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

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

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Ocorrência e fatores de risco associados à infecção por Toxoplasma gondii em coelhos domésticos no Estado de Pernambuco, Brasil

Objetivou-se com essa pesquisa detectar a ocorrência de anticorpos IgG contra T. gondii em coelhos, identificar os fatores de risco associados à infecção por T. gondii e detectar o DNA de T. gondii em órgãos de coelhos. Foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 150 coelhos e fragmentos de cérebro, coração e diafragma de 54 coelhos no estado de Pernambuco. Os dados obtidos em questionários foram submetidos à análise dos fatores de risco. As amostras de soro foram submetidas a teste sorológico (MAT) e as amostras de tecido aos exames molecular (PCR) e histopatológico. Foi evidenciada a presença de anticorpos contra T. gondii em 6,7% (10/150) dos coelhos e DNA de T. gondii em 9,25% (5/54). Na histopatologia foram detectadas lesões teciduais associadas a T. gondii caracterizadas principalmente por granuloma, infiltrado inflamatório mononuclear, áreas de degeneração e necrose em cérebro e coração. Este é o primeiro estudo sobre a detecção de Toxoplasma gondii em coelhos naturalmente infectados na região Nordeste do Brasil. Os fatores de risco identificados foram: alimentação a base de vegetais crus (Odds ratio: 39,00) e contato entre gatos e coelhos (Odds ratio: 52,00); sendo esta detecção relevante na implementação de medidas preventivas eficazes contra a Toxoplasmose e sua prevalência nessas e em outras espécies. A detecção de T. gondii em coelhos demonstra a importância do risco da infecção e manutenção deste agente nesses animais e no ambiente, sendo um risco para a Saúde Pública.This research aimed to detect the occurrence of IgG antibodies against T. gondii in rabbits, identify risk factors associated with T. gondii infection and detect T. gondii DNA in rabbit organs. Blood samples from 150 rabbits and tissue fragments (brain, heart and diaphragm) from 54 rabbits were collected in the state of Pernambuco. Data obtained in questionnaires were submitted to analysis of risk factors. The serum samples were submited to serological test (MAT) and the tissue samples to molecular (PCR) and histopathology tests. Results indicated the presence of antibodies against T. gondii in 6.7% (10/150) of the rabbits and T. gondii DNA in 9.25% (5/54). On histopathology were detected lesions associated with T. gondii mainly characterized by granuloma, mononuclear cell infiltrates, areas of degeneration and necrosis in brain and heart. This is the first study of Toxoplasma gondii detection in naturally infected rabbits in northeastern. The identified risk factors were: feeding based on raw vegetables (Odds ratio: 39.00) and contact between cats and rabbits (Odds ratio: 52.00); being this detection relevant to the implementation of effective preventive measures against toxoplasmosis and its prevalence in these and in other species. The detection of T. gondii in rabbits demonstrates the importance of the infection risk and maintenance of this agent in these animals and in the environment, beeing a public health risk.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPESConselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNP

Occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and parasite DNA in backyard chicken breeding in Northeast, Brazil

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and parasite DNA in backyard chickens bred in the metropolitan area of Recife, Brazil. In total, 212 serum samples were collected from 16 properties, and 12 backyard chickens were collected in the six sanitary districts of Recife. An indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was used to investigate the occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect T. gondii DNA in brain, heart, liver and lung specimens. Of the samples analyzed by serology, 86/212 (40.56%) were positive; of the samples analyzed by PCR, 2/12 (16.7%) were positive, with both samples positive by both tests (serological and molecular). The presence of antibody anti-T. gondii and parasite DNA in tissues of these animals are worrying aspects for public health because there is a risk of transmission of the parasite to humans through eating undercooked or raw meat. Based on the results, the adoption of preventive measures to prevent the cats access to the chickens creations should be encouraged, since these animals were identified in most of the studied properties