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

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

FLORA AND VEGETATION DIVERSITY IN THE INTERFLUVIUM NAPO-PUTUMAYO-AMAZONAS, PERU

El interfluvio Napo-Putumayo-Amazonas en la Amazonía peruana, alberga una gran diversidad de especies de plantas y tipos de vegetación que son muy requeridas por el poblador rural amazónico para subsistencia y comercialización, por lo tanto la comprensión de su diversidad contribuye con información básica para crear posibles estrategias de conservación que regulen su aprovechamiento. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron evaluar la diversidad de la flora y elaborar un modelo espacial de la vegetación del interfluvio Napo- Putumayo-Amazonas. Los datos se obtuvieron de 10 estudios de inventarios de la flora realizados en el interfluvio. Para la similaridad de la flora se realizó un análisis de similitud (ANOSIM). Se generó un modelo de la distribución espacial de las unidades de vegetación en base a tres parámetros geomorfométricos, los cuales se calcularon a partir de un modelo de elevación digital (con imágenes del sensor Palsar del satélite Alos) e integrados con datos espectrales (de las imágenes ópticas del satélite Sentinel 2) y datos espaciales oficiales. Se encontraron 1807 especies correspondientes a 140 familias de plantas. Existen siete tipos de vegetación, los de mayor superficie corresponden al Bosque de terraza alta, Bosque de colina baja y Bosque de colina alta. La comunidad de plantas entre el bosque de tierra firme y bosque inundable fueron diferentes de acuerdo al análisis de similitud (p-value = 0.001). Las especies: Oxandra euneura Diels, Mauritia flexuosa L. f., Euterpe precatoria Mart., Cynometra spruceana Benth., Pouteria gomphiifolia (Mart. ex Miq.) Radlk., Tovomita laurina Planch. & Triana y Macrolobium limbatum Spruce ex Benth. estuvieron más relacionados a los bosques inundables. The Napo-Putumayo-Amazonas interfluvium in the Peruvian Amazon harbors a great diversity of plant species and types of vegetation that are greatly needed by the rural Amazonian population for subsistence and commercialization. Understanding plant diversity can possibly contribute to the creation of conservation strategies that regulate their usage. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the diversity of flora and vegetation in the interfluvium and and to evaluate the similarity of the flora between the types of vegetation. The data were obtained from 10 inventory studies of the flora carried out in the Napo-Putumayo-Amazonas interfluvium. A similarity analysis (ANOSIM) was performed of the flora. A model of the spatial distribution of the vegetation units was generated based on three geomorphometric parameters, which were calculated from a digital elevation model (with images from the Palsar sensor of the Alos satellite) and integrated with spectral data (from the optical images from the Sentinel satellite 2) and official spatial data. In total, 1,807 species corresponding to 140 plant families were found. There are seven types of vegetation, the largest corresponding to the high terrace forest, low hill forest and high hill forest. The plant community between the terra firme forest and the flooded forest were different according to the similarity analysis (p-value = 0.001); the species more associated with flooded forests are Oxandra euneura Diels, Mauritia flexuosa L. f., Euterpe precatoria Mart, Cynometra spruceana Benth., Pouteria gomphiifolia, Tovomita laurina Planch. & Triana and Macrolobium limbatum Spruce ex Benth

Biodiversidad en la cuenca baja del Putumayo, Perú

La cuenca baja del río Putumayo, en la Amazonía peruana, ha sido un área históricamente afectada por actividades ilegales, pero destaca por su excepcional biodiversidad y comunidades indígenas murui-muinani de Remanso y Tres Esquinas. Este estudio se enfocó en la cuenca baja del Putumayo para proporcionar información valiosa. El libro presenta resultados de estudios sobre vegetación, flora, anfibios, reptiles, aves, mamíferos, uso de la biodiversidad y actividades económicas. Se utilizaron diversos métodos, incluyendo parcelas para plantas, transectos para anfibios y reptiles, y avistamientos para aves. También se realizaron entrevistas en las comunidades locales. El análisis de la biodiversidad incluyó la evaluación de la riqueza, dominancia y abundancia de especies, así como la similitud entre hábitats. Se identificaron diferentes unidades de vegetación con al menos 372 especies de plantas, incluyendo posibles especies nuevas y vulnerables. En el estudio herpetológico, se observó que la riqueza esperada de especies en terraza media y alta fue similar. Se registraron especies de ranas terrestres dominantes, y se identificó una posible especie nueva. La evaluación ornitológica reveló 261 especies de aves, algunas sensibles y registros de especies no reportadas previamente. En el estudio de mamíferos se registraron 35 especies, con diferencias en la abundancia y biomasa en bosque inundable y tierra firme. Las principales actividades en las comunidades de Remanso y Tres Esquinas fueron pesca, agricultura, caza y tala selectiva. La caza de animales se realizó intensivamente. En resumen, la cuenca baja del Putumayo es rica en biodiversidad, pero las actividades humanas plantean desafíos para su conservación. Se requieren acciones inmediatas para garantizar la sostenibilidad de estos recursos y los beneficios para las comunidades locales.Revisión por pares

Subcutaneous anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin for prevention of disease in asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trialResearch in context

Summary: Background: Anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin (hIG) can provide standardized and controlled antibody content. Data from controlled clinical trials using hIG for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 outpatients have not been reported. We assessed the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous anti-COVID-19 hyperimmune immunoglobulin 20% (C19-IG20%) compared to placebo in preventing development of symptomatic COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: We did a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, in asymptomatic unvaccinated adults (≥18 years of age) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 5 days between April 28 and December 27, 2021. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a blinded subcutaneous infusion of 10 mL with 1 g or 2 g of C19-IG20%, or an equivalent volume of saline as placebo. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who remained asymptomatic through day 14 after infusion. Secondary endpoints included the proportion of individuals who required oxygen supplementation, any medically attended visit, hospitalisation, or ICU, and viral load reduction and viral clearance in nasopharyngeal swabs. Safety was assessed as the proportion of patients with adverse events. The trial was terminated early due to a lack of potential benefit in the target population in a planned interim analysis conducted in December 2021. ClinicalTrials.gov registry: NCT04847141. Findings: 461 individuals (mean age 39.6 years [SD 12.8]) were randomized and received the intervention within a mean of 3.1 (SD 1.27) days from a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. In the prespecified modified intention-to-treat analysis that included only participants who received a subcutaneous infusion, the primary outcome occurred in 59.9% (91/152) of participants receiving 1 g C19-IG20%, 64.7% (99/153) receiving 2 g, and 63.5% (99/156) receiving placebo (difference in proportions 1 g C19-IG20% vs. placebo, −3.6%; 95% CI -14.6% to 7.3%, p = 0.53; 2 g C19-IG20% vs placebo, 1.1%; −9.6% to 11.9%, p = 0.85). None of the secondary clinical efficacy endpoints or virological endpoints were significantly different between study groups. Adverse event rate was similar between groups, and no severe or life-threatening adverse events related to investigational product infusion were reported. Interpretation: Our findings suggested that administration of subcutaneous human hyperimmune immunoglobulin C19-IG20% to asymptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection was safe but did not prevent development of symptomatic COVID-19. Funding: Grifols

Are rare species useful species? Obstacles to the conservation of tree diversity in the dry forest zone agro-ecosystems of Mesoamerica

Aim To test the potential to conserve rare dry forest tree and shrub species circa situm.Location Oaxaca, Mexico and Southern Honduras.Methods Local uses (timber, posts and firewood) of species were determined principally through semistructured interviews with 20 rural householders in each of four communities in Honduras and four in Oaxaca. Tree and shrub diversity inventories were carried out in a total of 227 forest patches and parcels of farmland in those eight communities. Species’ conservation priorities were determined using the star system of Hawthorne (1996) and IUCN listings.Results Despite a large number of useful species, remarkably few were also conservation priorities. Useful species were found to be substitutable as is illustrated by Bombacopsis quinata, Cordia alliodora, Guaiacum sanctum and G. coulteri.Conclusions In these areas, circa situm conservation is inhibited by the lack of species that are both rare and useful. Usefulness must be interpreted as a function of substitutability. Natural regeneration provides an abundance of diversity, farmers are unlikely to invest in the management of a species when suitable substitutes are freely available. The key to conserving rare species may be in maintaining or enhancing the value of the landscape elements in which they are found