Wildlife of
Rio Grande do Norte

Primary Threats

• Coastal development, tourism, and roads (e.g., Natal-Pipa corridor) convert and fragment coastal scrubland and disturb dunes. Inland, Caatinga is cleared for pasture, small farms, charcoal, and firewood, removing thorn scrub and harming local mammals and reptiles.
• Expansion of the Natal metropolitan area and fast-growing coastal towns increases sealed surfaces, lighting, traffic, and land speculation on dunes and coastal scrublands, pushing development into sensitive buffer zones around lagoons and estuaries and increasing disturbance on nesting beaches.
• Irrigated fruit production and expanding pasture in the semi-arid interior increase water withdrawals from rivers/aquifers and promote clearing of Caatinga, while agrochemical runoff can reach downstream lagoons/estuaries during rainy pulses.
• Selective cutting and harvesting of native Caatinga wood for fuelwood/charcoal and fencing remains a localized but persistent pressure, reducing structural complexity and hollow-bearing trees important for birds, bats, and small mammals.
• Alteration of estuarine hydrology (channel modifications, embankments) and conversion of mangrove fringes for aquaculture infrastructure can change salinity and sediment regimes. In the interior, small dams/impoundments and river flow regulation reshape riparian habitats and concentrate wildlife near fewer water sources.
• Coastal and ridge wind farms can break habitats and raise collision risk for bats and birds if badly placed. New power lines and roads open intact areas. Port growth and oil and gas activity in the Potiguar basin add traffic, spill risk, and coastal change.
• Untreated/partially treated sewage and stormwater from urban areas (notably around major estuaries and beaches) degrade water quality, while plastics and ghost gear affect turtles and marine mammals. In saltworks/industrial zones, localized effluents and brine management issues can affect adjacent wetlands used by shorebirds.
• High pressure on reef and coastal stocks (including lobster and nearshore finfish) and bycatch in gillnets/longlines threaten marine turtles and reduce prey availability for dolphins and seabirds. Enforcement gaps and limited monitoring in some landing sites complicate rebuilding depleted stocks.
• Intensive beach recreation, off-road vehicles on dunes, and unregulated visitation on sensitive coastal stretches can crush nests, disturb roosting shorebirds, and accelerate erosion; light pollution near nesting beaches disorients hatchlings.
• In parts of the Caatinga, opportunistic hunting for meat (e.g., armadillos) and persecution of snakes persists, reducing already fragmented wildlife populations and undermining recovery in protected-area buffers.
• Capture and trade of songbirds (common in Northeast Brazil) can depress local bird populations in Caatinga/forest-edge mosaics, especially where enforcement capacity is limited and market demand persists.
• Sea-level rise and stronger coastal erosion threaten dunes, restingas, and nesting beaches, while ocean warming and acidification stress reef communities (including around oceanic islands). In the interior, intensifying drought and heat increase desertification risk and reduce water availability for both wildlife and people.
• Marine wildlife health issues-such as fibropapillomatosis in green turtles and disease events in reef organisms-interact with pollution and warming waters, raising mortality risk and reducing resilience of already stressed coastal ecosystems.
• Over-extraction of groundwater and surface water for cities, tourism, and irrigation in a drought-prone climate lowers lagoon and wetland levels, concentrates pollutants, and reduces dry-season refuges for Caatinga fauna.
• Sand extraction (including from dune/river systems) and quarrying (e.g., limestone/aggregates in some areas) can directly remove habitat, increase turbidity/sedimentation, and create edge effects that facilitate further land conversion.
• Retaliatory killing can occur where small carnivores and raptors are blamed for poultry or small livestock losses, and fear-driven persecution of snakes is common in rural zones-adding pressure to populations already reduced by habitat loss.
• Small, isolated Atlantic Forest remnants in RN (often surrounded by agriculture/urban areas) can leave forest-dependent species with low connectivity, raising inbreeding risk and reducing long-term viability without corridor restoration.