In this study, we describe a new low‐cost technique to collect plant‐inhabiting arthropods at a height of up to 10 m without the need for specialized and complicated methods such as rope climbing or ...fogging. We present a model to build and apply the technique in a tropical forest understory. This technique is important because it is not only efficient for arthropod collection, it also enables a variety of ecological studies such as stratification, habitat comparison, and species distribution.
In this study, we describe a new low‐cost technique to collect plant‐inhabiting arthropods at a height of up to 10 m without the need for specialized and complicated methods such as rope climbing or fogging. We present a model to build and apply the technique in a tropical forest understory. This technique is important because it is not only efficient for arthropod collection, it also enables a variety of ecological studies such as stratification, habitat comparison, and species distribution.
One of the main objectives of ecology is to understand how species abundance varies in space. Throughout the distribution of a species, a population is expected to increase its abundance where ...environmental conditions are most suitable for survival and reproduction. It is possible to evaluate environmental suitability and species distribution with ecological niche modelling regarding predictors of interest.
Suitability measures derived from ecological niche models have primarily been used as proxies for abundance, mainly for conservation purposes. However, the suitability–abundance pattern is far from general, with several local biotic and abiotic factors and demographic causes that may interfere with this relationship. We evaluated the relationship between suitability and the local abundance of four Eulaema (Apidae: Euglossini) species.
We modelled the ecological niche of the species and evaluated its relationship to local abundance values across the Amazon Forest. Given our results, there was no significant relationship between climate suitability and abundance. We used quantile regression to examine whether climate suitability limited species abundance, which confirmed our result that climate suitability model estimates are not related to the abundance of Eulaema species. Our results suggest that the relationship between climatic suitability and abundance cannot be generalised to the orchid bee species in Amazon Forest, and, probably, the abundance of these species reflects variables on smaller spatial scales.
We tested whether local abundance of four orchid bees where related to large‐scale climate suitability across the Amazon Forest.
We did not find any relationship between climate suitability and local abundance of orchid bees in the Amazon Forest.
Our results suggest that the relationship between climatic suitability and abundance cannot be generalised to the orchid bee species in Amazon Forest.
Three new species of the glossoscolecid earthworm genus Righiodrilus are described from material collected in northern Pará and Maranhão States, Brazil. Rhigiodrilus gurupi n. sp. is characterized by ...four pairs of post-testicular spermathecae in xiv-xvii. Rhigiodrilus viseuensis n. sp. is distinguished by tubercula pubertatis in xix-xxiii and clitellum in xvi-xxiii. Rhigiodrilus moju n. sp. is the only species in the genus that lacks tubercula pubertatis. We provide an updated key and a distribution map for all species of Righiodrilus.
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•Monitoring is a challenge for assessing targets for biodiversity agendas.•Biomonitoring systems can be linked in a network structure.•Biomonitoring initiatives in Brazil usually lack ...a clear conceptual framework.•The Network of Networks approach can promote the articulation of biomonitoring iniciatives.
The necessity to create national to global-scale biodiversity monitoring systems as part of assessing progress toward biodiversity agendas presents a challenge for signatory countries. This is a brief review of ongoing Brazilian national initiatives that would allow the construction of a general biomonitoring network scheme in protected areas; with additional focus on linking independent monitoring schemes. We discuss some key aspects needed to include monitoring schemes under a single framework that will lead to better evaluation of pressure–state–response indicators for managing biodiversity at several scales; and we point out the potential of embracing citizen science and participatory monitoring to quantify some aspects within those schemes.
This study focuses on the importance in hyperdiverse regions, such as the Amazonian forest, of accelerating and optimising the census of invertebrate communities.
We carried out low‐intensity ...sampling of tropical moth (Lepidoptera) assemblages in disturbed forest fragments in Brazil.
We combined DNA barcoding and taxonomists’ expertise to produce fast and accurate surveys of local diversity, including the recognition and census of undescribed and endemic species.
Integrating expert knowledge of species distributions, we show that despite limited sampling effort, our approach revealed an unexpectedly high number of new and endemic species in severely threatened tropical forest fragments.
These results highlight the risk of silent centinelan extinctions and emphasise the urgent need for accelerated invertebrate surveys in high‐endemism and human‐impacted tropical forests.
Forest restoration has attracted the attention of different organizations, investors, and donors with the launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystems Restoration (2021–2030), along with climate and ...biodiversity commitments. Restoration can address many of mankind's challenges, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, water security, and poverty. In the Brazilian Amazon, the ~28 million inhabitants are among the most vulnerable of the country, and this has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, millions of hectares are suitable for forest restoration. The growing demand for large-scale forest restoration projects have been prioritizing biophysical objectives (e.g., number of trees, hectares of land, and carbon) while it should be prioritizing the local people's well-being and a fair transition to a sustainable economy based on forest services' recovery. Nonetheless, many challenges need to be overcome to realize this potential. Amazonian states need to control illegality, enforce the existing policies and promote innovative ones to halt deforestation and enable large-scale restoration. Better governance and social engagement are urgently needed but depend upon, recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities' rights, needs, and knowledge. Forest restoration represents an opportunity for the emergence of a more inclusive development paradigm, much needed in the Amazon region, especially in the post COVID-19 world.
•Forest restoration might be the key to an inclusive development paradigm and a fair COVID-19 recovery in the Amazon.•Combining ecological and socioeconomic co-benefits is imperative for the Amazon restoration.•Ignoring the social dimension of restoration may lead to the failure of restoration interventions.•Strategic investments to strengthen community organization and build local capacities are paramount.
To mitigate the impacts of deforestation, Brazilian legislation requires the implementation of a Degraded Area Recovery Plan (PRAD). One way to assess the recovery of these areas is using ...bioindicators. This research tested the use of the drosophilid community structure as an indicator to evaluate post‐mining area restoration. We compared two regeneration techniques within the same chronological sequence and as reference used the forest remnants within the exploration area. The study was conducted in the municipality of Paragominas—Pará, in areas managed by Hydro mining company. Five sites of forest remnants were selected, five in natural regeneration and five in the nucleation technique, the latter two making up the PRADs. A total of 5,919 male drosophilids were collected belonging to 10 genera, and 32 species. Rarefaction showed the curves of the PRADs to be more asymptotic, than forested areas. Forest areas are potentially richer and, on average, have lower abundances and lower diversity. Beta diversity components in the forest present greater turnover and less nestedness processes when compared to PRADs areas. The PRADs showed no differences between them for any of the analyzed patterns. D. nasuta and D. sturtevanti behaved as generalists in relation to habitats, D. paulistorum and D. willistoni as forest specialists. D. malerkotliana, D. simulans, Scaptodrosophila latifasciaeformis, and Zaprionus indianus behaved as specialists in PRADs areas. The structure of the drosophilid community varied according to the environment, proving to be a good indicator for forest and regenerating environments, but it did not detect differences between the PRADs environments in early regeneration (6 years).
O bioma amazônico sofre intensamente com o processo de desmatamento de suas áreas vegetais naturais desde o século XX, com incentivos do próprio governo para ocupação e utilização de suas terras. ...Programas de Recuperação de Áreas Degradadas (PRAD), implantados por grandes empresas que alteram e degradam a paisagem para sua implantação e operação, têm favorecido a restauração da vegetação e seus processos e os serviços ecológicos. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar a composição florística e estrutural em áreas de Floresta Nativa (FN) e em áreas de PRAD na mineração HYDRO, município de Paragominas, Pará. Objetivou-se também identificar as espécies mais representativas nos dois ambientes e relacionar os parâmetros fitossociológicos com os atributos morfológicos e ecológicos. Foram utilizadas 18 parcelas de 40 x 250 m (9 no PRAD e 9 na FN) e todos os indivíduos com CAP≥30 cm foram amostrados. Para comparação entre a riqueza e abundância das duas áreas foi realizada a análise de Bray Curtis e a análise de classificação divisiva TWINSPAN. Foi amostrado um total de 60 famílias, 166 gêneros e 302 espécies. Os gêneros mais ricos foram Pouteria e Inga. No PRAD, Croton matourensis e Cecropia distachya obtiveram o maior IVI e na FN foram Lecythis idatimon, Eschweilera coriacea e Rinorea guianense. A análise de Bray-Curtis e o agrupamento por média de grupos evidenciou a separação florística (riqueza) e estrutural (abundância) dos dois ambientes analisados, com uma dissimilaridade em torno de 95%. Na primeira divisão de grupos da Twinspan ocorreu a separação de todas as parcelas amostradas na área de floresta nativa (FN) e as parcelas amostradas em áreas do PRAD (PR). Recomenda-se estudos para entender de que maneira as características de vida das espécies proporcionam melhor aptidão para ocuparem e se estabelecerem em determinadas áreas.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•We conducted a survey of soil macrofauna and ecosystem services at 270 sites.•Covariation was observed between macrofauna communities and landscape metrics.•Covariation was observed between ...macrofauna communities and ecosystem services.•In pastures, soil macrofauna is determined by the presence of a nearby forest.
Land use changes in the Amazon region strongly impact soil macroinvertebrate communities, which are recognized as major drivers of soil functions (Lavelle et al., 2006). To explore these relations, we tested the hypotheses that (i) soil macrofauna communities respond to landscape changes and (ii) soil macrofauna and ecosystem services are linked. We conducted a survey of macrofauna communities and indicators of ecosystem services at 270 sites in southern Colombia (department of Caqueta) and northern Brazil (state of Pará), two areas of the Amazon where family agriculture dominates. Sites represented a variety of land use types: forests, fallows, annual or perennial crops, and pastures. At each site we assessed soil macroinvertebrate density (18 taxonomic units) and the following ecosystem service indicators: soil and aboveground biomass carbon stock; water infiltration rate; aeration, drainage and water storage capacities based on pore-size distribution; soil chemical fertility; and soil aggregation. Significant covariation was observed between macrofauna communities and landscape metric data (co-inertia analysis: RV=0.30, p<0.01, Monte Carlo test) and between macrofauna communities and ecosystem service indicators (co-inertia analysis: RV=0.35, p<0.01, Monte Carlo test). Points located in pastures within 100m of forest had greater macrofauna density and diversity than those located in pastures with no forest within 100m (Wilcoxon rank sum test, p<0.01). Total macroinvertebrate density was significantly correlated with macroporosity (r2=0.42, p<0.01), as was the density of specific taxonomic groups: Chilopoda (r2=0.43, p<0.01), Isoptera (r2=0.30, p<0.01), Diplopoda (r2=0.31, p<0.01), and Formicidae (r2=0.13, p<0.01). Total macroinvertebrate density was also significantly correlated with available soil water (r2=0.38, p<0.01) as well as other soil-service indicators (but with r2<0.10). Results demonstrate that landscape dynamics and composition affect soil macrofauna communities, and that soil macrofauna density is significantly correlated with soil services in deforested Amazonia, indicating that soil macrofauna have an engineering and/or indicator function.
The tripunctata group falls under the subgenus Drosophila Falln, 1823 of the genus Drosophila Falln, 1823, and is composed of four subgroups and 17 species not assigned to subgroups. This group is ...widely distributed throughout tropical regions and is predominantly found in preserved forest environments. With a predicted high number of cryptic species, the occurrence of intraspecific morphological polymorphisms made it difficult to establish lines in the laboratory. The capture of males for comparison of the terminalia makes it hard to identify and delimit species; however, these difficulties can be overcome through the use of techniques such as searching for species in naturally occurring places, establishing isofemale lines in the laboratory, or using molecular techniques. In this work, we search for imagoes of species of the tripunctata group over present fallen flowers of the Lecythidaceae on the ground of the Amazon rainforest. The collected individuals were morphologically and molecularly analyzed. This species is described here under the binomial Drosophila lecythus sp. nov.
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