MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

Tolerância à fauna silvestre na Mata Atlântica: um teste empí­rico em diferentes contextos ecológicos e espécies de mamíferos

Human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) emerge as complex conservation challenges impairing human livelihood and wildlife populations. Research on HWC, however, has traditionally approached these components apart and focused on single/ similar species, hampering a broader understanding of the connections between ecological drivers and human dimensions of conflicts. We here develop and test a model integrating ecological and human components of HWC, focusing on three species - opossum, crab-eating fox and puma. We investigated the pathways through which the ecological context (forest cover) affects experiences with wildlife (contact and damage), and how such experiences influence tolerance via beliefs, emotions and attitude. We interviewed 114 landowners across 13 landscapes varying in forest cover in a region of the Brazilian Atlantic forest and tested our model using Piecewise Structural Equation Modeling. We found that: i. forest cover negatively affected tolerance, but just towards the largest species; ii. relevance and effects of distinct experiences with wildlife on beliefs and emotions varied across species; iii. beliefs and emotions influenced tolerance, but negative emotions were relevant only for the largest species. Conflicts with larger species can then be understood as disservices provided by forests, indicating the relevance of framing HWC within a broader perspective that consider the trade-offs with ecosystems services. For some species, positive experiences with wildlife may counteract the negative effects of damages to livestock in shaping human behavior. Models such as ours - that structure relationships between ecological and human components - can help identifying deeper, more effective leverage points to improve interventions to mitigate HWCConflitos entre seres humanos e fauna silvestre emergem como desafios complexos, ameaçando o sustento de populações humanas e a conservação de populações de animais silvestres. Contudo, pesquisas sobre conflitos tradicionalmente abordam esses componentes separadamente e focam em espécies individuais ou similares, dificultando o entendimento mais amplo das conexões entre determinantes ecológicos e dimensões humanas dos conflitos. Neste estudo, desenvolvemos e testamos um modelo conceitual integrando componentes ecológicos e humanos dos conflitos, focando em três espécies - gambá, cachorro-do-mato e onça-parda. Investigamos os caminhos através dos quais o contexto ecológico (cobertura florestal) afeta experiências (contato e dano), e como tais experiências influenciam a tolerância à fauna por meio de crenças, emoções e atitude. Entrevistamos 114 proprietários rurais em 13 paisagens com diferentes proporções de cobertura florestal em uma região da Mata Atlântica e testamos nosso modelo usando equações estruturais do tipo Piecewise. Encontramos que: i. a cobertura florestal afetou negativamente a tolerância, mas apenas para a maior espécie; ii. a importância e os efeitos de diferentes experiências com a fauna sobre crenças e emoções variaram entre as espécies; iii. crenças e emoções influenciaram a tolerância, mas emoções negativas foram relevantes apenas para a maior espécie. Conflitos com espécies maiores podem então ser entendidos como desserviços providos por florestas, indicando a relevância de inserir os conflitos humano-fauna em perspectiva mais ampla, que considere as relações com serviços ecossistêmicos. Para algumas espécies, experiências positivas podem compensar os efeitos negativos dos danos a criações na formação do comportamento humano. Modelos como o nosso - que estruturem as relações entre os componentes ecológicos e humanos - podem ajudar a identificar pontos de alavancagem mais profundos e efetivos para melhorar intervenções visando a mitigação dos conflitos com a faun

Tolerância à fauna silvestre na Mata Atlântica: um teste empí­rico em diferentes contextos ecológicos e espécies de mamíferos

Human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) emerge as complex conservation challenges impairing human livelihood and wildlife populations. Research on HWC, however, has traditionally approached these components apart and focused on single/ similar species, hampering a broader understanding of the connections between ecological drivers and human dimensions of conflicts. We here develop and test a model integrating ecological and human components of HWC, focusing on three species - opossum, crab-eating fox and puma. We investigated the pathways through which the ecological context (forest cover) affects experiences with wildlife (contact and damage), and how such experiences influence tolerance via beliefs, emotions and attitude. We interviewed 114 landowners across 13 landscapes varying in forest cover in a region of the Brazilian Atlantic forest and tested our model using Piecewise Structural Equation Modeling. We found that: i. forest cover negatively affected tolerance, but just towards the largest species; ii. relevance and effects of distinct experiences with wildlife on beliefs and emotions varied across species; iii. beliefs and emotions influenced tolerance, but negative emotions were relevant only for the largest species. Conflicts with larger species can then be understood as disservices provided by forests, indicating the relevance of framing HWC within a broader perspective that consider the trade-offs with ecosystems services. For some species, positive experiences with wildlife may counteract the negative effects of damages to livestock in shaping human behavior. Models such as ours - that structure relationships between ecological and human components - can help identifying deeper, more effective leverage points to improve interventions to mitigate HWCConflitos entre seres humanos e fauna silvestre emergem como desafios complexos, ameaçando o sustento de populações humanas e a conservação de populações de animais silvestres. Contudo, pesquisas sobre conflitos tradicionalmente abordam esses componentes separadamente e focam em espécies individuais ou similares, dificultando o entendimento mais amplo das conexões entre determinantes ecológicos e dimensões humanas dos conflitos. Neste estudo, desenvolvemos e testamos um modelo conceitual integrando componentes ecológicos e humanos dos conflitos, focando em três espécies - gambá, cachorro-do-mato e onça-parda. Investigamos os caminhos através dos quais o contexto ecológico (cobertura florestal) afeta experiências (contato e dano), e como tais experiências influenciam a tolerância à fauna por meio de crenças, emoções e atitude. Entrevistamos 114 proprietários rurais em 13 paisagens com diferentes proporções de cobertura florestal em uma região da Mata Atlântica e testamos nosso modelo usando equações estruturais do tipo Piecewise. Encontramos que: i. a cobertura florestal afetou negativamente a tolerância, mas apenas para a maior espécie; ii. a importância e os efeitos de diferentes experiências com a fauna sobre crenças e emoções variaram entre as espécies; iii. crenças e emoções influenciaram a tolerância, mas emoções negativas foram relevantes apenas para a maior espécie. Conflitos com espécies maiores podem então ser entendidos como desserviços providos por florestas, indicando a relevância de inserir os conflitos humano-fauna em perspectiva mais ampla, que considere as relações com serviços ecossistêmicos. Para algumas espécies, experiências positivas podem compensar os efeitos negativos dos danos a criações na formação do comportamento humano. Modelos como o nosso - que estruturem as relações entre os componentes ecológicos e humanos - podem ajudar a identificar pontos de alavancagem mais profundos e efetivos para melhorar intervenções visando a mitigação dos conflitos com a faun

Termite Communities in Sugarcane Plantations in Southeastern Brazil: an Ecological Approach

Termites are key components of soil fauna, playing an essential role in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. However, they can cause significant economic losses in commercial plantations, such as sugar cane. Therefore, the correct identification of termite species is critical for pest control. Here, we evaluated the species richness, abundance and functional groups of termites in sugarcane plantations in 53 cities throughout the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. We also analyzed the influence of macroclimatic variables on termite species distribution and functional groups. We found 22 taxa of two families, of which the most frequent species were Termitidae (96.51%). Within this family, Apicotermitinae had the highest frequency of occurrence (37.12%), followed by Termitinae (30.57%), Syntermitinae (27.95%), and Nasutitermitinae (0.8 %). The other family, Rhinotermitidae, had the lowest frequency (3.5%), being represented only by Heterotermes sulcatus Mathews. We classified Neocapritermes opacus Hagen (29.26%), Apicotermitinae sp.2 (24.89%), Cornitermes cumulans Kollar (13.10%), and Apicotermitinae sp.1 (6.99%) as common taxa. The remaining 18 species were classified as rare. The most common functional group was humus-feeders (37%), followed by wood-feeders (34%), grass-litter feeders (25%), and intermediate feeders (4%). Climate influenced the distribution of common species, humus-feeders and grass-litter feeders. Regarding the pest status of termites in sugar cane plantations, we suggest that the exasperated use of pesticide in the last decades has reduced the abundance of species considered pests (e.g. Heterotermes) and reinforce the importance of ecological approaches for determining the best pest control method

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 domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set 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 southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard 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 data sets of Neotropical Series that 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 data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally