Long-term monitoring of Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) in the Alemoa neighborhood in Santos, SP: effects of the installation of a port project on its local occurrence Fabio Monteiro Barros, Carolina Toledo Andreu, Daniele Cambeses Pareschi, Elisabete Ramos, Gilberto Peres, Mariana Beraldo Masutti

Abstract

Wildlife monitoring is a step in the environmental licensing process required by federal or state environmental agencies for projects that promote drastic changes in the natural environments where they are installed and operate. However, data and results from long-term monitoring are little known and/or disseminated to the different sectors of civil society. This study describes, evaluates, and discusses the possible effects of habitat alteration due to the installation and operation of a port project located in the municipality of Santos (SP) on the local occurrence of Harris's hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus). Over the course of 107 monthly campaigns carried out between 2011 and 2019, it was possible to observe a gradual reduction in the use of the areas of influence of the project by the hawks between 2011 and 2016. After this period (2017 to 2019), a gradual increase in the occurrence of the species was observed, which by the end of 2019 reached occupancy levels similar to those observed at the beginning of monitoring. This resurgence of occurrences was, however, restricted to the most remote locations in the areas directly affected by the project. These results indicate (1) clear evidence of the project's effects on the local occurrence of the species and (2) the resilience of the species that returned to use areas close to the project after the drastic alteration of its local habitat. By presenting the long-term response of a near-threatened hawk species to the installation and operation of a large-scale project, this study is particularly important for the management and conservation of threatened fauna within the scope of environmental licensing.