A Framework to Optimize Biodiversity Restoration Efforts Based on Habitat Amount and Landscape Connectivity

The effectiveness of ecological restoration actions toward biodiversity conservation depends on both local and landscape constraints. Extensive information on local constraints is already available, but few studies consider the landscape context when planning restoration actions. We propose a multiscale framework based on the landscape attributes of habitat amount and connectivity to infer landscape resilience and to set priority areas for restoration. Landscapes with intermediate habitat amount and where connectivity remains sufficiently high to favor recolonization were considered to be intermediately resilient, with high possibilities of restoration effectiveness and thus were designated as priority areas for restoration actions. The proposed method consists of three steps: (1) quantifying habitat amount and connectivity; (2) using landscape ecology theory to identify intermediate resilience landscapes based on habitat amount, percolation theory, and landscape connectivity; and (3) ranking landscapes according to their importance as corridors or bottlenecks for biological flows on a broader scale, based on a graph theory approach. We present a case study for the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (approximately 150 million hectares) in order to demonstrate the proposed method. For the Atlantic Forest, landscapes that present high restoration effectiveness represent only 10% of the region, but contain approximately 15 million hectares that could be targeted for restoration actions (an area similar to today's remaining forest extent). The proposed method represents a practical way to both plan restoration actions and optimize biodiversity conservation efforts by focusing on landscapes that would result in greater conservation benefits. © 2013 Society for Ecological Restoration.

Habitat monitoring and genotoxicity in Ucides cordatus (Crustacea: Ucididae), as tools to manage a mangrove reserve in southeastern Brazil

In Brazil, the state of São Paulo contains both preserved areas (Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station) and extremely impacted ones (Cubatão Municipality). This study evaluated the concentrations of five metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg) in two mangroves with different levels of anthropogenic impact and the apparent genotoxicity to Ucides cordatus. Water and sediment samples were obtained, and metal concentrations were determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The genotoxic impact was quantified based on the number of micronucleated cells per 1,000 analyzed (MN‰), using hemolymph slides stained with Giemsa. Metal concentrations in water were below the detection limit, except for lead, although no significant difference was observed between the areas (P > 0.05). Sediment from Cubatão had higher concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr, and Cu than sediment from Juréia-Itatins (P < 0.05), but no significant differences in metal concentrations were detected among depth strata of the sediment (P > 0.05). Crabs from Cubatão had a 2.6 times higher mean frequency of micronucleated cells (5.2 ± 1.8 MN‰) than those from Juréia-Itatins (2.0 ± 1.0 MN‰; P < 0.0001). The more-polluted conditions found in the mangrove sediments of Cubatão were reflected in the micronucleus assay, demonstrating their genotoxic effect; however, genetic damage should be attributed to a synergistic effect with other kinds of pollutants previously recorded in different environments of Cubatão. U. cordatus proved to be an excellent bioindicator of mangrove pollution. This study established, for the first time, the normal frequency of MN‰ in a population of this species within an ecological station. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

América Latina y el desafío del hábitat = Latin America and the habitat challenge

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Informe de la Reunión Regional de América Latina y el Caribe Preparatoria de la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Asentamientos Humanos (Hábitat II), Santiago, 13-17 noviembre 1995 = Report of the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Meeting Preparatory to the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Santiago, 13-17 November 1995

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America Latina y el desafio del habitat

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A estrutura trófica da ictiofauna de riachos reflete a estrutura física do habitat?

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A importância de fatores fenológicos e químicos na escolha de frutos por filostomídeos frugívoros

Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal - IBILCE

Análise de fauna, flutuação populacional e preferência pelo hábitat de Carabidae e Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) na região de Guaíra, Estado de São Paulo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Estudo químico de Jatropha curcas e de Jatropha gossypifolia nativas e cultivadas: avaliação de ciclopeptídeos em função de habitat e hábito : prospecção e atividade biológica

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Diversidade e uso do habitat de comunidades de anfíbios anuros em Lençóis Paulista, Estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBB

O efeito do contexto da paisagem e da estrutura de habitat sobre abelhas e vespas silvestres em fragmentos de cerrado

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Crescimento de Brachiaria subquadripara (Trin.) Hitchc. sob diferentes condições nutricionais e monitoramento sazonal de fatores ambientais no habitat natural

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)