Desenvolvimento de marcadores moleculares mitocondriais para a identificação forense de psitacídeos alvos do comércio ilegal

Abstract

The illegal wildlife trade moves billions of dollars per year, removing from Brazilian natural habitats about 38 million species annually. The loss of biodiversity caused by trafficking causes serious damage to ecosystems. The main threat to wildlife is habitat degradation and fragmentation, followed by hunting for subsistence and trade. In Brazil, birds are the group that suffer the greatest pressure from trafficking, reaching 82% of animals illegally traded. The most trafficked orders of birds are Passariformes and Psittaciformes. The demand for parrots comes from the desire to have it as a domestic animal, due to its beauty and ability to imitate human speech. Due to their rarity and large size, the price of these animals can be high, which generates a strong demand from the traffic. The Brazilian environmental crimes law (law 9,605/98) characterized the use of wild fauna as a crime. In the act of apprehension, it is not always possible to identify the species using animal's morphology, especially parrots, which are often collected when they are nestlings or (eggs). Therefore, the development of molecular markers is essential to help identify these individuals. In this work, eight sets of primers were designed and tested for the specific identification of the Blue-fronted Parrot (Amazona aestiva). This is the most trafficked parrot in Brazil and with growing conservation concern (red list classification: Almost Threatened). Seven sets showed specificity within the Psittacidae family (genus Pionus and Amazona), while three sets amplified only in the target species. In silico analyzes demonstrated a possible amplification of several pair of primers in species of the Amazona aestiva/Amazona ochrocephala complex, whose only species occurring in Brazil is Amazona ochrocephala. The technology presented in the work has potential for use in the forensic area, helping to consolidate the expert evidence and correctly penalize the author of the environmental damage.