60 research outputs found

    Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

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    Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

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    Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

    Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

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    Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

    Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

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    The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

    The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

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    Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

    Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

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    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

    I Congresso Ibero-Americano de Bibliotecas Escolares

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    Actas de la primera edición del I Congreso Iberoamericano de Bibliotecas Escolares, CIBES 2015, organizado por la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (España), la Universidad Estatal Paulista (Brasil) y el Ayuntamiento de Getafe (España). Celebrado: 21 - 23 de octubre de 2015 en la Universidad Estatal Paulista (Marília) y 26 - 28 de octubre de 2015 en la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Getafe)Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (España)Universidad Estatal Paulista (Brasil)Ayuntamiento de Getafe (España)Dimensiones y visiones de la biblioteca escolar en una Educación por competencias: la necesidad de una política estratégica / Miguel Ángel Marzal. -- Getafe ciudad educadora, lectora y escritora: Bibliotecas escolares / Lourdes Muñoz Santiuste. -- Presente y futuro: biblioteca escolar-CREA y proyectos interdisciplinares / Rosa Piquín. -- Cultura en información: un reto esencial de la biblioteca escolar / Mónica Baró. -- Bibliotecas escolares de Galicia: un mundo de oportunidades a favor de la Educación / Cristina Novoa. -- 10 años de la Red de Bibliotecas Escolares de Extremadura (REBEX) / Casildo Macías Pereira. -- Biblioteca Escolar y uso ético de la información para una Cultura de Paz / Ana Barrero Tíscar. -- Dinamización de la Biblioteca Escolar Plumita durante el curso escolar 2014/15 / María Antonia Cano Cañada. -- Experiencia de la creación de una biblioteca escolar / Susana Santos Martín. -- Grupo cooperativo Bibliotecas escolares en Red-Albacete / José Manuel Garrido Argandoña y Eva Leal Scasso. -- La BCREA "Juan Leiva". El fomento de la lectura desde la web social / Andrés Pulido Villar. -- Proceso de implantación de una herramienta de autoevaluación en la red de bibliotecas escolares de Extremadura (REBEX) / Casildo Macías Pereira. -- La biblioteca escolar: abriendo fronteras / Lorena Verónica Cabrera Orellana. -- O programa RBE e a avaliaçao das bibliotecas escolares: melhoria, desenvolvimiento e innovaçao / Elsa Conde. -- Profesional de Biblioteconomía y Documentación: esencial en la plantilla de la escuela / Pilar del Campo Puerta. -- Una mirada activa al proceso educativo desde la biblioteca escolar / María Jesús Fontela Fernández . -- Con otra mirada "La ilustración como vehículo de comunicación y aprendizaje en las bibliotecas escolares" / Pablo Jurado Sánchez-Galán. -- Fingertips. Recriar a biblioteca escolar na sala de aula / Rui Alfonso Mateus. -- Hablemos de libros. Cómo transformar una clase de literatura en una comunidad de interpretación de textos / Francisco César Díaz Rey. -- Inclusión social de familias inmigrantes a través de un programa de aprendizaje de la lengua castellana / Ana Carmen Tolino Fernández-Henarejos. -- O desenvolvimento de atividades de mediação de leitura em biblioteca escolar: o caso da biblioteca da Escola Sesc de Ensino Médio / Vagner Amaro. -- La biblioteca escolar. Proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de padres a hijos / Ana Carmen Tolino Fernández- Henarejos. -- Leo con y para los demás / Ismael Fernández Fernández, Ana María Moreno Vicente y Ana Beatriz Vicente Pérez. -- Nanas y arrullo. Poesía a la deriva / Bernardo Fuentes Navarrete y Carlos García-Romeral Pérez. -- Gestión y evaluación de servicios bibliotecarios para personas con dislexia: una biblioteca escolar inclusiva desde una perspectiva internacional / Carmen Jorge García-Reyes. -- Sueños lectores compartidos hechos realidad: la biblioteca escolar del C.E.I.P-S.E.S-A.A “LA PAZ” de Albacete / Ana Rosa Cabañero Tobarra, Juan Manuel Herráez, Eva Leal Scasso, María Marín Sánchez, Ana Belén Medrano Martínez y María José Nortes Ruipérez. -- El programa biblioteca escuela en Civican. La literatura como elemento motivador para la alfabetización informacional / Villar Arellano Yanguas. -- La competencia digital en el diseño curricular: desde la biblioteca al aula / Felicidad Campal García. -- O deselvomimento da pesquisa escolar por meio da competência em informaçao / Luciane de Fátima Cavalcante Beckman y Marta Leandro da Mata. -- Proyecto escolar de investigación documental "Te pillé leyendo" / José Manuel Garrido Argandoña. -- Aprender com a Biblioteca Escolar: formar para as literacias / Paula Correia y Isabel Mendinhos. -- Sucedió en el siglo XX / María Antonia Becerra Montalbán, Ángel Bernabé Muñoz y Sofía Vaz Romero. -- El Club de lectura en la nube / Belén Benito Blázquez y Ana Ordás García. -- Promover a leitura e a escrita na era digital: prácticas nas bibliotecas escolares / María Raquel Ramos. -- A biblioteca escolar e o desafío da interculturalidade: o projeto Ser + cidadao / María da Conceição Tomé. -- Cuando la competencia digital encontró a la alfabetización informacional o Mucho ruido y pocas nueces / Felicidad Campal García. -- Hora de ler, un programa para el fomento de la lectura en contexto educativo / Cristina Novoa. -- Hábitos de lectura para las competencias en información y alfabetización en información en bibliotecas escolares de Puerto Rico / Karen Denise Centeno Casillas. -- Repositorios digitales en las bibliotecas escolares andaluzas: situación, modelos y herramientas para su creación / Dolores Olmos Olmos y Andrés Pulido Villar. -- Trabajando las competencias clave con las aventuras de Mozarito en Extremadura / María Teresa Carballosa González y María Esther Nieto Vidal. -- Análisis de modelos de evaluación de la web de la biblioteca escolar / Raúl Cremades García. -- Emociónate con las historias: El bosque de las emociones e historias con mucho teatro / Esther Luis Pérez y Ana María Peromingo Fernández. -- Biblioteca escolar de innovación y continuación / E. María Guerrero Palacios y Silvia Mora Ramírez. -- Uso de estándares y licencias para la creación y difusión de contenidos en las bibliotecas escolares / José Luis Barreiro Cebey. -- La biblioteca escolar digital móvil / Javier Fernández Delgado. -- Uso de aplicaciones móviles para el desarrollo de la competencia lingüística. Proyecto Hansel App Gretel / Dolores Olmos Olmos. -- A memória e a mediação segundo Vigotski / Leda Maria Araújo, Patricia Celia Santana, Sueli Bortolin y Leticia Gorri Molina. -- Bibliotecas escolares como tema de estudo dos alunos de graduação em blioteconomia do Instituto de Ensino Superior da FUNLEC: estado da arte / Tiago Pereira Nocera y Rodrigo Pereira. -- Ações de mediação da leitura e da informação em bibliotecas escolares: um olhar sobre as bibliotecas dos Colégios de Aplicação / Tatyanne Christina Gonçalves Ferreira Valdez y Alberto Calil Júnior. -- Mediação pedagógica numa biblioteca de escola pública em Londrina / Rovilson José da Silva, Teba Silva Yllana y Sueli Bortolin. -- Utilização de categorias por cores em sistema de biblioteca voltado ao público infanto-juvenil / Liliana Giusti Serra. -- Atividades de ensino dos atos de leitura com crianças em risco social / Adriana Naomi Fukushima da Silva y Dagoberto Buim Arena. -- Biblioteca escolar: espaço de significados entre alunos, professores e bibliotecários / Rodrigo Barbosa Paulo, Marisa Xavier, Helen Castro Casarin y Creuza Barbaroto. -- A Biblioteca Escolar no Contexto da Legislação e do Processo Educativo / Eliane Lourdes da Silva Moro, Francisca Rosaline Leite Mota y Raimundo Martins de Lima. -- O jornal impresso como fonte de informação: a importância da formação de leitores críticos / Mariana Pícaro Cerigatto. -- Bibliotecas escolares no estado do Rio Grande do Sul: a trajetória de realização dos fóruns gaúchos pela melhoria das bibliotecas escolares / Eliane Lourdes da Silva Moro y Lizandra Brasil Estabel. -- O acesso à informação dos usuários surdos na biblioteca escolar / André Luís Onório Coneglian y Mayara Melo Santana. -- Aprendizagem coletiva de bibliotecários e a competência de pesquisa dos docentes: o caso do Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo / Maristela Almeida Mercandeli Rodrigues y Beatriz Quiroz Villardi. -- Biblioteca escolar: atores, parâmetros e competências / Mavi Galante Mancera Dall´Acqua Carvalho y Claudio Marcondes de Castro Filho. -- Estratégias de aprendizagem de escrita no Ensino Fundamental II / Érika Christina Kohle. -- Bebês e livros: leitura nas bebetecas. Kenia Adriana de Aquino Modesto Silva, Juliane Francischeti Martins Motoyama y Renata Junqueira de Souza. -- Práticas alternativas para organização de acervos nos espaços de leitura em ambientes escolares / Luciana Souza Gracioso, Ariovaldo Alves, Débora Nascimento, Suelen Redondo, Tainara Torika Kiri de Castro, Elizabete Angelon y Eduardo Barbosa. -- Reflexões sobre a modelagem e criação de uma Rede Virtual de Leitores para Bibliotecas Escolares / Carla Floriana Martins y Raoni Guerra Rajão. -- Biblioteca escolar: espaço de formação leitora? / Silvana Ferreira de Souza Balsan y Renata Junqueira de Souza. -- “Se a Biblioteca Escolar é minha mãe, o Google é meu pai”: representações da relação entre Biblioteca Escolar e Google no imaginário de alunos do ensino técnico / Adriana Bogliolo Sirihal-Duarte, Maria L. Amorim Antunes y Raquel Miranda Vilela Paiva. -- Desafios e propostas para a universalização das bibliotecas escolares no Brasil e na Espanha / Rodrigo Pereira, Daniela Spudeit y Fernanda de Sales. -- Bibliotecário educador: possibilidades de atuação no contexto da biblioteca escolar / André Carlos da Silva, Valéria Martin Valls y Mariana de Paula Silva. -- Uma ONG para Bibliotecas Escolares : estratégia para ampliar a igualdade e capacidade de acesso e uso da informação e educação escolar de qualidade / Suelen Camilo Ferreira y Luciana de Souza Gracioso. -- O aluno com deficência: o papel do bibliotecário na disponibilidade de recursos acessíveis na biblioteca escolar / Adriano de Sales Coelho, Rosilene de Melo Oliveira y Marcos Pastana Santos. -- Biblioteca digital virtual e o uso do tablete: uma possibilidade de construção de novas práticas de leitura na escola / Barbara Cibelli da Silva Monteagudo y Dagoberto Buim Arena. -- A importância da biblioteca na educação de crianças de 0 a 3 anos / Yngrid Karolline Mendonça Costa y Cyntia Graziella Guizelim Simões Girotto. -- Comportamento Informacional de adolescentes: a relação com bibliotecas e escolas / Nelson Sebastian Silva-Jerez y Helen de Castro S. Casarin

    ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

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    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
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