Protected Areas in the Brazilian Semi-Arid and the Management and Conservation of Ecosystems

This article provides a quantitative description of flora specimens stored in the Jardim Botânico of Rio de Janeiro Herbarium that belongs to the Federal Conservation Units of Caatinga’s phytogeography domain. The Caatinga represents 11% of Brazilian territory and is, in South America, the largest and most biodiverse semi-arid tropical ecoregion, yet only 5% of its territory is covered by Federal Conservation Units, with few collections of flora samples. Thus, providing a georeferenced inventory of existing collections is essential for purposes of species distribution, environmental management and conservation. The aim of this data paper is to gauge, by means of geographic coordinates correction and retrieval of the flora specimens present in the RB Herbarium, the amount of specimen gatherings performed in the Federal Conservation Units belonging to the Caatinga domain. Currently, the RB data is publicly available online at several biodiversity portals, such as our institutional database JABOT, the Reflora Virtual Herbarium, the SiBBr and the GBIF portal (Lanna et al. 2019). However, a description of the dataset that belongs to the Federal Conservation Units of Caatinga’s phytogeography domain as a whole is not yet available in the literature.

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Expanding the knowledge about the occurrence of anurans in the highest amphibian diversity area of Atlantic Forest: Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, São Paulo, Brazil

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2016-0282 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Fernando Rodrigues da Silva ◽

Mariana Lúcio Lyra ◽

Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad ◽

Denise de Cerqueira Rossa-Feres

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Amphibian Species ◽

Future Studies ◽

Serra Do Mar ◽

The Past ◽

Anuran Species ◽

Human Use ◽

Management And Conservation

Abstract The vegetation cover in the Atlantic Forest has been converted to human use or degraded by human activities, which declined the vegetation to 16% of its original extent. Although several protected areas have been created in this Neotropical biome over the past decades, our knowledge of the amphibian species within these areas is still far from adequate. Here, we present lists of anuran species from three different areas of Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar: núcleos Curucutu, Santa Virgínia and São Sebastião. To survey anuran species, we visited six sampling units (two ponds, two streams and two trails inside forest fragments) in each locality. Samplings were accomplished from December 2014 to February 2015, December 2015 to February 2016 and December 2016 to February 2017, totalizing 27 days of field samplings in each sampling unit. We recorded 34 anuran species in the Núcleo Curucutu, 44 species in the Núcleo São Sebastião and 42 species in the Núcleo Santa Virgínia, totalizing 65 species belonging to 12 families (number of species in parentheses): Bufonidae (5), Brachycephalidae (6), Centrolenidae (1), Craugastoridae (1), Cycloramphidae (2), Hemiphractidae (1), Hylidae (29), Hylodidae (3), Leptodactylidae (12), Microhylidae (2), Odontophrynidae (2), and Phyllomedusidae (1). We hope that these lists can be useful for future studies as well as helping in the management and conservation planning of these protected areas.

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Occupancy, detectability, and density of crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) in two protected areas of restinga habitats in Brazil

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2018-0322 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (10) ◽

pp. 952-959

Author(s):

Priscila Stéfani Monteiro-Alves ◽

Débora Molino Helmer ◽

Atilla Colombo Ferreguetti ◽

Juliane Pereira-Ribeiro ◽

Carlos Frederico Duarte Rocha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Total Abundance ◽

Nocturnal Activity ◽

Starting Point ◽

Cerdocyon Thous ◽

Future Work ◽

Mammal Communities ◽

Management And Conservation

Crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766)) are frequently recorded in lists of mammal communities. However, studies quantifying aspects of the ecology of the species are uncommon in the literature. Thus, we aimed to quantify the density, activity, habitat use, and potential threats of C. thous in two protected areas (PAs) in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. We used data derived from camera traps and sand plots to model occupancy, detectability, activity; we also used random encounter models (REMs) to model density and abundance. We also estimated the activity of the species. Density of C. thous was 0.82 individuals/km2 with a total abundance of 119 individuals. We concluded that in the PAs studied, C. thous had bimodal, twilight–nocturnal activity patterns and was associated with water sources. Although the species in the area has a relatively high density compared with that from other areas in Brazil, it could be locally threatened by the highway that crosses the two PAs, promoting roadkill events, and by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758) recorded in these areas. Results presented herein can be a starting point to support future work in the region and to make predictions regarding the management and conservation of C. thous, a widely distributed species.

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Do protected areas networks ensure the supply of ecosystem services? Spatial patterns of two nature reserve systems in semi-arid Spain

Applied Geography ◽

10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.02.012 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 60 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Antonio J. Castro ◽

Berta Martín-López ◽

Enrique López ◽

Tobias Plieninger ◽

Domingo Alcaraz-Segura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Semi Arid

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INVENTORY OF MOSQUITOES (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) IN CONSERVATION UNITS IN BRAZILIAN TROPICAL DRY FORESTS

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo ◽

10.1590/s0036-46652015000300008 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 57 (3) ◽

pp. 227-232 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Cleandson Ferreira SANTOS ◽

Alex Chavier SILVA ◽

Raquel Andrade RODRIGUES ◽

Jamilli Sanndy Ramos de JESUS ◽

Magno Augusto Zazá BORGES

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Arid Regions ◽

New Records ◽

Light Trap ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

Northern Region ◽

The State ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Conservation Units ◽

Semi Arid

In Brazil, most studies of the Culicidae family are concentrated in rainforest regions. As such, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the diversity of Culicidae in regions with different climatic and vegetational characteristics. The aim of this study was to compile an inventory of Culicidae in protected areas of the semi-arid region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in order to better understand the diversity of the family within this region. The study was conducted across four protected areas in the northern region of the state, in tropical dry forest (TDF) fragments. Sampling methods included Shannon trap and CDC light trap, as well as active collection. A total of 11,219 mosquito specimens were collected between August 2008 and July 2012, belonging to 11 genera and 45 species; 15 new records for the state of Minas Gerais were registered, as well as 26 new records for semi-arid regions within the state. The high number of new Culicidae records in this region demonstrates the importance of inventory studies for increasing the knowledge of culicid biodiversity in Minas Gerais, and in particular within semi-arid regions of the state.

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Plant–plant interactions and local patterns of diversity from semi-arid to subalpine Mediterranean plant communities

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-021-02257-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Antonio I. Arroyo ◽

Yolanda Pueyo ◽

Hugo Saiz ◽

Concepción L. Alados

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Beta Diversity ◽

Individual Species ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Shrub Species ◽

Local Neighborhood ◽

Mediterranean Plant ◽

Management And Conservation ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Plant Plant

AbstractAn understanding of the diversity spatial organization in plant communities provides essential information for management and conservation planning. In this study we investigated, using a multi-species approach, how plant–plant interactions determine the local structure and composition of diversity in a set of Mediterranean plant communities, ranging from semi-arid to subalpine habitats. Specifically, we evaluated the spatial pattern of diversity (i.e., diversity aggregation or segregation) in the local neighborhood of perennial plant species using the ISAR (individual species–area relationship) method. We also assessed the local pattern of beta-diversity (i.e., the spatial heterogeneity in species composition among local assemblages), including the contribution of species turnover (i.e., species replacement) and nestedness (i.e., differences in species richness) to the overall local beta-diversity. Our results showed that local diversity segregation decreased in the less productive plant communities. Also, we found that graminoids largely acted as diversity segregators, while forbs showed more diverse neighborhoods than expected in less productive study sites. Interestingly, not all shrub and dwarf shrub species aggregated diversity in their surroundings. Finally, an increase in nestedness was associated with less segregated diversity patterns in the local neighborhood of shrub species, underlining their role in creating diversity islands in less productive environmental conditions. Our results provide further insights into the effect of plant–plant interactions in shaping the structure and composition of diversity in Mediterranean plant communities, and highlight the species and groups of species that management and conservation strategies should focus on in order to prevent a loss of biodiversity.

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Implications of mating system and pollen dispersal indices for management and conservation of the semi-arid species Prosopis flexuosa (Leguminosae)

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2017.06.007 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 400 ◽

pp. 218-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

C. Bessega ◽

C. Pometti ◽

C. Campos ◽

B.O. Saidman ◽

J.C. Vilardi

Keyword(s):

Mating System ◽

Pollen Dispersal ◽

Prosopis Flexuosa ◽

Management And Conservation ◽

Semi Arid

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Diffuse Anthropization Impacts in Vulnerable Protected Areas: Comparative Analysis of the Spatial Correlation between Land Transformation and Ecological Deterioration of Three Wetlands in Spain

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi10090630 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 630

Author(s):

Salvador Garcia-Ayllon ◽

John Radke

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Spatial Correlation ◽

Geostatistical Analysis ◽

Comparative Approach ◽

Methodological Framework ◽

Ecological Value ◽

Area Of Influence ◽

Indirect Impacts ◽

Management And Conservation ◽

Arid Territories

The management and conservation of wetlands and vulnerable protected areas of high ecological value dependent on the existence of water is complex and generally depends on the climate and rainfall in semi-arid territories such as southeastern Spain. However, one variable that is not usually considered sufficiently rigorously in this field of research is the environmental impact of the transformation of the surrounding territory due to anthropic diffuse issues. This phenomenon is not easy to appreciate, since it does not necessarily occur in the environment directly closest to protected areas and it is always difficult to measure and analyze. This study proposes an innovative spatiotemporal methodological framework to evaluate all these phenomena of diffuse anthropization whose indirect impacts on protected areas dependent on the existence of water are currently full of unknowns. Using GIS indicators, a geostatistical analysis based on the concept of the area of influence of diffuse anthropization (AIDA) is proposed to assess the spatial correlation between the anthropic transformation of the territory and the degradation of protected areas over time. The proposal has been applied with a comparative approach to three case studies located in Spain between 2000 and 2020, obtaining clarifying results on the existing spatial correlation patterns between both questions.

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Protected areas buffer the Brazilian semi-arid biome from climate change

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12459 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (5) ◽

pp. 753-760 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Luis H. Acosta Salvatierra ◽

Richard J. Ladle ◽

Humberto Barbosa ◽

Ricardo A. Correia ◽

Ana C. M. Malhado

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Semi Arid

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Spatiotemporal patterns of wildlife road mortality in the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2017-0101 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 83 (5) ◽

pp. 487-495 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Faraz Akrim ◽

Tariq Mahmood ◽

Shaista Andleeb ◽

Riaz Hussain ◽

Wendy Jane Collinson

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Road Mortality ◽

Vehicle Collisions ◽

Road Kill ◽

The Road ◽

The Impact ◽

Management And Conservation ◽

Diurnal Species ◽

Small Indian Mongoose

Abstract The current study investigated the impact of roads on native wildlife fauna in Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan. By conducting driven transects over a period of 24 months (March 2012–February 2014), we identified 131 carcasses resulting from wildlife-vehicle collisions or “road kill”, comprising 18 vertebrate species from seven different orders. The Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus; Linnaeus, 1758) was the most common road kill (37.4%), followed by the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctatus; Hodgson, 1836; 9.9%) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes; Linnaeus, 1758; 8.4%). Road kill incidences included both nocturnal (55.6%) and diurnal species (44.5%). The maximum number of road kills were encountered in the Rawalpindi district area (46.6%), followed by Chakwal (36.6%), Jhelum (8.4%) and Attock (8.4%). The majority of road kills occurred on paved roads (93.9%; 0.009 road kill/km) with significantly fewer occurrences on unpaved roads (6.1%; 0.004 road kill/km). Similarly, 77% (0.009/km) of the road kills were found adjacent to protected areas. The majority of road kills (33%) occurred during the spring (February–April) but less in summer (May–July) and winter (November–January) (19.8% for both). The study provides important data on road mortality of wildlife species in the region bordering protected areas in the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan, to initiate management and conservation strategies.

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