Aves do parque zoobotânico Arruda Câmara

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most biodiverse and threatened biomes on the entire planet. After centuries of intense exploration, the biome is now considered one of the five priority hotspots for conservation initiatives, which is due to its high degree of deforestation and high rates of endemism. When analyzing the remaining sectors of the Atlantic Forest, the Pernambuco Endemism Center (PEC), is considered a hotspot within a hotspot, the most deforested, unknown and least protected in the biome. Located in the heart of João Pessoa and belonging to the PEC, the Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park (ACZP) has 23.95 ha, the second largest public fragment of Atlantic Forest in the city. Despite being considered a refuge for wild animals within the city, there are few surveys on birds occurring at the ACZP and no study on its trophic guilds. Furthermore, some inconsistencies were identified in previous records. The aim of this study is to survey the ornithofauna based on the information collected during active surveys, bibliographic references and the citizen science platforms eBird and WikiAves. We found 107 species of birds, distributed in 16 orders, 37 families and 98 genera. The data were organized in a table with information about scientific and vernacular names, conservation status, food guild and source. Among the 16 orders found, Passeriformes (56 spp.), Apodiformes (08), Pelecaniformes (07), Accipitriformes (05), Piciformes and Psittaciformes (04) were the richest; while Tyrannidae, Thraupidae, Ardeidae, Trochilidae and Accipitridae were the five richest families found in the ACZP. Three species were for the first time recorded to the park, Tachybaptus dominicus, Chaetura meridionalis e Milvago chimachima. Regarding the food guilds, there was a predominance of a diet based on invertebrates (45), followed by omnivores (24); those belonging to the vertebrates/fish/scavangers guild occupied the third position (16), followed by frugivores/nectarivores (15) and, finally, herbivores/granivores (07). No species were found in any of the threat categories by ICMBio, although one species is endemic to the CEP. In addition, despite having a predominant urban fauna, two species depend on forest environments, Micrastur semitorquatus e Platyrinchus mystaceus, evidencing the importance of the area as a refuge. In order to bring its visitors closer to nature, many activities are realized by PZAC employees, especially in the Environmental Education sector, such as guided tours, courses, lectures, workshops and trails in the middle of native vegetation. Birdwatching is performed in the open areas of the park, a non-formal practice of environmental education. As a consequence of the present work, a birdwatching guide was elaborated based on authorial records, with information on some of the species found in the PZAC, aiming to be used during future environmental education practices involving the park's birds.