Journal Information

Most cited

457
From hotspot to hopespot: An opportunity for the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
C.L. Rezende, F.R. Scarano, E.D. Assad, C.A. Joly, J.P. Metzger, B.B.N. Strassburg, M. Tabarelli, G.A. Fonseca, R.A. Mittermeier
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:208-14
457
Highlights

  • High-resolution remote sensing data reveals 28%, or 32 million hectares (Mha), of native vegetation cover in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

  • There are 7.2Mha of degraded riparian areas, of which 5.2Mha at least must be restored before 2038 by landowners for legislation compliance.

  • Restoring this existing legal debt could increase native vegetation cover in the biome up to 35%.

Open access
57
Habitat fragmentation narrows the distribution of avian functional traits associated with seed dispersal in tropical forest
Alex A.A. Bovo, Katia M.P.M.B. Ferraz, Marcelo Magioli, Eduardo R. Alexandrino, Érica Hasui, Milton C. Ribeiro, Joseph A. Tobias
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:90-6
57
Highlights

  • Reduction in patch size affects functional trait composition of bird communities.

  • Functional richness is directly and positively related to habitat patch size.

  • Large-bodied and large-beaked frugivores are most sensitive to patch size reduction.

  • Loss of sensitive species potentially hinders seed dispersal for large-fruited trees.

  • Conserving large inter-connected patches is key to sustaining ecological processes.

Open access
44
Biodiversity conservation gaps in Brazil: A role for systematic conservation planning
Carlos Roberto Fonseca, Eduardo Martins Venticinque
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:61-7
44
Highlights

  • The Brazilian protected area network plays a key role in biodiversity conservation.

  • Systematic conservation planning determines the existing conservation gaps.

  • Conservation gaps correspond to 16.5% of the Brazilian territory.

  • Conservation gaps are unevenly distributed among the Brazilian biomes.

  • The Brazilian protected area network should be further expanded.

Open access
37
Humans as niche constructors: Revisiting the concept of chronic anthropogenic disturbances in ecology
Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque, Paulo Henrique Santos Gonçalves, Washington Soares Ferreira Júnior, Leonardo Silva Chaves, Regina Célia da Silva Oliveira, Temóteo Luiz Lima da Silva, Gilney Charll dos Santos, Elcida de Lima Araújo
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:1-11
37
Highlights

  • Ecology has witnessed a strong conceptual shift.

  • Its not realistic to predict the future of ecosystems ignoring human being.

  • Ecologists have sought to understand the consequences of more subtle human actions.

  • The Niche Construction Theory can help to understand human influences on environment.

Open access
34
Uneven conservation efforts compromise Brazil to meet the Target 11 of Convention on Biological Diversity
André A. Pacheco, Ana Carolina O. Neves, G. Wilson Fernandes
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:43-8
34
Highlights

  • Aichis Target 11 has not been adequately met.

  • Quality of the management of Conservation Units was poor for all indicators.

  • The only biome properly covered by Conservation Units in Brazil is the Amazon.

  • Areas of Environmental Protection offer poor protection and predominate in the system.

  • The funds for management should be at least 3.4 times bigger than current budget.

Open access
34
Thinking about super-dominant populations of native species – Examples from Brazil
Vânia Regina Pivello, Marcus Vinicius Vieira, Maria Tereza Grombone-Guaratini, Dalva Maria Silva Matos
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:74-82
34
Highlights

  • Native species populations may become overabundant and cause serious harm.

  • Super-dominant species are poorly considered in the scientific literature.

  • We highlight 16 Brazilian plant species with extreme super-dominant behaviour.

  • Human activities trigger super-dominance, which shall intensify with climate change.

  • Scientists and decision-makers must work closer to identify and manage super-dominant species.

Open access
33
Science and democracy must orientate Brazil's path to sustainability
Ricardo Dobrovolski, Rafael Loyola, Ludmila Rattis, Sidney Feitosa Gouveia, Domingos Cardoso, Rejane Santos-Silva, Daniel Gonçalves-Souza, Luis Mauricio Bini, José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:121-4
33
Highlights

  • Brazil fought poverty, environmental destruction, and education shortfalls.

  • Succeeding in social and environmental issues made Brazil a leader by example.

  • Crisis resulted in drastic cuts of social and environmental funding in Brazil.

  • Crisis is justifying a wider gap between science and policy in Brazil.

  • To boost the engagement of people in decision-making is mandatory to defeat crisis.

Open access
32
Protecting biodiversity in urbanizing regions: The role of urban reserves for the conservation of Brazilian Atlantic Forest birds
Thayz R. Enedino, Alan Loures-Ribeiro, Bráulio A. Santos
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:17-23
32
Highlights

  • The Brazilian Atlantic Forest and other biodiversity hotspots are rapidly urbanizing.

  • The role of urban protected areas in safeguarding bird diversity is little known.

  • Larger protected areas retain larger proportion of the regional bird species richness.

  • Small areas, however, are also crucial to maintain the regional diversity.

  • Legal-based birdwatching may help to protect birds in urbanizing regions.

Open access
26
The South Brazilian grasslands – A South American tallgrass prairie? Parallels and implications of fire dependency
G.E. Overbeck, J.D. Scasta, F.F. Furquim, I.I. Boldrini, J.R. Weir
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:24-30
26
Highlights

  • South Brazilian and North American tallgrass grasslands show botanical similarity.

  • Fire appears to have a similar ecological role in both regions.

  • Fire as ecological process and conservation tool is undervalued in Brazil.

  • Brazilian grassland conservation might benefit from North American experiences.

  • Comparative ecological studies will improve our understanding of grassland ecology.

Open access
25
Who let the dogs out? Occurrence, population size and daily activity of domestic dogs in an urban Atlantic Forest reserve
Katyucha Von Kossel de Andrade Silva, Caio Fittipaldi Kenup, Catharina Kreischer, Fernando A.S. Fernandez, Alexandra S. Pires
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2018;16:228-33
25
Highlights

  • Dogs are not resident, invading the area from surrounding areas.

  • Domestic dogs are distributed in the whole area with 0.74–1.37individuals/km2.

  • Distance from Park's limits or presence of paved roads do not affect dogs’ occurrence.

  • Dogs’ activity was diurnal and native animals with the same pattern would probably be more susceptible to dog's impacts.

  • Management strategies should consider the engagement of local people to be successful.

Open access
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation