Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation最新文献

The order Primates is a diverse group with worrisome conservation status, in which 67% of the species are threatened, and 85% have declining populations. Although the studies in primate conservation have increased over the past two decades, there is a lack of knowledge about the trends and biases in these conservation research efforts. We reviewed the primate conservation literature to identify the trends in allocating research efforts across species, themes, and countries. We also investigated whether the studies are biased by primate richness, species body mass, range size, locomotion type, diel activity, threat status, time since species description, and phylogenetic relatedness. We found that the highest number of studies was about habitat fragmentation. Madagascar, Indonesia, and Brazil concentrated most of the studies. Pan troglodytes was the most studied species. The conservation research efforts are skewed towards primate-rich countries, earlier-described and large species that use arboreal and terrestrial substrates, and that are phylogenetically related. Therefore, research in primate conservation seems more motivated by specific primate attributes rather than aspects of species vulnerability and their main threats. The elucidation of these trends and biases may help identify knowledge gaps and new research opportunities, contributing to optimizing future conservation research efforts in primate conservation.

The rapid land use change in tropical forests is a severe threat to Earth nature’s contributions to people (NCPs) and biodiversity. Effectively conserving ecosystems is a global target that requires clearly prioritizing areas that provide multiple benefits. The goal of this study is to identify potential NCPs and biodiversity hotspots of forest and evaluate their single and multiple representativeness within the Protection Areas (PA) in Peru. To do so we (1) analyzed the spatial distribution of three NCPs indicators at national and regional scales (carbon stock and sequestration in two components aboveground carbon density and soil organic carbon stock, water balance and erosion control) and one biodiversity indicator (biodiversity relative priority index) and identified their hotspots areas; (2) identified the single and overlapped hotspot areas within PAs; (3) identified synergies and trade-off among indicators. Our analysis shows that the distribution of NCPs and biodiversity varied across regions. Most hotspot areas were in the High and Not Flooded Rainforest regions due to favorable conditions for vegetation and lower levels of anthropic transformation. We found that the current PAs inadequately protect a significant percentage of hotspots, with few overlap areas. Synergies may shift to trade-offs at different scales or among regions, meaning a conservation plan solely focused on biodiversity cannot adequately preserve NCPs. Furthermore, multiple hotspot areas cannot be conserved in a single location, emphasizing the importance of hotspot identification as the first step towards achieving multifunctional PAs. Our analysis offers recommendations for achieving multifunctional PAs that can apply to megadiverse countries.

For the 701 mammals that occur in Brazil (ca. 13% of extant mammals worldwide), we attributed ES to each deliverer one based on their functional traits, known trophic interactions, expert knowledge, and by overlaying IUCN's distribution maps of the species. The ES term encompasses both ecosystem processes and services, offering a broader perspective that enables us to investigate the potential benefits of mammals to people. We assumed that species that are currently listed as threatened in the IUCN most likely lost their ES role. We found that 82% of Brazilian mammals (575 spp.) deliver at least one of the 11 ES identified. Cultural services were associated with the greatest number of deliverer species, while carrion control, ecosystem engineering, and rodent control were delivered by fewer species. Although only 24% of the species analyzed here are endemic to Brazil, 75% of them deliver at least one ES. The ES they delivered are also disproportionately at risk, as 57% of the species considered to have lost their ES role are endemic. Ecosystem service provision does not merely mirror the spatial patterns of mammal richness in general, as we identified hotspots for each service across Brazil, including its seascapes. Our comprehensive assessment provides a clear overview of the myriad of services delivered by Brazilian mammals, including taxonomic and spatial explicit information for each service. Identifying and mapping species and their services can contribute to more effective management and conservation programs focused on optimizing the supply of ES and conserving biodiversity.

To restore 12 million hectares of native vegetation in Brazil by 2030, aligning environmental policies with incentive measures is crucial. The Ecological Fiscal Transfer (known as Ecological ICMS in Brazil) allows states to redistribute the ICMS tax (similar to the Value Added Tax) revenue based on environmental criteria, likely motivating municipalities to take environmental action. São Paulo recently modified its ecological ICMS legislation, increasing the ICMS revenue distributed according to environmental criteria and introducing a new criterion for native vegetation cover. We assessed the impact of these changes on tax redistribution, considering three scenarios: the former rules (2021), the new rules (2025), and the new rules with 1.5 million hectares of vegetation restored (2042). While the pattern of ICMS distribution remained mostly unchanged, there were distributional effects. Some municipalities lost up to 5% of their initial revenue, while others with high socio-environmental importance doubled their revenues. Existing environmental criteria still lack incentives for local environmental policies. However, the new criterion for native vegetation cover could, with practical limitations, boost municipal revenue after restoring 1.5 million hectares. São Paulo's initiative to incorporate native vegetation cover into an Ecological Fiscal Transfer policy holds the potential to inspire similar tax-based environmental incentives worldwide. However, it must be adapted to motivate local governments to embrace restoration actions rather than serving primarily as a compensatory measure.

Restoring tropical forests still relies on expensive tree planting. Timber production from native trees offers a promising opportunity to make restoration financially viable, but species growth data are lacking. We assessed the potential of tropical forest restoration plantations for producing native timber in the Atlantic Forest. For that we inventoried a chronosequence of unmanaged restoration plantation sites with ten commercial native tree species. Then we developed growth models and used the Growth-Oriented Logging (GOL) method to inform targeted management decisions, including an optimized timber-focused scenario, based on growth and bole quality assessment. Usually, growth-rate classes for saw wood production would be defined according to the time necessary for achieving 35 cm in DBH. Harvesting age was markedly reduced using GOL for species of fast-growth (from <50 to <25 years), intermediate-growth (from 50 to 70 to 25–50 years), slow-growth (from >70 to 50–75 years). Following GOL, basal area was 42 ± 30% larger at harvest (taking 35 ± 23% more time) or 60 ± 16.5% smaller (taking 66 ± 16% less time). The optimized scenario speeded tree-size achievement and anticipated harvesting in an average of 58 years. Species selection, individualization, and silvicultural management are critical for producing timber in forest restoration programs.

Synthesis science is an emergent research field for harmonizing different data, concepts, and theories to create new insights and endorse novel approaches. Here we provide a brief general overview of synthesis science, emphasize the geographically biased location of synthesis centers一particularly their paucity in the Global South一and highlight the pioneering role of the Synthesis Center on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (SinBiose, CNPq) concerning transdisciplinary aspirations in the Global South. Working with the ecosystem service dimension requires breaking discipline boundaries to approach society, stakeholders, and decision-makers, which SinBiose fosters and is rarely found elsewhere. This article features a “Brazilian experience” of synthesis science through the perception of SinBiose’s postdoctoral researchers, which have a central role in the workflow as the only professionals dedicated exclusively to the projects. As a conclusion, we present recommendations for improving the support for postdoctoral researchers and arguments for a continued funding of synthesis science in Brazil.

The intensification of extreme climate events is already a reality throughout the world. In the Brazilian Amazon, the most frequent extreme events are linked to droughts and floods. This study expanded the documentation on extreme events of floods, water crisis, fires and forest fires in the state of Acre, in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon. We analyzed extreme weather events in state and municipal state-of-emergency and public-calamity decrees, reports of people who faced the impacts of these events, scientific articles, and press reports. The results show that the state of Acre recorded 202 extreme events between 1987 and 2023, with an increasing trend in the number and occurrence of various types of extreme events in the same year since 2010. Twenty-one state-of-emergency and public-calamity decrees were issued, with flood events being the most frequent. The cities of Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul recorded 14 and 21 extreme events, respectively, or approximately one event every two years. These data show the urgency of implementing actions to adapt to climate extremes. Starting in 2005, the annual results indicate an increase in municipalities (counties) experiencing more than one type of extreme event, pointing to the need for effective public policies for adaptation and mitigation in the state of Acre.

Climate change is one of the key drivers of the dramatic erosion of global biodiversity. Poikilothermic organisms, such as amphibians, are particularly prone to alterations in temperature and precipitation and are therefore expected to be severely impacted by global climate change. We evaluated: i) the potential effects of climate change on taxonomic and functional richness of amphibians in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and ii) tested whether forest-dependent and open area species responded differently to climatic stressors. We applied an ensemble forecasting approach using point locality data to establish predictive maps of taxonomic and functional richness for different IPCC AR5 scenarios with two Representative Concentration Pathway trajectories (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) at two temporal projections (2050 and 2070). A significant decline in both taxonomic and functional richness of Atlantic Forest amphibians is expected over the coming decades under the evaluated climate scenarios. The core areas projected to maintain significantly high anuran richness in both components were in coastal high-altitude localities. We found negative effects (losses) to be more pronounced for taxonomic richness. Model outcomes indicate significant losses in both forest and open area species. A few remaining high-altitude sites will then play an important role as potential climatic refuges to safeguard anuran diversity, requiring a dynamic landscape approach as conservation strategy.

Fires cause wild vertebrates to try to escape, thereby leading to an increase in attempts to cross roads and consequently an increase in the number of roadkills. However, the study of the impact of fires on roadkilling of wild vertebrates is practically nonexistent. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between fires near a 180 km highway stretch in Southeast Brazil and wild vertebrate roadkills using a 7-year dataset on roadkills and satellite data on fires, hypothesizing that roadkills would increase after fires. We found that the number of roadkilled wild vertebrates increased by about 144% (P = 0.020) in highway sections up to 1 km from fires, within 7–8 days after the fires. The number of roadkills in highway sections affected by fires was also higher than that of neighboring (control) section (P = 0.028). Taken together, these results show there was a significant increase in the number of roadkills on road sections close to or within burned areas. This work emphasizes the importance of analyzing the synergistic effects of fires and roadkill of wild vertebrates and guides research on adopting an experimental design which allows for temporal and spatial controls using retrospective data on fires and roadkilling. We recommend decreasing traffic flow and/or vehicle speed near areas recently affected by fires, as a preventive management strategy.

Sustainable agendas are often threatened by divergent political viewpoints. This was evidenced by the January 2023 coup attempt in Brazil. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda faces various challenges and relies on safeguarding institutions and democracy itself. For megadiverse countries such as Brazil, strengthening the nexus between democracy and governance is fundamental.