation (on Ecology and Conservation, Mato Grosso do Sul Federal University), and I did not have any time to post some news in the blog…

Well, finally, on June 22nd, I defended my dissertation, on a 12-year long study about the Blue-fronted Amazon, which is divided in three chapters: feeding ecology (3-year observation period), collective roosting sites (4-year observation period), and reproductive success (12-year observation period). Many people directly contributed to data collection, such as our field technician Vandir, several externs, biologists, veterinarians, and zootechnists, and, of course, the essential orientation of Prof. Dr. José Ragusa Netto/UFMS Três Lagoas. The material and financial support of many people and institutions was fundamental for this study. The Project continues, aiming to help the development of conservation plans for this species and its environment.

I would like to thanks everyone who direct or indirectly helped the Project, and to share with you the happiness of having concluded my PhD degree! And I promise new posts soon!!

Tags: Pantanal, Parrot, PhD

2 responses so far

Category: Pantanal, Partners, Support, Team | Date: Jan 02 2009 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

Many days have passed since my last post, and, sadly, many other blue fronted nestlings have arrived at the CRAS (Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center/Environmental Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul state)… A total of 788 seized nestlings were brought to the CRAS on 2008. Certainly hundreds of other nestlings died on the action of the smugglers.
But we also had a lot of good news. We have been very busy and active in the field, checking the growth of the blue fronted nestlings, as well as other psittacines species. Many people got involved and helped us with the conservation of this parrot, either by volunteering at the field, or supporting our work (partnerships and material/financial support).

We ended 2008 with the certainty that we still have a lot of work to do for the conservation… However, we also have the conviction that we are not alone, and that more and more people are getting involved with the nature conservation. This manner, we would like to express our deep and sincere thanks to everyone, and wish you all a wonderful 2009!
A huge hug,
Glaucia Seixas and Team

Tags: 2009, Pantanal, Parrot

2 responses so far

Category: Education, Nestlings, Pantanal, illegal wildlife trade | Date: Oct 01 2008 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

On Sept 19^th, after receiving an anonymous call, the Environmental Military Police made the seizure of 377 offspring of parrots - the largest ever held in Mato Grosso do Sul. Fifty-three, out of the 377 nestlings, died. Fifteen were yellow-faced parrots (Amazona xanthops), and the rest were blue-fronted parrots (A. aestiva). The parrots were being transported in boxes of vegetables and came from Ivinhema (approximately 290 km from Campo Grande) and the smugglers were using kids to collect the nestlings and eggs from the nests. The animals were brought to the Center for Rehabilitation of Wild Animals (CRAS) in Campo Grande, where they are receiving health care from the CRAS personnel, under the coordination of Vinicius Andrade Lopes. Sadly, the blue-fronted amazon parrot is still illegally collected in Brazil. It is a very popular parrot, due its ability to mimic sounds – being able to imitate words and phrases. This illegal capture directly decreases the recruitment of this species, and compromises its ability for further reproduction, as most of the nest-cavities are destroyed by the smugglers in order to gain access to the nests. These animals will stay at least for one year at CRAS and might be released after that. I met with Vinicius to discuss the necessary strategies in order to prevent the illegal wildlife trade, as raise public awareness and monitoring. It is very sad for us to see all these animals, knowing that they are only a small fraction of all the animals captured every year. But we will keep fighting for them and their environment. We will use all our efforts to fight against the illegal wildlife trade, and aware public about the importance of this and all the other wildlife species in Pantanal. We won’t give up. We will never give up.

Tags: Illegal Animal Trade, Nestlings, Pantanal

2 responses so far

Category: Field Work, Pantanal, Support | Date: Jul 23 2008 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

We are glad to inform that our proposal submitted to Idea Wild (http://www.ideawild.org/) was approved! Soon we will receive the donation of the following equipments: a digital scale to weight the nestlings (to replace the one we lost last year), a binocular 10×42 (to replace our old one!) and a equipment to measure the temperature and humidity in the nest cavities (will allow us to collect data from the nests). These equipments are important to the Project and the collaboration of Idea Wild is essential for the conservation of the blue-fronted amazon parrot and other psittacine species in Pantanal, Brazil. Our field team and the parrots deeply appreciate it!!! Thank you very much IDEA WILD!!! 

Tags: Donation, Idea Wild, Pantanal, Support

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Category: Partners | Date: Apr 28 2008 | By: admin

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.

Tags: Pantanal, Parrot, Partners, Support

2 responses so far

Category: Flood Season | Date: Mar 21 2008 | By: admin

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!

Tags: Flood Season, Pantanal

One response so far

Category: Education | Date: Mar 03 2008 | By: admin

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!

Tags: Education, Pantanal

11 responses so far