Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Parâmetros genéticos e fenotípicos do desempenho reprodutivo de fêmeas Chianina Genetic and phenotypic parameters of reproductive performance of Chianina females

Objetivou-se estimar os parâmetros genéticos e fenotípicos de características reprodutivas de fêmeas bovinas da raça Chianina criadas em diferentes rebanhos participantes da Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Bovini Italiani da Carne (ANABIC). As características estudadas foram idade ao primeiro parto (IPP), primeiro intervalo de partos (IDP1) e intervalo médio de partos (IMDP). As análises estatísticas foram realizadas pelo procedimento General Linear Model (GLM) do programa estatístico SAS (Statistical Analysis System) e os componentes de variância foram estimados pelo método de máxima verossimilhança restrita utilizando-se o software MTDFREML sob modelo animal. Os números de observações utilizados para IPP, IDP1 e IMDP foram, respectivamente, 31.023; 23.998 e 94.497 e as médias encontradas, em dias, 1.037,69 &plusmn; 186,37; 457,93 &plusmn; 96,80 e 436,26 &plusmn; 90,83 para IPP, IDP1, IDPM. Todas as características avaliadas foram influenciadas pelo rebanho. Verificou-se efeito de estação e ano de nascimento da vaca sobre a IPP. O IDP1 e o IDPM foram influenciados por rebanho, estação e ano do parto precedente, observando-se efeito também da ordem de parição sobre o IDPM. As estimativas de herdabilidade para IPP, IDP1 e IDPM foram, respectivamente de 0,36 &plusmn; 0,014; 0,13 &plusmn; 0,014 e 0,05 &plusmn; 0,004. A repetibilidade para IDPM foi de 0,075 &plusmn; 0,004. A utilização de IPP e IDP1 em programas de melhoramento genético pode resultar em maior precocidade e mais alto potencial para longevidade nestes rebanhos.<br>ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the reproductive performance of Chianina cows born from 1977 to 2002. Data was used to calculate age at first calving (AFC), first calving interval (CI1) and average calving intervals (avgCIs) for the whole lifetime of cows. After editing data, the number of records used for AFC, CI1 and avgCIs analyses were respectively 31,023; 23,998 and 94,497 respectively. Statistical analyses were done using the SAS program (Statistical Analysis System) and variance components were estimated by REML using the software MTDFREML fitting animal models. Means for AFC, CI1 and avgCIs were 1,037.69 &plusmn; 186.37, 457.93 &plusmn; 12.22 and 436,26 &plusmn; 12,17 days, respectively. Heritability estimates for AFC, CI1 and avgCIs were respectively 0.36 &plusmn; 0.014; 0.13 &plusmn; 0.014 e 0.05&plusmn;0.004 and the repeatability for avgCIs was 0.075 &plusmn; 0.004. The use of AFC and CI1 in genetic improvement programs may lead to an increase in precocity and potential longevity. Changes in management of females may decrease avgCIs, leading to higher and faster improvement in reproductive efficiency

Combinação de drogas antiparasitárias como uma alternativa para o controle de nematódeos gastrintestinais multirresistentes em ovinos

Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de encontrarem-se tratamentos anti-helmínticos eficazes sobre uma população de nematódeos gastrintestinais de ovinos, a qual desenvolveu resistência a todas as classes de drogas com ação nematicida disponíveis para ruminantes no mercado brasileiro. Valendo-se da eficácia calculada de tratamentos convencionais a partir de um estudo prévio e, assim, conhecendo-se sua ação sobre diferentes gêneros de nematódeos presentes no rebanho, selecionaram-se drogas as quais, utilizadas em combinações ou em altas doses, pudessem aumentar significativamente a eficácia dos tratamentos. Utilizou-se o percentual de redução da contagem de ovos nas fezes e as culturas de larvas para avaliar a ação anti-helmíntica dos tratamentos testados. A combinação de moxidectina 1% + disofenol 20% apresentou 99% de eficácia, e as combinações de moxidectina 1% + triclorfon 10% e de moxidectina 1% + fosfato de levamisol 22,3% superaram os 90% de eficácia. A utilização de combinações de princípios ativos, com diferentes mecanismos de ação, pode promover a recuperação da eficácia dos tratamentos anti-helmínticos sobre populações multirresistentes de nematódeos gastrintestinais de ovinos