Abstract

ANDRADE-PONCE, Gabriel Patricio et al. State of knowledge and research priorities for Canidae, Mephitidae and Procyonidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) families in Colombia. Rev. acad. colomb. cienc. exact. fis. nat. [online]. 2016, vol.40, n.156, pp.500-513. ISSN 0370-3908.  https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.327.

Despite the wide diversity of ecosystems inhabited by species of the order Carnivora, and their ecological, economic and cultural relevance, the information on the distribution, ecology, and taxonomy of these species in Colombia is limited. In order to show biases and advances on the state of knowledge of three families of Carnivora (Canidae, Mephitidae y Procyonidae) in the country, we evaluated research efforts based on the number of publications available for each species. In addition, we established a research priority scale based on how threatened they are and on the research effort for each species. We found a total of 78 studies in the country for the three families. There are research gaps related with ecology and natural history for most of the species, even though 80% of them were registered for the first time in Colombia more than 60 years ago. Most studies on distribution correspond to Procyonidae, whilst Canidae showed the largest number of ecological studies. However, these are mainly related with the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous). Although Bassaricyon neblinahad the highest research priority score, most of the studies for all the species are local assessments with small temporal and spatial scales. Our study shows that the assignment of the category of threatened to some species has been based on erroneous assumptions not verified in the field. In addition, the absence of some species in different biogeographic provinces is an indication of knowledge gaps. This review serves as a framework for prioritizing research associated with patterns of distribution and threatened status of the species of these families in the country.

Keywords : Carnivores; Conservation; Research priorities.

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