Disentangling the drivers of urban bird diversity in the non-breeding season: A general synthesis.

Current knowledge about the impacts of urbanisation on bird assemblages is based on evidence from studies partly or wholly undertaken in the breeding season. In comparison, the non-breeding season remains little studied, despite the fact that winter conditions at higher latitudes are changing more rapidly than other seasons. During the non-breeding season, cities may attract or retain bird species because they offer milder conditions or better feeding opportunities than surrounding habitats. However, the range of climatic, ecological and anthropogenic mechanisms shaping different facets of urban bird diversity in the non-breeding season are poorly understood. We explored these mechanisms using structural equation modelling to assess how urbanisation affects the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of avian assemblages sampled worldwide in the non-breeding season. We found that minimum temperature, elevation, urban area and city age played a critical role in determining taxonomic diversity while a range of factors-including productivity, precipitation, elevation, distance to coasts and rivers, socio-economic (as a proxy of human facilitation) and road density-each contributed to patterns of phylogenetic and functional diversity. The structure and function of urban bird assemblages appear to be predominantly shaped by temperature, productivity and city age, with effects of these factors differing across seasons. Our results underline the importance of considering multiple hypotheses, including seasonal effects, when evaluating the impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity.

Climate-driven shifts in the diversity of plants in the Neotropical seasonally dry forest: Evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas.

Given the current environmental crisis, biodiversity protection is one of the most urgent socio-environmental priorities. However, the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs), the primary strategy for safeguarding ecosystems, is challenged by global climate change (GCC), with evidence showing that species are shifting their distributions into new areas, causing novel species assemblages. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate PAs' present and future effectiveness for biodiversity under the GCC. Here, we analyzed changes in the spatiotemporal patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of plants associated with the Neotropical seasonally dry forest (NSDF) under GCC scenarios. We modeled the climatic niche of over 1000 plant species in five representative families (in terms of abundance, dominance, and endemism) of the NSDF. We predicted their potential distributions in the present and future years (2040, 2060, and 2080) based on an intermediate scenario of shared socio-economic pathways (SSP 3.70), allowing species to disperse to new sites or constrained to the current distribution. Then, we tested if the current PAs network represents the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. Our results suggest that GCC could promote novel species assemblages with local responses (communities' modifications) across the biome. In general, models predicted losses in the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities of all the five plant families analyzed across the distribution of the NSDF. However, in the northern floristic groups (i.e., Antilles and Mesoamerica) of the NSDF, taxonomic and PD will be stable in GCC projections. In contrast, across the NSDF in South America, some cores will lose diversity while others will gain diversity under GCC scenarios. PAs in some NSDF regions appeared insufficient to protect the NSDF diversity. Thus, there is an urgent need to assess how the PA system could be better reconfigured to warrant the protection of the NSDF.

Dada la actual crisis ambiental, la protección de la biodiversidad se presenta como una de las prioridades socio ambientales más urgentes. Sin embargo, la efectividad de las áreas protegidas (AP), la estrategia principal para salvaguardar los ecosistemas, se ve desafiada por el cambio climático global (CCG), con evidencia que muestra que las especies están desplazando sus distribuciones hacia nuevas áreas, provocando conjuntos de especies novedosos. Por lo tanto, es necesario evaluar la efectividad actual y futura de las AP para la biodiversidad bajo el CCG. En este contexto, analizamos cambios en los patrones espacio­temporales de diversidad taxonómica y filogenética de plantas asociadas al bosque estacionalmente seco neotropical (BES) bajo escenarios de CCG. Modelamos el nicho climático de más de 1,000 especies de plantas en cinco familias representativas (en términos de abundancia, dominancia y endemismo) del BES. Pronosticamos sus distribuciones potenciales en los años actuales y futuros (2040, 2060 y 2080) basándonos en un escenario intermedio de trayectorias socioeconómicas compartidas (SSP 3.70), permitiendo que las especies se dispersen a nuevos sitios o estén limitadas a la distribución actual. Luego, evaluamos si la red actual de AP representa las diversidades taxonómicas y filogenéticas. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el CCG podría promover conjuntos de especies novedosos con respuestas locales (modificaciones en las comunidades) en todo el bioma. En general, los modelos pronosticaron pérdidas en las diversidades taxonómicas y filogenéticas de las cinco familias de plantas analizadas en la distribución del BES. Sin embargo, en los grupos florísticos del norte (es decir, Antillas y Mesoamérica) del BSDN, la diversidad taxonómica y filogenética se mantendrá estable en las proyecciones de CCG. En cambio, en toda la región del BES en América del Sur, algunos núcleos perderán diversidad mientras que otros ganarán diversidad bajo escenarios de CCG. Algunas AP en regiones del BES parecen ser insuficientes para proteger la diversidad del bioma. Por lo tanto, es urgente evaluar cómo se podría reconfigurar mejor el sistema de AP para garantizar la protección del BES.

Thematic assessment report on invasive alien species in Brazil: summary for policymakers / Relatório temático sobre espécies exóticas invasoras no Brasil: sumário para tomadores de decisão

Abstract Biological invasions are one of the major threats to biodiversity and good quality of life, resulting from the translocation of species by human action. There are more than 500 alien species currently invading ecosystems in Brazil, particularly plants and fishes, while little is known about invasive microorganisms. Although invasive alien species are present in all ecosystems in the country, most have been recorded in habitats with greater human interference, such as urban and peri-urban areas, farmland, dams, reservoirs, ports, and canals. Historically, the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil have had more invasive alien species, but there has been an increase in the number of invasive alien species in the central-western and northern regions in recent decades. The ornamental trade of plants and fishes as well as the illegal pet trade of wild mammals and reptiles are some of the main pathways for invasive species introduction and spread in Brazil. Breeding and cultivation systems that allow escape to natural areas are a relevant route of species introductions in freshwater ecosystems, while unintentional introductions from shipping and infrastructure are of extreme concern in marine ecosystems. The negative impacts of invasive alien species on the biota mainly include changes in community structure and local decrease in native species richness, mediated by predation, competition, and ecosystem changes. Most negative impacts are recorded for intentionally introduced species, such as fishes and plants, but unintentional introductions have led to impacts on good quality of life, with associated costs and impacts on human health. The management of biological invasions faces challenges that need to be overcome, such as the lack of public knowledge about the impact of invasive alien species, the popular appeal of charismatic invasive species or those used by humans, and the use of controversial control techniques. However, successful experiences of eradication and control in terrestrial and marine ecosystems have been recorded, some of them involving public engagement in management actions. Recognizing the issue as a cross-cutting public policy and developing ongoing governance experiences are fundamental goals for the management of invasive alien species in Brazil.

Resumo Invasões biológicas são uma das maiores ameaças à biodiversidade e à boa qualidade de vida, ocorrendo a partir da translocação de espécies por ação humana. Existem mais de 500 espécies exóticas invadindo ecossistemas atualmente no Brasil, com destaque para plantas e peixes. Pouco se sabe sobre microrganismos invasores. Apesar de existirem espécies exóticas invasoras em todos os ecossistemas no país, a maior parte dos registros foi feita em hábitats com maior interferência humana, como áreas urbanas, periurbanas, terras cultivadas, represas, reservatórios, portos e canais. Historicamente, as regiões sul e sudeste do Brasil apresentam mais espécies exóticas invasoras, mas nas últimas décadas se tem observado um aumento no número de espécies exóticas invasoras nas regiões centro-oeste e norte. O comércio de plantas e peixes ornamentais, assim como o comércio ilegal de mamíferos e répteis silvestres como animais de estimação são algumas das principais vias de introdução e disseminação de espécies exóticas invasoras no Brasil. Sistemas de criação e cultivo que possibilitam o escape para áreas naturais são uma relevante via de introdução em ecossistemas de águas continentais, enquanto introduções não intencionais a partir de navegação e de infraestrutura são de extrema preocupação em ecossistemas marinhos. Os impactos negativos de espécies exóticas invasoras sobre a biota incluem principalmente alterações na estrutura de comunidades e diminuição local da riqueza de espécies nativas, mediados por predação, competição e modificações ecossistêmicas. A maior parte dos impactos negativos registrados ocorreram para espécies introduzidas intencionalmente, como peixes e plantas, mas introduções não intencionais têm levado a impactos na boa qualidade de vida, com custos associados e impactos sobre a saúde humana. A gestão de invasões biológicas esbarra em desafios a serem superados, tais como a falta de conhecimento do público sobre o impacto de espécies exóticas invasoras, o apelo popular de espécies invasoras carismáticas ou utilizadas por humanos e o emprego de técnicas controversas de controle. Entretanto, experiências bem-sucedidas de erradicação e controle em ecossistemas terrestres e marinhos têm sido registrados, alguns deles envolvendo engajamento público nas ações de manejo. Reconhecer o tema como uma política pública transversal e desenvolver experiências continuadas de governança são metas fundamentais para a gestão e o manejo de espécies exóticas invasoras no Brasil.

Variation in a Darwin Wasp (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) Community along an Elevation Gradient in a Tropical Biodiversity Hotspot: Implications for Ecology and Conservation.

Understanding how biodiversity varies from place to place is a fundamental goal of ecology and an important tool for halting biodiversity loss. Parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera) are a diverse and functionally important animal group, but spatial variation in their diversity is poorly understood. We survey a community of parasitic wasps (Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) using Malaise traps up a mountain in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, and relate the catch to biotic and abiotic habitat characteristics. We find high species richness compared with previous similar studies, with abundance, richness, and diversity peaking at low to intermediate elevation. There is a marked change in community composition with elevation. Habitat factors strongly correlated with elevation also strongly predict changes in the pimpline community, including temperature as well as the density of bamboo, lianas, epiphytes, small trees, and herbs. These results identify several possible surrogates of pimpline communities in tropical forests, which could be used as a tool in conservation. They also contribute to the growing evidence for a typical latitudinal gradient in ichneumonid species richness, and suggest that low to medium elevations in tropical regions will sometimes conserve the greatest number of species locally, but to conserve maximal biodiversity, a wider range of elevations should also be targeted.

Multi-proxy assessment of coral reef formation and biotic-abiotic diversity in an urban coastal reef ecosystem in northeastern Brazil.

Coral reefs are habitats with high animal and mineral diversity and are subject to both climate change and anthropogenic impacts. This article presents novel and relevant data on the Seixas coral reef environment's geological, sedimentological, mineralogical, and biotic aspects in Paraíba State, northeastern Brazil. The aim of this study is to evaluate the processes of reef formation and the diversity of coral reef species in urban coastal environments in northeastern Brazil using a multi-proxy approach. Materials and methods employed to analyze the formation and diversity of biotic and abiotic species include (a) bathymetric survey, (b) collection of sedimentological, mineralogical, and granulometric data, (c) geological and stratigraphic determination, and (d) identification of biotic and abiotic species. Mineralogical slide results reveal that the Seixas Reef is a recent biogenic coral-algal carbonate formation associated with coastline evolution, high coastal sedimentation, and changes that occurred alongside sea-level rise (Holocene-Quaternary period). The diversity results indicate that benthic organism settlement occurred on a consolidated arenite base, with the fauna undergoing continuous succession processes. It can be concluded that this coral reef is highly vulnerable due to the material of its formation and comprises subsectors with high diversity (fore reef) and others with low diversity (reef top), which are affected by both anthropogenic and natural factors. Studies of this nature can contribute to understanding the evolution of coastal reefs, as their proximity to the continent makes them more vulnerable, and they experience direct physical impacts from fishing and tourist activities.

Human land-uses homogenize stream assemblages and reduce animal biomass production.

Human land-use change is a major threat to natural ecosystems worldwide. Nonetheless, the effects of human land-uses on the structure of plant and animal assemblages and their functional characteristics need to be better understood. Furthermore, the pathways by which human land uses affect ecosystem functions, such as biomass production, still need to be clarified. We compiled a unique dataset of fish, arthropod and macrophyte assemblages from 61 stream ecosystems in two Neotropical biomes: Amazonian rainforest and Uruguayan grasslands. We then tested how the cover of agriculture, pasture, urbanization and afforestation affected the taxonomic richness and functional diversity of those three species assemblages, and the consequences of these effects for animal biomass production. Single trait categories and functional diversity were evaluated, combining recruitment and life-history, resource and habitat-use, and body size. The effects of intensive human land-uses on taxonomic and functional diversities were as strong as other drivers known to affect biodiversity, such as local climate and environmental factors. In both biomes, the taxonomic richness and functional diversity of animal and macrophyte assemblages decreased with increasing cover of agriculture, pasture, and urbanization. Human land-uses were associated with functional homogenization of both animal and macrophyte assemblages. Human land-uses reduced animal biomass through direct and indirect pathways mediated by declines in taxonomic and functional diversities. Our findings indicate that converting natural ecosystems to supply human demands results in species loss and trait homogenization across multiple biotic assemblages, ultimately reducing animal biomass production in streams.

Insect decline in Brazil: an appraisal of current evidence.

Recent reviews of data on worldwide insect decline include almost no information on Brazil. We gathered evidence from literature searches and a survey sent to researchers, to which 96 replied and 56 provided information and publications. We present 75 instances of trends recorded over an average span of 11 years for aquatic and 22 years for terrestrial insects. These include time-replicated samples and expert opinion based on long-term local collections. Most terrestrial data are for butterflies, bees and scarab beetles. Aquatic studies include several insect orders, usually sorted to genus or family. Terrestrial insects showed significantly more cases of declines than increases, both in abundance (17 : 3) and in diversity (11 : 1). In aquatic cases, no tendency was detected in abundance (2 : 2) or diversity (3 : 4), not counting cases with no trend. Differences in these results among habitats may be due to the shorter span and less change in environmental conditions in the aquatic surveys, which included sites already degraded before sampling. We offer guidelines for future long-term assessments, including resampling of legacy collection sites.

Long-term monitoring reveals widespread and severe declines of understory birds in a protected Neotropical forest.

Long-term studies on the population dynamics of tropical resident birds are few, and it remains poorly understood how their populations have fared in recent decades. Here, we analyzed a 44-y population study of a Neotropical understory bird assemblage from a protected forest reserve in central Panama to determine if and how populations have changed from 1977 to 2020. Using the number of birds captured in mist nets as an index of local abundance, we estimated trends over time for a diverse suite of 57 resident species that comprised a broad range of ecological and behavioral traits. Estimated abundances of 40 (∼70%) species declined over the sampling period, whereas only 2 increased. Furthermore, declines were severe: 35 of the 40 declining species exhibited large proportional losses in estimated abundance, amounting to ≥50% of their initial estimated abundances. Declines were largely independent of ecology (i.e., body mass, foraging guild, or initial abundance) or phylogenetic affiliation. These widespread, severe declines are particularly alarming, given that they occurred in a relatively large (∼22,000-ha) forested area in the absence of local fragmentation or recent land-use change. Our findings provide robust evidence of tropical bird declines in intact forests and bolster a large body of literature from temperate regions suggesting that bird populations may be declining at a global scale. Identifying the ecological mechanisms underlying these declines should be an urgent conservation priority.

A Change in Conservation Status of Pachyphytum caesium (Crassulaceae), a Threatened Species from Central Mexico Based on Genetic Studies.

Genetic studies in rare species are important to determine their patterns of genetic diversity among populations and implement conservation plans aimed to reduce extinction risks. Pachyphytum caesium is an endemic species with extremely small populations in central Mexico. This work analyzes the diversity and genetic structure of Pachyphytum cesium (Crassulaceae) to change the conservation status and propose conservation strategies. Twelve dominant ISSR markers were used to describe the genetic diversity of all known populations. Additionally, we carried out two simulations to explore how the loss of individuals or the local populations extinction affect the genetics parameters of the species. The average results indicated moderate levels of genetic diversity (number of alleles = 89.7 ± 3.9, expected heterozygosity = 0.212 ± 0.0, and percentage of polymorphic loci = 56.1 ± 3.9), parameters that decreased significantly when simulations were performed in P. caesium. Additionally, a genetic structure of the populations was found with low gene flow (Nm = 0.92). Genetic parameters are negatively affected by the loss of individuals and the local extinction of populations. Based on our results, we propose to reclassify the conservation status of the species in danger of extinction, hence a series of conservation strategies are provided to prevent its disappearance.

Relationships between food shortages, endoparasite loads and health status of golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) / Relações entre escassez alimentar, carga endoparasitária e estado de saúde do mico-leão-de-cara-dourada (Leontopithecus chrysomelas)

Abstract Both anthropogenic actions and abiotic parameters, such as rainfall, temperature and photoperiod, can affect fruit and flower availability for animals, which consequently affects nutritional status and thus animals' health. Herein, we investigated whether abiotic factors are related to changes in fruit availability that can lead to changes in feeding behavior and, consequently, in endoparasite load and general health status in two groups of golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) living in degraded fragments of Atlantic forest in Southern Bahia, Brazil. We detected that there was a high variation in availability of ripe fruits throughout the year, with lower availability occurring at the end of spring and beginning of summer. Despite this, there was no difference in tamarins' general health status, body mass and blood counts between seasons. This is probably because during native fruit scarcity, the tamarins eat cultivated species, such as banana (Musa spp.) and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus). Temperature and daylength were negatively correlated with golden-headed lion tamarin endoparasite loads. Contrary to our expectations, endoparasite loads are not linked to fruit scarcity and consequent changes in feeding behavior. Nevertheless, we found higher parasite diversity in the group of golden-headed lion tamarins that occupied the smallest home range. The smaller the area available, the greater the contact with parasites the animal will have, as they are forced to travel constantly along the same routes in the forest, increasing infection risk and re-infection rates. Our results highlight how animals' health is associated with environmental health as well as the need for constant monitoring to ensure the effective conservation of endangered species, such as the golden-headed lion tamarin.

Resumo Parâmetros abióticos, como precipitação, temperatura e fotoperíodo, podem afetar a disponibilidade de frutos e flores para os animais, o que consequentemente afeta o estado nutricional e a saúde dos animais. Neste estudo, investigamos se fatores abióticos estão relacionados com alterações na disponibilidade de frutos, o que pode levar a mudanças no comportamento alimentar e, consequentemente, na carga de endoparasitas e estado de saúde geral em dois grupos de mico-leão-de-cara-dourada (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) que vivem em fragmentos degradados de Floresta Atlântica no sul da Bahia, Brasil. Detectamos que houve grande variação na disponibilidade de frutos maduros ao longo do ano, com menor disponibilidade no final da primavera e início do verão. Apesar disto, não houve diferenças no estado geral de saúde, na massa corporal ou nas contagens de células sanguíneas dos animais entre as estações do ano. Isto provavelmente ocorreu porque durante a escassez de frutos nativos, os micos comem espécies cultivadas, tais como a banana (Musa spp.) e jaca (Artocarpus heterophyllus). A temperatura e a duração do dia foram negativamente correlacionadas com a carga de endoparasitas de mico-leão-de-cara-dourada. Contrário ao previsto, a carga de endoparasitas não está ligada à escassez sazonal de frutos e consequentes mudanças no comportamento alimentar. Entretanto, encontramos maior diversidade de endoparasitas no grupo de mico-leão-de-cara-dourada que usou uma área de vida menor. Quanto menor a área disponível, maior o contato com parasitas, porque os micos são forçados a se deslocar constantemente pelas mesmas rotas na floresta, aumentando o risco de infecção e as taxas de reinfecção. Nossos resultados destacam como a saúde dos animais está associada à saúde ambiental, bem como a necessidade de monitoramento constante para a conservação eficaz das espécies ameaçadas de extinção, como o mico-leão-de-cara-dourada.

The indirect paths to cascading effects of extinctions in mutualistic networks.

Biodiversity loss is a hallmark of our times, but predicting its consequences is challenging. Ecological interactions form complex networks with multiple direct and indirect paths through which the impacts of an extinction may propagate. Here we show that accounting for these multiple paths connecting species is necessary to predict how extinctions affect the integrity of ecological networks. Using an approach initially developed for the study of information flow, we estimate indirect effects in plant-pollinator networks and find that even those species with several direct interactions may have much of their influence over others through long indirect paths. Next, we perform extinction simulations in those networks and show that although traditional connectivity metrics fail in the prediction of coextinction patterns, accounting for indirect interaction paths allows predicting species' vulnerability to the cascading effects of an extinction event. Embracing the structural complexity of ecological systems contributes towards a more predictive ecology, which is of paramount importance amid the current biodiversity crisis.

Local host-tick coextinction in neotropical forest fragments.

Ticks are obligatory parasites with complex life cycles that often depend on larger bodied vertebrates as final hosts. These traits make them particularly sensitive to local coextinction with their host. Loss of wildlife abundance and diversity should thus lead to loss of tick abundance and diversity to the point where only generalist tick species remain. However, direct empirical tests of these hypotheses are lacking, despite their relevance to our understanding of tick-borne disease emergence in disturbed environments. Here, we compare vertebrate and tick communities across 12 forest islands and peninsulas in the Panama Canal that ranged 1000-fold in size (2.6-2811.3 ha). We used drag sampling and camera trapping to directly assess the abundance and diversity of communities of questing ticks and vertebrate hosts. We found that the abundance and species richness of ticks were positively related to those of wildlife. Specialist tick species were only present in fragments where their final hosts were found. Further, less diverse tick communities had a higher relative abundance of the generalist tick species Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, a potential vector of spotted fever group rickettsiosis. These findings support the host-parasite coextinction hypothesis, and indicate that loss of wildlife can indeed have cascading effects on tick communities. Our results also imply that opportunities for pathogen transmission via generalist ticks may be higher in habitats with degraded tick communities. If these patterns are general, then tick identities and abundances serve as useful bioindicators of ecosystem health, with low tick diversity reflecting low wildlife diversity and a potentially elevated risk of interspecific disease transmission via remaining host species and generalist ticks.

Misguided policy may jeopardize a diverse South brazilian environmental protection area / Política equivocada pode colocar em risco uma área de preservação ambiental do sul do Brasil

Abstract: The Devonian Escarpment (DEEPA), located in the south of Brazil, represents an important area of environmental preservation composed by grasslands, gallery forests, as well as rock outcrops and archaeological sites. A law project (LP 527/2016), which suggests a reduction of the DEEPA area in approximately 70% of its original area (from 393,579 to 125,895 ha), is currently being processed in the Paraná State House of Representatives. Such reduction seems to be related to economic interests (mainly agriculture and mining) in the state of Paraná. If approved, LP 527/2016 will allow farmers to deliberately expand their activities, with the suppression of natural forest as main consequence. Additionally, loss of faunal diversity, contamination of water and soils, and alteration in nutrient cycles are expected, due the intensive use of agrochemicals. In addition to the direct environmental consequences, we expect the disappearance of areas of high geological interest, reducing local geodiversity, as well as substantial economic losses with ecotourism. Brazil is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, where it undertakes to develop strategies to prevent biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation by 2020. An approval of the LP would be contradictory, considering that there are few natural vegetation areas in this region of the country. We emphasize that the proposal of such projects goes against the sustainability in the country and disregard the scientific knowledge generated until then. Thus, it is necessary to develop regional and federal political objectives that guarantee economic development in a balanced way, considering the local bio and geodiversity, not the proposal of mechanisms that destroy them.

Resumo: A Escarpa Devoniana (APAED), localizada no sul do Brasil, representa uma importante área de preservação ambiental composta por campos, matas de galeria, além de afloramentos rochosos e sítios arqueológicos. Atualmente, tramita na câmara dos deputados do estado do Paraná um projeto de lei estadual (PL 527/2016) que sugere a redução da área da APAED em aproximadamente 70% de sua área original (de 393.579 para 125.895 ha). Tal redução parece estar relacionada com interesses econômicos (principalmente agropecuária e mineração) no estado do Paraná. Caso aprovado, o PL 527/2016 permitirá que agricultores expandam suas atividades deliberadamente, tendo como consequência principal a supressão de áreas de floresta nativa. Com isso, espera-se perda de diversidade faunística, contaminação de água e solos e alteração nos ciclos de nutrientes, dado o aumento no uso de agroquímicos. Além das consequências ambientas diretas, podemos esperar o desaparecimento de elevado interesse geológico, reduzindo a geodiversidade local, além de substanciais perdas econômicas com ecoturismo. O Brasil é um dos países signatários da Convenção da Diversidade Biológica das Nações Unidas, onde se compromete a desenvolver estratégias que evitem a perda da biodiversidade e a degradação de ecossistemas até 2020. Assim, a aprovação desse projeto de lei é, no mínimo, contraditória considerando que existem poucas áreas de vegetação natural nessa região do país. Destacamos que a proposta de tais projetos vai contra a sustentabilidade no país e desconsideram o conhecimento científico gerado até então. Dessa forma, é necessário o desenvolvimento de objetivos políticos regionais e federais que garantam o desenvolvimento econômico de forma equilibrada, considerando a bio e geodiversidade local, e não a proposta de mecanismos que as destruam.

Ants Response to Human-Induced Disturbance in a Rain Tropical Forest.

A high rate of human-induced disturbance of tropical ecosystems results in enormous loss of biodiversity due to local extinctions. Yet, mechanisms at the population level that lead to the extinction are still poorly understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that human-induced disturbance results in smaller amount of nesting sites for wood-dwelling arthropods that leads to smaller population size and diminished reproduction, and therefore, may promote local extinctions. We completed censuses in less-disturbed and human-disturbed secondary rain forest plots in Puerto Rico. We measured population size and brood production in wood-nesting ants and examined whether these parameters differ between less-disturbed and more-disturbed habitats. In addition, we measured volume of wood parts of all inhabited and potential nesting sites to assess nest site availability. We found that more human-disturbed forests furnish smaller nest sites, resulting in diminished population size and lowered brood production. Our study shows that human-induced disturbance decreases volume of available nesting sites that leads to decreased population size and lowered reproduction. Thus, in addition to the well-documented loss of species richness in human-disturbed tropical habitats, we demonstrated the direct effect of the disturbance that may promote vulnerability of local populations.

Climate change likely to reduce orchid bee abundance even in climatic suitable sites.

Studies have tested whether model predictions based on species' occurrence can predict the spatial pattern of population abundance. The relationship between predicted environmental suitability and population abundance varies in shape, strength and predictive power. However, little attention has been paid to the congruence in predictions of different models fed with occurrence or abundance data, in particular when comparing metrics of climate change impact. Here, we used the ecological niche modeling fit with presence-absence and abundance data of orchid bees to predict the effect of climate change on species and assembly level distribution patterns. In addition, we assessed whether predictions of presence-absence models can be used as a proxy to abundance patterns. We obtained georeferenced abundance data of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Sampling method consisted in attracting male orchid bees to baits of at least five different aromatic compounds and collecting the individuals with entomological nets or bait traps. We limited abundance data to those obtained by similar standard sampling protocol to avoid bias in abundance estimation. We used boosted regression trees to model ecological niches and project them into six climate models and two Representative Concentration Pathways. We found that models based on species occurrences worked as a proxy for changes in population abundance when the output of the models were continuous; results were very different when outputs were discretized to binary predictions. We found an overall trend of diminishing abundance in the future, but a clear retention of climatically suitable sites too. Furthermore, geographic distance to gained climatic suitable areas can be very short, although it embraces great variation. Changes in species richness and turnover would be concentrated in western and southern Atlantic Forest. Our findings offer support to the ongoing debate of suitability-abundance models and can be used to support spatial conservation prioritization schemes and species triage in Atlantic Forest.

Niche shifts after long-distance dispersal events in bipolar sedges (Carex, Cyperaceae).

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Bipolar species represent the greatest biogeographical disjunction on Earth, raising many questions about the colonization and adaptive processes behind such striking distribution. We investigated climatic niche differences of five Carex bipolar species in North and South America to assess niche shifts between these two regions. Moreover, we assessed potential distribution changes with future climate change. METHODS: We used 1202 presence data points from herbarium specimens and 19 bioclimatic variables to assess climatic niche differences and potential distributions among the five species using ordination methods and Maxent. KEY RESULTS: The niche overlap analyses showed low levels of niche filling and high climatic niche expansion between North and South America. Carex macloviana and C. maritima showed the greatest niche expansion (60% and 96%, respectively), followed by C. magellanica (45%) and C. microglochin (39%). Only C. canescens did not colonize new environments (niche expansion = 0.2%). In contrast, all species but C. magellanica had niche filling that was <40%; hence, they are absent in the south from many environments they inhabit in North America. Climate change will push all species toward higher latitudes and elevation, reducing the availability of suitable environments. CONCLUSIONS: The colonization of South America seems to have involved frequent climatic niche shifts. Most species have colonized new environments from those occupied in the North. Observed niche shifts appear congruent with time since colonization and with current genetic structure within species. In these cold-dwelling species, climate change will most likely decrease their suitable environments in the future.

A primate at risk in Northeast Brazil: local extinctions of Coimbra Filho's titi (Callicebus coimbrai).

Identifying the factors that determine local extinction of populations is crucial to ensure species conservation. Forest-dwelling primates are especially vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, although few studies have provided systematic evidence of local extinctions. Over an 11-year period, approximately 100 remnant populations of the endangered Coimbra Filho's titi monkey (Callicebus coimbrai) have been found within the geographic range of the species in Bahia and Sergipe, Northeast Brazil. During the present study, extinction of 13 of these populations was recorded through intensive surveys. These extinctions were detected from evidence of intensive logging and clear-cutting, interviews with local residents and systematic searches of the sites where occurrence of the species had been confirmed in previous surveys. These local extinctions represent approximately 10 % of the known populations of C. coimbrai and up to 28.3 % of the area occupied by the species. Comparison of the vegetation structure in fragments where extinction was recorded and where the species still occurs indicated that sparser understorey may be a correlate of extinction, combined with the fact that extinctions occurred within fragments characterised by relatively high levels of anthropogenic disturbance. These findings reinforce the Endangered status of the species and the urgent need for intensification of conservation measures within the most impacted areas of the geographic distribution of C. coimbrai.

Global-change drivers of ecosystem functioning modulated by natural variability and saturating responses.

Humans are altering global environment at an unprecedented rate through changes in biodiversity, climate, nitrogen cycle, and land use. To address their effects on ecosystem functioning, experiments most frequently explore one driver at a time and control as many confounding factors as possible. Yet, which driver exerts the largest influence on ecosystem functioning and whether their relative importance changes among systems remain unclear. We analyzed experiments in the Patagonian steppe that evaluated the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) response to manipulated gradients of species richness, precipitation, temperature, nitrogen fertilization (N), and grazing intensity. We compared the effect on ANPP relative to ambient conditions considering intensity and direction of manipulations for each driver. The ranking of responses to drivers with comparable manipulation intensity was as follows: biodiversity>grazing>precipitation>N. For a similar intensity of manipulation, the effect of biodiversity loss was 4.0, 3.6, and 1.5, times larger than N deposition, decreased precipitation, and increased grazing intensity. We interpreted our results considering two hypotheses. First, the response of ANPP to changes in precipitation and biodiversity is saturating, so we expected larger effects when the driver was reduced, relative to ambient conditions, than when it was increased. Experimental manipulations that reduced ambient levels had larger effects than those that increased them. Second, the sensitivity of ANPP to each driver is inversely related to the natural variability of the driver. In Patagonia, the ranking of natural variability of drivers is as follows: precipitation>grazing>temperature>biodiversity>N. So, in general, the ecosystem was most sensitive to drivers that varied the least. Comparable results from Cedar Creek (MN) support both hypotheses and suggest that sensitivity to drivers varies among ecosystem types. Given the importance of understanding ecosystem sensitivity to predict global-change impacts, it is necessary to design new experiments located in regions with contrasting natural variability and that include the full range of drivers.

The loss of behavioral diversity as a consequence of anthropogenic habitat disturbance: the social interactions of black howler monkeys.

To date, no study has investigated how human disturbance affects the size of the behavioral repertoire of a species. The aim of the present study is to illustrate how measurement of behavioral diversity assists in documenting biodiversity loss, demonstrating that human disturbance has a negative effect on behavioral diversity. We studied the social interaction repertoire of 41 adult black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) belonging to 10 groups living in different habitats in Campeche (Mexico), and related repertoire size to a proxy of human-induced habitat disturbance, habitat size. The social interaction repertoire of groups living in habitats with higher human-induced disturbance included lower number of behavioral types, and in particular, fewer energy-demanding behaviors. Thus, in addition to a loss in biodiversity, measured through organismal diversity, the disturbance of black howler monkeys' habitats is accompanied by a loss in behavioral diversity. We believe that the study of behavioral diversity as an element of biodiversity will become an increasingly important research topic, as it will improve our understanding of the behavioral strategies displayed by wildlife facing anthropogenic disturbance.

The relationship between pond habitat depth and functional tadpole diversity in an agricultural landscape.

One of the most important goals of biodiversity studies is to identify which characteristics of local habitats act as filters that determine the diversity of functional traits along environmental gradients. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the environmental variables of ponds and the functional trait diversity distribution of anuran tadpoles in an agricultural area in southeastern Brazil. Our results show that the functional trait diversity of frog tadpoles has a bell-curve-shaped relationship with the depths of ponds inserted in a pasture matrix. Because we are witnessing increasing human pressure on land use, simple acts (e.g. maintaining reproductive habitats with medium depth) can be the first steps towards preserving the diversity of Neotropical frog tadpole traits in agricultural landscapes.