Iron and aluminum ore mining pollution induce oxidative and tissue damage on fruit-eating bats from the Atlantic Forest.

Mining, a vital industry for economic growth, poses significant environmental pollution challenges. Failures in tailings dam containment have caused environmental contamination and raised concerns about preserving the globally significant biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest, which is under severe threat. Fruit-eating bats are key for forest regeneration as essential seed dispersers and pollinators. This study focuses on two keystone species, Artibeus lituratus and Sturnira lilium, exploring the effects of iron ore mining area (FEOA) and aluminum ore mining area (ALOA) on these bats, respectively, and comparing to individuals from a preserved Atlantic Forest fragment (FFA). Bats from FEOA showed higher Aluminum (Al), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe) and Barium (Ba) liver accumulation, as well as Ca and Fe muscle accumulation. These animals also showed higher liver and kidney oxidative damage associated with liver fibrosis and kidney inflammation. Brain and muscle also showed oxidative stress. Bats from ALOA showed higher Ca and Ba liver accumulation and Ca, Zinc (Zn), and Ba muscle accumulation, along with higher brain oxidative stress, liver fibrosis, and kidney inflammation. Our findings indicate that iron and aluminum ore mining activities cause adverse effects on bat tissues, posing a potential threat to biodiversity maintenance in the Atlantic Forest.

Phylogenetic relationships, distribution, and conservation of Roosmalens' dwarf porcupine, Coendouroosmalenorum Voss & da Silva, 2001 (Rodentia, Erethizontidae).

The New World porcupines of the genus Coendou comprise 16 species of arboreal nocturnal rodents. Some of these species are poorly known and have not been included in phylogenetic analyses. Based on recently collected specimens with associated tissue from the Brazilian Amazonia, we investigate the distribution and phylogenetic relationships of Roosmalens' dwarf porcupine, Coendouroosmalenorum, using an integrative approach using mitochondrial gene sequences and morphological data from new specimens and localities. Our results recovered C.roosmalenorum in the subgenus Caaporamys. However, analyses of our molecular and combined datasets produced different topologies. The new record shows the presence of C.roosmalenorum 480 km to the southeast of the Rio Madeira and 95 km away from Rio Juruena in Mato Grosso state, indicating a wider distribution in southern Amazonia than suspected. All known records of C.roosmalenorum are in the Madeira biogeographical province, to which it might be endemic.

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America.

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1-6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

Pelage Variation and Distribution of the Black Lion Tamarin, Leontopithecus chrysopygus.

The black lion tamarin, Leontopithecus chrysopygus, is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of the interior of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. Since the discovery of the species, authors have described variations in the pelage of L. chrysopygus, but the nature of this variation has remained unknown. We examined museum specimens and living animals to see if the pelage of L. chrysopygus varies individually, geographically or ontogenetically. We reviewed all known locality records of the species, and concluded that the pelage of L. chrysopygus varies individually and ontogenetically, but not geographically. The extent of the golden chromogenetic fields is larger in younger individuals, and the pelage becomes darker after successive moults. We examined 2 juveniles that presented a pelage similar to adult L. caissara. Geographically, there is a clear break in the phenotypes attributed to L. caissara and L. chrysopygus, precluding clinal variation and corroborating the specific status of the former. The separation between these 2 species is coincident with a tectonic fault known as the 'Guapiara lineament', and may have been caused by a recent activation of this geological formation. We also suggest a historical contact zone between L. chrysopygus and the marmoset Callithrix aurita in the upper Rio Tietê region.