Diversity Of Medium-sized And Large Mammals From Atlantic Forest Remnants In Southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Studies on mammal diversity provide the essential groundwork for the development of conservation methods and practices. The region of the Poços de Caldas Plateau is lacks such studies, which may be a problem for future conservation actions. Here, we analyze the richness of medium-sized and large mammals from Atlantic Forest remnants on the Poços de Caldas Plateau, Minas Gerais state. Diurnal censuses of direct observations and mammal signs were conducted, and we documented 20 species of mammals belonging to eight orders. Three species of primates, one carnivore, one cingulate, one lagomorpha, three rodents, one artiodactyla, and two marsupials were found. The largest forest remnant that presented the greatest richness is currently a conservation unit. Forest remnants are important for the consolidation of management strategies and have fundamental role for the conservation of mammal diversity in the south of Minas Gerais state. © 2016 Check List and Authors.125CNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Predicting landscape-scale biodiversity recovery by natural tropical forest regrowth

Natural forest regrowth is a cost-effective, nature-based solution for biodiversity recovery, yet different socio-environmental factors can lead to variable outcomes. A critical knowledge gap to inform forest restoration planning is how to predict where natural forest regrowth is likely to recover high levels of biodiversity, as an indicator of conservation value and potential for provisioning of diverse ecosystem services. In this study, we predicted and mapped landscape-scale biodiversity recovery of species richness and total abundance of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants in tropical and subtropical second-growth forests to inform spatial restoration planning. First, we conducted a global meta-analysis that quantified the extent to which recovery of species richness and total abundance of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants in second-growth forests deviated from biodiversity values in reference old-growth forests found within the same landscape. We then employed a machine learning algorithm and a comprehensive set of socio-environmental factors to spatially predict and map this landscape-scale deviation. We found that landscape-scale biodiversity recovery in second-growth forests: (i) can be spatially predicted using socio-environmental landscape factors (human demography, land use/cover, anthropogenic/natural disturbances, ecosystem productivity, and topography/soil); (ii) was higher for species richness than for total abundance for vertebrates and invertebrates but not for plants (which showed a similar recovery for both metrics); and (iii) was positively correlated for total abundance of plant and vertebrate species. Our approach can help identify tropical and subtropical forest landscapes with high potential for biodiversity recovery through natural forest regrowth

Affinity and diversity indices for anopheline immature forms Afinidade e diversidade de formas imaturas de anofelinos

As for the entire Amazon Region, malaria continues to be a major health public problem in Roraima that presented an Annual Parasitic Index of 85.4 in 2005, the highest in Brazil. Information on anopheline breeding sites is an essential component in malaria control strategies. Aiming to contribute to the limited knowledge on anopheline immature forms in Roraima, collections and breeding site observations were performed in 10 breeding sites around the capital city Boa Vista. Collections were carried out in the rainy and dry season periods between April 2004 and January 2005. Breeding sites comprised natural and artificial water reservoirs. A total of 623 immature forms were collected belonging to Anopheles albitarsis s.l., An.triannulatus s.l., An. nuneztovari/dunhami, An. braziliensis, An. evansae, An. oswaldoi s.l., An. strodei and An. darlingi. An. albitarsis and An. braziliensis were the most frequently found species. Eight larvae of An. darlingi were found in only one breeding site located in the forest. An. triannulatus/An. nuneztovari and An. albitarsis/An. braziliensis were the pairs of species that mostly occurred together. Both pair of species displayed the highest affinity index what might indicate a high compatibility for the same breeding conditions and/or a synergistic co-occurrence. Species diversity index was higher for the dry season.<br>Como para toda a Amazônia, a malária representa um importante problema de saúde pública em Roraima. Roraima apresentou um índice parasitário anual de 85,4 em 2005, o maior do Brasil. O conhecimento dos criadouros de anofelinos constitui-se num componente primordial nas estratégias de controle da malária. No intuito de contribuir para o limitado conhecimento dos criadouros de anofelinos em Roraima, coleções de imaturos e observações dos criadouros foram realizadas no entorno da capital Boa Vista. As coletas foram feitas nas estações seca e chuvosa entre abril de 2004 e janeiro de 2005. Os criadouros observados foram reservatórios de água naturais e artificiais. Um total de 623 formas imaturas foram coletadas pertencentes às espécies An. albitarsis s.l., An.triannulatus s.l., An. nuneztovari/dunhami, An. braziliensis, An. evansae, An. oswaldoi s.l., An. strodei e An. darlingi. An. braziliensis e An. albitarsis foram as espécies mais freqüentemente encontradas. Oito larvas de An. darlingi foram encontradas em apenas um criadouro na floresta. An. triannulatus/An. nuneztovari e An. albitarsis/An. braziliensis foram os pares de espécies de maior co-ocorrência. Ambos pares de espécies apresentaram o maior índice de afinidade o que pode indicar compatibilidade para as mesmas condições prevalentes nos criadouros e/ou sinergismo. O índice de diversidade de espécies foi maior para a estação seca