Wild boar diet and its implications on agriculture and biodiversity in Brazilian forest–grassland ecoregions

Wild boar diet and its implications on agriculture and biodiversity in Brazilian forest–grassland ecoregions. We aimed to describe the composition of Sus scrofa diet in three Brazilian ecoregions characterized by a mosaic of forests and grasslands: Pampa, Araucaria Forest and Pantanal. We evaluated the possible risks that the species may represent for agriculture and conservation of biodiversity by analyzing the stomach content of 118 boars. We examined dietary patterns in each ecoregion using PCA (principal component analysis) and verified how diet varies according to individual attributes through redundancy analysis. We visualized the composition of macronutrients in a multidimensional space by means of RMT (right–angled mixture triangle). The wild boars presented a diverse diet, influenced by season, time of day, and local availability of resources. Cultivated grains and herbs were the most commonly consumed items, leading to a high carbohydrate intake. Damage to agriculture is potentially high given the large consumption of cultivated grains. Population growth and expansion may be limited by the low availability of protein in the ecoregions

Efeito do uso do solo na abundância sazonal de pombas-de-bando (Zenaida auriculata) no sudoeste do Brasil

Changes at the landscape scale associated with expansion in agricultural land use and changes in agricultural practices are common causes of alteration in patterns of abundance and composition of avian communities. Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata - Des Murs, 1847) is among the most common species in the Neotropics, considered both as game and pest in some countries. Here we characterized the regional and seasonal patterns of Eared Doves abundance in Southwestern Brazil and examined the relationship between landscape features and these abundance patterns. We counted Eared Doves using the point count system along routes in summer and winter and recorded land use at two scales. We used linear regressions to model the effect of landscape matrix and land use at local scale with Doves abundance in two seasons. At the landscape scale, in winter, the abundance was greater in routes crossing landscapes dominated by plantations. In summer, it was lower in routes with large tracts of forests and mixed farming. While in winter, at the local scale, the Doves abundance was greater in routes with higher frequency of maize plantations, in summer higher abundances were observed in routes with higher frequency of sugar cane and soybean plantations. Agricultural settings, which include both sustained production of food in the form of grains as well as and large stretches of habitat suitable for reproduction, favor large population of Eared Doves.Mudanças em escala de paisagem associadas à expansão das áreas destinadas à agricultura e às mudanças nas práticas agrícolas são consideradas importantes causas de alterações nos padrões de composição das comunidades de aves. A pomba-de-bando (Zenaida auriculata - Des Murs, 1847) é uma espécie comum na região Neotropical, sendo considerada tanto um recurso cinegético quanto uma peste agrícola em alguns países. Neste trabalho nós caracterizamos os padrões regionais e sazonais de distribuição populacional de pombas-de-bando em áreas agrícolas do sudoeste do Brasil e examinamos a relação entre características da paisagem e padrões de abundância de pombas. Coletamos os dados em transecções com pontos de contagem, alocados em estradas vicinais, percorridas no verão e no inverno. Utilizamos dados sobre as características da paisagem em duas escalas. Através de análises de regressões lineares modelamos o efeito da paisagem e do uso da terra na abundância de pombas nas duas estações. Na escala da paisagem, no inverno, a abundância foi maior em áreas com predomínio de agricultura. No verão a abundância foi menor em áreas com grandes extensões de florestas e agropecuária. Em relação ao uso do solo, no inverno a abundância de pombas foi maior em regiões com maior frequência de plantações de milho, enquanto no verão, a maior abundância esteve associada à maior frequência de cana-de-açúcar e soja. As paisagens agrícolas que apresentaram tanto produção de alimentos sob a forma de grãos quanto grandes extensões de habitat para a reprodução, como a cana-de-açúcar, favoreceram a ocorrência grandes populações de pombas-de-bando no sudoeste do Brasil

Survivorship and yield of a harvested population of Forsteronia glabrescens

The exploitation of non-timber forest products may be an opportunity to reconcile the utilization of biological resources with biodiversity conservation. In Southern Brazil, the exploitation of liana stems for handicraft makes up an important part of the income of indigenous Kaingang people. In this study we evaluated the effects of stem harvesting on the survivorship of Forsteronia glabrescens Müll.Arg, the most exploited liana species in the region. We marked and monitored the survivorship, sprouting, changes in stem diameter and resource yield in control and harvested plots with two different resting times–six and twelve months. We associated variables of interest with individual attributes, harvesting regime and vegetation descriptors through linear mixed modelling. Survivorship and resource yield were lower in the harvested groups than in the control group, although the mean stem diameter was higher. Plants with larger stem diameter presented higher survival odds. Either six or twelve months of resting between harvests were not sufficient to recompose the yield and compensate mortality. Harvesting twice a year increases yield but reduces survivorship. Our results point that the sustainable exploitation of F. glabrescens require either large areas, low pressure or resting periods longer than the ones we tested

Environmental factors related to the production of a complex set of spicules in a tropical freshwater sponge

Adverse natural conditions will, generally, induce gemmulation in freshwater sponges. Because of this environmental dependence, gemmoscleres are given exceptional value in taxonomic, ecological and paleoenvironmental studies. Other spicules categories such as microscleres and beta megascleres have received little attention with regard to their occurrence and function during the sponge biological cycle. Metania spinata, a South American species common to bog waters in the Cerrado biome, produces alpha and beta megascleres, microscleres and gemmoscleres. To detect the environmental factors triggering the production of all these kinds of spicules, the species annual seasonal cycle was studied. Artificial substrates were devised, supplied with gemmules and placed in Lagoa Verde pond which contained a natural population of M. spinata. Field monitoring was conducted for eight months in order to observe the growth of sponges and spicules formation. Samples of water were taken monthly for physical and chemical parameters determination. The appearance of the alpha megascleres was sequentially followed by that of microscleres, gemmoscleres and beta megascleres. The first ones built the new sponge skeleton, the last three were involved in keeping inner moisture in the sponge body or its gemmules. The water level, temperature and the silicon (Si) concentration in the pond were the most important factors related to this sequential production of spicules, confirming environmental reconstructions based on the presence or absence of alpha megascleres and gemmoscleres in past sediments

Efeito do uso do solo na abundância sazonal de pombas-de-bando (Zenaida auriculata) no sudoeste do Brasil

Changes at the landscape scale associated with expansion in agricultural land use and changes in agricultural practices are common causes of alteration in patterns of abundance and composition of avian communities. Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata - Des Murs, 1847) is among the most common species in the Neotropics, considered both as game and pest in some countries. Here we characterized the regional and seasonal patterns of Eared Doves abundance in Southwestern Brazil and examined the relationship between landscape features and these abundance patterns. We counted Eared Doves using the point count system along routes in summer and winter and recorded land use at two scales. We used linear regressions to model the effect of landscape matrix and land use at local scale with Doves abundance in two seasons. At the landscape scale, in winter, the abundance was greater in routes crossing landscapes dominated by plantations. In summer, it was lower in routes with large tracts of forests and mixed farming. While in winter, at the local scale, the Doves abundance was greater in routes with higher frequency of maize plantations, in summer higher abundances were observed in routes with higher frequency of sugar cane and soybean plantations. Agricultural settings, which include both sustained production of food in the form of grains as well as and large stretches of habitat suitable for reproduction, favor large population of Eared Doves.Mudanças em escala de paisagem associadas à expansão das áreas destinadas à agricultura e às mudanças nas práticas agrícolas são consideradas importantes causas de alterações nos padrões de composição das comunidades de aves. A pomba-de-bando (Zenaida auriculata - Des Murs, 1847) é uma espécie comum na região Neotropical, sendo considerada tanto um recurso cinegético quanto uma peste agrícola em alguns países. Neste trabalho nós caracterizamos os padrões regionais e sazonais de distribuição populacional de pombas-de-bando em áreas agrícolas do sudoeste do Brasil e examinamos a relação entre características da paisagem e padrões de abundância de pombas. Coletamos os dados em transecções com pontos de contagem, alocados em estradas vicinais, percorridas no verão e no inverno. Utilizamos dados sobre as características da paisagem em duas escalas. Através de análises de regressões lineares modelamos o efeito da paisagem e do uso da terra na abundância de pombas nas duas estações. Na escala da paisagem, no inverno, a abundância foi maior em áreas com predomínio de agricultura. No verão a abundância foi menor em áreas com grandes extensões de florestas e agropecuária. Em relação ao uso do solo, no inverno a abundância de pombas foi maior em regiões com maior frequência de plantações de milho, enquanto no verão, a maior abundância esteve associada à maior frequência de cana-de-açúcar e soja. As paisagens agrícolas que apresentaram tanto produção de alimentos sob a forma de grãos quanto grandes extensões de habitat para a reprodução, como a cana-de-açúcar, favoreceram a ocorrência grandes populações de pombas-de-bando no sudoeste do Brasil

Conservation biology: four decades of problem- and solution-based research

Conservation biology is designed to identify pressing environmental problems and to solve them.This review evaluates the relative effort of conservation biology in problem-based and solution-basedresearch, and tests whether or not this has changed in the past decades for five major drivers of biodiver-sity loss, i.e. habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation, biological invasion, pollution, and climatechange. By randomly sampling papers from four decades of the conservation literature (1980–2019),we estimated the frequency of solution-based research related to the five biodiversity loss drivers. Wealso estimated how the ratio of the words ‘problem’ and ‘solution’ has changed over time, as a proxyfor discourse bias. We found that a quarter of the scientific papers on conservation constitute solution-based research, while three-quarters were classified as problem-based. Temporal analyses showed thatthe proportion of solution-based papers increased along the four decades, from 0.18 to 0.30, mostly dueto research on effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and overexploitation. The solution-to-problemword ratio increased steadily, from almost zero in the 1980s to 0.60 in 2019. Significant increases occurred or all drivers of biodiversity loss, indicating an important temporal change in conservation discourse andconcerns. We propose that, in order to be more effective against the biodiversity crisis, conservation sci-ence should expand the solution-based agenda by active changes in graduate education, research choice,research funding priority, editorial emphasis, and media coverage that can produce desired impacts onconservation practice, public perception, and environmental policies