NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans – anteaters, sloths, and armadillos – have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with 24 domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, ten anteaters, and six sloths. Our dataset includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data-paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the south of the USA, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to its austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n=5,941), and Cyclopes sp. has the fewest (n=240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n=11,588), and the least recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n=33). With regards to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n=962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n=12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other datasets of Neotropical Series which will become available very soon (i.e. Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans dataset

Effects of landscape change history on birds and small mammals in the Atlantic Forest

Apesar da vasta literatura sobre os efeitos da perda e fragmentação florestal sobre a biodiversidade, poucos estudos incorporaram o aspecto temporal, ou seja, a história da paisagem, em suas análises. No entanto, o histórico de alterações da paisagem é um dos fatores que, ao ser ignorado, pode levar a interpretação errada dos reais efeitos da perda e fragmentação florestal sobre a diversidade de espécies. Assim, o objetivo desta tese foi avaliar os efeitos do histórico de mudança da paisagem sobre aves e pequenos mamíferos na Mata Atlântica. Para atingir este objetivo eu investiguei (1) a dinâmica de três paisagens fragmentadas de Mata Atlântica entre 1960-1980 e 1980-2000, (2) os efeitos da cobertura florestal passada e atual sobre a riqueza de espécies de espécies e, (3) a plausibilidade de modelos de cobertura vegetal nativa na riqueza de espécies e abundância, considerando ou não a heterogeneidade da vegetação nativa. Para investigar essas questões, foram usados dados de aves e pequenos mamíferos em 53 fragmentos florestais localizados em três paisagens com diferentes proporções de cobertura florestal (10, 30 e 50%) na Mata Atlântica do Planalto Atlântico de São Paulo. Os resultados mostraram que (1) a trajetória da cobertura florestal entre os anos 1960 e 2000 nas três paisagens estudadas foi não-linear e, atualmente, fragmentos florestais consistem de um mosaico de florestas com diferentes idades de regeneração, (2) a existência do débito de extinção e do crédito de espécies, assim como o potencial para o seu pagamento futuro, depende não só da trajetória de cobertura florestal, mas também da cobertura florestal remanescente na escala da paisagem, e (3) a heterogeneidade da vegetação nativa desempenha um papel importante na definição da riqueza de espécies e abundância e que as respostas a essa heterogeneidade são definidas pelos requerimentos de habitat e dependem de cobertura florestal da paisagem.Despite the extended literature on the effects of forest loss and fragmentation on biodiversity, few studies incorporated the temporal aspect, i.e. the history of change of habitat amount and configuration over time at a given landscape, in the analysis. However, ignoring landscape change history might lead to inaccurate interpretation of the impact of forest loss and fragmentation on species diversity. Thus, the aim of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of landscape change history on birds and small mammals in the Atlantic Forest. To achieve this aim I investigated (1) the land-use and land-cover change dynamics in Atlantic Forest fragmented landscapes between 1960s-1980s and 1980s-2000s, (2) the effects of historical and present-day forest cover on species richness and, (3) the potential of explaining species richness and abundance patterns by inclusion or exclusion of present native vegetation heterogeneity in model frameworks. To address these objectives I used data on birds and small mammals in 53 forest fragments from three landscapes with different proportions of forest cover (10, 30 and 50%) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. The results showed that (1) forest cover trajectory between the 1960s and 2000s at the three study landscapes was non-linear and that individual forest patches currently consist of a mosaic of different forest age classes, (2) the existence of extinction debt and species credit as well as the potential for their future payment depends not only on forest cover trajectory but also on the present amount of remaining forest cover at the landscape scale, and (3) the heterogeneity within native vegetation plays an important role in defining species richness and abundance in fragmented landscapes and responses to this heterogeneity are defined by habitat requirements and depend on forest cover at landscape scale

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data