A preliminary assessment of the potential health and genetic impacts of releasing confiscated passerines into the wild: A reduced-risk approach

The illegal capture and trade of wild birds have long been threats to biodiversity. The rehabilitation and release of confiscated animals may be a useful conservation tool in species management. However, differences between populations regarding health (e.g., different pathogens) and adaptation (e.g., local adaptation) must be taken into account, since both can negatively impact the recipient population. In this pilot study, we used two of the most illegally trafficked Brazilian wild passerine species, namely the red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata) and green-winged saltator (Saltator similis) as case studies and assessed some of the health threats that the release of confiscated passerines may pose to free-living birds. We also investigated the level of difference in mitochondrial genetic structure among populations living in different ecoregions. Blood, feces, and oropharyngeal swabs from confiscated (n = 115) and free-living (n = 120) passerines from the release sites were tested for the Newcastle disease virus, Salmonella spp., and Mycoplasma gallisepticum. These are considered major avian diseases by the Brazilian National Avian Health Program. We analyzed mtDNA to study the difference in genetic structure between populations using samples from 127 free-living passerines. We found no evidence of the Newcastle disease virus or Salmonella spp. in confiscated or free-living passerines from either species. However, the levels of infection with M. galissepticum detected in our study for red-crested cardinals and green-winged saltators calls for a high degree of caution in captive release programs. The difference in genetic structure between populations occurring in different regions was low, and was not significant between those from the Pampa/Subtropical Grasslands region. These results suggest that it may be possible to establish a cost-effective and sensitive protocol for releasing confiscated songbirds, provided that further genome-wide studies indicate that the functional genetic diversity among (at least some of the) populations is also low.Fil: Cruz, Cláudio E. F.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Funkler, Gustavo R.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Laboratório Porto Belo; BrasilFil: Zani, André L. S.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Wagner, Paulo G. C.. Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres; BrasilFil: Andretta, Ines. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Segura, Luciano Noel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fagundes, Nelson J. R.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasi

Rehabilitation and release of confiscated songbirds into the wild: A pilot study

Songbirds are currently the most prevalent animals in illegal trafficking in Brazil and other countries, so they are often confiscated, and this poses legal, ethical, and conservation challenges. Returning them to nature requires complex and expensive management, a topic that is sparingly addressed in the literature. Here, we described the processes and costs associated with an attempt to rehabilitate and release confiscated songbirds into the wild. A total of 1,721 songbirds of several species were quarantined, rehabilitated, and released, primarily on two farms located within their typical geographical distribution. Health assessments were performed on samples from 370 birds. Serology revealed no antibodies against Newcastle disease, and Salmonella spp. cultures were negative. Real-time polymerase chain reactions detected M. gallisepticum in samples from seven birds. Atoxoplasma spp. and Acuaria spp. infections, sepsis, and trauma were the top causes of bird death. About 6% of the released birds were recaptured, within an average period of 249 days after release, and at a mean distance of 2,397 meters from the release sites. The majority of these birds were found with free-living mates within or close to fragments of transitional ecoregions with native or cultivated grasslands, and native groves/forests, and shrublands. However, eucalyptus plantations with rich understory regeneration provided a suitable environment for the released forest species to settle, since they were recaptured during the defense of these sites. Over half of the recaptured birds presented behavioral profiles with both dominant and tame traits. Birds with dominant traits are more likely to settle in habitats and face the live decoys during fieldwork, whereas birds with tame characteristics tend to accept close contact with humans. Ultramarine grosbeak (Cyanoloxia brissonii), the least common species among those released, at the release sites showed an almost 2-fold recapture rate in the shortest mean distances from the release sites. This suggests less territory competition, perhaps a major factor of bird re-establishment here. The total per-bird cost was USD 57. Our findings suggested suitable survival and re-establishment of confiscated songbirds in the wild, when managed as we describe

A invenção como ofício: as máquinas de preparo e benefício do café no século XIX

The article studies the Brazilian coffee-growing society from the point of view of the generation of inventions and machine innovations aimed at the preparation and processing of coffee beans in the period between 1860 and 1882. Under the protection of the 1830 Patents Law, the machinistas developed their inventions and submitted them to the National Industry Auxiliary Society (Sociedade Auxiliadora da Indústria Nacional - SAIN) for the concession of industrial privilege and later manufacture and commercialization. It is demonstrated how the coffee machinery developed by these inventors-entrepreneurs in Brazil brought to the slave-labour coffee plantation the technological update of agricultural machines existing in the industrial countries and how that has propitiated an improvement in the quality of large-scale coffee bean processing. This fact has made possible not only the consolidation of the country as the largest exporter in the international market, but has also has allowed for changes in the productive structure of the slave-labour plantations.Aborda-se a sociedade cafeeira brasileira sob o aspecto da geração de invenções e inovações de máquinas destinadas ao preparo e benefício do café no período de 1860 a 1882. Sob a proteção da Lei de Patentes de 1830, os machinistas desenvolviam seus inventos, que eram examinados pela Sociedade Auxiliadora da Indústria Nacional (SAIN) para concessão do privilégio industrial e posterior fabricação e comercialização. Demonstra-se como as máquinas de café desenvolvidas por estes inventores-empresários no Brasil trouxeram para a fazenda cafeeira escravista a atualização tecnológica de máquinas agrícolas existentes nos países industriais e propiciaram uma melhoria de qualidade do benefício em grandes quantidades de café. Tal fato tornou possível não só a consolidação do país como maior exportador no mercado internacional, mas permitiu alterações na estrutura produtiva das fazendas escravistas

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