Lessons from the historical dynamics of environmental law enforcement in the Brazilian Amazon.

Here, we analyze critical changes in environmental law enforcement in the Brazilian Amazon between 2000 and 2020. Based on a dataset of law enforcement indicators, we discuss how these changes explain recent Amazon deforestation dynamics. Our analysis also covers changes in the legal prosecution process and documents a militarization of enforcement between 2018 and 2022. From 2004 to 2018, 43.6 thousand land-use embargoes and 84.3 thousand fines were issued, targeting 3.3 million ha of land, and totaling USD 9.3 billion in penalties. Nevertheless, enforcement relaxed and became spatially more limited, signaling an increasing lack of commitment by the State to enforcing the law. The number of embargoes and asset confiscations dropped by 59% and 55% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. These changes were accompanied by a marked increase in enforcement expenditure, suggesting a massive efficiency loss. More importantly, the creation of so-called conciliation hearings and the centralization of legal processes in 2019 reduced the number of actual judgments and fines collected by 85% and decreased the ratio between lawsuits resulting in paid fines over filed ones from 17 to 5%. As Brazil gears up to crack-down on illegal deforestation once again, our assessment suggests urgent entry points for policy action.

A near real-time web-system for predicting fire spread across the Cerrado biome.

Wildfires are aggravating due to climate change. Public policies need territorial intelligence to prevent and promptly fight fires, especially in vast regions like Brazil. To this end, we have developed a fire-spread prediction system for the Brazilian Cerrado, the biome most affected by wildfires in South America. The system automatically uploads hot pixels and satellite data to calculate maps of fuels loads, vegetation moisture, and probability of burning for simulating fire spread thrice a day for the entire Cerrado at 25 ha and for nine conservation units at 0.04 ha spatial resolution. In both versions, the model attains 65-89% of spatial match. Model results together with ancillary data, e.g., historical burned areas and annual CO2 emissions from fires, are available on an interactive web-platform that serves as a tool for fire prevention and fight, particularly in the selected conservation units where the platform is being used for daily operations.

Multiple facets of biodiversity are threatened by mining-induced land-use change in the Brazilian Amazon

Aim Mining is increasingly pressuring areas of critical importance for biodiversity conservation, such as the Brazilian Amazon. Biodiversity data are limited in the tropics, restricting the scope for risks to be appropriately estimated before mineral licensing decisions are made. As the distributions and range sizes of other taxa differ markedly from those of vertebrates—the common proxy for analysis of risk to biodiversity from mining—whether mining threatens lesser-studied taxonomic groups differentially at a regional scale is unclear. Location Brazilian Amazon. Methods We assess risks to several facets of biodiversity from industrial mining by comparing mining areas (within 70 km of an active mining lease) and areas unaffected by mining, employing species richness, species endemism, phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism metrics calculated for angiosperms, arthropods and vertebrates. Results Mining areas contained higher densities of species occurrence records than the unaffected landscape, and we accounted for this sampling bias in our analyses. None of the four biodiversity metrics differed between mining and nonmining areas for vertebrates. For arthropods, species endemism was greater in mined areas. Mined areas also had greater angiosperm species richness, phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism, although less species endemism than unmined areas. Main Conclusions Unlike for vertebrates, facets of angiosperm and arthropod diversity are relatively higher in areas of mining activity, underscoring the need to consider multiple taxonomic groups and biodiversity facets when assessing risk and evaluating management options for mining threats. Particularly concerning is the proximity of mining to areas supporting deep evolutionary history, which may be impossible to recover or replace. As pressures to expand mining in the Amazon grow, impact assessments with broader taxonomic reach and metric focus will be vital to conserving biodiversity in mining regions.

BioDinamica: a toolkit for analyses of biodiversity and biogeography on the Dinamica-EGO modelling platform.

Biogeography and macroecology are at the heart of the debate on ecology and evolution. We have developed the BioDinamica package, a suite of user-friendly graphical programs for analysing spatial patterns of biogeography and macroecology. BioDinamica includes analyses of beta-diversity, species richness, endemicity, phylo-diversity, species distribution models, predictive models of biodiversity patterns, and several tools for spatial biodiversity analysis. BioDinamica consists of a sub-library of Dinamica-EGO operators developed by integrating EGO native functions with R scripts. The BioDinamica operators can be assembled to create complex analytical and simulation models through the EGO graphical programming interface. In addition, we make available "Wizard" tutorials for end users. BioDinamica can be downloaded free of charge from the Dinamica EGO submodel store. The tools made available in BioDinamica not only facilitate complex biodiversity analyses, they also help develop state-of-the-art spatial models for biogeography and macroecology studies.

Modelling Highly Biodiverse Areas in Brazil.

Traditional conservation techniques for mapping highly biodiverse areas assume there to be satisfactory knowledge about the geographic distribution of biodiversity. There are, however, large gaps in biological sampling and hence knowledge shortfalls. This problem is even more pronounced in the tropics. Indeed, the use of only a few taxonomic groups or environmental surrogates for modelling biodiversity is not viable in mega-diverse countries, such as Brazil. To overcome these limitations, we developed a comprehensive spatial model that includes phylogenetic information and other several biodiversity dimensions aimed at mapping areas with high relevance for biodiversity conservation. Our model applies a genetic algorithm tool for identifying the smallest possible region within a unique biota that contains the most number of species and phylogenetic diversity, as well as the highest endemicity and phylogenetic endemism. The model successfully pinpoints small highly biodiverse areas alongside regions with knowledge shortfalls where further sampling should be conducted. Our results suggest that conservation strategies should consider several taxonomic groups, the multiple dimensions of biodiversity, and associated sampling uncertainties.

Dynamic and diverse amphibian assemblages: Can we differentiate natural processes from human induced changes?

Amphibians are sensitive to anthropogenic habitat alterations but also respond to natural drivers of assemblage composition at many levels. Additionally, they are usually hard to detect in field inventories. We used a multiscale approach, from microhabitat to the landscape levels, to try to understand the effects of natural changes, and try to distinguish them from the effects of landscape level anthropogenic changes, on dynamic and diverse anuran assemblages, taking imperfect detection into account. We conducted thorough field inventories in 16 streams at Serra do Cipó, in the southern portion of Espinhaço Mountain Range, southeastern Brazil, during two time periods separated by 16 years. We compared species richness and diversity between periods, sampling both tadpoles and adult frogs. We quantified tadpole microhabitat availability, alterations in immediate riparian vegetation, and changes in classes of land cover within buffers around streams (adult habitats) to test for their effects on species composition. We also tested for effects of human occupancy around streams on nestedness and turnover components of species diversity. Microhabitats and riparian vegetation explained some of the changes in species composition (or detection) between time periods. Nestedness seemed to be influenced by the stability of the landscape. Detectabilities were too low to support robust occupancy estimates for most species. Natural changes in local habitats occupied by anurans in montane meadows are likely to influence species distribution. Some species with robust estimates experienced change in their occupancy over the studied 16-year interval, although no anthropogenic causes could be directly associated with such changes. The low detectability of most species, even with thorough sampling effort, makes it very hard to detect amphibian declines and possibly tell them apart from natural population fluctuations. New techniques are needed that improve species detectability in such diverse tropical habitats.

Modelling highly biodiverse areas in Brazil

Traditional conservation techniques for mapping highly biodiverse areas assume there to be satisfactory knowledge about the geographic distribution of biodiversity. There are, however, large gaps in biological sampling and hence knowledge shortfalls. This problem is even more pronounced in the tropics. Indeed, the use of only a few taxonomic groups or environmental surrogates for modelling biodiversity is not viable in mega-diverse countries, such as Brazil. To overcome these limitations, we developed a comprehensive spatial model that includes phylogenetic information and other several biodiversity dimensions aimed at mapping areas with high relevance for biodiversity conservation. Our model applies a genetic algorithm tool for identifying the smallest possible region within a unique biota that contains the most number of species and phylogenetic diversity, as well as the highest endemicity and phylogenetic endemism. The model successfully pinpoints small highly biodiverse areas alongside regions with knowledge shortfalls where further sampling should be conducted. Our results suggest that conservation strategies should consider several taxonomic groups, the multiple dimensions of biodiversity, and associated sampling uncertainties.

Modelling highly biodiverse areas in Brazil

Traditional conservation techniques for mapping highly biodiverse areas assume there to be satisfactory knowledge about the geographic distribution of biodiversity. There are, however, large gaps in biological sampling and hence knowledge shortfalls. This problem is even more pronounced in the tropics. Indeed, the use of only a few taxonomic groups or environmental surrogates for modelling biodiversity is not viable in mega-diverse countries, such as Brazil. To overcome these limitations, we developed a comprehensive spatial model that includes phylogenetic information and other several biodiversity dimensions aimed at mapping areas with high relevance for biodiversity conservation. Our model applies a genetic algorithm tool for identifying the smallest possible region within a unique biota that contains the most number of species and phylogenetic diversity, as well as the highest endemicity and phylogenetic endemism. The model successfully pinpoints small highly biodiverse areas alongside regions with knowledge shortfalls where further sampling should be conducted. Our results suggest that conservation strategies should consider several taxonomic groups, the multiple dimensions of biodiversity, and associated sampling uncertainties.

Current guidelines for prostate cancer screening: A systematic review and minimal core proposal.

OBJECTIVE: Considering the importance of screening for prostate cancer, the possibility of damage resulting from indiscriminate screening and the difficulty of disclosure and adherence to the main guidelines on the subject, we aimed to identify current guidelines, look for common approaches and establish a core of conducts. METHOD: Systematic review of the literature on screening practice guidelines for prostate cancer searching the databases PubMed, Lilacs and Google Scholar and active search in the sites of several national health entities. RESULTS: Twelve (12) guidelines were selected, whose analysis resulted in the identification of six common points of conduct, with the following minimum core of recommendations: (1) screening indication or not: must be individualized, and preceded by an informed decision; (2) tests used: PSA with or without rectal digital examination; (3) age at which initiate testing in men in general risk: 50-55 years; (4) age at which to initiate testing in men at increased risk: 40-45 years; (5) the interval between screening: annual or biennial; and (6) age at which to discontinue testing: 70 years-old or life expectancy less than 10 years. CONCLUSION: Although there are differences between them, it was possible to establish a minimum core of conducts that may be useful in the daily practice of the physician.

Publisher Correction: Biodiversity conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Evolutionarily significant units of the critically endangered leaf frog Pithecopus ayeaye (Anura, Phyllomedusidae) are not effectively preserved by the Brazilian protected areas network.

Protected areas (PAs) are essential for biodiversity conservation, but their coverage is considered inefficient for the preservation of all species. Many species are subdivided into evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) and the effectiveness of PAs in protecting them needs to be investigated. We evaluated the usefulness of the Brazilian PAs network in protecting ESUs of the critically endangered Pithecopus ayeaye through ongoing climate change. This species occurs in a threatened mountaintop ecosystem known as campos rupestres. We used multilocus DNA sequences to delimit geographic clusters, which were further validated as ESUs with a coalescent approach. Ecological niche modeling was used to estimate spatial changes in ESUs' potential distributions, and a gap analysis was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brazilian PAs network to protect P. ayeaye in the face of climate changes. We tested the niche overlap between ESUs to gain insights for potential management alternatives for the species. Pithecopus ayeaye contains at least three ESUs isolated in distinct mountain regions, and one of them is not protected by any PA. There are no climatic niche differences between the units, and only 4% of the suitable potential area of the species is protected in present and future projections. The current PAs are not effective in preserving the intraspecific diversity of P. ayeaye in its present and future range distributions. The genetic structure of P. ayeaye could represent a typical pattern in campos rupestres endemics, which should be considered for evaluating its conservation status.

Spider species richness and sampling effort at Cracraft´S Belém Area of Endemism

ABSTRACT A list of spider species is presented for the Belém Area of Endemism, the most threatened region in the Amazon Basin, comprising portions of eastern State of Pará and western State of Maranhão, Brazil. The data are based both on records from the taxonomic and biodiversity survey literature and on scientific collection databases. A total of 319 identified species were recorded, with 318 occurring in Pará and only 22 in Maranhão. About 80% of species are recorded at the vicinities of the city of Belém, indicating that sampling effort have been strongly biased. To identify potentially high-diversity areas, discounting the effect of variations in sampling effort, the residues of a linear regression between the number of records and number of species mapped in each 0.25°grid cells were analyzed. One grid, representing the Alto Turiaçu Indigenous land, had the highest deviation from the expected from the linear regression, indicating high expected species richness. Several other grid cells showed intermediate values of the regression residuals, indicating species richness moderately above to the expected from the model.

Biodiversity conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas.

Although Brazil is a megadiverse country and thus a conservation priority, no study has yet quantified conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas (PAs) using extensive empirical data. Here, we evaluate the degree of biodiversity protection and knowledge within all the Brazilian PAs through a gap analysis of vertebrate, arthropod and angiosperm occurrences and phylogenetic data. Our results show that the knowledge on biodiversity in most Brazilian PAs remain scant as 71% of PAs have less than 0.01 species records per km2. Almost 55% of Brazilian species and about 40% of evolutionary lineages are not found in PAs, while most species have less than 30% of their geographic distribution within PAs. Moreover, the current PA network fails to protect the majority of endemic species. Most importantly, these results are similar for all taxonomic groups analysed here. The methods and results of our countrywide assessment are suggested to help design further inventories in order to map and secure the key biodiversity of the Brazilian PAs. In addition, our study illustrates the most common biodiversity knowledge shortfalls in the tropics.

Spider species richness and sampling effort at Cracraft´S Belém Area of Endemism.

A list of spider species is presented for the Belém Area of Endemism, the most threatened region in the Amazon Basin, comprising portions of eastern State of Pará and western State of Maranhão, Brazil. The data are based both on records from the taxonomic and biodiversity survey literature and on scientific collection databases. A total of 319 identified species were recorded, with 318 occurring in Pará and only 22 in Maranhão. About 80% of species are recorded at the vicinities of the city of Belém, indicating that sampling effort have been strongly biased. To identify potentially high-diversity areas, discounting the effect of variations in sampling effort, the residues of a linear regression between the number of records and number of species mapped in each 0.25°grid cells were analyzed. One grid, representing the Alto Turiaçu Indigenous land, had the highest deviation from the expected from the linear regression, indicating high expected species richness. Several other grid cells showed intermediate values of the regression residuals, indicating species richness moderately above to the expected from the model.

Biogeography of Amazon birds: rivers limit species composition, but not areas of endemism.

Amazonian rivers are usually suggested as dispersal barriers, limiting biogeographic units. This is evident in a widely accepted Areas of Endemism (AoEs) hypothesis proposed for Amazonian birds. We empirically test this hypothesis based on quantitative analyses of species distribution. We compiled a database of bird species and subspecies distribution records, and used this dataset to identify AoEs through three different methods. Our results show that the currently accepted Amazonian AoEs are not consistent with areas identified, which were generally congruent among datasets and methods. Some Amazonian rivers represent limits of AoEs, but these areas are not congruent with those previously proposed. However, spatial variation in species composition is correlated with largest Amazonian rivers. Overall, the previously proposed Amazonian AoEs are not consistent with the evidence from bird distribution. However, the fact that major rivers coincide with breaks in species composition suggest they can act as dispersal barriers, though not necessarily for all bird taxa. This scenario indicates a more complex picture of the Amazonian bird distribution than previously imagined.

Diversidade e composição da araneofauna do Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil / Diversity and composition of the spider fauna of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Nós compilamos uma lista de espécies de aranhas registradas no Mato Grosso do Sul (Brasil) a partir da literatura taxonômica e de inventários não publicados. A lista inclui 228 espécies em 134 gêneros e 32 famílias. Apenas cerca de 35% da área do estado apresenta registros de ocorrência de espécies de aranhas, e não mais que 5% apresenta mais de um registro de ocorrência por quadrícula de 0,5° (˜2.916 km2). Existem grandes lacunas de amostragem no estado, particularmente na porção norte do Pantanal. A maioria das espécies tem menos de 10 registros de ocorrência, ou seja, sua distribuição geográfica é praticamente desconhecida. Extrapolando a curva de acumulação de espécies dessas aranhas, concluímos que seria necessário ampliar em 10 vezes a área amostrada para que sejam listadas 90% das espécies que ocorrem no estado. Número de espécies: no mundo, 44.906; no Brasil, 3.730; no Mato Grosso do Sul, 228. Portanto, novos inventários são essenciais para que a araneofauna do Mato Grosso do Sul seja minimamente conhecida.

Here we compile a list of spider species recorded in Mato Grosso do Sul state (Brazil), based on information from the taxonomic literature and unpublished inventories. The list includes 228 species in 134 genera and 32 families. Only approximately 35% of the state area have records of spider species, and no more than 5% of the area presents more than one record per 0.5° grid cell (˜2,916 km2). There are large gaps in the knowledge of the state’s spider fauna, particularly in the northern Pantanal. Most of the species are known by less than 10 distribution records, indicating that their geographic distribution is virtually unknown. Extrapolating a species accumulation curve, we show that a ten-time increase in sampled area would be necessary to discover 90% of the species occurring in the state. Number of species: in the world, 44,906; in Brazil, 3,730; in Mato Grosso do Sul, 228. Therefore new inventories are essential for an adequate description of the spider fauna of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Sampling effort and species richness assessment: a case study on Brazilian spiders

The knowledge on the geographical distribution of species is essential for building biogeographical and macroecological hypotheses. However, information on this regard is not distributed uniformly in space and usually come from biased sampling. The aim of this study is to quantify the influence of spatial distribution of sampling effort on the assessment of spider species richness in Brazil. We used a database of spider distribution records in Brazil, based on the taxonomic and biodiversity survey literature. The results show that the Atlantic Forest was better sampled and had the highest spider species richness among the Brazilian biomes. The Amazon, though having large collecting gaps and high concentration of records around major cities and rivers, showed the second highest number of species. The Pampa had a large number of records, but these are concentrated near a major city in the transition zone with the Atlantic Forest. The Cerrado, Caatinga and Pantanal had shown to be poorly sampled and, consequently, were among the lesser known biomes regarding the spider fauna. A linear regression analysis showed that the spider species richness in Brazil is strongly correlated to the number of records. However, we have identified areas potentially richest in species, which strongly deviate from the predicted by our analyses. Our results show that it is possible to access the spatial variation in species richness, as long as the variation in sampling effort is taken into account.

Spider species richness and sampling effort at cracraft'S Belem area of endemism

A list of spider species is presented for the Belem Area of Endemism, the most threatened region in the Amazon Basin, comprising portions of eastern State of Para and western State of Maranhao, Brazil. The data are based both on records from the taxonomic and biodiversity survey literature and on scientific collection databases. A total of 319 identified species were recorded, with 318 occurring in Para and only 22 in Maranhao. About 80% of species are recorded at the vicinities of the city of Belem, indicating that sampling effort have been strongly biased. To identify potentially high- diversity areas, discounting the effect of variations in sampling effort, the residues of a linear regression between the number of records and number of species mapped in each 0.25 degrees grid cells were analyzed. One grid, representing the Alto Turia double dagger u Indigenous land, had the highest deviation from the expected from the linear regression, indicating high expected species richness. Several other grid cells showed intermediate values of the regression residuals, indicating species richness moderately above to the expected from the model.

Biodiversity conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas

Although Brazil is a megadiverse country and thus a conservation priority, no study has yet quantified conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas (PAs) using extensive empirical data. Here, we evaluate the degree of biodiversity protection and knowledge within all the Brazilian PAs through a gap analysis of vertebrate, arthropod and angiosperm occurrences and phylogenetic data. Our results show that the knowledge on biodiversity in most Brazilian PAs remain scant as 71% of PAs have less than 0.01 species records per km(2). Almost 55% of Brazilian species and about 40% of evolutionary lineages are not found in PAs, while most species have less than 30% of their geographic distribution within PAs. Moreover, the current PA network fails to protect the majority of endemic species. Most importantly, these results are similar for all taxonomic groups analysed here. The methods and results of our countrywide assessment are suggested to help design further inventories in order to map and secure the key biodiversity of the Brazilian PAs. In addition, our study illustrates the most common biodiversity knowledge shortfalls in the tropics.

Avaliação da intensidade do treinamento técnico-tático e da fadiga causada em jogadores de futebol da categoria sub-20 / Intensity and fatigue assessment of technical-tactical training caused in u-20 soccer players

Resumo Visto que o calendário atual do futebol não disponibiliza um tempo hábil para a devida recuperação dos atletas, fadiga e recuperação têm sido amplamente estudadas por pesquisadores. O que levou ao surgimento de alguns instrumentos com o propósito de fornecer informações e dar suporte aos profissionais visando a alta performance. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a intensidade do Treinamento Técnico-tático e a fadiga causada em jogadores de futebol da categoria sub-20, através do desempenho em testes de salto vertical e horizontal e da percepção subjetiva de esforço da sessão (PSE da sessão). Os jogadores (n = 25) realizaram o salto vertical contra movimento (SCM) e horizontal (SH), antes e após a uma sessão de Treinamento Técnico-tático (TTT), sendo a intensidade avaliada pela Escala de Borg (CR 10). O SCM não apresentou diferença significativa (p > 0,05), enquanto que o SH foi maior no Pós-TTT em relação ao Pré-TTT (p = 0,02). Quanto a PSE da sessão, 92% dos jogadores classificaram a intensidade do TTT como sendo de fácil à moderada. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que o TTT de baixa intensidade não compromete a potência nos testes de salto vertical e horizontal. Sugere-se que além de proporcionar a operacionalização dos padrões de comportamento táticos coletivos, o TTT de baixa intensidade possa ser utilizado em treinamentos de caráter regenerativo ou em momentos que o calendário esportivo não possibilite a recuperação completa dos jogadores.(AU)

Abstract Since the current soccer calendar does not provide a timely fashion for proper recovery of athletes, fatigue and recovery have been extensively studied by researchers. What led to the emergence of some instruments for the purpose of provide information and give support to the professionals seeking high performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the intensity of technical-tactical training and fatigue caused in U20 soccer players, through the performance in the lower limbs and session RPE. Players (n = 25) performed the countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) and horizontal (HJ), before and after a technical-tactical training session (TTT), with the intensity being measured by Borg Scale (CR 10). The CMJ did not show significant difference (p > 0.05), whereas HJ was higher in the post-TTT compared to pre-TTT (p = 0.02). As for session RPE, 92% of players rated the intensity of the TTT as easy to moderate. The results of this study indicate that TTT low intensity does not compromise the power in testing vertical and horizontal jump. It is suggested that besides providing an operationalization of tactical patterns of collective behavior, TTT low intensity training can be used in regenerative or character moments in the sports calendar does not enable complete recovery of players.(AU)