Riparian quality and connectivity towards biodiversity-related ecosystem services: a proxy-based approach in Mediterranean human-dominated landscapes

Doutoramento FLUVIO - River Restoration and Management / Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Instituto Superior Técnico / Faculdade de Arquitetura. Universidade de LisboaRiparian ecosystems located in Mediterranean regions are highly biodiverse and provide valuable Ecosystem Services (ES). The ecological response of riparian ecosystems to distinct human and environmental effects has been widely studied, but there has been a lack of robust methods capable of predicting their potential in supporting biodiversity and related ES. In this thesis, riparian quality and connectivity metrics were used as surrogates of the potential of riparian ecosystems to support biodiversity and related ES in three Mediterranean human-dominated landscapes: Intensive agriculture (IA), Extensive agriculture (EA) and Forest production (FP). Riparian quality was assessed through the development of a novel proxy-based index, integrating metrics related to the structure, management and floristic composition of REs with their suitability in supporting biological groups with distinct dispersal abilities: short-range, medium-range and long-range dispersers. Riparian connectivity was calculated using a structural and functional approach, where the area of riparian ecosystems was used as representative of the available habitat. The main conclusions showed that riparian ecosystems located in the FP and IA landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest riparian quality, mainly due to their inaccessibility and the surrounding pressures of the agricultural matrix, respectively. Additionally, riparian ecosystems located in the EA landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for long-range dispersers, despite providing less available habitat as a result of specific management actions. Regarding riparian connectivity, results showed a tendency of reduced connectivity in the Mediterranean region, due to land-use intensification, hydromorphological alterations and the dryness of the Mediterranean climate. Furthermore, riparian ecosystems dominated by woody vegetation seemed to have a higher potential for biological dispersal. This thesis was developed to study the underlying processes that link riparian quality to connectivity. In the end, the maintenance and improvement of riparian ecosystems, especially when dominated by woody vegetation, proved to be crucial to attain ecological quality and connectivity in Mediterranean human-dominated landscapesOs ecossistemas ribeirinhos localizados em regiões Mediterrânicas são altamente biodiversos e providenciam valiosos Serviços do Ecossistema (SE). Não obstante o facto da sua resposta ecológica a distintas pressões humanas e ambientais ter sido amplamente estudada, tem havido uma generalizada falta de métodos robustos capazes de predizer o seu potencial para a biodiversidade e SE relacionados. Nesta tese, métricas de qualidade e conectividade foram utilizadas como representativas do potencial dos ecossistemas ribeirinhos para a biodiversidade e SE relacionados em três paisagens Mediterrânicas antrópicas: Agricultura intensiva (AI), Agricultura extensiva (AE) e Floresta de produção (FP). A qualidade foi avaliada através do desenvolvimento de um novo índice biológico, integrando métricas relacionadas com a estrutura, gestão e composição florística dos ecossistemas ribeirinhos com a sua aptidão para grupos biológicos com capacidades distintas de dispersão: dispersores de curta-distância, média-distância e longa-distância. A conectividade foi calculada através de uma abordagem estrutural e funcional, onde a área dos ecossistemas ribeirinhos foi utilizada como representativa dos habitats disponíveis. As principais conclusões mostraram que os ecossistemas ribeirinhos localizados nas paisagens de FP e AI exibiriam a maior e menor qualidade, principalmente devido à sua inacessibilidade e às pressões da matriz agrícola, respetivamente. Adicionalmente, os ecossistemas ribeirinhos localizados na paisagem de AE mostraram-se particularmente relevantes para dispersores de longa-distância, apesar de disponibilizarem menos habitat devido a ações de gestão específicas. Em relação à conectividade, os resultados mostraram reduzida conectividade na região Mediterrânica, dada a intensificação do uso da terra, alterações hidromorfológicas e aridez do clima Mediterrânico. Paralelamente, os ecossistemas ribeirinhos dominados por vegetação lenhosa mostraram ter um maior potencial para a dispersão biológica. Esta tese baseia-se no estudo dos processos que ligam a qualidade à conectividade ribeirinha. No fim, a manutenção e melhoramento dos ecossistemas ribeirinhos, especialmente quando dominados por vegetação lenhosa, provaram ser cruciais para a obtenção de qualidade e conectividade em paisagens Mediterrânicas antrópicasN/

Flora da península de Setúbal: uma contribuição para o conhecimento da etnobotânica

O conhecimento etnobotânico já acumulado de uma determinada região constitui uma importante ferramenta na gestão e conservação dos seus recursos naturais. Devido à escassez e importância de estudos etnobotânicos em Portugal, realizou-se um estudo que procurou contribuir para o conhecimento etnobotânico já adquirido para a flora da Península de Setúbal. Em 2015 fez-se um levantamento bibliográfico da etnoflora local, realizaram-se entrevistas a algumas pessoas da península que mostraram ter conhecimentos distintos sobre as utilizações das plantas e produziu-se uma brochura baseada nos resultados obtidos. Foram realizadas 15 entrevistas a 14 informantes, catalogados 66 táxones e identificados 46 tipos de uso diferentes; Península de Setúbal's flora – A contribution to the ethnobotanical knowledge ABSTRACT: The ethnobotanical knowledge of a certain region is an important tool for the conservation and management of it's natural resources. Due to the lack of ethnobotanical studies in Portugal, a study was carried on with the objective to contribute to the already established ethnobotanical knowledge for the Península de Setúbal's flora. In 2015, a bibliographical study of the region's ethnoflora was carried on in conjunction with some ethnobotanical interviews. The interviews were made to local people who showed interest and distinct knowledge about plant usage. A small publication was created based up the obtained data. 15 interviews were made, 14 informants were interviewed, 66 taxa were cataloged and 46 different kinds of usage were identified

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

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Núcleos de Ensino da Unesp: artigos 2007

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved