ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE BURROWING OWL (Speotyto cunicularia) APPLIED TO SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FOR CONSERVING SAND DUNES IN PONTAL DO SUL, PR
Keywords:
Speotyto cunicularia, burrowing owl, dunes, conservation and management, environment and developmentAbstract
We used data gathered in Pontal do Sul, Paraná State, from January 1995 to November 1996, to elaborate this paper. The abundance of burrowing-owls and their favorite food items were quantified and their complex and behavioral categories were identified and described. The ecological role of the burrowing owl was compared to the economic value of their natural area. Among the arguments used, we pointed out that: (a) the few local owls prey on about 1000 mice and 50.000 insects a year, playing an important ecological role in the ecosystem; (b) the dunes are sediment sources and have an important function as barriers that protect the adjacent residential areas against eroding effects; and (c) an example of an inappropriate development process took place in Matinhos, a town to the south of Pontal do Sul, where the local authority spent about U$20,000,000 just to put right damage caused by erosion. This fact, per se, saved the dunes from human occupation, but the fight involving environmentalists and development agencies shows a lack of interest by the latter in the biological criteria that highlighted the ecological importance of the study area. A conjunction of efforts is suggested to manage the environmental debate, in order to have an adequate ecological dialogue leading to parameters which perform a comparative analysis between socio-cultural and economic elements.
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