Climate change will reduce suitable Caatinga dry forest habitat for endemic plants with disproportionate impacts on specialized reproductive strategies

Global climate change alters the dynamic of natural ecosystems and directly affects species distributions, persistence and diversity. The impacts of climate change may lead to dramatic changes in biotic interactions, such as pollination and seed dispersal. Life history traits are extremely important to consider the vulnerability of a species to climate change, producing more robust models than those based primarily on species distributions. Here, we hypothesized that rising temperatures and aridity will reduce suitable habitats for the endemic flora of the Caatinga, the most diverse dry tropical forest on Earth. Specifically, species with specialized reproductive traits (e.g. vertebrate pollination, biotic dispersal, obligatory cross-pollination) should be more affected by climate change than those with generalist traits. We performed two ecological niche models (current and future) to simulate the effects of climate change on the distribution area of endemic species in relation to life-history traits. We used the MIROC-ESM and CCSM4 models for both intermediate (RCP4.5) and highest predicted (RCP8.5) GHG emission scenarios, with a resolution of 30' (~1 km2). Habitat with high occurrence probability (>80%) of endemic species will be reduced (up to ~10% for trees, ~13% for non-arboreous, 10-28% for species with any pollination/reproductive system), with the greatest reductions for species with specialized reproductive traits. In addition, the likely concentration of endemic plants in the extreme northeastern portion of the Caatinga, in more mesic areas, coincides with the currently most human-modified areas of the ecosystem, which combined with climate change will further contract suitable habitats of endemic species. In conclusion, plant species endemic to the Caatinga are highly vulnerable to even conservative scenarios of future climate change and may lose much of their climatic envelopes. New protected areas should be located in the northeastern portion of the Caatinga, which hosts a more favorable climate, but is currently exposed to escalating agricultural intensification

Contribution of women\u27s fisheries substantial, but overlooked, in Timor-Leste

2020, The Author(s). A greater understanding of gendered roles in fisheries is necessary to value the often-hidden roles that women play in fisheries and households. We examine women\u27s contributions to household food and income using focus group discussions, market surveys, and landings data in six communities in Timor-Leste. Women were actively fishing more days per month than men. Gleaning was the most frequent activity and 100% of trips returned with catch for food and/or income. Mollusc and crab catches were common and exploitation appeared targeted on a dynamic reappraisal of changing food values and changing estimates of group needs. With as many as 80% of households in coastal areas involved in fishing, and at least 50% of women fishing, this highlights the current lack of women\u27s engagement as a critical gap in fisheries management approaches. The current androcentric dialogue limits social-ecological understanding of these systems and the potential for their effective stewardship

Responses to risks and opportunities associated with pollinators and pollination

The overall aim of the thematic assessment of Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production is to assess animal pollination as a regulating ecosystem service under pinning food production in the context of its contribution to nature'sgifts to people and supporting a good quality of life. Toachieve this, the focus is on the role of native and exoticpollinators, the status of, and trends in pollinators andpollinator-plant networks and pollination, drivers of change,impacts on human well-being, food production in responseto pollination declines and deficits and the effectiveness ofresponses from various governance systems to pollinationdeclines and deficits. The scope is global, covering allcontinents except Antarctica, where no pollinators areknown. The assessment brings together contributions notonly from natural, social and economic science perspectives but also from knowledge of indigenous and local community stake holders and practitioners.The assessment strives to critically review the broadest range of evidence and make its findings readily availableto support policy and management responses to declinesand deficits in pollination. The report represents the firstIPBES thematic assessment deliverable that aims toidentify policy-relevant findings for decision-making ingovernment, the private sector and civil society, as wellas helping to demonstrate how an essential ecosystem service could potentially contribute to the post-2015 development agendaFil: Dicks, Lynn. University of Cambridge; Reino UnidoFil: Viana, Blandina Felipe. Universidad federal de Bahia; BrasilFil: del Coro Arizmendi, Maria. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Bommarco, Riccardo. Mid Sweden University.; SueciaFil: Brosi, Berry. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Cunningham, Saul. Australian National University; AustraliaFil: Galetto, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Lopes, Ariadna. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Taki, Hisatomo. University of Florida; Estados Unido

Neglected diversity of crop pollinators: Lessons from the world’s largest tropical country

We draw attention to potential pollinator species that have not yet been reported as crop pollinators but could likely contribute to agricultural productivity. We refer to this as the neglected diversity of crop pollinators, which we argue should not be excluded from conservation strategies and land-use planning. We used Brazil as case study for at least five main reasons: (1) Brazil is one of the world’s largest food producers and exporters; (2) Tropical agricultural production is highly dependent on pollinators; (3) Brazil is almost certainly the most biologically megadiverse country; (4) Brazil has high diversity of pollinators; (5) Brazil has played a leading international role in environmental sustainability. We estimated that the neglected diversity of bees as potential crop pollinators in Brazil is 88.4%. For vertebrates, the neglected diversity is 95.2%. This means that many yet to be observed plant–pollinator interactions are entirely off the radar in terms of the conservation agenda for agricultural stability

Divergent responses of plant reproductive strategies to chronic anthropogenic disturbance and aridity in the Caatinga dry forest

Anthropogenic disturbance and climate change are major threats to biodiversity persistence and functioning of many tropical ecosystems. Although increases in the intensity of anthropogenic disturbance and climate change are associated with reduced taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversities of several organisms, little is known about how such pressures interfere with the distribution of plant reproductive traits in seasonally dry tropical forests. Here we test the hypothesis that individual and combined effects of increasing chronic anthropogenic disturbance and water deficit negatively affect the richness, abundance and diversity of specialized reproductive strategies of native woody plants in the Caatinga dry forest. This study was carried out at the Catimbau National Park, northeastern Brazil (62,294ha). Chronic anthropogenic disturbance intensity was measured through different sources of disturbance (cattle/goat herbivory, wood extraction, and other people pressures). Water deficit data was obtained from hydrological maps and used as a proxy of aridity. We constructed generalized linear models and selected best-supported models for richness, abundance and functional diversity of reproductive traits. We documented that richness and abundance of plants with certain reproductive traits, regardless the specialization, can increase (in 18 out of the 49 trait categories analyzed; e.g. obligatory cross-pollination in response to increases in aridity and wood extraction), be impaired (in 20 categories; e.g. pollination by Sphingids/beetles with increase in aridity), or remain unchanged (in 21 categories; e.g. pollination by vertebrates with increases in chronic anthropogenic disturbance and aridity) with higher disturbance and aridity. There were combined effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and aridity on the richness of plants in nine traits (e.g. pollen flowers; dioecious and self-incompatible plants). Aridity affected 40% of the reproductive traits, while chronic anthropogenic disturbance affected 35.5%. The functional diversity of reproductive traits was affected only by disturbance. Changes in plant community structure promoted by chronic anthropogenic disturbance and aridity will likely threaten plant-animal interactions, thereby compromising the functioning of communities and the persistence of biodiversity in the Caatinga

Genetic and ecological outcomes of Inga vera subsp. affinis (leguminosae) tree plantations in a fragmented tropical landscape

Planting of native trees for habitat restoration is a widespread practice, but the consequences for the retention and transmission of genetic diversity in planted and natural populations are unclear. Using Inga vera subsp. affinis as a model species, we genotyped five natural and five planted populations in the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil at polymorphic microsatellite loci. We studied the breeding system and population structure to test how much genetic diversity is retained in planted relative to natural populations. We then genotyped seedlings from these populations to test whether genetic diversity in planted populations is restored by outcrossing to natural populations of I. vera. The breeding system of natural I. vera populations was confirmed to be highly outcrossing (t = 0.92; FIS = -0.061, P = 0.04), with populations showing weak population substructure (FST = 0.028). Genetic diversity in planted populations was 50% less than that of natural populations (planted: AR = 14.9, HO = 0.865 and natural: AR = 30.8, HO = 0.655). However, seedlings from planted populations showed a 30% higher allelic richness relative to their parents (seedlings AR = 10.5, parents AR = 7.6). Understanding the processes and interactions that shape this system are necessary to provide ecologically sensible goals and successfully restore hyper-fragmented habitats. Future restoration plans for I. vera must consider the genetic diversity of planted populations and the potential for gene flow between natural populations in the landscape, in order to preserve ecological interactions (i.e. pollination), and promote opportunities for outcrossing