Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Influence of pH and inorganic carbon on competition between cyanobacteria Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Microcystis aeruginosa

Florações de cianobactérias em ambientes límnicos são associadas principalmente ao enriquecimento nutricional dos mananciais porém, atualmente, altas concentração de dióxido de carbono (CO2) atmosférico também vem favorecendo sua dominância. Durante a floração, o consumo de CO2 livre e de nutrientes elevam o pH das águas. Assim, ao se difundir na água o CO2 atmosférico torna-se disponível como bicarbonato (HCO3-) e/ou carbonato (CO32-), promovendo mudanças na comunidade fitoplanctônica devido a vantagem competitiva que algumas espécies apresentam no uso do HCO3-. Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii e Microcystis aeruginosa são cianobactérias amplamente distribuídas nos ecossistemas aquáticos dulciaquícolas, formadoras de florações e conhecidas por fazer uso do HCO3-. Este estudo foi realizado a fim de investigar a relação competitiva entre estas espécies diante de mudanças no pH e disponibilidade de carbono inorgânico. Foram realizados cultivos com e sem aeração, com e sem adição de bicarbonato e em três diferentes condições de pH (livre, 6,8 e 8,2) com as cepas ITEP-A1 de C. raciborskii e NPLJ-4 de M. aeruginosa. Os cultivos iniciaram-se com o mesmo biovolume e tiveram a sua fase de crescimento exponencial estendida a partir de reinoculação em novo meio de cultura (retornando ao biovolume inicial). Para os cultivos mistos considerou-se a espécie com o menor crescimento. As taxas de crescimento (μ.dia -1) e rendimento das espécies, o pH, alcalinidade e carbono inorgânico dos cultivos foram avaliados por ANOVA Fatorial de medidas repetidas. Isoladamente, M. aeruginosa apresentou maiores taxas de crescimento em pH 8,2 e livre, e crescimento reduzido em pH 6,8, enquanto C. raciborskii não foi influenciada pelo pH. Ambas as espécies promoveram mudanças significativas no pH nos cultivos não tamponados (pH livre). A aeração e o bicarbonato foram fatores determinantes para a resposta das espécies nos cultivos em competição. Nos cultivos não tamponados, com aeração e sem adição de bicarbonato C. raciborskii foi melhor competidora que M. aeruginosa, enquanto que esta foi melhor competidora nos cultivos sem aeração e com adição de bicarbonato. Foi possível constatar mudanças nas respostas competitivas das espécies diante de alterações no pH e alcalinidade e, consequentemente, das proporções de carbono inorgânico dissolvido. Assim, com o aumento da eutrofização dos ecossistemas aquáticos associado a um aumento da alcalinidade e pH, mudanças nas relações competitivas das espécies estão propensas a ocorrer, visto que o alivio da limitação por carbono inorgânico pode favorecer a dominância de cianobactérias potencialmente tóxicas como as do gênero Microcystis.Cyanobacterial bloom in freshwater are mainly associated with the nutritional enrichment of the water, but currently, high concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is also favoring its dominance. During bloom, the consumption of free CO2 and nutrients increases the pH of the water. Thus, when it diffuses in water, atmospheric CO2 becomes available as bicarbonate (HCO3-) and carbonate (CO32-), promoting changes in the phytoplankton community due to the competitive advantage that some species present in use of HCO3-. Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Microcystis aeruginosa are cyanobacteria widely distributed in freshwater aquatic ecosystems, bloom forming and known to make use of HCO3-. This study was carried out in order to investigate the competitive relationship between these species due to changes in pH and availability of inorganic carbon. Were performed cultures with and without aeration, with and without bicarbonate and in three different pH conditions (free, 6.8 and 8.2) with the strains ITEP-A1 of C. raciborskii and NPLJ4 of M. aeruginosa. Cultures started with the same biovolume and had their exponential growth phase extended from reinoculation into new culture medium (returning to the initial biovolume). For the mixed cultures the species with the lowest growth was considered. The growth rates (μ.day -1) and species yield, pH, alkalinity and inorganic carbon of the cultures were evaluated by repeated measures ANOVA. Isolate M. aeruginosa presented higher growth rates at pH 8.2 and free, and reduced growth at pH 6.8 while C. raciborskii was not influenced by pH. Both species promoted significant changes in pH in the non-buffered cultures (free pH). Aeration and bicarbonate were determinant factors for the response of the species in the competition cultures. In non-buffered cultures, with aeration and without addition of bicarbonate C. raciborskii was better competitor than M. aeruginosa, whereas this was best competitor in the cultures without aeration and with addition of bicarbonate. It was possible to observe changes in the competitive responses of the species to changes in pH and alkalinity and, consequently, to the proportions of dissolved inorganic carbon. Thus, with increased eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems associated with increased alkalinity and pH, changes in the competitive relationships of species are likely to occur, since the relief of inorganic carbon limitation may favor the dominance of potentially toxic cyanobacteria such as those of the genus Microcystis.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPE

Aplicação de um protocolo de avaliação ambiental rápida em dois reservatórios do semiárido brasileiro

In the semi-arid region of Brazil, artificial reservoirs are ecosystems of extremely important ecological and social. Due to pressures caused by long periods of pluviometric irregularity, the reservoirs Cachoeira I and Barra, located in the interior of Pernambuco, have been subject to very significant changes, marked mainly by the reduction of stored water volume, seasonal changes in the abiotic parameters, reduction of riparian vegetation and absence of macrophytes. All these changes were observed in this study through the use of an auxiliary monitoring tool, a rapid assessment protocol adapted for lentic ecosystems of semiarid, capable of detecting numerous types of environmental changes, assisting in monitoring these springs

Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Studies on Cladocera biodiversity in Brazilian freshwater ecosystems are intensifying. However, the fauna of some hydrographic regions is still poorly known. We investigated the richness and species composition of cladocerans in lakes of the Pantanal from the state of Mato Grosso (Paraguay hydrographic region), Brazil. In addition, we cataloged the known cladoceran species in each hydrographic region of the state. Occurrence data were obtained from the literature and samples collected from 50 lakes in the northern Pantanal. We recorded 120 cladoceran species from eight families in the state of Mato Grosso. The occurrence of these species was recorded in the Amazon and Paraguay hydrographic regions. We are unaware of studies on cladocerans conducted in the Tocantins-Araguaia hydrographic region. We reported 17 new records in the Pantanal samples (Paraguay hydrographic region). Overall, richness estimates reveal that 72.6% of the state's cladoceran fauna is already known, while for the Paraguay hydrographic region this estimate is 72.2%. In general, the cladocerans from the Amazon and Paraguay regions did not differ. Our findings allow us to infer the need for further studies in the different hydrographic regions found in Mato Grosso in order to improve the knowledge of cladoceran biodiversity. We suggest a greater sampling effort, particularly in the littoral zone of aquatic ecosystems in this state, which can harbor great biodiversity.We investigated the richness and species composition of cladocerans (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in 50 lakes of the Pantanal from the state of Mato Grosso (Paraguay hydrographic region), Brazil. In addition, we cataloged the known cladoceran species in each hydrographic region (HR) of the state. We reported 17 new records, and suggested a greater sampling effort, especially in areas of the Amazon and Tocantins-Araguaia HRs

“A Fauna está acabando, a camada de ozônio está furada...”: Percepção e Conscientização Ambiental por crianças de duas escolas públicas do Sertão de Pernambuco.

Em um tempo em que a urbanização vem acompanhada do desmatamento e destruição de habitats, ações de análise e conscientização ambiental são fundamentais. Uma das formas de desenvolver essa consciência é investir nas crianças, futuros gestores ambientais, trabalhando sua percepção sobre a relação pessoa-ambiente. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a percepção e o conhecimento sobre o “Meio Ambiente” ou a “Natureza”, em dois grupos de estudantes de escolas da rede pública do município de Serra Talhada (Sertão, PE) e, através de métodos dinâmicos, trabalhar a conscientização ambiental utilizando o tema “A importância das árvores no cotidiano”. São comuns neste município podas severas das copas das árvores por parte da população. Em análise prévia à aplicação da metodologia, menos de 3% dos alunos das escolas visitadas expressaram ações de impacto causados pelo homem às árvores, em seus desenhos. Verificou-se que a educação ambiental nas escolas avaliadas não era uma prática constante. Após a aplicação de aulas expositivas, encenação de uma peça teatral educativa e de uma música temática, foi constatada uma maior atenção das crianças sobre este problema. O presente trabalho mostra que pequenas e simples ações educativas e contextualizadas à realidade local podem enaltecer uma visão mais crítica dos jovens, sendo também necessária uma ação continuada nas escolas da região, de modo aos educadores atuarem ativamente na busca pelas melhores estratégias de conservação e preservação dos ecossistemas do semiárido brasileiro.In a time where the urbanization is accompanied by deforestation and habitats destruction, actions of environmental analysis and awareness are fundamental. One way to develop this awareness is investing in the children, future environmental managers, working on their perception about the person-environment relationship. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception and knowledge about the "Environment" or "Nature" in two groups of students from public schools of the Municipality of Serra Talhada (State of Pernambuco hinterland) and, through dynamic methods, to work environmental awareness using the theme "The importance of trees in everyday life." Severe pruning of the trees by the population is common in this municipality. In the analysis previous to the application of the methodology, less than 3% of students of the visited schools expressed actions of anthropic impacts on trees in their drawings. It was found that environmental education in the assessed schools was not a constant practice. After the application of lectures, the staging of an educational play and a thematic song, a higher attention of the children on this issue was observed. The present study shows that little and simple educational actions, contextualized to local realities, can exalt a more critical view of the children, being also required a continued action in the schools of the region, so that educators can act actively in search for the best strategies for conservation and preservation of Brazilian semiarid ecosystems