Food-web composition affects cross-ecosystem interactions and subsidies

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Bacterial functional redundancy along a soil reclamation gradient

A strategy to measure bacterial functional redundancy was developed and tested with soils collected along a soil reclamation gradient by determining the richness and diversity of bacterial groups capable of in situ growth on selected carbon substrates. Soil cores were collected from four sites along a transect from the Jamari tin mine site in the Jamari National Forest, Rondonia, RO, Brazil: denuded mine spoil, soil from below the canopy of invading pioneer trees, revegetated soil under new growth on the forest edge, and the forest floor of an adjacent preserved forest. Bacterial population responses were analyzed by amending these soil samples with individual carbon substrates in the presence of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), BrdU-labeled DNA was then subjected to a 16S-23S rRNA intergenic analysis to depict the actively growing bacteria from each site, the number and diversity of bacterial groups responding to four carbon substrates (L-serine, L-threonine, sodium citrate, and or-lactose hydrate) increased along the reclamation-vegetation gradient such that the preserved forest soil samples contained the highest functional redundancy for each substrate. These data suggest that bacterial functional redundancy increases in relation to the regrowth of plant communities and may therefore represent an important aspect of the restoration of soil biological functionality to reclaimed mine spoils. They also suggest that bacterial functional redundancy may be a useful indicator of soil quality and ecosystem functioning.

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.

Perspectives on the use of lakes and ponds as model systems for macroecological research

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Defaunation in the Anthropocene

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeitos da diversidade funcional de detritos sobre a estrutura de comunidades e o funcionamento de ecossistemas de fitotelmatas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fauna edáfica na dinâmica sucessional da Mata Atlântica em floresta estacional semidecidual na Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul - RJ

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Seedling fate across different habitats: the effects of herbivory and soil fertility

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Floral nectar production and nectary structure of a bee-pollinated shrub from Neotropical savanna

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avifauna em matas ciliares: caracterização visando ações de emergência, mitigação e compensação em caso de derramamento de combustíveis em vias hidroviárias

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)