Low species turnover of upland Amazonian birds in the absence of physical barriers

Aim: One of the oldest and most powerful ways for ecologists to explain distinct biological communities is to invoke underlying environmental differences. But in hyper-diverse systems, which often display high species richness and low species abundance, these sorts of community comparisons are especially challenging. The classic view for Amazonian birds posits that riverine barriers and habitat specialization determine local and regional community composition. We test the tacit, complementary assumption that similar bird communities should therefore permeate uniform habitat between major rivers, regardless of distance. Location: Upland (terra firme) rainforests of central Amazonia. Methods: We conducted intensive whole-community surveys of birds in three pairs of 100-ha plots, separated by 40–60 km. We then used dissimilarity indices, cluster analysis, and ordination to characterize differences among the six avian communities. Results: In all, we detected 244 forest-dependent birds, with an average of 190 species (78%) per plot. Species turnover was negligible, no unique indicator species were found among plot pairs, and all documented species were already known from a complete inventory at one of the three sites. Main Conclusions: Our study corroborates the classic biogeographical pattern and suggests that turnover contributes little to regional avian diversity within upland forests. Using a grain size of 100 ha, this implies that upland birds perceive the environment as uniform, at least over distances of ~60 km. Therefore, to maximize both local species richness and population persistence, our findings support the conservation of very large tracts of upland rainforest. Our analyses also revealed that the avifauna at Reserva Ducke, encroached by urban sprawl from the city of Manaus, shows the hallmarks of a disturbed community, with fewer vulnerable insectivores. This defaunation signals that even an enormous preserve (10 × 10 km) in lowland Amazonia is not insulated from anthropogenic degradation within the surrounding landscape

Phylogenetic analysis of the nocturnal avian family Nyctibiidae (Caprimulgiformes) inferred from osteological characters

The family Nyctibiidae (potoos) comprises seven extant species currently included in the genera Nyctibius and Phyllaemulor, endemic to the Neotropical region, and the extinct genus Paraprefica from the Eocene of Europe. The living species are secretive nocturnal birds, characterized by spend most of the daylight time in a freezing, upright posture, resembling the top of a stump or a dead leaf. Here we present the first phylogenetic analysis of the family based on morphological characters, inferred from 37 cranial and post-cranial characters of all but one representatives of Nyctibiidae, including the extinct genus Paraprefica. TNT analysis resulted in a single most parsimonious tree with a length of 47 steps, and the ingroup topology was (Paraprefica (Phyllaemulor bracteatus (Nyctibius leucopterus (Nyctibius griseus, Nyctibius jamaicensis (Nyctibius aethereus, Nyctibius grandis))))). These results partially corroborate previous phylogenetic hypotheses based on molecular data, mainly concerning the position of P. bracteatus, but the relationships among Nyctibius species remain controversial. The osteology of this family is remarkably distinct from close related groups, especially regarding the cranial and mandibular structures, mainly due to their noteworthy habits and large eyes and mouth. The distinction between Paraprefica and Phyllaemulor + Nyctibius, allied to the geographical and temporal disjunction of these two groups, seems to be enough for their separation at the subfamily level. A notable osteological variation exists also among the Nyctibius species, albeit included in a single genus, following the high levels of genetic divergence presented in the literature, suggesting that the currently accepted systematics of the family must be reviewed.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo, CEPSeção de Aves Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP), Seção de Aves, CP 42.494Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), CEPDepartamento de Ciências Biológicas Faculdade de Ciências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Caixa Postal 473, CEPInstituto de Recursos Naturais Universidade Federal de Itajubá (IRN/UNIFEI), Av. BPS 1303, Pinheirinho, CEP, ItajubáDepartamento de Ciências Biológicas Faculdade de Ciências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Caixa Postal 473, CE

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora