Performance and Consistency of Indicator Groups in Two Biodiversity Hotspots

In a world limited by data availability and limited funds for conservation, scientists and practitioners must use indicator groups to define spatial conservation priorities. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of indicator groups, but still little is known about the consistency in performance of these groups in different regions, which would allow their a priori selection.We systematically examined the effectiveness and the consistency of nine indicator groups in representing mammal species in two top-ranked Biodiversity Hotspots (BH): the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. To test for group effectiveness we first found the best sets of sites able to maximize the representation of each indicator group in the BH and then calculated the average representation of different target species by the indicator groups in the BH. We considered consistent indicator groups whose representation of target species was not statistically different between BH. We called effective those groups that outperformed the target-species representation achieved by random sets of species. Effective indicator groups required the selection of less than 2% of the BH area for representing target species. Restricted-range species were the most effective indicators for the representation of all mammal diversity as well as target species. It was also the only group with high consistency.We show that several indicator groups could be applied as shortcuts for representing mammal species in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest to develop conservation plans, however, only restricted-range species consistently held as the most effective indicator group for such a task. This group is of particular importance in conservation planning as it captures high diversity of endemic and endangered species

O YouTube: potencialidades pedagógicas na aprendizagem da Língua Inglesa no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico

Mestrado em Ensino Precoce do InglêsO presente projeto de investigação procurou apresentar o YouTube como um banco de recursos audiovisuais, promotor do desenvolvimento das macrocapacidades de audição e de expressão oral, no processo de ensino/aprendizagem da Língua Inglesa no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico. Desta forma, procurámos tecer algumas considerações relativamente à origem e natureza orgânica do YouTube, que nos conduziram à visualização e à exploração de vídeos publicados no website, que promovessem, simultaneamente, o usufruto de imagem e som e, por conseguinte, o cumprimento de objetivos pedagógicos inerentes à aprendizagem significativa da língua estrangeira. O trabalho de pesquisa centrou-se num estudo de caso, cujo desenvolvimento providenciou a aplicação de vídeos e a realização de atividades diversas, numa turma de alunos do 4.º ano de escolaridade, tendo como base princípios decorrentes de métodos e abordagens utilizados no ensino de Inglês a crianças, auscultando-se o seu grau de envolvimento e participação no processo de aprendizagem. Do mesmo modo, e porque consideramos fundamental a troca de ideias e a partilha de experiências e práticas, especialmente no que se refere ao campo de ação da Educação, procurou-se estabelecer práticas de trabalho colaborativo e colegialidade entre as professoras envolvidas no decurso da investigação realizada.This research work aimed at describing the YouTube as a source of audiovisual materials, favourable to the development of listening and speaking skills concerning the process of English language teaching and learning in primary schools. Bearing in mind YouTube’s origins and organic nature, we engaged in selecting and exploring videos uploaded on the website, which conveyed both image and sound, in order to attain a set of pedagogical objectives aimed at a meaningful learning of the foreign language. The research work redefined itself as a case study, whose development consisted in using a number of videos and activities with fourth graders, having in mind principles from preferred methods and approaches in the teaching of English to Young Learners, as well as the assessment of their degree of involvement and participation in the learning process. Furthermore, and because we consider the sharing of ideas, experiences and practices of major importance, especially as far as Education is concerned, we tried to develop and enhance collaborative and collegial work between the teachers engaged in the course of the research work

Climate Change Hastens the Conservation Urgency of an Endangered Ungulate

Global climate change appears to be one of the main threats to biodiversity in the near future and is already affecting the distribution of many species. Currently threatened species are a special concern while the extent to which they are sensitive to climate change remains uncertain. Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) is classified as endangered and a conservation focus on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Using measures of species range shift, we explored how the distribution of Przewalski's gazelle may be impacted by projected climate change based on a maximum entropy approach. We also evaluated the uncertainty in the projections of the risks arising from climate change. Modeling predicted the Przewalski's gazelle would be sensitive to future climate change. As the time horizon increased, the strength of effects from climate change increased. Even assuming unlimited dispersal capacity of gazelles, a moderate decrease to complete loss of range was projected by 2080 under different thresholds for transforming the probability prediction to presence/absence data. Current localities of gazelles will undergo a decrease in their occurrence probability. Projections of the impacts of climate change were significantly affected by thresholds and general circulation models. This study suggests climate change clearly poses a severe threat and increases the extinction risk to Przewalski's gazelle. Our findings 1) confirm that endangered endemic species is highly vulnerable to climate change and 2) highlight the fact that forecasting impacts of climate change needs an assessment of the uncertainty. It is extremely important that conservation strategies consider the predicted geographical shifts and be planned with full knowledge of the reliability of projected impacts of climate change