The Araripe manakin is a critically endangered bird species and endemic of Araripe plateau in Ceará, Brazil. This proposal´s objective is to obtain information on reproductive parameters, including reproductive success, parental care and genetic mating system of the Araripe Manakin, providing basic information that is still lacking for this species to ensure more effective conservations measures. To know the breeding biology and mating system are fundamental for the species conservation, which can influence individuals colonization and dispersion and add data on population viability analyses making the modeling results closer to species reality and providing data for conservations plans. Also the PVA is one of the requirements from IUCN classification and central to guide species conservations plans. Besides the reproductive behavior of A. bokermanni will provide important data to understand differences in mating system evolution given the complexes mating system inside Pipridae family.

My project will also try to point which are the biggest threats to the species, giving arguments and data to demand from authorities some important decisions such as a best protection to the occurrence area and more monitoring from the environmental agency at the Araripe plateau slope. The occurrence area is less than 31Km² on the slope of the plateau, and it is a environmental protect area (APA) which is the more permissive conservation category at the Brazilian environmental code, many areas are private and the owners are allowed to build all kind of building destroying the vegetation and spring waters.

The area is also an IBA but because of the weaks environmental laws in Brazil is been quickly depredated by human exploration which is a big concern in conservation terms once this unique species only occur on this small area. The Araripe manakin (Antilophia bokermanni) has many urgent needs. Is a critically endangered bird, the most endangered on his family with a population size around 800 individuals only. As an endemic species the area conservation is fundamental for its survival. The benefit from this work will be to understand how this bird reproduces and which are the biggest threat for the species.