The guild of fruit-feeding butterflies in a fragmented landscape in the upper Paraiba River basin, São Paulo, Brazil

Orientador: Keith S. BrownDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de BiologiaResumo: Atualmente grande parte da Mata Atlântica do Estado de São Paulo encontra-se distribuída em fragmentos de diferentes tamanhos. Estudos anteriores indicam que a fragmentação florestal afeta a comunidade de borboletas podendo alterar sua composição e diversidade. Tendo em vista a importância de se conhecer a fauna destes remanescentes florestais, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo caracterizar a guilda de borboletas frugívoras de dez remanescentes florestais (11 a 83 hectares) no Alto Paraíba - SP e verificar se a diversidade deste grupo se distribui de maneira aleatória no tempo e no espaço. Os fragmentos encontram-se inseridos em uma matriz composta principalmente por campos ruderais, áreas de pecuária extensiva e áreas de silvicultura. As amostragens foram feitas mensalmente utilizando-se armadilhas modelo ¿Van Someren-Rydon¿. A cada mês as armadilhas permaneceram abertas no campo por oito dias consecutivos. Como isca foi utilizada uma mistura de banana com caldo de cana fermentada por 48h. A hipótese de que as borboletas frugívoras se distribuem aleatoriamente no tempo e no espaço foi testada através da partição temporal e espacial da diversidade total. Durante 13 meses foram amostradas 6488 borboletas frugívoras pertencentes a 73 espécies e cinco subfamílias. Segundo os estimadores de riqueza Chao 2 e Jacknife a guilda de borboletas frugívoras foi quase totalmente amostrada, e provavelmente o número de borboletas que estão presentes na comunidade e não foram amostradas está entre duas e 10 espécies (Chao 2 = 80,56 + 5,96; Jacknife = 83,89 + 3,46). Esta riqueza é equivalente à encontrada em ambientes com características semelhantes, porém com um menor grau de perturbação humana e fragmentação como a Serra do Japi -SP e a Reserva do Morro Grande ¿ SP, demonstrando que apesar do avançado processo de fragmentação na região do Alto Paraíba, os remanescentes florestais ainda retêm uma boa parte da riqueza que seria esperada para a região. Segundo as análises de similaridade, as comunidades dos fragmentos são muito parecidas entre si. Apesar desta grande semelhança, existem pequenas diferenças na composição de espécies das guildas que podem ser verificadas em testes mais sensíveis a estas diferenças como as análises de entorno e de partição de diversidade. As análises de entorno demonstraram que a composição e abundância das comunidades de borboletas frugívoras são fortemente determinadas pela vegetação que se encontra em seu entorno imediato (em um raio de 100m em torno da unidade amostral). A partição aditiva da diversidade mostrou que as borboletas se encontram mais agrupadas do que o esperado ao acaso tanto temporalmente como espacialmente, porém isto ocorre somente nas menores escalas analisadas. Provavelmente os recursos e condições favoráveis para a ocorrência destes insetos são distribuídos de forma agregada no tempo e no espaço, resultando na agregação das espécies e indivíduos. Estes resultados podem nortear a criação de protocolos mais eficientes que facilitem a produção de inventários de borboletas frugívoras e reiteram seu potencial como indicadores ambientais. Os padrões verificados neste estudo demonstram que a escala de paisagem não é a mais importante na estruturação da comunidade de borboletas frugívoras, mas sim os fatores locais, resultando em padrões mais consistentes observados nas menores escalas em ambas as abordagens utilizadasAbstract: Most of the Atlantic Forest in the State of São Paulo occurs in fragments of various sizes. Previous studies indicate that forest fragmentation affects the butterfly community, changing its composition and diversity. In view of the importance of knowing the fauna of these forest remainders, the present work had the objective to characterize the assemblage of fruit-feeding butterflies of ten forest fragments (ranging from 11 to 83 hectares) in the Upper Paraíba River Basin - SP and verify if the diversity of this group is randomly distributed in time and space. The fragments are in a matrix composed of anthropogenic scrub, areas of extensive cattle pasture and areas of Eucalyptus plantation. The samplings were made monthly using "Van Someren-Rydon" traps. In each month the traps remained open in the field for eight consecutive days. A mixture of banana with sugar cane juice fermented for 48h was used as bait. The hypothesis that the fruit-feeding butterflies are randomly distributed in time and space was tested using additive partitioning of diversity. During 13 months 6488 individuals of 73 species and five subfamilies of fruit-feeding butterflies were sampled. According to the Chao 2 and Jacknife estimators the assemblage of fruit-feeding butterflies was almost totally sampled; the number of butterflies present in the community but not sampled is between two and 10 species (Chao 2 = 80.56 + 5.96; Jacknife = 83.89 + 3.46). These results are equivalent to those found in environments with similar characteristics but with less human disturbance and fragmentation, such as the Serra do Japi (SP) and the Reserva do Morro Grande (SP), showing that despite the extensive fragmentation of natural vegetation in the region of the Upper Paraíba River Basin - SP, the forest remants still retain much of the diversity expected in the region. Similarity analyses showed that the communities in the fragments are very similar to one another. Despite this great similarity, small differences in the composition of species assemblages can be verified in more sensible tests like the analysis of the surroundings and additive partitioning of diversity. Surroundings analysis showed that the composition and abundance of the assemblages are strongly determined by the vegetation of the immediate surroundings (radius of 100m around the sample unit). Additive partitioning of diversity showed that the butterflies species were more grouped than expected in space and time, principally at the small scales examined. Probably, the favorable resources and conditions for the occurrence of these insects are not randomly distributed in time and space, resulting in the aggregation of species and individuals. These results can guide the creation of more efficient protocols to help inventories of fruit-feeding butterflies, and reaffirm their potential as indicators. The patterns verified in this study show that the landscape scale is not the most important in determining the assemblage of fruit-feeding butterflies. Local factors give more consistent patterns, observed in the small scales in both analyses used.MestradoMestre em Ecologi

Understanding Brazil’s catastrophic fires : causes, consequences and policy needed to prevent future tragedies

Brazil has experienced unprecedented wildfires in the last decade. Images ofimmense burnt areas or dead animals that failed to escape the 2020 wildfires have shocked the world. To prevent or minimize further similardisasters wemustunderstandthe factors thathave ledto these catastrophic events. The causes and consequences of wildfires entail complex interactions between the biophysical and sociocultural spheres, and suitable management decisions require a sound scientific base. We present the recent panorama of increasing fire outbreaks in the Brazilian biomes, and discuss the causes that have contributed to such fires, their impacts on the environment and overall consequences for human well-being, based on reviewing the extensive specialist literature, on authors’ expert knowledge and information provided by environmental managers, researchers and politicians during a workshop organized to debate the wildfire issue in Brazil. Our up-to-date review is aimed at the academic public, environmental managers and decision- and policy-makers. First, we present evidence on the contrasting effects of fire on different ecosystems. Second, we outline the historic perceptions and policies related to fire use and management in Brazil since its colonization to the present date. Third, we propose means to advance fire prevention and develop successful management strategies. Finally, we answer frequently asked questions to clarify and/or demystify some fire-related issues not always properly addressed in the media

The effects of reduce-impact logging on fruit-feeding butterflies in Central Amazon, Brazil

Orientador: André Victor Lucci FreitasTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de BiologiaResumo: A Amazônia representa mais da metade da área de todas as florestas tropicais do mundo, e vem sendo ameaçada por diversas atividades antrópicas, incluindo vários tipos de extração de madeira. O corte seletivo de impacto reduzido (em inglês "Reduced Impact Logging - RIL") é considerado um método menos destrutivo de exploração madeireira que promove uma menor alteração na estrutura da floresta comparado com métodos convencionais. No entanto, existem poucas informações sobre os efeitos do RIL em invertebrados, incluindo borboletas. Desta forma, investigamos o efeito do RIL na estrutura da vegetação florestal e sobre as borboletas frugívoras, comparando a fauna do dossel e do sub-bosque entre uma área explorada (RIL) e uma área não explorada (controle). Devido à pouca informação disponível sobre protocolos de amostragem para as borboletas tropicais, alguns aspectos metodológicos relativos à amostragem dos ninfalídeos frugívoros foram investigados. Analisamos como a detectabilidade varia entre diferentes espécies, habitats (Amazônia x Mata Atlântica), estratos da floresta e também qual o esforço adequado de amostragem para detectar uma certa quantidade espécies em uma determinada área, no prente estudo esta quantidade foi estabelecida como 25% do total de espécies estimado no local. Implicações biológicas Uma floresta não explorada apresenta árvores adultas e juvenis maiores do que as de uma floresta explorada (RIL). O número de plântulas e mudas é maior na floresta explorada (RIL) e a distribuição de freqüências de tamanhos (SDFslope) não foi diferente entre as áreas de RIL (-2,61) e não explorada (-2,31). A abertura do dossel foi maior na floresta não explorada, provavelmente devido a um aumento das plantas do sub-bosque na floresta RIL. A área basal e altura das árvores foram maiores na floresta não explorada. Em relação às borboletas frugívoras, a fauna do dossel é diferente e significativamente mais rica do que a fauna do sub-bosque, mostrando que amostrar apenas o estrato mais baixo pode subestimar a diversidade de borboletas. Os efeitos do RIL foram detectados principalmente na assembleia de borboletas do sub-bosque, onde foram observadas diferenças significativas na composição de espécies entre as áreas. Os impactos do RIL, que incluem o corte de árvores, a abertura de trilhas de arraste e de estradas, são mais intensos no sub-bosque do que no dossel. Estas diferentes intensidades de impacto no dossel e no sub-bosque podem explicar os diferentes efeitos do RIL nas borboletas presente nesses estratos. Considerando o grande potencial das borboletas frugívoras para prever as respostas de vários outros grupos taxonômicos à perturbação da floresta na Amazônia, esperamos que padrões semelhantes sejam encontrados em outros táxons. No entanto, apesar dos efeitos detectáveis do RIL em borboletas frugívoras, não pudemos perceber espécies que foram excluídas ou que invadiram a área de RIL, os nossos resultados mostram principalmente diferenças nas abundâncias das espécies entre as áreas. Este resultado é similar ao encontrado em estudos feitos com outros taxa mostra que o RIL em geral não altera a diversidade de espécies podendo ser uma alternativa para preservar uma parcela significativa da fauna em áreas com este tipo de exploração. A criação de áreas protegidas na Amazônia apesar de desejável é bastante complicada e nem sempre é efetiva na preservação da cobertura vegetal, assim sendo o corte seletivo de impacto reduzido pode ser considerado uma boa alternativa para preservar borboletas frugívoras na floresta amazônica e, certamente, muitos outros táxons. Além disso, devido ao alto valor da madeira produzida neste sistema, esta poderia ser uma alternativa econômica desejável para a região. Implicações metodológicas Quase todas as borboletas e mariposas amostrados no presente estudo foram mais facilmente amostradas em um estrato específico (dossel ou sub-bosque). No presente estudo, mesmo as espécies mais comuns do dossel raramente foram amostradas no subbosque. Assim, fazer uso de um protocolo de amostragem que não utiliza armadilhas em ambos os estratos irá aumentar os erros de detecção de muitas borboletas e pode conduzir a inferências incorretas sobre a riqueza e diversidade em uma determinada área. As diferenças na detectabilidade entre os meses no conjunto de dados da Amazônia mostraram que mesmo quando as borboletas são amostradas durante o período do ano com maior probabilidade de captura, existem diferenças importantes na detectabilidade entre os meses. A baixa detectabilidade e a grande variação entre os estratos e meses nos levam a propor que, para borboletas frugívoras, a amostragem deve ser feita na época correta e em florestas altas os diferentes estratos devem ser considerados de modo a reduzir os erros de detecção e possíveis vieses nos resultados. O esforço amostral mínimo para a detecção de 25% das espécies presentes nas florestas tropicais é de 130 armadilhas / dia para a Mata Atlântica e 510 dias para Amazônia Central. Além disso, a amostragem deve ser feita com réplicas temporais em um curto espaço de tempo para aumentar o poder de interpretação dos dados coletadosAbstract: The Amazon region represents more than half of the area of all tropical forests in the world, and has been threatened by many anthropogenic activities, including several kinds of timber harvesting. Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL) is considered a less destructive method of timber harvesting that promotes a smaller change in forest structure than conventional logging. However, there is a general lack of information about the effects of RIL on Amazonian invertebrates, including butterflies. We therefore investigated the effect of RIL on forest vegetation structure and on fruit-feeding butterflies by comparing their distribution on canopy and understory between an area under RIL and a control area without RIL. Because of the relative lack of information about sampling protocols for tropical butterflies, some methodological aspects of fruit-feeding Nymphalidae sampling were investigated. We analyzed the variation in detectability among species, habitats (Amazon x Atlantic Forest), layers and the adequate sampling effort need for detect an specific amount of species in a given area were analyzed in this thesis, in the present study this amount was established as 25% of the total estimated species richness. Biological implications An unlogged forest has bigger juveniles and adult trees, and less seedlings and saplings than a RIL forest, and the Size Frequency Distribution (SDF) slope was not different from those of logged (-2.61) and unlogged (-2.31) areas. The canopy openness was greater in the unlogged forest, probably due to an increase of understory plants in the RIL forest. The basal area was wider and the height was taller in unlogged forest trees. In relation to the fruit-feeding butterflies, the canopy fauna is different and significantly richer than the understory fauna, showing that sampling only the lower strata underestimates the diversity of fruit-feeding butterflies. The effects of RIL were mainly detected in the understory butterfly assemblage, as significant differences were observed in species composition within this stratum. Effects of the RIL regime, which include tree cutting, skid trails and road openings, are stronger in the understory than in the canopy, explaining the reported differences. Despite the detectable effects of RIL on the composition of fruit-feeding butterfly's assemblages the overall diversity was not affected, this pattern is very similar for many other taxa indicating that a noticeable part of the diversity of many taxa could be preserved in areas under RIL management. Given the problems of creating protected areas in the Amazon, RIL is a good alternatives to preserve fruit-feeding butterflies and surely many other taxa, and it might be a desirable economic alternative for the region. Methodological implications Almost all butterflies and moths sampled in the present study were more readily trapped in one specific stratum. Indeed, in the present study, even the most common canopy species were rarely sampled in the understory. Thus, using a sampling protocol that does not locate traps in both layers will increase the imperfect detection of many butterflies and could lead to incorrect inferences about the richness and diversity in a given area. The differences in detectability between months in the Amazon dataset showed that even with an experimental design planned for sampling butterflies during the period that enhances capture probability, there are important differences in butterfly detectability across months. The low detectability and great variation among strata and months in fruit-feeding butterflies lead us to assume that sampling designs must address sampling effort to the correct season and strata reducing imperfect detections and biases in the results. The minimal sampling effort for detecting 25% of the species present in tropical forests is 130 trap/days in Atlantic Forest and 510 days in Central Amazon. Additionally, such sampling should use temporal replication over a short period to improve the interpretability of the data collectedDoutoradoDoutor em Ecologi

Records of threatened bird and mammal species in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

We conducted a detailed review of threatened bird and mammal occurrence records obtained from surveys across Mato Grosso do Sul, midwestern region of Brazil which has an extent of 357,145 km2, aiming to support environmental and biodiversity conservation initiatives, as strategic plans to protect threatened species in this region. We included all records of species categorized as threatened by the Brazilian and global red list of threatened species. We collected 760 records of threatened birds and mammals in Mato Grosso do Sul State, with 319 records of 40 bird’s species and 441 records of 24 mammal’s species. The status of the 40 bird species under de Brazilian threat category were as follow: 1 Critically Threatened (CR), 6 Endangered (EN), 11 Vulnerable (VU), 11 Near Threatened (NT), and 11 species only in the IUCN red list. Under the IUCN category for the bird´s species, were as follow: 3 EN, 13 VU, 18 NT, 5 Least Concern (LC) and 1 taxon has not yet been assessed for the IUCN Red List. Regarding mammal’s species under the Brazilian threat category were as follow: 2 EN, 18 VU, 2 NT and 1 only in the IUCN red list. Under the IUCN status the species ranged from 2 EN, 6 VU, 10 NT, and 6 LC. Each record identified corresponds to the existence of at least one occurrence of threatened birds or mammals in a particular region. The records of threatened species belongs to the three biomes in the state: 269 mammal’s records and 147 bird’s records from Cerrado (Neotropical Savanna) biome, 117 mammal’s records and 162 bird’s records from Pantanal (Wetland) biome, and 55 mammal’s records and 10 bird’s records from Atlantic Forest biome. In addition, we also included in the dataset environmental information where each record was obtained. Supplementary Files 1- Records of Threatened Mammals_MS_Brazil and Supplementary File 2. Records of Threatened Birds of_MS_Brazil Keywords: Threatened species, Protected areas, Database, Brazi

Temporal diversity patterns and phenology in fruit-feeding butterflies in the atlantic forest

The Atlantic Forest deserves special attention due to its high level of species endemism and degree of threat. As in other tropical biomes, there is little information about the ecology of the organisms that occur there. The objectives of this study were to verify how fruit‐feeding butterflies are distributed through time, and the relation with meteorological conditions. Species richness and Shannon index were partitioned additively at the monthly level, and β diversity, used as a hierarchical measure of temporal species turnover, was calculated among months, trimesters, and semesters. Circular analysis was used to verify how butterflies are distributed along seasons and its relation with meteorological conditions. We sampled 6488 individuals of 73 species. Temporal diversity of butterflies was more grouped than expected by chance among the months of each trimester. Circular analyses revealed that diversity is concentrated in hot months (September–March), with the subfamily Brassolinae strongly concentrated in February–March. Average temperature was correlated with total abundance of butterflies, abundance of Biblidinae, Brassolinae and Morphinae, and richness of Satyrinae. The present results show that 3 mo of sampling between September and March is enough to produce a nonbiased sample of the local assemblage of butterflies, containing at least 70 percent of the richness and 25 percent of abundance. The influence of temperature on sampling is probably related to butterfly physiology. Moreover, temperature affects resource availability for larvae and adults, which is higher in hot months. The difference in seasonality patterns among subfamilies is probably a consequence of different evolutionary pressures through time426710716CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP300282/2008‐7; 303878/2008‐803/11697‐0; 00/01484‐1; 04/05269‐9; 98/05101‐8; 02/08558‐6We would like to thank L. C. Garcia for the help with circular analyses and the two anonymous referees for the comments that helped us to improve the manuscript. We thank the Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA) and the Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) for providing meteorological information about São Luiz do Paraitinga. We also thank the several landowners who permitted fieldwork within their properties. DBR thanks FAPESP for a fellowship (grant #03/11697‐0). AVLF acknowledges the FAPESP (grants #00/01484‐1 and #04/05269‐9), the CNPq (fellowship #300282/2008‐7), and the National Science Foundation (DEB grant #0527441). PIP acknowledges the FAPESP and CNPq (fellowship #303878/2008‐8). This project is part of BIOTA‐FAPESP program (grants #98/05101‐8 to AVLF and #02/08558‐6 to PIP

Fire Has a Positive Effect on the Abundance of Sun Spiders (Arachnida: Solifugae) in the Cerrado-Pantanal Ecotone

Fire is an important disturbance factor in shrublands, grasslands, and savannas. It alters the habitat of a multitude of species and, under natural dynamics, is a major determinant of landscape vegetation patterns. Here, we evaluate the effects of different wildfire regimes on the abundance of sun spiders in the Cerrado-Pantanal ecotone. To study how different fire regimes affect the number of individual sun spiders, we considered the frequency of fire occurrences in the last 20 years and classified locations as high frequency or low frequency. We also classified the time of the last fire in 2020 as occurring in the first or second half of the year. In addition, we compared the number of individual sun spiders before and after fire. We found no effects of fire frequency and period when the fire occurred in 2020, but the number of individual sun spiders was higher after wildfires. Although ground-dwelling are considered fire sensitive, some can employ strategies to tolerate fire so that they are able to not only survive, but also reproduce in fire-prone landscapes. Thus, we suggest that sun spiders are resilient, can explore sites under different fire regimes, and can be considered pyrophilous species

Flower functional trait responses to restoration time

Abstract Questions: (1) Do species richness, flower functional diversity and redundancy of tree and non-tree species increase with restoration age; (2) are the flower traits of the reference forest similar to those found in restored sites; and (3) does species originality, in terms of unique combinations of different set of flower traits, differ among sites? Location: Forests restored by planting a high diversity assemblage of tree species, within the Atlantic Rain Forest, Brazil. Methods: We sampled all reproductive individuals (353 species) and classified them in terms of floral type, colour, size, generalization level and openness. As most trees were planted and non-tree species (sub-shrub, shrub, herbs, epiphytes, climbers and hemi-parasitic plants) were mostly naturally established, we analysed them in separate analyses. We compared species richness, functional diversity, redundancy and originality among sites. Moreover, we identified optimal subsets of flower traits to describe vegetation succession trends. Results: (1) Flower functional diversity of tree species could be achieved after two decades of restoration, but remained far from reference values for non-tree species. The same gap regarding reference values occurred with species richness, which increased over restoration periods, although were far from the reference values. Redundancy and functional diversity are not related to restoration age. (2) Red/burgundy colour, gullet and bell-funnel shape and large size were identified as indicators of the reference forest flowers. Different indicator traits were found for each restoration sites. (3) Sites were similar regarding originality for tree and for non-tree species. Conclusion: A highly diverse species pool seems to promise to increase richness and functional diversity of tree species, but not of non-tree species. Trait analyses have important implications for restoration projects and can be used instead of species taxonomic identity, especially for highly diverse tropical forests. Such functional diversity may be advanced through a priori definition of which species from the regional pool can be used in plantings for forest restoration, with special attention to functional traits of non-tree species. Otherwise, restoration sites in highly fragmented landscapes will not reach functional diversity of reference sites, even after a five-decade period

Bird species richness, composition and abundance in pastures are affected by vegetation structure and distance from natural habitats: a single tree in pastures matters

<p>Throughout the world, natural habitats have been replaced by pastures. Thus, bird conservation requires making pastures more accessible for birds. The use of pastures by birds inhabiting the surrounding natural habitats may be affected by the structure of pastures and their distance from natural habitats. In this study we tested whether bird species richness, composition and abundance in pastures of the Brazilian Cerrado are linked to habitat and dietary requirements and affected by vegetation structure and the distance to natural habitats. We found that pastures with more trees and shrubs had greater richness of forest birds, forest insectivorous birds and semi-forest insectivorous-frugivorous birds. Pastures with taller trees had greater richness of semi-forest insectivorous birds, and pastures closer to natural habitats had greater richness of forest frugivorous birds. Bird composition in pastures changed according to vegetation structure and distance from natural habitats, and the abundance of some bird species was positively correlated to vegetation structure and negatively correlated to distance from natural habitats. These findings highlight the importance of trees and shrubs in pastures and maintaining patches of natural habitats near pastures. Management measures can make pastures more accessible for birds from surrounding natural environments and could help in bird conservation.</p