SURVEYING POPULATIONS OF RED-BILLED CURASSOWS (CRAX BLUMENBACHII) IN THE ATLANTIC FOREST OF BRAZIL

Threatened species are frequently difficult to monitor, leading to a lack of information for the selection of the best conservation strategies. A case in point is the Red-billed Curassow (Crax blumenbachii, Cracidae, Galliformes), whose populations have declined due to deforestation of the northern Atlantic Forest and increased poaching in the late 1960s. The species is presently absent from most forest frag- ments within its geographic range, occurring only in forest remnants on the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo, Brazil. In this study, we esti- mated encounter rates and recorded the periods of activity of the Red-billed Curassow in three large Atlantic Forest fragments in the north- eastern Brazilian state of Bahia, using line-transect sampling. The northern region of Serra do Conduru State Park (0.29 sighting/10 km) and Descobrimento National Park (0.27 sighting/10 km) presented slightly greater encounter rates of this endangered cracid, compared to the Una Biological Reserve (0.13 – 0.20 sighting/10 km). We recorded Red-billed Curassows throughout the day, mainly between 10:00–11:00 h and 14:00–17:00 h. Our study is the first step for long-term monitoring of the Red-billed Curassow. These findings serve as baseline infor- mation, which may contribute to future assessments of the conservation status and support future conservation actions for the species

Deforestation alters species interactions

Interspecific interactions are a major determinant of stability in ecological communities and are known to vary with biotic and abiotic conditions. Deforestation is the primary driver of the ongoing sixth mass extinction, yet its effect on species interactions remains largely unexplored. We investigate how deforestation affects species interactions using a complex systems model and a co-occurrence dataset of 363 bird species, observed across 134 sites, from 5 regions across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest totalling 27,226 interactions. Both theoretical and empirical results show that interspecific interactions vary non-monotonically with forest cover and are more positive than average in areas with higher forest cover, and to a lesser extent in highly deforested areas. Observed differences in interactions reflect both species turnover and changes in pairwise interactions. Our results point to changes in stability across the gradient of deforestation that may lead to varying community resilience to environmental perturbations

Intraspecific variation in sensitivity to habitat fragmentation is influenced by forest cover and distance to the range edge

The relative effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity have been a topic of discussion for decades. While it is acknowledged that habitat amount can mediate the effects of habitat fragmentation, it is unclear what other factors may drive inter- and intraspecific variation in fragmentation effects and their implications for conservation. We tested whether the effects of forest fragmentation on 362 bird species' occurrence in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil are mediated by distance to geographic range edge and habitat amount, and whether these effects explain intraspecific variation across populations. Using a single binomial linear mixed effects model, we found that fragmentation had mostly negative effects on occurrence probability up to 1080 km from the species' range edge, independent of habitat amount. We also show that above this distance, fragmentation has predominantly positive effects, more accentuated in deforested landscapes. We demonstrate that fragmentation effects can be both positive and negative, indicating that different populations of the same species can respond differently depending on distance to range edge and local forest cover. Our results help clarify one of the drivers of contradictory results found in the fragmentation literature and highlight the importance of preventing habitat fragmentation for the conservation of endangered populations. Conservation initiatives should focus on minimising fragmentation closer to range edges of target species and in regions where species range edges overlap

As aves da Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande (Cotia, SP)

Um total de 198 espécies de aves foi registrado na Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande. O levantamento foi realizado entre os anos de 2001 e 2003, utilizando-se métodos de amostragem qualitativos e quantitativos (redes de neblina e pontos fixos). O número de espécies registrado através dos métodos quantitativos foi menor do que o número total de aves presentes na Reserva, sendo 98 espécies registradas nos pontos fixos e 46 nas redes de neblina. Apesar das diferenças, os dois métodos se mostraram eficientes na detecção de padrões de distribuição das aves. Existe uma grande heterogeneidade da avifauna na Reserva, sendo que as diferenças mais marcantes são entre os trechos de matas primárias e secundárias. As matas primárias são mais ricas e apresentam muitas espécies exclusivas. No entanto, mesmo entre os trechos de mata secundária também existem diferenças. Apesar de ser uma grande área de mata contígua às matas da Serra de Paranapiacaba, muitas aves parecem já ter desaparecido da Reserva, como as sensíveis à caça e os frugívoros de dossel. Mesmo assim a Reserva do Morro Grande abriga uma alta diversidade de espécies, com muitas aves endêmicas e ameaçadas. A manutenção e recuperação de suas matas representam importantes ações para a conservação das aves da Mata Atlântica

Using a Systematic Approach to Select Flagship Species for Bird Conservation

Conservation marketing campaigns that focus on flagship species play a vital role in biological diversity conservation because they raise funds and change people’s behavior. However, most flagship species are selected without considering the target audience of the campaign, which can hamper the campaign’s effectiveness. To address this problem, we used a systematic and stakeholder-driven approach to select flagship species for a conservation campaign in the Serra do Urubu in northeastern Brazil. We based our techniques on environmental economic and marketing methods. We used choice experiments to examine the species attributes that drive preference and latent-class models to segment respondents into groups by preferences and socioeconomic characteristics. We used respondent preferences and information on bird species inhabiting the Serra do Urubu to calculate a flagship species suitability score. We also asked respondents to indicate their favorite species from a set list to enable comparison between methods. The species’ traits that drove audience preference were geographic distribution, population size, visibility, attractiveness, and survival in captivity. However, the importance of these factors differed among groups and groups differed in their views on whether species with small populations and the ability to survive in captivity should be prioritized. The popularity rankings of species differed between approaches, a result that was probably related to the different ways in which the 2 methods measured preference. Our new approach is a transparent and evidence-based method that can be used to refine the way stakeholders are engaged in the design of conservation marketing campaigns

The golden lancehead Bothrops insularis (Serpentes: Viperidae) relies on two seasonally plentiful bird species visiting its island habitat

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Adult individuals of the island pitviper Bothrops insularis have a diet based on birds. We analysed bird species recorded in the gut of this snake and found that it relies on two out of 41 bird species recorded on the island. When present, these two prey species were among the most abundant passerine birds on the island. A few other migrant birds were very occasionally recorded as prey. A resident bird species (Troglodytes musculus) is the most abundant passerine on the island, but seems able to avoid predation by the viper. Bothrops insularis is most commonly found on the ground. However, during the abundance peak of the tyrannid passerine Elaenia chilensis on the island, more snakes were found on vegetation than on the ground. We suggest that one cause may be that these birds forage mostly on vegetation, and thus cause the snakes to search for prey on this arboreal substratum.4613-14885895Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

The golden lancehead Bothrops insularis (Serpentes: Viperidae) relies on two seasonally plentiful bird species visiting its island habitat

Adult individuals of the island pitviper Bothrops insularis have a diet based on birds. We analysed bird species recorded in the gut of this snake and found that it relies on two out of 41 bird species recorded on the island. When present, these two prey species were among the most abundant passerine birds on the island. A few other migrant birds were very occasionally recorded as prey. A resident bird species (Troglodytes musculus) is the most abundant passerine on the island, but seems able to avoid predation by the viper. Bothrops insularis is most commonly found on the ground. However, during the abundance peak of the tyrannid passerine Elaenia chilensis on the island, more snakes were found on vegetation than on the ground. We suggest that one cause may be that these birds forage mostly on vegetation, and thus cause the snakes to search for prey on this arboreal substratum4613-14885895CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPsem informaçã

Historical knowledge, richness and relative representativeness of the avifauna of the largest native urban rainforest in the world

Stretching for more than 10,000 ha in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, Serra da Cantareira comprises the largest native urban rainforest in the World, harboring a rich and diverse Atlantic Forest avifauna. Despite its closeness to major urban areas, few bird surveys have been conducted there. In this article we present an updated compilation of all bird species recorded for Serra da Cantareira, including personal records from the authors. A total of 326 species have been recorded for Serra da Cantareira since 1901; of these, nine have not been sighted there for the last two decades. The number of bird species endemic to the Atlantic Forest is high (80), and seven of its species are globally threatened. According to multivariate analyses the species diversity at Serra da Cantareira is similar to other regions of the Atlantic Forest, such as Carlos Botelho and Intervales state parks, where the vegetation is also ombrophilous dense forest. We discuss local changes in the avifaunal composition over the last decades and suggest the incorporation of large forest remnants to the Cantareira State Park to mitigate the impact of the northern section of Rodoanel Mário Covas, a highway (SP-21) that will soon be operational and will negatively impact the biodiversity of Serra da Cantareira

Deforestation alters species interactions

Abstract Interspecific interactions are a major determinant of stability in ecological communities and are known to vary with biotic and abiotic conditions. Deforestation is the primary driver of the ongoing sixth mass extinction, yet its effect on species interactions remains largely unexplored. We investigate how deforestation affects species interactions using a complex systems model and a co‐occurrence dataset of 363 bird species, observed across 134 sites, from 5 regions across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest totalling 27,226 interactions. Both theoretical and empirical results show that interspecific interactions vary non‐monotonically with forest cover and are more positive than average in areas with higher forest cover, and to a lesser extent in highly deforested areas. Observed differences in interactions reflect both species turnover and changes in pairwise interactions. Our results point to changes in stability across the gradient of deforestation that may lead to varying community resilience to environmental perturbations. Key Interdisciplinary Aspects Species interactions are expected to vary due to the biological, chemical and physical changes caused by deforestation on their local environment. We use a mathematical complex systems approach, as well as ecological data, to show that species interactions are more positive in highly forested areas. We propose that the alteration of species interactions caused by deforestation will affect the stability of communities and their resilience to future perturbations (e.g. climate change)