Ecological and evolutionary consequences of living in a defaunated world

Defaunation, the loss or population decline of medium and large native vertebrates represents a significant threat to the biodiversity of tropical ecosystems. Here we review the anthropogenic drivers of defaunation, provide a brief historical account of the development of this field, and analyze the types of biological consequences of this impact on the structure and functioning of tropical ecosystems. We identify how defaunation, operating at a variety of scales, from the plot to the global level, affects biological systems along a gradient of processes ranging from plant physiology (vegetative and reproductive performance) and animal behavior (movement, foraging and dietary patterns) in the immediate term; to plant population and community dynamics and structure leading to disruptions of ecosystem functioning (and thus degrading environmental services) in the short to medium term; to evolutionary changes (phenotypic changes and population genetic structure) in the long-term. We present such a synthesis as a preamble to a series of papers that provide a compilation of our current understanding of the impact and consequences of tropical defaunation. We close by identifying some of the most urgent needs and perspectives that warrant further study to improve our understanding of this field, as we confront the challenges of living in a defaunated world. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Redes de apoio às famílias de dependentes de álcool e outras drogas: uma interface com as políticas públicas intersetoriais

Pós-graduação em Serviço Social - FCHS

Até os ossos: escavando o último romance de Graciliano Ramos

Starting from the set wherein Vidas Secas (1938) stands out, it is possible to establish parameters that make of Graciliano Ramos’ oeuvre the overcoming of realism due to the scope of representation and the quality of formal handling developed by the author, imbibed in the Brazilian and universal literary tradition, and whose result the criticism of Antonio Candido, skilful in taking into account the former critique, points out with precision. Perusing the facts that mark the creation and reception of Vidas Secas (including the production of the movie by Nelson Pereira dos Santos in 1963), the present work is a preamble for analyses that take into account the coherence of Graciliano Ramos with the absorption of expressive resources used by American and European practitioners of a literature engaged in adjusting the expression of contrasts and in reformulating the so-called regionalism