Task Force investigates the number of dead animals in the Pantanal | Nature

Field actions began 10 days ago, first in Mato Grosso, and this week in Mato Grosso do Sul. Faced with the emergency scenario, the working group had little time to define the team and develop a standardized protocol for all the institutions involved. . Collections will be made for the duration of the fires and the results will then be published in scientific journals. There is also the goal of informing the general public.

“This is an unprecedented work in the Pantanal and very important for the union of several institutions in favor of the same objective,” says Diego Viana, a researcher at the Homem Pantaneiro Institute, and responsible for field actions in MS.

Surveys are carried out along transects (line through a strip of land), of up to 1km, from which the observed channels are recorded through an application, with date and geographic coordinates. The perpendicular distance of each channel to the reference line is also cataloged. This allows modeling for the estimation of the density of dead animals. The work must be done within 72 hours after the fire, as the bones may disappear.

This prospecting technique has already been used in other biomes, such as the Atlantic Forest, the Cerrado and the Amazon. The difference is that before it was used for live and healthy animals. Now the objective is to account for the carcasses of animals affected by the fires. In this way, it will be possible to express the impact of the fires on the populations of the Pantanal.

Currently, the survey involves 20 people, who work mainly in Mato Grosso. The situation is considered most critical in the state, which has already lost 1.2 million hectares. Despite having a larger area of ​​flooded savanna, Mato Grosso do Sul was less affected and the fire outbreaks in the state had been reduced by the more recent rains. However, they have started in recent days.

The work includes representatives of the Bichos do Pantanal project, the NGO Panthera, the Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio), the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), the National Institute for Pantanal Research (INPP), the Homem Pantaneiro Institute, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), among other institutions. The unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) in the Pantanal has worked on the development of protocols and the analysis of the data collected.

“The standardization of the data collection method is essential for the results to be reliable. In this case, we adopt a technique recognized worldwide as adequate, since it corrects errors in the detection of animals or objects at different distances from the person who is making the searches. “Said Walfrido Moraes Tomas, researcher at Embrapa Pantanal and coordinator of the working group.

The Pantanal is experiencing its worst year in terms of fires since the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) began monitoring in 1998. The fire has already consumed more than 20% of the entire biome, destroying the equivalent of more than 10 times. the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo together.

The initial samples had a predominance of small mammals and snakes. Smaller animals catch fire easily because their journey is short and slow. Those of larger ones are more likely to escape, mainly to humid areas or near rivers, if they are not surrounded by flames or their legs burned by the fire that burns under the vegetation. But in areas where there is little water, virtually no species can escape. Dead alligators, jaguars and tapirs have been found.

In general, the Pantanal has approximately 2,000 species of plants, 580 of birds and 280 of fish, 174 of mammals, 131 of reptiles and 57 of amphibians. The number of invertebrates is unknown. The biome is also a refuge for endangered species that live in other regions. The Bichos do Pantanal project estimates that between 30% and 35% of flora species and around 20% of mammals were affected by the current fires, according to previous studies.

“We are in the middle of hell. It is one of the worst fire stations we have seen in the Pantanal in the last 10 years. In the last few weeks we have had a decrease in the number of fires, but it was because everything had to be burned.” . It already was ”, says Wilkinson Lopes Lázaro, doctor in ecology from UFRJ and researcher for the Bichos do Pantanal project.

As it was not part of a previous formal government project, the survey does not have a funding line and faces limitations in resources, personnel and logistics. Some institutions, such as ICMBio and INPP, collaborate with employee support and daily rates. There are researchers acting voluntarily. Other problems are overwork, exposure to large amounts of ash and dust, and the risk of underground fire.

The working group has the support of the MT and MS military environmental police, the Prevfogo IBAMA and ICMBio brigades, and volunteers who work or live in the region, not only to fight the fires, but also to capture images of the animals found. This collaboration helps compile the list of affected species. Communication is constant between the different groups because the animal rescue and sample collection teams cannot closely follow the brigadistas in the line of fire, for safety reasons.

“It is a very arduous fight, because many of the areas that we saved last month, the fire returns and burns now. Often the successful result of a month ago is lost. The firefighters already have the infrastructure on duty, all Team routine , income. For the volunteer brigadier, the tourist guide, farmer, researcher, he does not have a turn. It depends on the demand. It was several days of night fights, 24 hours, 30 hours of combat. You have another option, you have no one to replace. We are dedicated to exhaustion, ”says Fernando Tortato, a research biologist for the NGO Panthera, who acts as a volunteer brigade in fire fighting.

The scenario should get worse in the short and medium term

The task force also intends to investigate how fires are affecting aquatic life in the region. A study by “Bichos do Pantanal” shows that the Pantanal lost 17% of its water area in the last 10 years, about 14 thousand km2. The loss of marginal vegetation in rivers will affect the feeding and reproduction cycle of fish, which are part of the chain of other animals.

Fish mortality is also expected to increase due to worsening “dequada” – natural phenomenon in which aquatic vegetation dies in the retreat of the waters (decomposition of a lot of organic matter), which causes a temporary depletion of oxygen in the water.

Videos of the burning in the Pantanal

“All fauna will be impacted by the change in water quality. It is interesting to collect this information now, to develop strategies that mitigate future situations like this. If we don’t have rain for 10 days, the situation will get even worse. The Pantanal environment is highly dependent on the rain cycle. We are losing water in the Pantanal, and that is worrying. The Pantanal is synonymous with water ”, says Claumir Muniz, doctor in ecology and natural resources and professor at the State University of Mato Grosso (UNEMAT). .

Researchers say climate change has exacerbated burns in the Pantanal, which is already a region where fire is part of the natural functioning of the ecosystem. Human action, with the use of fire to manage vegetation, may be accelerating this process and increasing its intensity, directly affecting the diversity of the biome. Early surveys indicated that much of the fire that has been destroying the Pantanal was man-made. Forecasts indicate that the frequency of these extreme events is expected to increase. On the other hand, the rain cycle should be shorter in the coming years.

“Counting the carcasses of dead animals allows us to estimate the impact of the fires. This information is invaluable since it provides numerical information on the impact of these catastrophic events, and thus sensitizes the general population, but also the authorities, owners, managers of protected areas, the need to adopt management practices that avoid this synergy between extreme weather events and environmental risk behaviors ”, explains researcher Walfrido Moraes Tomas.