Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes of Southeastern Brazil

The state of São Paulo, Brazil, is one of the most densely populated and developed areas in South America. Such development is evident both in terms of industrialization and urbanization, as well as in agriculture, which is heavily based on sugar cane, Eucalyptus plantations and livestock. This intense land use has resulted in great alteration of the original land cover and fragmentation of natural ecosystems. For these reasons, it is almost a paradox that jaguar, a species that requires large areas of pristine forest to exist, is still found in some parts of the state of São Paulo. It is possible that wild animals could leave in coexistence with intense land use, or is it the case that such rare encounters with large wild animals in São Paulo will disappear in the near future? All ecologists are aware of the problems of habitat changes caused by humans, but it was not until recent years that researchers started to consider that the land used for production could also serve as an important habitat for many different kinds of wild species. This book is about this new approach to conservation. It also highlights the important role that sciences could and should have in this discussion in order to better understand the problems and propose possible solutions

Natural diet of Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Northern Coast of São Paulo, Brazil

Decapod crustaceans have a wide variety of feeding habits, alternating among herbivory, predation, saprophagy, and filtration. The occupation of various trophic positions in the food web is a key feature in the evolution of the group. Thus, we analyzed the natural diet of the crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787), commonly known as the ghost crab and typically found on sandy beaches. The crabs were collected in the region of Ubatuba, between July 2016 and May 2017. The individuals were dissected in a laboratory, and each stomach was weighed and visually assessed in relation to the degree of repletion. After identification and classification, the items found were grouped for the analysis. In analyzing the stomach contents of Ocypode quadrata, 12 items were found: sand, Insecta, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Crustacea, and other unidentified Arthropoda. We also found poriferans, Actnopterygii bones, plant pieces, non-organic material (plastic), and other non-identified materials. In the statistical analyzes, we observed seasonal differences in the composition of the diet, mostly related to the frequency of items consumed between dry and rainy seasons; the rainy season provided a greater diversity of items. Due to the great trophic spectrum of this species and tendency to feed on a wide range of items, O. quadrata is considered a generalist species, adapting according to the availability of prey in the wild

Percepção e conhecimento de estudantes do ensino médio sobre popularização da ciência em escolas apoiadas pelo PIBID

É indiscutível a contribuição do Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação à Docência (PIBID) na formação dos futuros professores e na melhoria do ensino das escolas que são contempladas com o programa. No entanto, poucos relatam se essa integração entre a educação superior e a educação básica populariza a ciência e se desperta os estudantes para a pesquisa, pois os relatos em sua maioria são sobre a promoção de eventos vinculados aos projetos e percepção dos alunos bolsistas do PIBID. Este trabalho investigou a percepção dos alunos do ensino médio sobre popularização da ciência em duas escolas estaduais, sendo uma contemplada com o programa PIBID e outra não. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionários aplicados aos estudantes e comparados com o índice de participação desses estudantes em uma feira de ciências, cujo objetivo principal foi o de popularizar a ciência. Os resultados evidenciam que os estudantes das escolas contempladas pelo PIBID compreendem a popularização da ciência e que há um crescente interesse na participação desses alunos em eventos popularizadores tais como feiras de ciências. Desta forma verificou-se que a presença do PIBID nas escolas é capaz de unir ensino e pesquisa, contribuindo assim para uma educação integrada e de qualidade

RELAÇÕES E CONFLITOS NA CONSERVAÇÃO AMBIENTAL DA BACIA DO RIO PASSA-CINCO – SÃO PAULO, BRASIL

Passa-Cinco River drainage basin is located in the mid-west area of São Paulo State and is part of the Corumbataí River watershed, and has local geographic importance due to its high hydric potential. The area looks like an agricultural mosaic, that had a slash and burn history, devastating the native vegetation and the consequences are seen in the reduction of native animals and plants biodiversity and in the hydric capacity. So the Passa-Cinco River region was the chosen spot to investigate this kind of anthropic environment, known as agroecosystem, with agriculture areas, silviculture, cattle raising and small areas of native vegetation, that still helps to maintain fauna diversity. In these circumstances, local people inhabiting this environment are the experts and protagonists that can destroy or preserve biodiversity. Their knowledge is the goal of this investigation, based on ethnobiology concepts; with the aim of producing a mammal and bird inventory at the Passa-Cinco basin, and trying to understand what they think about their environment. We interview 40 rural owners and the results have showed that their knowledge about agroecosystems is more confused so this idea may compromise the practice of conservation.A bacia hidrográfica do Rio Passa-Cinco, localizada na região centro-leste do Estado de São Paulo, faz parte do complexo hidrográfico do Rio Corumbataí e têm importância regional em função do seu potencial hídrico. A região do Rio Passa-Cinco compõe um cenário agrícola bastante diversificado, com um histórico de uso e ocupação que por muitos anos contribuiu para supressão da vegetação nativa original, comprometendo sua manutenção e capacidade hídrica. A região do Rio Passa-Cinco possui o cenário propício para o tipo de investigação sugerida, pois, nesse agroecossistema - com agricultura, silvicultura, pecuária e os reduzidos remanescentes florestais, as populações humanas que habitam e usam são conhecedoras e protagonistas tanto das agressões, como da conservação dessa região. Desta forma, o conhecimento humano local emerge aqui como o objeto da pesquisa apresentada. Onde, através das bases conceituais da etnobiologia, uma área de conhecimento híbrida das ciências antropológicas e das ciências biológicas, buscou sob o olhar do “outro” entender o que eles pensam sobre o meio ambiente nessa bacia. Foram entrevistados 40 proprietários rurais e os resultados revelaram que as cognições que estes têm com o agroecossistema do Rio Passa-Cinco é bastante conturbada, o que pode comprometer a conservação na prática

Drivers of human-wildlife impact events involving mammals in Southeastern Brazil

Funding Information: LMR thanks FCT / MCTES financial support to cE3c ( UIDB/00329/2020 ), through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER , within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. RRH thanks the support of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior —Brasil (CAPES - Process 88881.314420/2019-01 ). WDC thanks CAPES for post-doctoral (PNPD/CAPES) scholarships. TAM thanks partial support by CEAUL (funded by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia , Portugal, through the project UIDB/00006/2020 ).Annually millions of animals are killed as a result of human-wildlife impacts. Each year the NGO Associação Mata Ciliar (NGOMC), in Southeastern Brazil, receives and rehabilitates thousands of animals. We evaluated how natural and anthropogenic characteristics affect the risk of different types of human-wildlife impacts for mammals that arrive at the NGOMC; and explore the relationship between both the animal's size and the type of human-wildlife impact event, survival rates and the likelihood that these animals can be fully rehabilitated. To test our hypotheses regarding the drivers and consequences of the total number of human-wildlife impact events, traffic collisions, electrocutions, and requested removals, we used records of the mammals that arrived at the NGOMC between 2012 and 2018, and obtained data on environmental attributes and anthropogenic factors at the municipality level, as well as species weights. The total number of human-wildlife impact events and of requested removals were both positively correlated with deforestation rate and urban area. The number of traffic collisions was positively related to the number of fires. Municipalities with larger urban areas were more likely to have at least one electrocuted mammal. Temporally, the number of fires two months before was positively correlated with the number of human-wildlife impact events. Traffic collisions and electrocutions more frequently resulted in the death of the animal, than did other events. Animals that died were heavier on average than those that remained in captivity or were successfully released back into the wild. We conclude that human-wildlife impact event rates should decline with lower rates of deforestation, less anthropogenic fires and the adoption of other specific measures to avoid both traffic collisions with fauna and electrocutions.PostprintPeer reviewe

Temporal dynamics of small mammals in Eucalyptus plantations in Southeast Brazil

The presence of small terrestrial mammals along the commercial cycle of Eucalyptus plantations indicates that silvicultural landscapes can be considered as their habitat. In the present study we evaluated the temporal variation of small terrestrial mammals for more than 10 generations during the first commercial cycle of Eucalyptus in Southeast Brazil. During this period we carried out forty-four monthly campaigns, totaling 10,560 bucket.nights in pitfall traps. Thirteen species (four marsupials and nine rodents) were collected in the Eucalyptus plantations, seven of which (Akodon montensis, Calomys tener, Cryptonanus agricolai, Gracilinanus microtarsus, Necromys lasiurus, Oligoryzomys flavescens, and Oligoryzomys nigripes) persisted for the entire study period. In general, they have an explosive population growth during the first two years of collection followed by a decline in all environments, and an apparent regrowth trend in the fourth year for some species with a trend in dominant species from Cerrado to forest dwellers. Marsupials exhibited a similar trend, but slower and later. The spatio-temporal patterns of variation detected in this study strongly suggest that for most of the remaining species of small rodents and marsupials, silvicultural landscapes have distinct habitats including the Eucalyptus plantations. This means that they should be evaluated in terms of its habitat quality not only its permeability. The perception of the Eucalyptus plantations as habitat should stimulate the development of wildlife-friendly management techniques, which improve their carrying capacity, food web complexity and biological diversity without compromising their primeval mission of biological production.Fil: Verdade, Luciano Martins. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Moral, Rafael de Andrade. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Calaboni, Adriane. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: do Amaral, Marcus V. S. G.. Maynooth University; IrlandaFil: Martin, Paula S.. Itaiti Consultoria Ambiental; BrasilFil: Amorim, Luana S.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Gheler Costa, Carla. Ecologia Aplicada: Pesquisa, Ensino e Serviços Ambientais; BrasilFil: Piña, Carlos Ignacio. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; Argentin

The influence of sugarcane pre‐harvest fire on hantavirus prevalence in Neotropical small mammals

The use of pre-harvest fire in sugarcane fields surprisingly results in an increase in the abundance of Neotropical Sigmodontinae rodents, which might carry hantavirus. By contrast, fire suspension induces a decline in rodents in the first 5 years. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of sugarcane harvest regimes on hantavirus prevalence in wild rodents. Field collections were carried out on a sugarcane production area in Northeast S˜ao Paulo, which is responsible for 30% of the ethanol production in Brazil. A few years after pre-harvest fire suspension, a high prevalence of hantavirus was found in small rodents at lower population density, but apparently higher population growth rate. Differences in life cycle between the rodents and their predators may explain such density patterns, as small rodents can breed twice or even three times each year, whereas their predators usually breed only once a year. Similarly, the temporal dynamics of the predator–prey relationship suggests that hantavirus prevalence is related to small rodent’s population growth and not density. Only Akodon montensis, Calomys tener, and Necromys lasiurus contained immunoglobulin G antibodiesagainst the recombinant nucleoprotein of Araraquara orthohantavirus, a genotype of Andes orthohantavirus, with no interspecific variation in seroprevalence among these species. However, males presented higher prevalence rate than females, possibly due to a male-biased dispersal pattern and a higher frequency of antagonistic interactions. Governance measures to mitigate the role of small wild rodents on the emergence of hantavirus in agricultural landscapes dominated by sugarcane plantations should include the use of wildlife-friendly management techniques (e.g., to mitigate the mortality of the predators of small rodents), human capacity building concerning wildlife-related conflicts, and multifunctionality of agricultural landscapes. Future studies should prioritize the possible relationship between microhabitat structure and hantavirus prevalence in small rodents in agricultural landscapes dominated by sugarcane fields.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The PREDICTS database: A global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

© 2014 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015. The collation of biodiversity datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents is necessary to understand historical declines and to project - and hopefully avert - future declines. We describe a newly collated database of more than 1.6 million biodiversity measurements from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world