Ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Turvo State Park, municipality of Derrubadas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The knowledge of ant assemblages that occurs in Conservation Units in the Atlantic Forest domain is a priority, considering the number of endemic species and the impacts that this biome has been suffering. The aim of this study was to evaluate ant assemblages in the Turvo State Park, which is the largest conservation unit in the State of Rio Grande do Sul and presents an important role on biodiversity protection. Two samplings were conducted in 2019, one in the summer (January) and the other in the spring (November and December), at five sites 2 km apart, with pitfall traps (soil and canopy), sardine baits, glucose, beating net, sweeping net and manual collection. We sampled 121 species in the summer and 120 in the spring, totaling 163 ant species. A total of 78 species (47.8%) occurred in both sampling seasons. The richest genera in the study were Camponotus (S = 30), Pheidole (S = 23) and Linepithema (S = 11). Seventeen species were recorded for the first time for Rio Grande do Sul state. The results indicate that this is one of the most species-rich assemblages of ants ever surveyed in a conservation unit in southern Brazil. The study highlights the importance of Conservation Units as protected environments against habitat loss for ant biodiversity. The results of this study contribute to myrmecofauna knowledge and serve as a basis for environmental impact studies, management plans and conservation of Atlantic Forest remnants.

Levantamento Florístico da Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) da Lagoa da Maraponga, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

A Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) da Lagoa da Maraponga é uma unidade de conservação municipal localizada no bairro Maraponga, município de Fortaleza, estado do Ceará. Composto predominantemente por um ecossistema lacustre, no qual se destaca a Lagoa da Maraponga, com área de 31 hectares, ameaçada pela ação antrópica, fazendo com que a conservação se torne uma prioridade. Objetivou-se fazer o levantamento florístico da APA da Lagoa da Maraponga e elaborar um guia de campo. Foram realizadas coletas botânicas, observações de campo, fotografias e identificações das espécies. Registraram-se 98 espécies pertencentes a 82 gêneros e 37 famílias botânicas. As famílias mais representativas foram Fabaceae (18 spp.), Malvaceae (13 spp.), Asteraceae (dez spp.), Rubiaceae (cinco spp.), Arecaceae, Convolvulaceae e Solanaceae (quatro spp., cada). Constatou-se que o hábito das espécies tem como predomínio o porte herbáceo (41 spp.), seguido de espécies subarbustivas (19 spp.), arbóreas (17 spp.), arbustivas (dez spp.), trepadeiras (sete spp.) e palmeiras (quatro spp.). Conclui-se que esta área tem demonstrado que mesmo com a interferência humana e o grande avanço da urbanização em seus arredores, a flora local apresenta elevada riqueza de espécies nativas que precisa ser conservada, mantida e reconhecida por políticas públicas e pela sociedade, as quais podem ser auxiliadas pelo guia de campo elaborado. Floristic Survey of the Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of Maraponga Lagoon, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil A B S T R A C TThe Maraponga Lagoon Environmental Protection Area (EPA) is a municipal conservation unit located in the Maraponga neighborhood, in the municipality of Fortaleza, state of Ceará. Composed predominantly of a lake ecosystem, in which the Maraponga Lagoon stands out, with an area of 31 hectares, threatened by anthropic action, prioritizing conservation. The objective was to carry out the floristic survey of the EPA of Maraponga Lagoon and to prepare a field guide. Botanical collections, field observations, photographs and species identification were carried out. A total of 98 species belonging to 82 genera and 37 botanical families were registered. The most representative families were Fabaceae (18 spp.), Malvaceae (13 spp.), Asteraceae (ten spp.), Rubiaceae (five spp.), Arecaceae, Convolvulaceae and Solanaceae (four spp., each). It was found that the habit of the species predominates the herbaceous size (41 spp.), followed by sub-shrubs (19 spp.), trees (17 spp.), shrubs (ten spp.), climbing plants (seven spp.) and palm trees (four spp.). It’s concluded that this area has shown that even with human interference and the great advance of urbanization in its surroundings, the local flora has a high number of native species that need to be conserved, maintained and recognized by public policies and society, which can be assisted by the field guide prepared.Keywords: Urban biodiversity, conservation, vegetable diversity, richness, conservation unit.

The Conservation Management of Engenho Uchôa Wildlife Refuge as a Natural Heritage

From the perspective of United Statian preservationism, where the presence of human beings in areas understood as natural was opposed, the first protected areas in Brazil appear at the threshold of the discussion on the protection of the country's ecosystems, where the dichotomy between man and nature is admitted, and through which instruments for the management of Brazilian biomes and ecosystems are developed. This article discusses the nature management model in Brazil, contrasting traditional management (through the provisions of the National System of Conservation Units / SNUC and which reverberates to State and Municipal Systems) and the conservation management, understood as the modality of management that acts on the patrimonial dimension of nature. This discussion permeates the definitions of Natural Significance, Conservation and Natural Heritage in the Australian Natural Heritage Charter (IUCN, 2002), and through the example of the Mata do Engenho Uchôa Wildlife Refuge (RVSMEU), a state conservation unit by the State System of Conservation Units of Pernambuco / SEUC, it is discussed how the current ecosystem management plan approaches and distances itself from the conservation management of its heritage values.

Between the anthropic and the natural heritage

This investigation is inserted on the nature conservation heritage cover, starting from the comprehension of an intrinsic relation between ecosystems and dependent communities, this article covers the Parque dos Manguezais, A Conservation unit of Recife city and the Bode community, historically related to the ecosystem. From this relation flourishes fisher activities developed by inhabitants since the XVII century, at the first territorial occupations, shaping the natural territory, until the contemporaneity, when real estate market pressure imposes to these residents a slowly but continuous process of gentrification. Hence, the research pointed out the relations of the residents with the Parque dos Manguezais, identifying how fishing is converted on an element that defines culture and the local social dynamic, being an essential fact to be considered to the anthropic and natural management to grant the community survival that coexists with the nature and historically manages its natural resources.

Identification of desertified and preserved areas in a conservation unit in the state of Paraíba – Brazil

The objective of this study is to identify and analyse the main characteristics of areas potentially degraded by desertification and of preserved areas using the Soil Surface Moisture Index (SSMI), alongside the Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The study is based on a set of points obtained in the field and from the RGB false colour image for the Environmental Protection Areas (EPA) of the Cariri, in the semi-arid region of Paraíba, using a space-time cross-section covering both rainy and dry periods. The results showed that at all points in Desertified Areas, the main characteristics were a low SSMI, high LST and low NDVI in both periods. The Preserved Areas, on the other hand, presented a high SSMI, moderate LST and high NDVI in the rainy period, with the same characteristics repeated in the dry period for SSMI and NDVI, but with a low LST. Timely identification of these characteristics, both in areas degraded by desertification and in better preserved areas, can provide useful information for future decisions relating to the physical and territorial management of the Conservation Unit.

Análise da Percepção Ambiental de Estudantes no Percurso de uma Trilha Ecológica em uma Unidade de Conservação

ResumoEste artigo tem como propósito socializar uma prática docente, em uma aula de campo utilizando uma trilha ecológica como recurso didático em uma unidade de conservação no município de Jacarezinho no Estado do Paraná com o intuito de potencializar a percepção ambiental dos alunos. Por meio dos roteiros elaborados pelos alunos do 6º ano foram verificadas as possíveis relações entre o planejamento de uma trilha interpretativa com os objetivos da Interpretação Ambiental e dos documentos utilizados no referencial à luz da Percepção Ambiental. Nas trilhas interpretativas, a Interpretação Ambiental se torna um instrumento da Educação Ambiental ao visar objetivos que envolvem a sensibilização, a compreensão e a responsabilidade dos visitantes para com as questões ambientais. Os resultados obtidos indicam que os alunos elaboraram uma trilha interpretativa que, inconscientemente, se aproxima dos referenciais da Interpretação Ambiental. Palavras-chave: Interpretação Ambiental. Trilha Interpretiva. Educação Ambiental AbstractThis article aimed to socialize a teaching practice, in a field class using a trail as a didactic resource in a conservation unit in Jacarezinho in the State of Paraná to enhance the students' environmental perception. The scripts prepared by the 6th year students the possible relationships were verified between the planning of an interpretive trail with the objectives of the Environmental Interpretation and the documents used in the reference in the light of Environmental Perception. In the interpretative trails the Environmental Interpretation becomes an instrument of Environmental Education by aiming at objectives that involve the awareness, understanding and responsibility of the visitors to the environmental issues. The results indicate that the students elaborated an interpretative trail that unconsciously approaches the reference points of the Environmental Interpretation. Keywords: Environmental Interpretation. Interpretative Trail. Environmental Education

The Uruguay River: A Permeable Border in South America

The Uruguay River basin in South America has held a social, cultural, environmental, and economic relevance for many centuries. The river flows for about 2,000 km, linked to an important remnant of native forest, the Selva Misionera in Argentina, and to a Brazilian conservation unit for biodiversity, the Turvo State Park. The Uruguay River is fed by several other important rivers, forming a basin region in which thousands of people live and work. The history of the Uruguay River is intensively linked to the permeable borders between Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay where different social groups circulated in diverse historical time periods. Forests along the river played a very important role with emphasis on the extraction and trade of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis, Saint-Hilaire), a forest product widely consumed in southern America, and also the timber extraction from native forests, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As a result, a profound socio-environmental transformation took place with the reconstruction of regional landscapes shaped by the Uruguay River basin.

GENETIC CONNECTIVITY OF MULLETS (Mugil liza) BETWEEN RODRIGO DE FREITAS LAGOON AND A CONSERVATION UNIT IN STATE OF RIO DE JANEIRO, SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

We analyzed the genetic connectivity between mullets (Mugil liza) captured around the protected Natural Monument of Cagarras Islands (MoNa Cagarras) and inside Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, using microsatellite markers polymorphisms. Our data revealed the occurrence of 31 shared alleles (from 41 sampled), a high similarity in both allelic frequencies and genetic diversity and lack of differentiation between collection points (FST = 0.000, p > 0.05, STRUCTURE best estimative K = 1), results which, analyzed together, are strongly indicative of panmixia. We conclude that individuals collected inside the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon are genetically similar to those individuals collected around MoNa Cagarras. Given the importance of estuaries for the reproduction and development of individuals of M. liza, it is recommended that the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon to be managed in order to maintain genetic connectivity and diversity between the two ecosystems.