Vocal repertoire and group-specific signature in the Smooth-billed Ani, Crotophaga ani Linnaeus, 1758 (Cuculiformes, Aves)

Vocal plasticity reflects the ability of animals to vary vocalizations according to context (vocal repertoire) as well as to develop vocal convergence (vocal group signature) in the interaction of members in social groups. This feature has been largely reported for oscine, psittacine and trochilid birds, but little has been investigated in birds that present innate vocalization. The smooth-billed ani (Crotophaga ani) is a social bird that lives in groups between two and twenty individuals, and which presents innate vocalization. Here we analyzed the vocal repertoire of this species during group activities, and further investigated the existence of a vocal group signature. The study was conducted in the Southeast of Brazil between May 2017 and April 2018. Two groups of smooth-billed anis were followed, Guararema and Charqueada groups, and their vocalizations were recorded and contextualized as to the performed behavior. The vocal repertoire was analyzed for its composition, context and acoustic variables. The acoustic parameters maximum peak frequency, maximum fundamental frequency, minimum frequency, maximum frequency and duration were analyzed. To verify the vocal signature of the group, we tested whether there was variation in the acoustic parameters between the monitored groups. We recorded ten vocalizations that constituted the vocal repertoire of the Smooth-billed Ani, five of which (“Ahnee”, “Whine”, “Pre-flight”, “Flight” and “Vigil”) were issued by the two groups and five exclusive to the Charqueada group. There were significant differences in the acoustic parameters for “Flight” and “Vigil” vocalizations between the groups, suggesting vocal group signature for these sounds. We established that the Smooth-billed Ani has a diverse vocal repertoire, with variations also occurring between groups of the same population. Moreover, we found evidence of vocal group signature in vocalizations used in the context of cohesion, defense and territory maintenance

Avian communities in woodlots in Parque das Neblinas, Bertioga, São Paulo, Brazil

Parque das Neblinas (PN) is a 2,800 ha nature reserve contiguous with an Atlantic Forest fragment known as Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar located in the municipality of Bertioga, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The area originally contained Eucalyptus trees grown for paper pulp production. The aims of the study were the following: (1) to characterize the diversity of the bird community in PN; (2) to compare bird species observed in PN to species found in the Atlantic Forest; and (3) to list the percentages of species endemic to the Atlantic Forest and present in PN. Quantitative surveys used the point count method. The number of avian species recorded in PN totaled 222, of which 150 (66.4%) were associated with forest environments, 66 (29.3%) with open areas, and 10 (4.3%) with aquatic environments. The quantitative survey recorded 141 species and 2,527 contacts in 120 samples for an average of 21.05 contacts per sample. The general diversity index was H´=3.82. The study identified 15 bird species that actively participated in mixed flocks and 25 species endemic to Atlantic Forest, two of which present some kind of concern relating to conservation. Areas with Eucalyptus trees and a dense understory displayed the greatest bird species diversity, as opposed to areas with less developed or non-existent understories.(Assembléia de aves em bosques de eucaliptos no Parque das Neblinas, Bertioga, São Paulo, Brasil). O Parque das Neblinas (PN), com 2800 ha, é contíguo ao Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar. O presente estudo teve por objetivos: (1) caracterizar a diversidade da comunidade de aves no Parque das Neblinas (PN); (2) comparar a comunidade de aves registrada no PN àquela da Mata Atlântica e (3) relacionar a porcentagem de espécies endêmicas de Mata Atlântica presentes no PN. Foram registradas 222 espécies de aves no Parque das Neblinas. Destas, 150 (66,4%) estão associadas a ambientes florestais, 66 (29,3%) a áreas abertas e 10 (4,3%,) associadas a ambientes aquáticos. No estudo quantitativo, foram registrados 141 espécies e 2527 contatos em 120 amostras, com uma média de 21,05 contatos/amostra. O índice geral de diversidade registrado foi H´=3,32. Registraram-se 15 espécies de aves presentes no PN que participaram ativamente de bandos mistos e 25 espécies são endêmicas da Mata Atlântica. Constatou-se que nas áreas onde a vegetação de eucalipto mostra-se acompanhada de um extenso sub-bosque apresentaram maior diversidade de espécies da comunidade de aves

PROJETO DE ENSINO EM CLÍNICA MÉDICA, MANEJO E CONSERVAÇÃO DE ANIMAIS SELVAGENS

Devido ao avanço da medicina veterinária de animais selvagens nas últimas décadas, houve uma necessidade de ampliar os conhecimentos sobre o assunto. Essas informações, por outro lado, ainda se encontram restritas no que diz respeito às atividades, disciplinas e literaturas situadas e desenvolvidas no âmbito acadêmico. Complementando o exposto, sabe-se que o Brasil é um dos países mais ricos em biodiversidade de fauna e flora do planeta. Neste processo de mudanças e questionamentos é consenso o papel fundamental do ensino, onde surgem grandes propostas e discussões com relação à Educação Ambiental, mostrando ser uma grande aliada na busca por soluções, visando formar cidadãos éticos nas suas relações com a sociedade e com a natureza. Desta forma, objetivou-se viabilizar informações atualizadas sobre a fauna selvagem, sensibilizando e capacitando alunos e interessados no que tange a medicina e biologia de espécies selvagens, bem como trabalhar a educação ambiental. Em decorrência da pandemia do COVID-19 e das orientações restritivas de atividades presenciais no Instituto Federal Catarinense (IFC) – campus Concórdia, foram organizadas lives na plataforma digital Instagram, palestras virtuais e estudos quinzenais utilizando o recurso Google meet, publicações informativas na página do Grupo de estudos em animais selvagens (GEAS) no Instagram e Facebook, com temas que contemplaram acadêmicos, docentes e entusiastas atraídos pelo assunto e atendimento clínico de animais trazidos para a clínica escola IFC – Concórdia. Ao todo foram confeccionadas 17 publicações em redes sociais sobre animais da fauna nativa e educação ambiental, organizadas duas lives com palestrantes externos, uma palestra via google meet com palestrante externo, 12 estudos com os discentes integrantes do grupo e do IFC - Concórdia e atendimentos a quatro espécies de animais selvagens de vida livre (quati, filhote de gambá, quatro filhotes de andorinha, ratão do banhado). Durante o período de pandemia, a disciplina optativa que aborda os tópicos de animais selvagens no curso de Medicina Veterinária não foi ofertada, desta forma a atividade deste projeto de ensino foi a única alternativa para trabalhar esta área e suprir a necessidade dos alunos. As mídias sociais digitais permitiram que diferentes públicos fossem atingidos pelas atividades do projeto, incluindo não somente alunos e docentes da instituição mas também a população em geral, com média de duas mil pessoas atingidas, sendo esse o número aproximado de seguidores nas redes sociais do grupo. Assim pode-se verificar que a metodologia digital permitiu maior interação e troca de conhecimentos entre diferentes grupos, qualificando e instigando a busca por informações relacionadas à biologia e medicina de animais selvagens, promovendo a interdisciplinaridade e o ensino continuado. Suporte financeiro Edital 69/2020

Amazonian earthworm biodiversity is heavily impacted by ancient and recent human disturbance

Despite the importance of earthworms for soil formation, more is needed to know about how Pre-Columbian modifications to soils and the landscape. Gaining a deeper understanding is essential for comprehending the historical drivers of earthworm communities and the development of effective conservation strategies in the Amazon rainforest. Human disturbance can significantly impact earthworm diversity, especially in rainforest soils, and in the particular case of the Amazonian rainforest, both recent and ancient anthropic practices may be important. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils found throughout the Amazon Basin, created by sedentary habits and intensification patterns of pre-Colombian societies primarily developed in the second part of the Holocene period. We have sampled earthworm communities in three Brazilian Amazonian (ADEs) and adjacent reference soils (REF) under old and young forests and monocultures. To better assess taxonomic richness, we used morphology and the barcode region of the COI gene to identify juveniles and cocoons and delimit Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Here we suggest using Integrated Operational Taxonomical units (IOTUs) which combine both morphological and molecular data and provide a more comprehensive assessment of diversity, while MOTUs only rely on molecular data. A total of 970 individuals were collected, resulting in 51 taxonomic units (IOTUs, MOTUs, and morphospecies combined). From this total, 24 taxonomic units were unique to REF soils, 17 to ADEs, and ten were shared between both soils. The highest richness was found in old forest sites for ADEs (12 taxonomic units) and REFs (21 taxonomic units). The beta-diversity calculations reveal a high species turnover between ADEs and REF soils, providing evidence that ADEs and REFs possess distinct soil biota. Furthermore, results suggest that ADE sites, formed by Pre-Columbian human activities, conserve a high number of native species in the landscape and maintain a high abundance, despite their long-term nature

Soil macrofauna communities in Brazilian land-use systems

Soil animal communities include more than 40 higher-order taxa, representing over 23% of all described species. These animals have a wide range of feeding sources and contribute to several important soil functions and ecosystem services. Although many studies have assessed macroinvertebrate communities in Brazil, few of them have been published in journals and even fewer have made the data openly available for consultation and further use. As part of ongoing efforts to synthesise the global soil macrofauna communities and to increase the amount of openly-accessible data in GBIF and other repositories related to soil biodiversity, the present paper provides links to 29 soil macroinvertebrate datasets covering 42 soil fauna taxa, collected in various land-use systems in Brazil. A total of 83,085 georeferenced occurrences of these taxa are presented, based on quantitative estimates performed using a standardised sampling method commonly adopted worldwide to collect soil macrofauna populations, i.e. the TSBF (Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Programme) protocol. This consists of digging soil monoliths of 25 x 25 cm area, with handsorting of the macroinvertebrates visible to the naked eye from the surface litter and from within the soil, typically in the upper 0-20 cm layer (but sometimes shallower, i.e. top 0-10 cm or deeper to 0-40 cm, depending on the site). The land-use systems included anthropogenic sites managed with agricultural systems (e.g. pastures, annual and perennial crops, agroforestry), as well as planted forests and native vegetation located mostly in the southern Brazilian State of Paraná (96 sites), with a few additional sites in the neighbouring states of São Paulo (21 sites) and Santa Catarina (five sites). Important metadata on soil properties, particularly soil chemical parameters (mainly pH, C, P, Ca, K, Mg, Al contents, exchangeable acidity, Cation Exchange Capacity, Base Saturation and, infrequently, total N), particle size distribution (mainly % sand, silt and clay) and, infrequently, soil moisture and bulk density, as well as on human management practices (land use and vegetation cover) are provided. These data will be particularly useful for those interested in estimating land-use change impacts on soil biodiversity and its implications for below-ground foodwebs, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem service delivery.Quantitative estimates are provided for 42 soil animal taxa, for two biodiversity hotspots: the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Data are provided at the individual monolith level, representing sampling events ranging from February 2001 up to September 2016 in 122 sampling sites and over 1800 samples, for a total of 83,085 ocurrences

Dinâmica da avifauna em fragmento de mata na Fazenda Rio Claro, Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil

Discute-se a importância do levantamento qualitativo e quantitativo da comunidade de aves da Fazenda Rio Claro (22°27'S, 48°51'W), Lençóis Paulista, para a avaliação de um fragmento de mata mesófila do interior de São Paulo. Tais levantamentos foram realizados entre agosto de 2001 a julho de 2002. Para o estudo quantitativo utilizou-se da metodologia de Pontos de Escuta. Foram analisados os índices de diversidade e de freqüência de ocorrência dessa comunidade, sendo as suas espécies organizadas tanto em função das categorias alimentares quanto sob o aspecto da ocupação do estrato vegetal. O levantamento qualitativo registrou 216 espécies. Já o quantitativo registrou 74 espécies em 761 contatos, com uma média de 12,7 contatos/amostra. O índice pontual de abundância (IPA) variou de 0,001 (um contato) a 0,07 (53 contatos); aquele da diversidade foi de H' = 3,10, mostrando um aumento significativo entre setembro e novembro; a eqüitatividade média no período foi de E = 0,95. Os insetívoros constituem quase a metade das espécies registradas no levantamento quantitativo (44,6%), seguido por frugívoros (24,9%), onívoros (16,4%), carnívoros (8,5%), nectarívoros (4,2%) e uma pequena proporção de detritívoros (1,4%). A categoria mais abundante no sub-bosque foi a de insetívoros, enquanto que os frugívoros foram os mais abundantes no solo e na copa. A comunidade de aves no fragmento estudado mostrou o mesmo padrão encontrado em outros fragmentos de mata mesófila de mesmo tamanho relativo. Algumas espécies ameaçadas foram encontradas na área de estudo.This paper discusses a qualitative and quantitative survey of the avian community in the Fazenda Rio Claro (22°27'S, 48°51'W), Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo State. The quantitative survey was conducted in the period August 2001-July 2002 using the Point Counts method. Diversity, frequency of occurrence (FO), abundance and evenness were measured for the community, which was classified into food categories and vertical occupancy of plant strata. The qualitative survey recorded 216 species, 82 of which were non-Passeriformes and 134 Passeriformes. The quantitative survey recorded 74 species and 761 contacts, with an average of 12.7 contacts per sample. The Abundance Index (IPA) varied from 0.001 (one contact) to 0.07 (53 contacts); the Diversity Index was H' = 3.10, showing a significant increase between September and November. Evenness averaged 0.95. Insectivores accounted for almost half the total number of species recorded in the quantitative survey (44%), followed by frugivores (24.9%), omnivores (16.4%), carnivores (8.5%), detritivores (1.4%), and a small proportion of nectarivores. Insectivores were the most abundant category in the understory, while frugivores were most abundant in the canopy and on the ground. The bird community of Fazenda Rio Claro is relatively stable, balanced and even in terms of richness, number of species, and IPA. Some endangered species are found in the area

Avian communities in woodlots in the Parque das Neblinas, Bertioga, São Paulo, Brazil

Parque das Neblinas (PN) is a 2,800 ha nature reserve contiguous with an Atlantic Forest fragment known as Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar located in the municipality of Bertioga, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The area originally contained Eucalyptus trees grown for paper pulp production. The aims of the study were the following: (1) to characterize the diversity of the bird community in PN; (2) to compare bird species observed in PN to species found in the Atlantic Forest; and (3) to list the percentages of species endemic to the Atlantic Forest and present in PN. Quantitative surveys used the point count method. The number of avian species recorded in PN totaled 222, of which 150 (66.4%) were associated with forest environments, 66 (29.3%) with open areas, and 10 (4.3%) with aquatic environments. The quantitative survey recorded 141 species and 2,527 contacts in 120 samples for an average of 21.05 contacts per sample. The general diversity index was H´=3.82. The study identified 15 bird species that actively participated in mixed flocks and 25 species endemic to Atlantic Forest, two of which present some kind of concern relating to conservation. Areas with Eucalyptus trees and a dense understory displayed the greatest bird species diversity, as opposed to areas with less developed or non-existent understories.O Parque das Neblinas (PN), com 2800 ha, é contíguo ao Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar. O presente estudo teve por objetivos: (1) caracterizar a diversidade da comunidade de aves no Parque das Neblinas (PN); (2) comparar a comunidade de aves registrada no PN àquela da Mata Atlântica e (3) relacionar a porcentagem de espécies endêmicas de Mata Atlântica presentes no PN. Foram registradas 222 espécies de aves no Parque das Neblinas. Destas, 150 (66,4%) estão associadas a ambientes florestais, 66 (29,3%) a áreas abertas e 10 (4,3%,) associadas a ambientes aquáticos. No estudo quantitativo, foram registrados 141 espécies e 2527 contatos em 120 amostras, com uma média de 21,05 contatos/amostra. O índice geral de diversidade registrado foi H´=3,32. Registraram-se 15 espécies de aves presentes no PN que participaram ativamente de bandos mistos e 25 espécies são endêmicas da Mata Atlântica. Constatou-se que nas áreas onde a vegetação de eucalipto mostra-se acompanhada de um extenso sub-bosque apresentaram maior diversidade de espécies da comunidade de aves