Poço das Antas Biological Reserve () is a biological reserve located in

Rio de Janeiro State Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The reserve, which covers in the Atlantic Forest biome, was created on 11 March 1974. It is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation ( Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is a government agency under the administration of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment. It is nam ...

. The reserve is in the municipality of

Silva Jardim Silva Jardim () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 21,352 (2022) and its area is 937 km². Conservation The municipality contains the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, a strictly prot ...

, Rio de Janeiro. The terrain is relatively flat, with elevations from . Average annual rainfall is . Temperatures range from with an average of . The São João River defines the boundary of the reserve, which is laced with small springs, channels and streams.

Environment

The vegetation includes dense lowland rainforest, some flooded and some not. Some areas have suffered deforestation. Over 365 plant species have been recorded, of which 12 are on the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

list of endangered species. The reserve is home to 77 known species of

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

. Currently, the mammal population is threatened due to many reasons such as wildfires and poaching. The reserve is famous for its

golden lion tamarin The golden lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus rosalia''; ), less commonly known as the golden lion marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. Endemic to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, the golden lion tamarin is a ...

s (''Leontopithecus rosalia''), which represent most part of the few remaining wild golden lion tamarins in the world. There is estimated to be 1000 tamarins in the reserve and surrounding areas. Currently the Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Project (GLTCP) is attempting to save the golden lion tamarins from extinction. Migratory bird species include

swallow-tailed kite The swallow-tailed kite (''Elanoides forficatus'') is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the ...

(Elanoides forficatus),

plumbeous kite The plumbeous kite (''Ictinia plumbea'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is resident in much of northern South America. It is migratory in the northern part of its range which extends north to Mexico. It feeds on insects which it ...

(Ictinia plumbea), blue ground dove (Claravis pretiosa), dark-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus melacoryphus), white-collared swift (Streptoprocne zonaris), Sick's swift (Chaetura meridionalis), black jacobin (Florisuga fusca), black-throated mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis), white-rumped monjita (Xolmis velatus), yellow-browed tyrant (Satrapa icterophrys), rusty-margined flycatcher (Myiozetetes cayanensis), streaked flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus), piratic flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius),

fork-tailed flycatcher The fork-tailed flycatcher (''Tyrannus savana'') is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family and is a member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds. Named for the distinguishably long, forked tail, particularly in males, fork-t ...

(Tyrannus savana), white-winged becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus), red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus), lined seedeater (Sporophila lineola) and sooty grassquit (Tiaris fuliginosus).

Conservation

The Biological Reserve is a "strict nature reserve" under

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

Ia. The purpose is to fully preserve the biota and other natural attributes without direct human interference. As well as protecting the coastal forest ecosystem and remaining native fauna and preserving endangered indigenous species, the reserve has the function of creating laboratories to create and restock examples of flora and fauna. Protected species include the

white-necked hawk The white-necked hawk (''Buteogallus lacernulatus'') is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in the subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Brazil.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Clar ...

(Buteogallus lacernulatus),

maned sloth The maned sloth (''Bradypus torquatus'') is a three-toed sloth that is native to South America. It is one of four species of three-toed sloths belonging to the suborder Xenarthra and are placental mammals. They are endemic to the Atlantic coasta ...

(Bradypus torquatus),

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox, but it is neither a fox nor ...

(Chrysocyon brachyurus), purple-winged ground dove (Claravis geoffroyi),

(Leontopithecus rosalia), the catfish Microcambeva barbata, the butterflies Mimoides lysithous and

Parides ascanius ''Parides ascanius'', the Fluminense swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Brazil where it is confined to the municipalities of Atafona ( São João da Barra) and Itaguaí.It is found in subcoastal s ...

, and Salvadori's antwren (Myrmotherula minor).

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poco das Antas Biological Reserve Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state) Protected areas established in 1974 1974 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest