Wild dogs at stake: deforestation threatens the only Amazon endemic canid, the short-eared dog (
Atelocynus microtis
)
Authors: Rocha Daniel G. , de Barros Ferraz Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi , Gonçalves Lucas , Tan Cedric Kai Wei , Lemos Frederico G. , Ortiz Carolina , Peres Carlos A. , Negrões Nuno , Antunes André Pinassi , Rohe Fabio , Abrahams Mark , Zapata-Rios Galo , Teles Davi , Oliveira Tadeu , von Mühlen Eduardo M. , Venticinque Eduardo , Gräbin Diogo M. , Mosquera B. Diego , Blake John , Lima Marcela Guimarães Moreira , Sampaio Ricardo , Percequillo Alexandre Reis , Peters Felipe , Payán Esteban , Borges Luiz Henrique Medeiros , Calouro Armando Muniz , Endo Whaldener , Pitman Renata Leite , Haugaasen Torbjørn , Silva Diego Afonso , de Melo Fabiano R. , de Moura André Luis Botelho , Costa Hugo C. M. , Lugarini Camile , de Sousa Ilnaiara Gonçalves , Nienow Samuel , Santos Fernanda , Mendes-Oliveiras Ana Cristina , Del Toro-Orozco Wezddy , D'Amico Ana Rafaela , Albernaz Ana Luisa , Ravetta André , do Carmo Elaine Christina Oliveira , Ramalho Emiliano , Valsecchi João , Giordano Anthony J. , Wallace Robert , Macdonald David W. , Sollmann Rahel 
Published: April 2020

The persistent high deforestation rate and fragmentation of the Amazon forests are the main threats to their biodiversity. To anticipate and mitigate these threats, it is important to understand and predict how species respond to the rapidly changing landscape. The short-eared dog
Atelocynus microtis
is the only Amazon-endemic canid and one of the most understudied wild dogs worldwide. We investigated short-eared dog habitat associations on two spatial scales. First, we used the largest record database ever compiled for short-eared dogs in combination with species distribution models to map species habitat suitability, estimate its distribution range and predict shifts in species distribution in response to predicted deforestation across the entire Amazon (regional scale). Second, we used systematic camera trap surveys and occupancy models to investigate how forest cover and forest fragmentation affect the space use of this species in the Southern Brazilian Amazon (local scale). Species distribution models suggested that the short-eared dog potentially occurs over an extensive and continuous area, through most of the Amazon region south of the Amazon River. However, approximately 30% of the short-eared dog's current distribution is expected to be lost or suffer sharp declines in habitat suitability by 2027 (within three generations) due to forest loss. This proportion might reach 40% of the species distribution in unprotected areas and exceed 60% in some interfluves (i.e. portions of land separated by large rivers) of the Amazon basin. Our local-scale analysis indicated that the presence of forest positively affected short-eared dog space use, while the density of forest edges had a negative effect. Beyond shedding light on the ecology of the short-eared dog and refining its distribution range, our results stress that forest loss poses a serious threat to the conservation of the species in a short time frame. Hence, we propose a re-assessment of the short-eared dog's current IUCN Red List status (Near Threatened) based on findings presented here. Our study exemplifies how data can be integrated across sources and modelling procedures to improve our knowledge of relatively understudied species.