RESEARCH & CONSERVATION
At Fazenda Barranco Alto, we actively promote environmental conservation and scientific research.
Partnerships with universities from several countries help deepen the understanding of this biome while providing valuable opportunities for researchers conducting fieldwork in the region.
Guests may have the chance to interact with researchers and, on occasion, be invited to observe or participate in ongoing activities.
Currently, we are developing a carbon credit project and funding a research and education platform called Pantanal Conscience.
LONG-TERM PROJECTS AT BARRANCO ALTO
Giant Otter Project
The Giant Otter Project was created in 2019, by the biologist Caroline Leuchtenberger, as a result of studies and conservation actions with the species that have been conducted for almost two decades in the Brazilian Pantanal and due to the need to establish a conservation program focused on this endangered species. In 2020 Caroline and her team founded the Association “Giant Otter Conservation Fund”.
The “Giant Otter Project” was founded with the aim of strengthening the conservation of the species and the ecosystem, seeking to improve human coexistence with the species and the engagement of stakeholders in conservation actions and decisions.
Their mission is to transform the giant otter into a symbol of a balanced ecosystem and promote human coexistence with the species and the associated biodiversity.
They aim to be a reference in the development of innovative strategies that promote the conservation of the giant otter and associated biodiversity and the quality of people’s life, and to be an inspiration for new generations engaged in the search for balanced ecosystems.
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Jaguars of the rio Negro
The Onças do Rio Negro Project aims to better understand the needs of jaguars and explore ways to reduce conflicts between landowners and livestock predators—ultimately finding paths for coexistence. Conducted in the Pantanal, the research also examines how jaguars interact with human activities such as tourism and cattle ranching.
Using camera traps, GPS collars, and field data, the project monitors jaguar populations, behavior, and habitat use. Researchers study diet, prey availability, movement patterns, territorial range, and population dynamics, as well as the impact of jaguars on livestock.
By combining photographic identification, tracking, and long-term monitoring, the project provides valuable insights into jaguar ecology and helps guide conservation strategies to ensure the species’ long-term survival alongside local communities.
Defaunation
Large herbivores such as tapirs, peccaries, and deer play a key role in regenerating forests in the Pantanal. By feeding on plants and moving through the forest, they disperse seeds, shape vegetation, and help maintain plant diversity.
At Fazenda Barranco Alto, our research studies how these animals influence forest dynamics. We use fenced “exclusion plots” alongside unfenced areas to compare plant growth, survival, and diversity over time. By monitoring these plots annually and using camera traps to track wildlife visits, we can understand the specific impact of each species.
This long-term work helps reveal how large mammals support the regeneration and resilience of Pantanal forests.
SHORT-TERM PROJECTS AT BARRANCO ALTO
Acoustic communication in crocodilians: information encoding and the role of habitat in the communication of Pantanal caimans (Caiman yacare).
Author: João Emílio de Almeida Júnior, 2025
Crocodilians stand out for their ability to produce sounds in a variety of communication contexts. Although recent experimental studies have provided evidence of the significant role of crocodilian vocalizations, there is still a need for a more in-depth understanding of their vocal repertoire to achieve a detailed description of their acoustic communication, especially considering the influences of the diverse environments they inhabit.
The main objective of this study is to explore the acoustic characteristics of contact calls in the Pantanal caiman, focusing on the structure and encoding of information in their communication. The study aims not only to uncover the diversity and complexity of these vocalizations, but also to understand how specific environmental factors may shape these sound patterns, ultimately providing a more comprehensive view of the acoustic communication of this species and contributing to a broader understanding of crocodilian acoustic ecology and their behavioral adaptations to different habitats.
Capybaras in Charge: Keeping the Pantanal at Balance, One Bite at a Time
Author: Jonas Schoelynck, 2025
Our expedition to the Pantanal, titled "Capybaras in Charge: Keeping the Pantanal at Balance, One Bite at a Time," was undertaken to explore how capybaras influence the cycling of biogenic silicon (Si) in this vast and ecologically vital wetland. As the world’s largest tropical wetland, the Pantanal is a mosaic of habitats under increasing environmental stress. Our team set out to understand the role of capybaras not only as iconic herbivores but also as key players in maintaining nutrient balance—specifically the understudied element Si.
Through extensive fieldwork at Barranco Alto Eco Lodge in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, we systematically sampled soil, plants, water, and capybara feces across lagoons with varying capybara densities and along a 65 km transect on the Rio Negro. Using element and isotope analysis, we will now trace how these animals redistributed silicon from land to water, supporting aquatic life such as diatoms, which are foundational to wetland food webs. This investigation aims to reveal critical "hot spots" of Si activity and to demonstrate that capybara behavior significantly shapes the flow of essential nutrients.
Our findings will contribute to a growing understanding of how large herbivores influence ecosystem health. Ultimately, the outcome of the expedition will highlight capybaras’ vital ecological role and reinforce the need for informed conservation efforts to safeguard the Pantanal’s unique biodiversity and cultural heritage.
O estudo tem como objetivo principal explorar as características acústicas nas chamadas de contato do jacaré-do-pantanal, com foco na estrutura e codificação de informações sobre sua comunicação, visando não apenas desvendar a diversidade e complexidade das vocalizações, mas também compreender como fatores ambientais específicos podem moldar esses padrões sonoros, almejando fornecer uma visão mais abrangente da comunicação acústica dessa espécie, contribuindo para a compreensão geral da ecologia acústica dos crocodilianos e suas adaptações comportamentais aos diferentes habitats.
Indirect effects of large mammalian herbivores on the greenhouse gas emissions in tropical ecosystems
Author: Daiane Carreira, 2025
This study aims to explore how large mammalian herbivores influence greenhouse gas fluxes and, consequently, how their extinction could contribute to global climate change. Operating within a biodiverse tropical area, this research holds substantial value for publication, thereby bolstering and fortifying the domain of defaunation effects in the Anthropocene. Furthermore, it endeavors to establish correlations between the extinction or reduction of large mammals and the overarching theme of climate change, both paramount and pressing concerns of the 21st century.
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The relationship between leafcutter ants, the fungus garden, and the soil surrounding the anthills.
Author: Lara Cavallari Santello, 2025
My research investigates the relationship between leafcutter ants, their fungus garden (cultivated inside the nest chambers), and the soil surrounding their nests. Although they are often considered agricultural pests, ants can play fundamental ecological roles, such as nutrient cycling, soil aeration, and interactions with microorganisms that may benefit surrounding plants. Our goal is to better understand these interactions and the positive ecological impact of leafcutter ants on the environment.
Sedimentation and disturbance patterns that underlie Nhecolândia’s modern topography
Author: Erica Scarpitti, 2025
The Pantanal is the largest contiguous wetland in the world and supports an array of biodiversity. Nhecolândia, a subregion of the Pantanal and home to the Barranco Alto field site, has long intrigued sedimentologists by its complex and poorly understood landscape evolution. Our research explores how fire activity and soil-mixing have sculpted this terrain over time.
To reconstruct Nhecolândia’s evolution, we will apply optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to sediments we collected from burned and unburned forests, grasslands and riverbanks at Barranco Alto. Specifically, we aim to determine whether OSL can (1) detect wildfire and bioturbation events, (2) establish when those disturbances occurred, and (3) compare their frequency and intensity across different environments.
By building a timeline of fire episodes and organism-driven sediment mixing, we will clarify the sedimentation and disturbance patterns that underlie Nhecolândia’s modern topography. This will help us understand more about the natural frequency and scale of past disturbances in different characteristic environments, which can help us predict how Nhecolândia’s landforms may respond to future fires and land-use changes.
Spatiotemporal antipredator responses of capybaras in areas with and without apex predators
Author: Ana Belen Avila, 2019
Predation risk can drive spatial and temporal adjustments in prey behavior. This study investigates the spatiotemporal responses of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) to predation pressure in two areas: the Pantanal in Brazil, where their main predators - jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor)- are present, and the Iberá Wetlands in Argentina, where these apex predators were absent until jaguars were reintroduced in 2021.
Linear models and circular statistics were used to test whether the capybara’s gregarious behavior, distance to water (safe zones), and activity patterns differ between sites before jaguar reintroduction in Iberá, while controlling for temperature and lunar cycles. Capybaras in Pantanal displayed high group cohesion, foraged close to water, and limited their activity to daylight hours, regardless of temperature or moonlight.
Conversely, Iberá capybaras exhibited flexible spatial and temporal patterns, foraging at varying distances from water and adjusting activity according to environmental conditions, mainly temperature. These results suggest that capybaras coexisting with pumas and jaguars perceive predation risk in space and time, adapting their behaviors accordingly. These findings emphasize the potential role of predation risk in shaping prey behavior and suggest that the reintroduction of apex predators can restore ecological processes like trophic cascades affecting not only prey populations but also entire biological communities.
COMPLETED PROJECTS
• Mauro Galetti and Camila Donatti, Frugivores and Seed Dispersal
• Teodoro Isnard Ribeiro de Almeida, Geology of Salinas and Baías and Limnology of Salinas
• Teodoro Isnard Ribeiro de Almeida, explains origins of Salinas in a popular article.
• Jorge Schweizer, Ecology of Giant Otters
• Caroline Leuchtenberger, Giant Otter Behaviour
• Lydia Möcklinghoff, Giant Anteater Research Projekt and a field Blog
• Leandro Silveira, Comparative Ecology of Jaguars in the Pantanal
• Balthasar Dubs, Birds of Southwestern Brazil
• Lucas Leuzinger, Capybara Molecular Biology and Jaguar Ecology
• Gediendson Ribeiro de Araujo, Jaguar Reproduction
• Balthasar Dubs, Birds of Southwestern Brazil, Catalogue and Guide to the Birds of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso and Its Border Areas