Checklist of chelonians from the upper madeira river and the lower Madeira–Purus interfluvium (Brazilian Amazon), including a range expansion for Podocnemis sextuberculata Cornalia, 1849

We present data on occurrence of chelonians for the Madeira River (southwestern Amazon, Brazil). Sampling was undertaken along the BR-319 Highway in the Madeira-Purus interfluvium and along a 125‑km stretch of the upper Madeira River. Findings were contrasted with a checklist of species expected to occur in the region according to current distribution maps, and with literature data for the Madeira subbasin. Out of 12 expected species, we recorded five in the Madeira- Purus interfluvium (three other species were registered by other recent voucher-based studies in the region), and eight species in the upper Madeira region. Podocnemis expansa (Schweigger, 1812) and P. unifilis Troschel, 1848 occurred below and inbetween the upper Madeira rapids. Podocnemis sextuberculata Cornalia, 1849 had its range extended by over 700 km, but may be limited upriver by the rapids. Mesoclemmys gibba (Schweigger, 1812) and M. raniceps Gray, 1855 occurred sympatrically along the river. Chelonian diversity along the lower and upper Madeira appears to be complementary. © 2016 Check List and Authors

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

Síntese analítica do mapeamento das condições ambientais da macrorregião de Paragominas (Paper 236)

Este trabalho aborda como o histórico de uso das paisagens produzidas pelo homem na Amazônia acarreta profundos efeitos na capacidade de recuperação deste ecossistema. O presente estudo foi realizado na macro-região de Paragominas, considerada como a mais degradada de toda a bacia amazônica (Capobianco et al. 2001).Palavras-chave: Ação antrópica. Bioma amazônico. Fragmentação da paisagem. Biodiversidade

Uses and taboos of turtles and tortoises along Rio Negro, Amazon Basin

Chelonians (turtles and tortoises) of the Amazon Basin have constituted a source of food for native populations since pre-Columbian times and have continued to be an important product for subsistence and cash income. Little is known about current levels of exploitation and pressure on natural stocks, despite observations of declining populations of the larger and most valued species. This study investigates how people living in the Negro River area use Amazonian chelonians, including issues of consumption, preferences, restrictions, segmentary taboos, harmfulness, medicinal use, and sale. We conducted interviews with fishing families in the city of Barcelos and in Ja National Park, both located in the Rio Negro basin, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. All chelonian species are used by these riverine people, especially for food. Peltocephalus dumerilianus is caught year round, whereas the capture of other species is more frequent during the dry season. Terrestrial species are collected whenever found in the forest. Herbivorous species are preferred as food; omnivorous or carnivorous species are subject to food taboos. Two species are largely used as medicines, mainly to treat swelling and hemorrhages. Fat and epidermal scutes (scales) are widely used. At least four species are exploited commercially. © 2010 Society of Ethnobiology

Mapeamento participativo do uso dos recursos naturais e conhecimento tradicional sobre ecologia de Quelônios na Várzea do Rio Purus, Brasil (Paper 294)

Na Amazônia, a captura de quelônios pelos indígenas é muito anterior à conquista européia. O estudo do saber popular que é usado na produção em pequena escala pode contribuir para, compreender como os recursos naturais no caso, os quelônios são explorados. O presente estudo foi realizado em três comunidades (São Sebastião, Fazenda e Beabá) da Reserva Biológica do Abufari (RBA), localizada no município de Tapauá, Amazonas, Brasil. Esta reserva pertence a categoria de unidade de conservação de proteção integral que tem como finalidade a proteção de populações de quelônios podocnemidideos. Foram avaliados com base no conhecimento tradicional ecológico o tamanho da área de vida de cada uma das comunidades, produzidos mapas de distribuição de área de pesca, caça, exploração de recursos florestais madeireiros e não-madeireiros e áreas de ocorrências e padrões de movimentação de quelônios na várzea do rio Purus. Os mapeamentos e a história oral mostraram que a maioria das 16 grandes áreas de desova de P. expansa existentes entre Abufari (RBA) e Sacado de Santa Luzia (RDS-PP) foram dizimadas ou extintas, restando somente o tabuleiro de Abufari e Tauamirim como as principais áreas de desova de desta espécie no Purus. O conhecimento tradicional, estimativas de níveis de exploração e dados futuros de estrutura populacional e biologia reprodutiva de quelônios podocnemididae contribuirão para o estabelecimento de programas de conservação de quelônios de base comunitária no ecossistema de várzea do rio Purus.Palavras-Chave: Amazônia. Ribeirinhos. DRP. História oral. Mapeamento participativo. Quelônios; Podocnemis

Hunting sustainability within two eastern Amazon Extractive Reserves

Subsistence hunting provides an important food source for rural populations in tropical forests but can lead to wildlife depletion. Management of wildlife resources depends on assessments of hunting sustainability. We assessed the sustainability of subsistence hunting in two Amazonian Extractive Reserves. We examined hunting data from a community-based monitoring programme conducted in 30 communities during 63 consecutive months to address temporal trends in hunting yields in terms of catch per unit of effort of all game species and the six most hunted species. We also assessed the prey profiles across different communities. Game species composition did not differ between monitored communities, and the most hunted species were Tayassu pecari, large cracids, Cuniculus paca, Mazama spp., Tapirus terrestris and Pecari tajacu. Catch per unit of effort was stable for all game species and each of the most hunted species, indicating that hunting was generally sustainable. These findings reflect the exceptionally low human population density and continuous forest cover of the study landscape, and long-term hunting sustainability and local protein acquisition will depend on maintaining these social and environmental settings. The results also show that large Sustainable Use Protected Areas can help foster sustainable game management and should thus be included in public policies