Abstract

RUGGERA, Román A. et al. URBAN ECOLOGY OF THE TOCO TOUCAN (RAMPHASTOS TOCO) IN JUJUY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT. Hornero [online]. 2022, vol.37, n.2, pp.14-14. ISSN 0073-3407.

The combination of basic science data from scientists and citizen science data from volunteers is an increasingly relevant tool for environmental education and for its contribution to urban ecology. We present the progress of the project ‘Tucanes en mi Jujuy’, which uses both types of data to study the urban ecology of the Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco) in San Salvador de Jujuy (SSJ). Despite its wide distribution throughout South America, its charisma and easy identification, relatively little is known about this toucan, which inhabit more semi-open, peri-urban and urban areas than in primary forests. In SSJ, citizens recorded 1287 toucans in 446 reports from 25 neighborhoods, while researchers observed 98 toucans in 35 sightings in 15 of the 44 cells into which the city was divided. The presence of toucans was highly seasonal, with ~80% of individuals recorded in autumn and winter. Their presence was also heterogeneous in space, with the northwest of SSJ having the highest number of records. ‘Fruit’ was the most reported food (81%); 13 of the 20 fruit species consumed were exotic. We reported the first records of the Toco Toucan nesting in an urban environment, one of them successful in the production of three fledglings. The results of this project show how beneficial it is to involve citizens in the scientific process of issues that address the mitigation of the impact of urbanization on the environment and its biodiversity.

Keywords : cavity nesters; citizen science; frugivory; toucan; urban diet; urbanization.

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