1- Monitoring of Eleothreptus candicans in Aguara Ñu:
The White-winged Nightjar (Eleothreptus candicans) is an endemic and endangered bird of the “Cerrado” pastures of central South America. This species has a very limited distribution and at the moment there are only four known sites where the species has been registered: Emas National Park, southwest of Goiás, in central Brazil; the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve, private protected area in the Canindeyu department; Laguna Blanca, San Pedro department in Paraguay; and in Bolivia, in the Beni Biological Station. 
After the capture of a single male in 1987 in the Biological Station of Beni, in the province of Yucuma in Bolivia, various searches were conducted with the objective of finding more individuals of the species, but without any results.
On September 14, 2003, a male specimen of the species was photographed 1.5 km. to the northwest of the Beni Biological Station, constituting the second recording for the country.
The presence of the species in Paraguay was confirmed in 1995 with the discovery of a small population in Aguará Ñu, a small area of “Cerrado” in the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve, Canindeyu department. In 2001, a second population was discovered in Laguna Blanca, San Pedro department (2002). Thus, only three presently known populations exist, and one of them is found in Aguara Ñu.
A little while ago, the natural history and the general ecology of E. candicans were almost totally unknown. Between 1998 and 2001, the biologist Robert Pople, from the University of Cambridge, have studied the general biology of the species, requirements of habitat, reproductive biology, and population status, with the aim of resolving some of the pending questions regarding the conservation and behavior of the species.
The project’s objective is to monitor the population of E. candicans in Aguará Ñu, with the purpose of providing the necessary information to direct conservation efforts and guide the preparation of the management plan of the “Cerrado” in Aguará Ñu. The monitoring was initiated in 2004 and continues.
2- Bird Census in Lagunita:
In the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve subsists series of bodies of water, immersed in a forest matrix. In this zone exists unique records of birds for the reserve, such as endangered species like Harpyhaliaetus coronatus (Crowned Solitary Eagle). The presence of endangered species with different habitat requirements has also been recorded, such as endemic species of the Mesopotamian pastures like Sporophila palustris (Marsh Seedeater) and S. cinnamomea (Chestnut Seedeater) and endemic species of the Atlantic forest like Platyrinchus leucoryphus (Russet-winged Spadebill).
One of these bodies of water is named “Lagunita”; it is one of the sites frequented by visitors and tourists of MFNR. It fulfills several of the following characteristics indicated as prime educational environs for bird-watching, it’s also easily accessible, located relatively close to the administrative headquarters, and has a lookout from which one can see the lagoon and the pastures. From the lookout it is common to 
observe groups of Ramphastos toco (Toco Toucan) or Ramphastos dicolorus (Red-breasted Toucan) and hear the exceptional characteristic vocalizations of Procnias nudicollis (Bare-throated Bellbird). The body of water is surrounded by wetlands, pastures and habitats of the “Cerrado”, where native species to these environments can be observed, like Gubernetes yetapa (Streamer-tailed Tyrant), Tyrannus savana (Fork-tailed Flycatcher), and Sporophila caerulescens (Double-collared Seedeater);
common species like Furnarius rufus (Rufous Hornero), Volatinia jacarina (Blue-black Grassquit), and Brotogeris chiriri (Yellow-chevroned Parakeet); and aquatic species like Jacana jacana (Wattled Jacana) and Gallinula chloropus (Common Moorhen).
The objective of this project is to monitor the presence of species of interest (endangered, rare, and migratory) in Lagunita and the area of influence.
The resulting data of the monitoring studies will offer information for a better comprehension of migratory aspects and the status of many species on the reserve.
The data obtained from these studies will also offer basic technical information in order to eventually produce educational and informative material for bird-watchers, tourists or student groups that visit the reserve.
3- Ecology of the Natural Soil Licks of the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve:
The goal of this research project is to determine the ecological importance of the natural soil licks in the Interior Atlantic Forest of the Mbaracayu Reserve in Paraguay.
Miguel Morales is conducting this study of the ecology of the reserve’s natural soil licks as an essential component of his PhD Program in Land Resources at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison.
This research is being supported by the Moises Bertoni Foundation for the Conservation of Nature; the Zoological Society of Milwaukee County; and the Tinker-Nave Short-Term Field Research Grants of the Latin America, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program.
OBJECTIVES:
- To study the geographic distribution of the reserve’s soil licks
- To determine the species that use these resources, their daily and seasonal pattern of use, and the behavior and factors that affect temporal patterns; such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, sunlight and moonlight, etc.
- The reasons for geophagy: to understand why wildlife practices geophagy, which will be determined through physicochemical analyses of ingested soil and of soil from control sites.
- The conservation importance: to determine the ecological and conservation significance of the reserve's natural soil licks and their importance in the reserve’s design and management. This will be derived from the findings of the previous objectives and will aim to contribute knowledge that helps the reserve’s management.
- To generate a statistical predictive model of the occurrence of soil licks.
It is hoped that the results will provide the managers and decision makers with the scientific basis to help improve the reserve’s handling and thus assure its long term viability.
For more information, please visit the Project’s Website: http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/mamorales/web
4- Ecology of the Batrachofauna of the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve:
This study is part of the thesis project of the doctoral student Francisco Brusquetti, from the University of Tucumán, Argentina.
OBJECTIVES:
- To determine the composition of the batracho fauna of the MFNR.
- To establish the distribution of species in environments within the MFNR.
- To compare the environments according to their batrachofauna.
- To compare the data on species composition obtained in the MFNR with similar regions (Misiones in Argentina, Matto Grosso do Sul and Paraná in Brazil) and with other eco-regions represented in the country.
-- To establish the reproductive methods and the micro environments necessary for larval reproduction and development of the species in the MFNR.
- To determine the phenology of the different species in the MFNR.
- To obtain a registry of photographs and sounds of the species found in the MFNR.
- To produce descriptions and keys of the species registered in the MFNR.
5- Uniting efforts to monitor a key population of Jaguar (Panthera onca) in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest Eco-region:
This project is directed by Carlos de Angelo, from the University of Buenos Aires, with support from the Wildlife Foundation and the Moises Bertoni Foundation.
Originally the Jaguar inhabited as far north as the south of the US and as far south as the Colorado River in Argentina. Recently, in the majority of its area of distribution, the jaguar population has been declining as the species’ available habitat diminishes, occupying less than half the area today than it is estimated they have occupied approximately 100 years ago. This situation is attributable to the retraction of its natural habitat, indiscriminate hunting, and the decrease of natural preys, principal factors among those that relegated the species to forest zones in the north of the country. After the meetings of experts, the province of Misiones and bordering areas of Brazil and Paraguay were identified among the highest priority areas to concentrate research efforts on these populations, owing to the potential of their long term conservation and to their ecological particularity.
After this, the development of a methodology is being attempted to obtain a detailed map of the updatedl 
distribution of the jaguar along the Parana Jungle, which will serve as a basis to detect the principal factors that affect the populations of the species, validate a landscape of conservation, and maintain long term monitoring of the species’ situation. Through the participation of numerous key actors along the eco-region of the UPAF that permit the detection of the jaguars’ presence by searching for their tracks, updated study of the jaguar in the forest remnants of this eco-region will be possible to progress. An analysis of these data using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and multivariable statistical methods will allow us to determine a potential landscape to conserve a viable population of the species.
OBJECTIVES:
- To engage key participants in the development of a Jaguar Conservation Program for the Parana Jungle eco-region.
- To obtain a map of jaguar presence in the fragments of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest, this will serve as a basis for an analysis of population viability.
- Development of a long term monitoring system of the jaguar in the eco-region, which will allow us to continue to evaluate the state of that population through time.
- To determine the best areas of viability for these populations as a function of the variables obtained and what areas could serve as biological corridors for this species owing to their characteristics.
- At the local level: to monitor the presence of large felines in the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve.
6- “The impact of rapid anthropogenic land cover change of the Interior Chaco and the Interior Atlantic Forest of Paraguay on Hantavirus ecology” Project:
The MBF has been part of this since 2004, and in the project’s framework a multidisciplinary team of researchers from Southern Research Institute, Kansas State University, Texas Tech University, New Mexico State University, y la Fundación Moises Bertoni has been creating an ecological database for Paraguay. Currently, the database is being concentrated on the biology of rodents in the Upper Parana Atlantic Forest (UPAF).
During the course of the project, information will be obtained about ecology of the landscape, land use, human ecology, climate, and Hantavirus prevalence in rodent communities. For the project, fixed capture-recapture points for live rodents have been installed within the Reserve and in its buffer area and serve as permanent measurement parcels.
OBJECTIVES:
- To longitudinally monitor how the distribution and population of rodents and Hantaviruses change over time.
- To design and implement a database system to manage ecological information.
- To develop an interactive website for ecological data mining.
- To develop prediction models of the temporal and spatial dynamics of the rodent-virus ecology.
For more information about this project, please visit the pagetp://hanta.cs.nmsu.edu:8888/HTV/
