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three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data.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

Trilhas podem influenciar a composição florística e a diversidade de epífitas na Floresta Atlântica?

Um tipo de efeito de borda ainda pouco explorado é aquele exercido por trilhas. Testamos a hipótese de que áreas a diferentes distâncias de uma trilha em um fragmento de Mata Atlântica em São Paulo difeririam em relação à composição e diversidade de espécies de epífitas vasculares. Instalamos 20 parcelas de 2 × 50 m para marcar os forófitos nos quais seria feito o levantamento das epífitas. Diferenças na composição florística entre as áreas mais próximas e mais distantes da trilha não foram suficientes para agrupar as parcelas de cada área de forma coesa pela análise de ordenação NMDS. A diversidade (riqueza e equabilidade) de espécies mostrou-se também similar. Parece que o impacto causado pela trilha não seria suficiente para influenciar essa comunidade epifítica, o que pode ser devido a outros fatores ambientais que estariam atuando no trecho investigado ou simplesmente porque as epífitas não responderiam a um efeito de borda como o de trilhas

Can trails influence floristic composition and species diversity of the epiphytic component in the Atlantic Forest?

One type of edge effect little explored is that driven by trails. We evaluated the hypothesis that areas with different degrees of distance by a trail would differ in the species composition and diversity of vascular epiphytes in an Atlantic forest fragment in São Paulo, Brazil. We placed twenty plots of 2 × 50 m to mark the phorophytes and to survey the respective epiphytic component. Differences in floristic composition between the impacted areas and no impacted ones were not enough to stablish groups or blocks cohesively in NMDS ordination analysis. The species diversity (richness and evenness) was also similar. It seems that the impact caused by the trail has not been enough to be related with modifications in our epiphytic community. It could be explained by the other environmental variables in the studied stretch or simply because epiphytes not respond to an edge effect like trail effect.Um tipo de efeito de borda ainda pouco explorado é aquele exercido por trilhas. Testamos a hipótese de que áreas a diferentes distâncias de uma trilha em um fragmento de Mata Atlântica em São Paulo difeririam em relação à composição e diversidade de espécies de epífitas vasculares. Instalamos 20 parcelas de 2 × 50 m para marcar os forófitos nos quais seria feito o levantamento das epífitas. Diferenças na composição florística entre as áreas mais próximas e mais distantes da trilha não foram suficientes para agrupar as parcelas de cada área de forma coesa pela análise de ordenação NMDS. A diversidade (riqueza e equabilidade) de espécies mostrou-se também similar. Parece que o impacto causado pela trilha não seria suficiente para influenciar essa comunidade epifítica, o que pode ser devido a outros fatores ambientais que estariam atuando no trecho investigado ou simplesmente porque as epífitas não responderiam a um efeito de borda como o de trilhas.74375

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)