Uso de pastejo rotacionado em uma área de pastagem nativa no Pantanal.

Para evitar desmatamento e proteger a biodiversidade, áreas consideradas produtivas podem ser manejadas de forma mais eficiente e rentável, para não haver necessidade de novos desmatamentos. Com essa finalidade, a WCS Brasil trabalha com a comunidade rural promovendo melhores práticas para otimizar a utilização e a rentabilidade das áreas produtivas, minimizando as pressões sobre os recursos naturais

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans – anteaters, sloths, and armadillos – have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with 24 domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, ten anteaters, and six sloths. Our dataset includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data-paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the south of the USA, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to its austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n=5,941), and Cyclopes sp. has the fewest (n=240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n=11,588), and the least recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n=33). With regards to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n=962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n=12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other datasets of Neotropical Series which will become available very soon (i.e. Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans dataset

A Melodic Contour Repeatedly Experienced by Human Near-Term Fetuses Elicits a Profound Cardiac Reaction One Month after Birth

Human hearing develops progressively during the last trimester of gestation. Near-term fetuses can discriminate acoustic features, such as frequencies and spectra, and process complex auditory streams. Fetal and neonatal studies show that they can remember frequently recurring sounds. However, existing data can only show retention intervals up to several days after birth.Here we show that auditory memories can last at least six weeks. Experimental fetuses were given precisely controlled exposure to a descending piano melody twice daily during the 35(th), 36(th), and 37(th) weeks of gestation. Six weeks later we assessed the cardiac responses of 25 exposed infants and 25 naive control infants, while in quiet sleep, to the descending melody and to an ascending control piano melody. The melodies had precisely inverse contours, but similar spectra, identical duration, tempo and rhythm, thus, almost identical amplitude envelopes. All infants displayed a significant heart rate change. In exposed infants, the descending melody evoked a cardiac deceleration that was twice larger than the decelerations elicited by the ascending melody and by both melodies in control infants.Thus, 3-weeks of prenatal exposure to a specific melodic contour affects infants 'auditory processing' or perception, i.e., impacts the autonomic nervous system at least six weeks later, when infants are 1-month old. Our results extend the retention interval over which a prenatally acquired memory of a specific sound stream can be observed from 3-4 days to six weeks. The long-term memory for the descending melody is interpreted in terms of enduring neurophysiological tuning and its significance for the developmental psychobiology of attention and perception, including early speech perception, is discussed

Sustainability Agenda for the Pantanal Wetland: Perspectives on a Collaborative Interface for Science, Policy, and Decision-Making.

Building bridges between environmental and political agendas is essential nowadays in face of the increasing human pressure on natural environments, including wetlands. Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services for humanity and can generate a considerable direct or indirect income to the local communities. To meet many of the sustainable development goals, we need to move our trajectory from the current environmental destructive development to a wiser wetland use. The current article contain a proposed agenda for the Pantanal aiming the improvement of public policy for conservation in the Pantanal, one of the largest, most diverse, and continuous inland wetland in the world. We suggest and discuss a list of 11 essential interfaces between science, policy, and development in region linked to the proposed agenda. We believe that a functional science network can booster the collaborative capability to generate creative ideas and solutions to address the big challenges faced by the Pantanal wetland

Amazonia Camtrap: a data set of mammal, bird, and reptile species recorded with camera traps in the Amazon forest.

Abstract : The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on Earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scatteredacross the published, peer-reviewed, and gray literature and in unpublishedraw data. Camera traps are an effective non-invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and space. In this study, we organized and standardized camera trap records from different Amazonregions to compile the most extensive data set of inventories of mammal,bird, and reptile species ever assembled for the area. The complete data setcomprises 154,123 records of 317 species (185 birds, 119 mammals, and13 reptiles) gathered from surveys from the Amazonian portion of eightcountries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru,Suriname, and Venezuela). The most frequently recorded species per taxawere: mammals:Cuniculus paca (11,907 records); birds: Pauxi tuberosa (3713 records); and reptiles:Tupinambis teguixin(716 records). The infor-mation detailed in this data paper opens up opportunities for new ecological studies at different spatial and temporal scales, allowing for a moreaccurate evaluation of the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, climatechange, and other human-mediated defaunation processes in one of themost important and threatened tropical environments in the world. The data set is not copyright restricted; please cite this data paper when usingits data in publications and we also request that researchers and educator sinform us of how they are using these data

História natural dos artiodáctilos nativos da Bacia do Alto Paraguai com apontamentos sobre taxonomia, distribuição, abundância, ecologia e conservação.

RESUMO: Apresentamos uma revisão dos diferentes aspectos relacionados aos mamíferos artiodáctilos nativos da Bacia do Alto Paraguai (BAP), área que compreende a planície pantaneira e os planaltos adjacentes, representados por duas espécies da família Tayassuidae (Tayassu pecari e Pecari tajacu) e quatro da família Cervidae (Blastocerus dichotomus, Mazama americana, Mazama gouazoubira e Ozotoceros bezoarticus). Embora originalmente estas seis espécies possuíssem ampla distribuição geográfica, atualmente, algumas delas se encontram global ou regionalmente ameaçadas. Diferentemente do que ocorre nas áreas de planalto, em avançado estágio de degradação ambiental, a planície pantaneira ainda mantém populações viáveis destas espécies, sendo um local importante tanto para a sua conservação quanto para a realização de estudos considerando a ampla heterogeneidade ambiental existente. Procuramos compilar e sintetizar as principais informações relacionadas a história natural, taxonomia, morfologia, estrutura populacional, ecologia e conservação destas espécies, priorizando a utilização de dados gerados por estudos conduzidos nas diferentes regiões da BAP. Para fins de comparação, dados levantados em ecorregiões vizinhas também foram considerados. Esperamos que este trabalho contribua para o aumento do conhecimento destas espécies no Brasil e auxilie na formulação de políticas públicas e na implementação de estratégias de conservação de longo prazo dos taiassuídeos e cervídeos neotropicais. ABASTRACT: Abstract: We present a review of the different aspects related to native artiodactyl mammals from the Upper Paraguay Basin (UPB) and Brazilian Pantanal Basin and highlands, represented by two species from the Tayassuidae family (Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu) and four from the Cervidae family (Blastocerus dichotomus, Mazama americana, Mazama gouazoubira, and Ozotoceros bezoarticus). Originally these six species had a wide geographic distribution, but currently, some of them are globally or regionally threatened. However, unlike the deforested Pantanal highlands, the Pantanal basin still maintains healthy populations of these species, making it an ideal area for research and their conservation in this dynamic heterogeneous environment. In this review, we compiled and synthesized the main information related to their natural history, morphology, taxonomy, population structure, ecology and conservation. We prioritized data generated by studies conducted in different regions of the UPB. For comparative purposes, we also include data from neighboring ecoregions. We hope that this review contributes information on these Brazilian species and ultimately contributes to public policies that implement conservation strategies for the long-term conservation of native neotropical peccaries and deer