The ethnoecology of Caiçara metapopulations (Atlantic Forest, Brazil): ecological concepts and questions

The Atlantic Forest is represented on the coast of Brazil by approximately 7,5% of remnants, much of these concentrated on the country's SE coast. Within these southeastern remnants, we still find the coastal Caiçaras who descend from Native Indians and Portuguese Colonizers. The maintenance of such populations, and their existence in spite of the deforestation that occurred on the Atlantic Forest coast, deserves especial attention and analysis. In this study, I address, in particular, the Caiçaras who live on the coast of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States, illustrating with examples of coastal inhabitants from other areas, such as Bahia State (NE coast) and of other forested areas (riverine caboclos of the Amazon). The major focus of this study, based on previous research, performed since 1986 in several populations or villages of the Atlantic Forest coast, is to understand the resilience of the Caiçaras, which is analyzed using ecological concepts, such as metapopulation, resilience and adaptive cycles. The Caiçara populations are located on islands (Búzios, Comprida, Grande, Ilhabela, Jaguanum, Gipóia) and on the coast (Bertioga, Puruba, Picinguaba, among others). Information gathered about the Caiçaras regarding the economic cycles of the local regions, along with ecological, historical and economic data available, are used to understand such resilience, and are complemented with comparative examples from the Brazilian Amazon and with variables such as the local restrictions imposed by environmental governmental agencies

Ethnobiology of snappers (Lutjanidae): target species and suggestions for management

In this study, we sought to investigate the biology (diet and reproduction) and ethnobiology (fishers knowledge and fishing spots used to catch snappers) of five species of snappers (Lutjanidae), including Lutjanus analis, Lutjanus synagris, Lutjanus vivanus, Ocyurus chrysurus, and Romboplites saliens at five sites along the northeast (Riacho Doce, Maceió in Alagoas State, and Porto do Sauípe, Entre Rios at Bahia State) and the southeast (SE) Brazilian coast (Paraty and Rio de Janeiro cities at Rio de Janeiro State, and Bertioga, at São Paulo State.)

Fishers and groupers (epinephelus marginatus and E. morio) in the coast of Brazil : integrating information for conservation

Groupers are a vulnerable but economically important group of fish, especially for small-scale fisheries. We investigated catches and local ecological knowledge (LEK) of diet, habitat, and past fishing experiences. Landings, prices, interviews, and restaurants demand for two species, Epinephelus marginatus (dusky grouper) and Epinephelus morio (red grouper), were registered. We visited 74 markets and 79 sites on the coast of Brazil in 2017–2018, and we interviewed 71 fishers: Bahia (NE), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (SE), and Santa Catarina (S). The landings sampled of dusky grouper (2016–2017) in Rio de Janeiro were: n = 222, size 38–109 cm, weight 1–24 kg, average 3.84 kg; in São Paulo, São Sebastião were: n = 47, size 39–106 cm, weight 2–8 kg, average of 2.77 kg; and at Santos: n = 80, 26–120 cm, weight 0.36–15 kg, average 2.72 kg. Red grouper was observed in markets in the northeastern Brazil. We did not observe Epinephelus marginatus from Bahia northward; a maximum size of 200 cm was reported south of the Bahia, besides Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coasts, 20 years ago (or longer) by 12 fishers. Local knowledge of fishers was important for grouper data of habitat and diet; the reproduction period was identified by fishers as September to March. Groupers can be considered as a cultural and ecological keystone species. We suggest protective measures: 1) fishing zoning, 2) islands (MPAs) with the surveillance of fishers, 3) late Spring and early Summer as key periods for management (grouper reproduction), 4) studies on grouper larvae, 5) mapping of fishing spots, 6) studies on local knowledge. Collaboration with small-scale fishers and local knowledge could contribute to low-conflict management measures. In that regard, integrative models of management from Latin America, by using local knowledge and citizen science, could produce successful grouper management for Brazilian data-poor fisheries, a contrasting reality to the Mediterranean areas. Finally, the distribution of E. marginatus in Brazil leave us with questions: a) Have dusky groupers disappeared from Bahia because of a decline in the population? b) Was it uncommon in Northeast Brazil? c) Did changes in water temperatures forced a movement southward?151CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP307762/2013–0; 301592/2017–914/16939–7In addition to FAPESP and CNPq, we acknowledge Eduardo Camargo and Marco Antonio A. G. Araújo for helping with fieldwork in NE Brazil and Mara Magenta (UNISANTA) for helping us with infrastructure for fish larvae observation in the laboratory. We are grateful to the fisher-buyers Antonio, Elenilson and Valdecir. We are also very grateful to Rodrigo Caires, who supported us with taxonomic matter

Evaluating indices of traditional ecological knowledge: a methodological contribution

BACKGROUND: New quantitative methods to collect and analyze data have produced novel findings in ethnobiology. A common application of quantitative methods in ethnobiology is to assess the traditional ecological knowledge of individuals. Few studies have addressed reliability of indices of traditional ecological knowledge constructed with different quantitative methods. METHODS: We assessed the associations among eight indices of traditional ecological knowledge from data collected from 650 native Amazonians. We computed Spearman correlations, Chronbach's alpha, and principal components factor analysis for the eight indices. RESULTS: We found that indices derived from different raw data were weakly correlated (rho<0.5), whereas indices derived from the same raw data were highly correlated (rho>0.5; p < 0.001). We also found a relatively high internal consistency across data from the eight indices (Chronbach's alpha = 0.78). Last, results from a principal components factor analysis of the eight indices suggest that the eight indices were positively related, although the association was low when considering only the first factor. CONCLUSION: A possible explanation for the relatively low correlation between indices derived from different raw data, but relatively high internal consistency of the eight indices is that the methods capture different aspects of an individual's traditional ecological knowledge. To develop a reliable measure of traditional ecological knowledge, researchers should collect raw data using a variety of methods and then generate an aggregated measure that contains data from the various components of traditional ecological knowledge. Failure to do this will hinder cross-cultural comparisons

Plants and traditional knowledge: An ethnobotanical investigation on Monte Ortobene (Nuoro, Sardinia)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most of the traditional knowledge about plants and their uses is fast disappearing as a consequence of socio-economic and land use changes. This trend is also occurring in areas that are historically exposed to very few external influences, such as Sardinia (Italy). From 2004 to 2005, an ethnobotanical investigation was carried out in the area of Monte Ortobene, a mountain located near Nuoro, in central Sardinia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. All the records – defined as 'citations', i.e. a single use reported for a single botanical species by a single informant – were filed in a data base ('analytical table'), together with additional information: i.e. local names of plants, parts used, local frequencies, and habitats of plants, etc. In processing the data, plants and uses were grouped into general ('categories') and detailed ('secondary categories') typologies of use. Some synthetic indexes have also been used, such as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Cultural Importance Index (CI), the Shannon-Wiener Index (H'), and Evenness Index (J).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-two plants were cited by the informants as being traditionally used in the area. These 72 'ethnospecies' correspond to 99 botanical taxa (species or subspecies) belonging to 34 families. Three-hundred and one citations, 50 secondary categories of use, and 191 different uses were recorded, most of them concerning alimentary and medicinal plants.</p> <p>For the alimentary plants, 126 citations, 44 species, and 13 different uses were recorded, while for the medicinal plants, there were 106 citations, 40 species, and 12 uses. Few plants and uses were recorded for the remaining categories. Plants and uses for each category of use are discussed. Analyses of results include the relative abundance of botanical families, wild vs. cultivated species, habitats, frequency, parts of plant used, types of use, knowledge distribution, and the different cultural importance of the species in question.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study provides examples of several interesting uses of plants in the community, which would seem to show that the custom of using wild plants is still alive in the Monte Ortobene area. However, many practices are no longer in use, and survive only as memories from the past in the minds of elderly people, and often only in one or just a few informants. This rapidly vanishing cultural diversity needs to be studied and documented before it disappears definitively.</p

Cognition, culture and utility:Plant classification by Paraguayan immigrant farmers in Misiones, Argentina

Background: This study was conducted in three rural communities of small farmers of Paraguayan origin living in the province of Misiones, Argentina. These Criollos (Mestizos) hail chiefly from departments located in the east of Paraguay, where the climate and flora have similar characteristics as those in Misiones. These ecological features contribute to the continuation and maintenance of knowledge and practices related to the use of plants. Methods: Fieldwork was conducted between September 2014 and August 2015. Forty five informants from three rural localities situated along the Parana River participated in an ethno-classification task. For the classification event, photographs of 30 medicinal and edible plants were chosen, specifically those yielding the highest frequency of mention among the members of that community (based on data obtained in the first stage of research in 2014). Variation in local plant classifications was examined and compared using principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Results: We found that people classify plants according to application or use (primarily medicinal, to a lesser extent as edible). Morphology is rarely taken into account, even for very similar and closely-related species such as varieties of palms. In light of our findings, we highlight a dominant functionality model at work in the process of plant cognition and classification among farmers of Paraguayan origin. Salient cultural beliefs and practices associated with rural Paraguayan plant-based medicine are described. Additionally, the manner by which residents’ concepts of plants articulate with local folk epistemology is discussed. Conclusions: Culturally constructed use patterns ultimately override morphological variables in rural Paraguayans’ ethnobotanical classification.Antecedentes: Este trabajo se realizó con pequeños agricultores de origen paraguayo, que habitan en la provincia de Misiones, Argentina. Los criollos (mestizos) en su mayoría provienen de departamentos ubicados al oriente del Paraguay, donde el clima y la flora presentan características similares a la provincia de Misiones. Estas características ecológicas contribuyen a la continuación y el mantenimiento de los conocimientos y las prácticas relacionados al uso de las plantas. Métodos El trabajo de campo se realizó entre septiembre de 2014 y agosto de 2015. En la etnoclasificación participaron 45 informantes, provenientes de tres localidades rurales, situadas a lo largo del río Paraná, frontera entre los dos países. Para la clasificación se utilizaron imágenes fotográficas de 30 especies -comestibles y medicinales- preseleccionadas como las de mayor frecuencia de mención entre los habitantes de la región (a partir de los datos obtenidos en una primera etapa de investigación en el año 2014). Por medio del análisis de componentes principales y el análisis de agrupamiento (cluster) se contrastaron y compararon las variaciones en las etnoclasificaciones locales de plantas. Resultados Se encontró que los pobladores clasifican sus plantas según su aplicación y uso (mayormente asociadas a la categoría medicinal y en menor medida a la comestible). Mientras, la morfología rara vez se tiene en cuenta, incluso en aquellas especies muy similares y estrechamente relacionadas como las palmeras. A la luz de los hallazgos, se destaca un modelo de funcionalidad dominante en el proceso de cognición y de clasificación de las plantas entre los agricultores de origen paraguayo. Se describen las principales creencias y prácticas culturales asociadas a la medicina rural paraguaya. Adicionalmente, se discuten algunos de los conceptos de las plantas que mantienen los paraguayos y su articulación con la epistemología local. Conclusiones En la clasificación etnobotánica de los pobladores de origen paraguayo los patrones de uso construidos culturalmente tienen mayor peso que las variables morfológicas.Fil: Kujawska, Monika. University Of Lodz; ArgentinaFil: Jiménez Escobar, Néstor David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Nolan, Justin M.. University Of Arkansas; Estados UnidosFil: Arias Mutis, Daniel. University of Groningen; Países Bajo