Journal Information
Issue
Vol. 22. Issue 1.
Pages 1-100 (January - March 2024)
Policy forums
Brazilian public funding for biodiversity research in the Amazon
Lis F. Stegmann, Filipe M. França, Raquel L. Carvalho, Jos Barlow, Erika Berenguer, Leandro Castello, Leandro Juen, Fabrício B. Baccaro, ... Joice Ferreira
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:1-7
Highlights

  • The federal grants and scholarships are uneven distributed between Brazilian regions.

  • The North region receives the least number of scholarships and grants per km² in Brazil.

  • The current federal budget is insufficient to cover large-scale research in the Amazon.

  • New national and international funds need to be created to improve Amazon biodiversity research.

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Reducing negative economic and equity implications associated with conserving 30% of the planet by 2030
Sophie Jago
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:8-11
Highlights

  • Expanding protected areas is likely to have high economic costs and exacerbate inequalities.

  • OECMs can provide a cheaper more equitable alternative to meeting area-based conservation targets.

  • Effort and funds should focus on improving existing protected areas and designating new OECMs.

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Beyond fear: a new paradigm to manage shark recovery in Brazilian marine protected areas
Hudson T. Pinheiro, Osmar J. Luiz, Luiz A. Rocha, Kirsten Wohak, Ronaldo B. Francini-Filho
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:12-4
Highlights

  • Shark recovery in Brazilian Marine Protected Areas has concerned managers.

  • Shark culling has been proposed and scientific-diving banned after incidents.

  • Decisions should not be based on fear but grounded in scientific research.

  • Both conservation goals and economic benefits can be achieved with shark recovery.

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Essays and perspectives
Environmental DNA and biodiversity patterns: a call for a community phylogenetics approach
José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho, Luis Mauricio Bini, Cintia Pelegrineti Targueta, Mariana Pires de Campos Telles, Lucas Jardim, Karine Borges Machado, João Carlos Nabout, Rhewter Nunes, ... Thannya Nascimento Soares
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:15-23
Highlights

  • eDNA metabarcoding allows cost-effective biodiversity analysis and monitoring.

  • eDNA focuses on defining MOTUs/ASVs, but more information is intrinsic to such data.

  • α and β diversity patterns from eDNA are enhanced by explicit phylogenetic analyses.

  • Diversity gradients of microeukaryotes in Araguaia River illustrate these patterns.

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Research letters
Shade coffee plantations favor specialization, decrease robustness and increase foraging in hummingbird-plant networks
Ana I. López-Flores, Claudia I. Rodríguez-Flores, María del Coro Arizmendi, Víctor Rosas-Guerrero, R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:24-34
Highlights

  • Shade coffee plantations favor the presence of some pollinators such as hummingbirds.

  • Late forests and shade coffee plantations had the highest number of species, pairs of interactions and modularity.

  • The cattle pastures network presented the greatest robustness due to a greater presence of generalist hummingbirds.

  • Hummingbird visits are influenced by plant traits such as foliage height but not by the number of flowers.

  • Conversion of natural habitats causes changes in the hummingbird-plant interaction, affecting ecological process such as pollination.

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Habitat loss and distribution of the Ornate Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata): implications for its conservation in South American temperate grasslands
Camila Deutsch, David Norberto Bilenca, Juan Pablo Zurano, Luis Fernando Marin da Fonte, Natália Dallagnol Vargas, Andreas Kindel, Renan Pittella, Marcelo Duarte Freire, ... María Gabriela Agostini
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:35-42
Highlights

  • Ceratophrys ornata is not recorded in Uruguay since 1982.

  • We report the last documented record for Brazil, made in 1992.

  • Distance to grasslands and afforestation negatively affect the C. ornata occurrence.

  • Water body cover and sandy soils positively influence the occurrence of C. ornata.

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Populations across bird species distribution ranges respond differently to habitat loss and fragmentation: implications for conservation strategies
Érica Hasui, Alexandre Camargo Martensen, Alexandre Uezu, Rafael Guerra Pimentel, Flavio Nunes Ramos, Milton Cezar Ribeiro, Jean Paul Metzger
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:43-54
Highlights

  • Bird sensitivity varies across distribution ranges and environmental gradients, shaping distinct population patterns.

  • Four patterns: edge, equal, core, and varying sensitivity to landscape changes.

  • Dispersal ability, habitat specialization, and distribution range do not fully explain sensitivity patterns.

  • Species' intraspecific sensitivity variations call for adaptive conservation strategies.

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Human density, development, and roads are the main drivers of carnivore presence in urban areas
Alan D. Pereira, Nicole C. Iliuk, Karine L. Kuryluk, Juliano A. Bogoni
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:55-62
Highlights

  • We recorded 605 mammalian carnivorans (10 spp.) across 368 Brazilian urban areas.

  • Hotspots of carnivorans in urban areas were in Atlantic Forest and Cerrado.

  • Key predictions include human development index and human population density.

  • Road extension, municipality size and elevation also are crucial factors.

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The Protected Areas network may be insufficient to protect bird diversity in a fragmented tropical hotspot under different climate scenarios
Vinicius Tonetti, Fernanda Bocalini, Fabio Schunck, Maurício Humberto Vancine, Mariella Butti, Milton Ribeiro, Marco Pizo
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:63-71
Highlights

  • Overlap of priority areas for bird conservation based on three diversity components is low.

  • The current Protected Areas network does not cover the most important areas.

  • Climate change can have a low impact on priority areas for conservation.

  • We show priority areas where the current Protected Areas network could be expanded.

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Thermal mismatch explains fungal disease dynamics in Brazilian frogs
Tamilie Carvalho, Daniel Medina, Raoni Rebouças, C. Guilherme Becker, Luís Felipe Toledo
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:72-8
Highlights

  • Thermal mismatch can increase susceptibility of tropical amphibians to chytridiomycosis.

  • Cold- and warm-adapted amphibian hosts had a higher risk of infection under abnormally warm and cool conditions, respectively.

  • Overall, cool-adapted frogs displayed a greater risk of disease regardless of temperature.

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Chronic human disturbance and environmental forces drive the regeneration mechanisms of a Caatinga dry tropical forest
Ronald Noutcheu, Fernanda M.P. Oliveira, Rainer Wirth, Marcelo Tabarelli, Inara R. Leal
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:79-92
Highlights

  • Dry-forest regeneration mechanisms respond to both natural and human drivers.

  • Caatinga regeneration relies on low-density and taxonomically impoverished regenerating assemblages.

  • Resprouts rather than seedlings and saplings support Caatinga regeneration.

  • Chronic human disturbances pose negative effect on regeneration mechanisms such as seed rain and seedling abundance.

  • Agricultural better practices are required to improve Caatinga resilience.

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AMACRO: the newer Amazonia deforestation hotspot and a potential setback for Brazilian agriculture
Michel E.D. Chaves, Guilherme Mataveli, Katyanne V. Conceição, Marcos Adami, Felipe G. Petrone, Ieda D. Sanches
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2024;22:93-100
Highlights

  • A deforestation hotspot emerges in a region planned for agricultural development in the - Amazon rainforest.

  • Deforestation grows in all land tenure classes, especially after the project became widespread, in 2018.

  • Forest loss increased in protected areas after 2018, except in Indigenous Lands, which resist as protective shields.

  • Contrary to economic development, it can trigger socioeconomic losses and affect essential edaphoclimatic conditions for agricultural activity.

  • Environmental impact studies need to be concluded before establishing the zone for agricultural development.

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Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation