Reprodução do falcão-de-coleira Falco Femoralis Temminck 1822 (Falconiformes: Falconidae) no município de Juiz de Fora, sudeste do Brasil

From June 1998 to December 1999, five breeding events of the aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis) were studied in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. While two nests were observed during two breeding seasons (1998/ 1999), a third one was studied during only one (1999). The nests were placed in isolated trees located at 5.1 to 7.2 m above the ground near pasture areas. The breeding period started at the end of the dry season and beginning of the wet one. (laying in August and September). From 15 eggs laid, predators attacked three of them and three were abandoned by the parents, possibly due to human disturbance. Mean number of eggs laid per nest was three and the birth rate of nestlings was 1.6 + 1,5. Eight nestlings were born from the total of eggs laid. The average number of fledglings per nest was 1.4 + 1,5 (six in the first year and one in the second). Except for a pair of falcons that left the nest site in 1999, the others remained at the original breeding sites during the period of study. An abandoned nest was utilised and the biggest nest was 77 cm in diameter, 32 cm high and 25 cm deep. The breeding biology of aplomado falcons in this area is similar to the different regions where this species has been studied. Variation in latitude and climate does not seem to affect the species breeding pattern.De junho de 1998 a dezembro de 1999, cinco eventos reprodutivos do falcão-de-coleira Falco femoralis foram registrados e monitorados no município de Juiz de Fora, Estado de Minas Gerais, sudeste brasileiro. Dois ninhos encontrados em 1998 foram monitorados por duas estações reprodutivas (1998/99), enquanto um terceiro, encontrado em 1999, foi monitorado apenas em uma estação reprodutiva. Todos os ninhos estavam situados em árvores isoladas, localizadas em áreas de pastagens, e a altura em relação ao solo, variou entre 5,1 a 7,2 m. A estação reprodutiva ocorreu, nos dois anos, no final da estação seca e no início da estação chuvosa (posturas efetuadas em agosto e setembro).Dos 15 ovos colocados, três foram predados e outros três foram abandonados pelo casal, possivelmente por perturbação antrópica. A média de postura foi de três ovos por ninho e a taxa de eclosão dos filhotes foi de 1,6 ( 1,5. Oito filhotes eclodiram do total dos ovos colocados. A média de filhotes por ninho que alcançaram o primeiro vôo foi de 1,4 ( 1,5, representada por sete filhotes (seis no primeiro ano e um no segundo ano do estudo). Com exceção de um casal que abandonou o sítio reprodutivo em 1999, todos os indivíduos permaneceram durante todo o monitoramento, em seus territórios. Foi constatada a utilização de um ninho abandonado e o maior ninho possuía 77 cm de diâmetro, 32 cm de altura e 25 cm de profundidade da cuba interna. A biologia reprodutiva do falcão-de-coleira nesse estudo foi similar ao registrado em outras regiões, sendo que variações de latitude e condições climáticas parecem não afetar o padrão reprodutivo da espécie.1

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area

Brazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the List. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD) and five as priorities for conservation. Fifity-one species were possible new ocurrences for ES and MG states

Persea pumila (Lauraceae), a New Species from the Brazilian Serra da Mantiqueira Mountain Range

Persea pumila, a new species of Lauraceae from a Brazilian high-altitude grassland is described and illustrated. The new species belongs to Parses subg. Eriodaphne. It is distinguished from other neotropical Persea species by the shrubby habit in combination with obovate, glabrous, abaxially papillose leaves densely overlapping each other, glabrous inflorescences, and sparsely pubescent flowers. Its morphological distinctiveness and its relationships with probable allied species are discussed.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Phytogeographical origin determines tropical montane cloud forest hydraulic trait composition

Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) have unique climatic conditions, which allow the coexistence of plant lineages with different phytogeographical origins from tropical versus temperate climates. Future climate projections suggest TMCFs will be subjected to increasing drought stress due to fog uplift and higher temperatures, possibly leading to tree mortality and local extinctions, and consequently changes in forest composition and functioning. Characterizing community functional composition, trade-offs among traits and the drivers of community assembly is of utmost importance to improve our capacity to predict the response of montane plant communities to forecast climate change. Here, we aimed to test whether species from different phytogeographical origins (i.e. tropical – evergreen × deciduous − and temperate) differ in drought vulnerability and how the coexistence of these groups change the hydraulic composition of TMCFs. We used a framework based on measurements of key hydraulic traits (i.e. xylem embolism resistance, hydraulic safety margin, stomata control, turgor loss point, minimum water potential) of 16 dominant species (>70% of the forest basal area) within a TMCF in the Atlantic Rain Forest Domain in southeast Brazil. We used community-weighted means to model whether removing each species group would change the community hydraulic functional composition. Temperate, tropical deciduous and tropical evergreen groups differ in their hydraulic functioning and these differences explain forest functional composition and taxa dominance. Temperate and tropical deciduous taxa were consistently more vulnerable hydraulically (i.e. lower safety margins and embolism resistance). The coexistence of different phytogeographical lineages is a key determinant of TMCF hydraulic composition. We also used models including phylogeny to evaluate the variation of hydraulic traits across phytogeographical groups, and the results suggest some niche conservatism associated with plant hydraulic functioning. Our results provide evidence of the importance of species phytogeographical origin on TMCF functioning, and niche conservatism in the evolution of hydraulic traits. The higher drought vulnerability observed in temperate group might be a mechanistic explanation for the restriction of temperate taxa distribution to wetter places during past colder and drier climate. Thus, we suggest hydraulic functional traits may be useful to predict future dynamics of TMCFs under changing climatic conditions

Stability or breakdown under climate change? A key group of woody bamboos will find suitable areas in its richness center

Bamboos play an important role in forest dynamics, but management strategies are needed to avoid monodominance. Understanding how climate change would influence the geographic distribution of bamboos could provide management tools for habitat conservation, as well as prevent the expansion of this group. We investigated the distribution patterns of Merostachys species that are endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, under current and future climate scenarios. We obtained occurrence records based on field collection, herbaria data and online databases. We used the Maxent algorithm to model potential distribution. Future scenarios considered the IPCC forecasted climate for 2070. Our models showed that a reduction in suitable areas for Merostachys species will likely occur, but the existence of suitable areas under climate changes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest indicates climatic stability in some areas of occurrence of these species in their richness center. Since the fact that in places with local dominance of woody bamboos there is a decrease in the diversity of other plant species, the occurrence of Merostachys throughout the suitable areas may represent risks to biodiversity conservation. Investigations of the synergistic effects of climate change and the local dominance of woody bamboos are required. Therefore, management measures may be very important to control the occurrence of woody bamboos in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, mainly in climatically stable areas