Vertebrados da Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins: faunística, biodiversidade e conservação no Cerrado brasileiro

Inventários e estudos faunísticos detalhados sobre vertebrados são uma das fontes mais relevantes de dados para interpretações de padrões detalhados de diversidade biológica. Dados básicos e de boa qualidade sobre faunística são ainda mais urgentes em regiões pouco estudadas e sob intensa ameaça antrópica, tais como a região do Cerrado, um dos 34 hotspots globais para a conservação da biodiversidade. Apresentamos aqui uma síntese dos resultados dos inventários de vertebrados na Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins (~716.000 ha), a segunda maior unidade de conservação em todo o Cerrado. Foram registradas 450 espécies de vertebrados na EESGT e entorno imediato, incluindo 17 espécies ameaçadas, 50 espécies endêmicas do Cerrado e 11 espécies com distribuição potencialmente restrita. Do total de espécies amostradas, 180 são novos registros para a região do Jalapão. Ao menos 12 espécies amostradas foram consideradas potenciais espécies novas, das quais quatro foram descritas recentemente, a partir do material obtido no inventário. Os resultados evidenciam que a EESGT é uma das mais importantes áreas protegidas no Brasil central, contribuindo para a persistência de espécies ameaçadas, dependentes dos últimos grandes blocos contínuos de vegetação nativa de Cerrado. Nossos resultados indicam ainda que a conservação da EESGT e suas principais subunidades é crucial para a representatividade do sistema de áreas protegidas do Cerrado, protegendo potenciais endemismos restritos que aliam alta vulnerabilidade intrínseca e valor como indicadores de padrões e processos biogeográficos formadores da rica e cada vez mais ameaçada fauna Neotropical.

Restricted-Range Fishes and the Conservation of Brazilian Freshwaters

Background: Freshwaters are the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Although recent assessments provide data on global priority regions for freshwater conservation, local scale priorities remain unknown. Refining the scale of global biodiversity assessments (both at terrestrial and freshwater realms) and translating these into conservation priorities on the ground remains a major challenge to biodiversity science, and depends directly on species occurrence data of high taxonomic and geographic resolution. Brazil harbors the richest freshwater ichthyofauna in the world, but knowledge on endemic areas and conservation in Brazilian rivers is still scarce. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using data on environmental threats and revised species distribution data we detect and delineate 540 small watershed areas harboring 819 restricted-range fishes in Brazil. Many of these areas are already highly threatened, as 159 (29%) watersheds have lost more than 70% of their original vegetation cover, and only 141 (26%) show significant overlap with formally protected areas or indigenous lands. We detected 220 (40%) critical watersheds overlapping hydroelectric dams or showing both poor formal protection and widespread habitat loss; these sites harbor 344 endemic fish species that may face extinction if no conservation action is in place in the near future. Conclusions/Significance: We provide the first analysis of site-scale conservation priorities in the richest freshwater ecosystems of the globe. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that freshwater biodiversity has been neglected in former conservation assessments. The study provides a simple and straightforward method for detecting freshwater priority areas based on endemism and threat, and represents a starting point for integrating freshwater and terrestrial conservation in representative and biogeographically consistent site-scale conservation strategies, that may be scaled-up following naturally linked drainage systems. Proper management (e. g. forestry code enforcement, landscape planning) and conservation (e. g. formal protection) of the 540 watersheds detected herein will be decisive in avoiding species extinction in the richest aquatic ecosystems on the planet.

Assessing land availability to produce biomass for energy: The case of Brazilian charcoal for steel making

The paper discusses the availability of biomass in Brazil to supply charcoal to the steel industry on the bases of an initial global assessment of land potentially available for plantations and of Brazilian data that allows refining the assessment and specifying the issue of practical availability. Technical potentials are first assessed through a series of simple rules against direct competition with agriculture, forests and protected areas, and of quantitative criteria, whether geo-climatic (rainfall), demographic (population density) or legal (reserves). Institutional, social and economic factors are then identified and discussed so as to account for the practical availability of Brazilian biomass through six criteria. The ranking of nine Brazilian States according to these criteria brings out the necessary trade-offs in the selection of land for plantations that would efficiently supply charcoal to the steel industry. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shell utilization by the land hermit crab Coenobita scaevola (Anomura, Coenobitidae) from Wadi El-Gemal, Red Sea

We conducted a study in order to determine the shell utilization pattern of the land hermit crab Coenobita scaevola (Forskal, 1775), the only species representing the family Coenobitidae in the Red Sea. Hermit crabs were collected during July 2003 and January 2004 along the sandy shores of protected area of Wadi-Elgemal, south Red Sea. Animals were fixed in 10% formalin and transported to the laboratory where they were weighed and measured for cephalothoracic shield length (CSL) and width, left propodus length and height. Gastropod shells species were identified, weighed and measured for shell aperture width and length and shell internal volume. A total of 391 individuals were collected (219 females, 172 males) and were found occupying ten shell species, with clear significant occupation of Nerita undata. A positive relationship was obtained between the size of the shells occupied and the hermit crabs. Analysis of shell internal volume and crab dimensions demonstrated that this shell dimension constitutes mainly the determinant for C. scaevola shell utilization. With respect to the size of the animals and the occupied shell type, Nerita undata was occupied by a wide range of CSL (2.5-8.5mm). Small sized crabs (2.5-3.5mm CSL) occupied Planaxis sulcatus and Nassarius arcularius plicatus while larger specimens (8.5-9.5mm CSL) occupied Turbo radiatits, Polinices milanostomus and Monodonta canilifera. Variations in the shell occupation were also recognized among male and females. Comparisons among populational and shell use features led us to suggest the use of this land hermit crab as key-species in the preserving program of shores and protected areas, since this species is the first organism to disappear from any shore when a new tourist establishment is implemented.

Interface between domestic and wild carnivores in an environmental protection area in the brazilian Amazon: indicators and aplications for conservation

The presence of domestic animals in protected areas has been a growing world concern, including in the Brazilian Amazon. Introduced domestic carnivores can put the conservation of carnivores and other wild mammals at risk in protected areas. These risks can be associated with direct factors, such as the dogs` hunting habit, and indirect factors, such as the domestic carnivores` potential for transmitting infectious agents to wild populations. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential implications of humans and domestic animals staying in fragmented and altered areas such as the Wildlife Protection Areas (WPA) in the Tucuruf Lake Environmental Protection Area (Para, Brazil), created for the full protection of its fauna and flora. This evaluation was made through interviews conducted with riparian inhabitants living in the WPA and surrounding area, involving issues related to the presence of dogs (number of animals per domicile, birth rate, mortality rate, vaccination status, hunting habit) and wild carnivores (occurrence and location) in the study area. The results indicated risks mainly due to the presence of on average three dogs per domicile, as well as the high canine birth rate, their hunting habits, low vaccination rates and evidence of direct and indirect contact with the human, canine and wild carnivore populations. These factors represent risks to the health and conservation of Tucurui EPA wild carnivores since they provide favorable conditions for the transmission of pathogens from domestic fauna to wild fauna, as well as the risks brought about by hunting.

Panmixia in Pocillopora verrucosa from South Africa

The genetic structure of six local collections of Pocillopora verrrucosa from six coral reefs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was examined using allozyme electrophoresis. The six separate reefs lie within two different reef complexes. Twenty-two enzymes were screened on five buffer systems, but only five polymorphic loci (Gpi-1, Gdh-1, Lgg-2, Lpp-1, Est-1) could be consistently resolved. No significant differences in allelic frequencies were detected among the six sites. All local collections were genotypically diverse, with evidence of only very limited clonal replication at each site. Indeed, the ratio of observed to expected genotypic diversity (mean Go:Ge=0.64 +/-0.05 SD), the ratio of observed number of genotypes to the number of individuals (mean Ng:N = 0.65 +/-0.04 SE), and deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium indicate that sexual reproduction plays a major role in the maintenance of the populations. No genetic differentiation was found either within (FSR = 0.026 +/-0.003 SE) or between (FRT = 0.000 +/-0.001 SE) reef complexes. The homogeneity of the gene frequencies across the six reefs strongly supports the assumption that the KwaZulu-Natal reef complexes are highly connected by gene flow (Nem=44). The reefs in the southern and central reef complexes along the northern Maputaland coastline can therefore be considered part of a single population.

ENCORE: The effect of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs. Synthesis of results and conclusions

Coral reef degradation resulting from nutrient enrichment of coastal waters is of increasing global concern. Although effects of nutrients on coral reef organisms have been demonstrated in the laboratory, there is little direct evidence of nutrient effects on coral reef biota in situ. The ENCORE experiment investigated responses of coral reef organisms and processes to controlled additions of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) on an offshore reef(One Tree Island) at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A multi-disciplinary team assessed a variety of factors focusing on nutrient dynamics and biotic responses. A controlled and replicated experiment was conducted over two years using twelve small patch reefs ponded at low tide by a coral rim. Treatments included three control reefs (no nutrient addition) and three + N reefs (NH4Cl added), three + P reefs (KH2PO4 added), and three + N + P reefs. Nutrients were added as pulses at each low tide (ca twice per day) by remotely operated units. There were two phases of nutrient additions. During the initial, low-loading phase of the experiment nutrient pulses (mean dose = 11.5 muM NH4+; 2.3 muM PO4-3) rapidly declined, reaching near-background levels (mean = 0.9 muM NH4+; 0.5 muM PO4-3) within 2-3 h. A variety of biotic processes, assessed over a year during this initial nutrient loading phase, were not significantly affected, with the exception of coral reproduction, which was affected in all nutrient treatments. In Acropora longicyathus and A. aspera, fewer successfully developed embryos were formed, and in A. longicyathus fertilization rates and lipid levels decreased. In the second, high-loading, phase of ENCORE an increased nutrient dosage (mean dose = 36.2 muM NH4+; 5.1 muM PO4-3 declining to means of 11.3 muM NH4+ and 2.4 muM PO4-3 at the end of low tide) was used for a further year, and a variety of significant biotic responses occurred. Encrusting algae incorporated virtually none of the added nutrients. Organisms containing endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (corals and giant clams) assimilated dissolved nutrients rapidly and were responsive to added nutrients. Coral mortality, not detected during the initial low-loading phase, became evident with increased nutrient dosage, particularly in Pocillopora damicornis. Nitrogen additions stunted coral growth, and phosphorus additions had a variable effect. Coral calcification rate and linear extension increased in the presence of added phosphorus but skeletal density was reduced, making corals more susceptible to breakage. Settlement of all coral larvae was reduced in nitrogen treatments, yet settlement of larvae from brooded species was enhanced in phosphorus treatments. Recruitment of stomatopods, benthic crustaceans living in coral rubble, was reduced in nitrogen and nitrogen plus phosphorus treatments. Grazing rates and reproductive effort of various fish species were not affected by the nutrient treatments. Microbial nitrogen transformations in sediments,were responsive to nutrient loading with nitrogen fixation significantly increased in phosphorus treatments and denitrification increased in all treatments to which nitrogen had been added. Rates of bioerosion and grazing showed no significant effects of added nutrients, ENCORE has shown that reef organisms and processes investigated ill situ were impacted by elevated nutrients. Impacts mere dependent on dose level, whether nitrogen and/or phosphorus mere elevated and were often species-specific. The impacts were generally sub-lethal and subtle and the treated reefs at the end of the experiment mere visually similar to control reefs. Rapid nutrient uptake indicates that nutrient concentrations alone are not adequate to assess nutrient condition of reefs. Sensitive and quantifiable biological indicators need to be developed for coral reef ecosystems. The potential bioindicators identified in ENCORE should be tested in future research on coral reef/nutrient interactions. Synergistic and cumulative effects of elevated nutrients and other environmental parameters, comparative studies of intact vs. disturbed reefs, offshore vs, inshore reefs, or the ability of a nutrient-stressed reef to respond to natural disturbances require elucidation. An expanded understanding of coral reef responses to anthropogenic impacts is necessary, particularly regarding the subtle, sub-lethal effects detected in the ENCORE studies. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Mapping intertidal habitats and an evaluation of their conservation status in Queensland, Australia

The goal of biodiversity conservation has been described as the conservation of diversity at three levels: ecosystem, species and genetic diversity. Developing a representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs) is considered an effective way to achieve this goal in the marine environment. In the absence of detailed information relating to biological distributions there has been increasing use of biodiversity surrogates to determine MPA priorities at regional levels. The development of biodiversity surrogates at fine scales (i.e. habitats) will have an increasingly important role in the identification of sites that will contribute to a representative system of MPAs. This is because it will increase the likelihood that the system will adequately achieve biodiversity objectives by ensuring protection of a greater range of habitats and species. This article provides an explanation of an intertidal shoreline habitat surrogate used to describe 24,216km of Queensland's coastline. The protective status of intertidal habitats was evaluated to assist with designing a representative system of intertidal MPAs. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecological criteria for evaluating candidate sites for marine reserves

Several schemes have been developed to help select the locations of marine reserves. All of them combine social, economic, and biological criteria, and few offer any guidance as to how to prioritize among the criteria identified. This can imply that the relative weights given to different criteria are unimportant. Where two sites are of equal value ecologically; then socioeconomic criteria should dominate the choice of which should be protected. However, in many cases, socioeconomic criteria are given equal or greater weight than ecological considerations in the choice of sites. This can lead to selection of reserves with little biological value that fail to meet many of the desired objectives. To avoid such a possibility, we develop a series of criteria that allow preliminary evaluation of candidate sites according to their relative biological values in advance of the application of socioeconomic criteria. We include criteria that,. while not strictly biological, have a strong influence on the species present or ecological processes. Out scheme enables sites to be assessed according to their biodiversity, the processes which underpin that diversity, and the processes that support fisheries and provide a spectrum of other services important to people. Criteria that capture biodiversity values include biogeographic representation, habitat representation and heterogeneity, and presence of species or populations of special interest (e.g., threatened species). Criteria that capture sustainability of biodiversity and fishery values include the size of reserves necessary to protect viable habitats, presence of exploitable species, vulnerable life stages, connectivity among reserves, links among ecosystems, and provision of ecosystem services to people. Criteria measuring human and natural threats enable candidate sites to be eliminated from consideration if risks are too great, but also help prioritize among sites where threats can be mitigated by protection. While our criteria can be applied to the design of reserve networks, they also enable choice of single reserves to be made in the context of the attributes of existing protected areas. The overall goal of our scheme is to promote the development of reserve networks that will maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning at large scales. The values of eco-system goods and services for people ultimately depend on meeting this objective.

Opportunity cost of ad hoc marine reserve design decisions: an example from South Australia

Like many states and territories, South Australia has a legacy of marine reserves considered to be inadequate to meet current conservation objectives. In this paper we configured exploratory marine reserve systems, using the software MARXAN, to examine how efficiently South Australia's existing marine reserves contribute to quantitative biodiversity conservation targets. Our aim was to compare marine reserve systems that retain South Australia's existing marine reserves with reserve systems that are free to either ignore or incorporate them. We devised a new interpretation of irreplaceability to identify planning units selected more than could be expected from chance alone. This is measured by comparing the observed selection frequency for an individual planning unit with a predicted selection frequency distribution. Knowing which sites make a valuable contribution to efficient marine reserve system design allows us to determine how well South Australia's existing reserves contribute to reservation goals when representation targets are set at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 50% of conservation features. Existing marine reserves that tail to contribute to efficient marine reserve systems constitute 'opportunity costs'. We found that despite spanning less than 4% of South Australian state waters, locking in the existing ad hoc marine reserves presented considerable opportunity costs. Even with representation targets set at 50%, more than halt of South Australia's existing marine reserves were selected randomly or less in efficient marine reserve systems. Hence, ad hoc marine reserve systems are likely to be inefficient and may compromise effective conservation of marine biodiversity.

Pequenos mamíferos não voadores em fragmentos de Mata Atlântica e áreas agrícolas em Viana, Espírito Santo, Brasil

Nós inventariamos os pequenos mamíferos não-voadores em Viana, Espírito Santo, sudeste do Brasil, em 1981-1982 e 2006-2007. Foram capturados 439 pequenos mamíferos não-voadores pertencentes a três ordens (Didelphimorphia, Rodentia e Lagomorpha) e seis famílias (Didelphidae, Sciuridade, Cricetidae, Muridae, Echimyidae e Leporidae). As espécies mais abundantes foram os roedores Akodon cursor e Nectomys squamipes e o marsupial Metachirus nudicaudatus. Registramos pela primeira vez a ocorrência do roedor equimídeo Euryzygomatomys spinosus no estado do Espírito Santo. A riqueza específica (S = 21) e o índice de diversidade de Shannon (H = 2,23) estão entre os maiores registrados para pequenos mamíferos da Mata Atlântica no estado, mesmo quando comparados aos valores obtidos para unidades de conservação. Esses maiores valores de riqueza e diversidade encontrados estão provavelmente associados à heterogeneidade de hábitat e evidenciam a necessidade de conservação dos fragmentos florestais de Viana, os quais são importantes depositários da biodiversidade da Mata Atlântica.

O mar não está para peixe : uma etnografia dos conflitos socioambientais em torno da Zona de Proteção Marinha e da comunidade pesqueira do Bugigão – RESEXMAR do Corumbau/Bahia.

A Reserva Extrativista Marinha (RESEXMAR) do Corumbau foi criada no ano de 2000, a partir de uma ação coletiva, iniciada em 1997 por meio das lideranças de pescadores locais, na busca de instrumento jurídico que garantisse o acesso exclusivo dos recursos pesqueiros contra a atividade da pesca comercial de camarão sete-barbas que se instalou na década de 1980. Durante o processo de criação da RESEXMAR do Corumbau, os pescadores obtiveram apoio de órgãos governamentais, como a Coordenação Nacional de Populações Tradicionais (CNPT) e de entidades ambientalistas do terceiro setor – Associação Pradense de Proteção Ambiental (APPA), e posteriormente a Conservation International do Brasil (CI-Brasil). Entretanto, após a criação da RESEXMAR do Corumbau – entre os anos 2000 e 2002 – foi elaborado o Plano de Manejo que orientaria a gestão da Unidade de Conservação (UC). O documento foi capitaneado pela equipe técnica e científica vinculada à CI-Brasil, tendo como ponto de destaque a criação de áreas de exclusão total da atividade da pesca, por meio da Zona de Proteção Marinha (ZPM). A ideia de uma ZPM, para a CI-Brasil, era que de forma indireta e em médio e longo prazo, os pescadores se beneficiariam com o possível aumento de produção de pescado, contanto que 30% de cobertura de recifes tivesse algum tipo de proteção dos processos ecológicos, tais como reprodução e crescimento de espécies. Durante as discussões do Plano de Manejo e atualmente uma parcela de pescadores locais contestaram os limites da ZPM, pois iria restringir o acesso aos recursos pesqueiros. No entanto, tal contestação foi suprimida pelas relações não formais que os membros da CI-Brasil possuíam com o núcleo familiar principal da Vila do Corumbau, forçando os demais em um acordo formal temporário. Tal questionamento evidenciou um conflito de conjunto de normas distintas entre pescadores artesanais em relação à CI-Brasil e IBAMA: a pesca artesanal ‒ um tipo de ação que segue normas específicas das quais elementos humanos e não humanos interagem conjuntamente, evidenciando um conhecimento prático e corporizado constituindo um modelo compreensivo de mundo e de natureza; conceitos modernos e globalizantes de uma natureza totalmente desvinculada das práticas locais artesanais, com forte articulação de uma entidade ambientalista de alcance internacional, guiada pela emergência das questões ambientais, imprimindo no local (o lugar da prática da pesca tradicional) a ideia de um espaço (Áreas Marinhas Protegidas), desencaixado de formas específicas de natureza/culturas.

Ocupação urbana em áreas de preservação permanente : o caso do manguezal da área continental de Vitória/ES

This research aims to diagnose the environmental impacts caused by the growth of urban occupations over the mangrove in the continental area of Vitória. It is justified by the gradual degradation of mangroves in Vitória that has inestimable importance to the landscape, to the environment and to the economy. With the growth of urban population in Brazil and around the world, researches like this, about environmental management, are essential to allow cities to grow more sustainably and well planned. The thesis was initially based on the study of occupations of Permanent Preservation Areas in general, with the presentation of the basic concepts and reflections, and later on territorial analysis of some protected areas and their surroundings, and the study of the empirical object, a polygon that covers urban areas and mangroves on the continental part of Vitória. The study hopes to promote a reflection and a discussion about the importance of maintenance of protected natural areas inside the cities, generating knowledge about the importance of mangrove and diagnose how it has been urbanized, protected or degraded over the years