Journal Information

Most often read

4907
Assessing the SARS-CoV-2 threat to wildlife: Potential risk to a broad range of mammals
Fernando Martínez-Hernández, Ana Belem Isaak-Delgado, Jorge Alberto Alfonso-Toledo, Claudia Irais Muñoz-García, Guiehdani Villalobos, Nidia Aréchiga-Ceballos, Emilio Rendón-Franco
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:223-34
4907
Highlights

  • Primate, carnivores and cetacean are more prone to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

  • Mutations of viral spike protein can produce virus variants favoring the spillover.

  • We suggest prioritizing monitoring efforts on susceptible species here mentioned.

Open access
4324
Emerging threats linking tropical deforestation and the COVID-19 pandemic
Pedro H.S. Brancalion, Eben N. Broadbent, Sergio de-Miguel, Adrián Cardil, Marcos R. Rosa, Catherine T. Almeida, Danilo R.A. Almeida, Shourish Chakravarty, Mo Zhou, Javier G.P. Gamarra, Jingjing Liang, Renato Crouzeilles, Bruno Hérault, Luiz E.O.C. Aragão, Carlos Alberto Silva, Angelica M. Almeyda-Zambrano
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:243-6
4324
Highlights

  • Pandemics can become a new indirect driver of tropical deforestation.

  • Halting illegal deforestation should be considered an essential activity during the pandemic.

  • Forest fires could aggravate the health risks of COVID-19.

  • Tropical deforestation will increase the risks of emerging zoonotic diseases.

  • Indigenous people should be especially protected during the current pandemic.

Open access
4159
Multiple dimensions of climate change on the distribution of Amazon primates
Lilian Sales, Bruno R. Ribeiro, Colin A. Chapman, Rafael Loyola
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:83-90
4159
Highlights

  • Climate change will affect species distribution via variation in suitable area amount, displacement of optimal conditions, and/or exposure to non-analog conditions.

  • We found that Amazon primates will face a plethora of effects of climate change on their geographic ranges.

  • Even in cases that the species range could increase, Amazonian primates will be exposed to novel climates and might not be able to track their preferred environments.

  • Remaining populations might also become fragmented and are forecasted to occupy sub-optimal conditions at the periphery of their future ranges.

  • Conservation assessments should consider the multiple dimensions of climate change.

Open access
4101
Climate change promotes species loss and uneven modification of richness patterns in the avifauna associated to Neotropical seasonally dry forests
David A. Prieto-Torres, Andrés Lira-Noriega, Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:19-30
4101
Highlights

  • Over 77% of bird species tended to reduce their distributional ranges in Neotropical seasonally dry forests for years 2050 and 2070 (regardless climate and dispersal scenarios).

  • This trend includes includes several potential species extirpations from the Neotropical seasonally dry forests.

  • Uneven structural reorganization and biotic heterogeneity throughout the Neotropical seasonally dry forests.

Open access
4098
A Model of Collaborative Governance for Community-based Trophy-Hunting Programs in Developing Countries
Inayat Ullah, Dong-Young Kim
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:145-60
4098
Highlights

  • Local communities cooperate and participate in CBTH programs due to power-imbalance between strong governments and weak communities who neighbor or live closely with wildlife.

  • Contingency propositions that help practitioners and governments to understand and implement projects that seek environmental conservation in collaboration with local communities.

  • Key components of community-based trophy hunting programs identified and defined.

  • Factors affecting CBTH program’s process that determine the outcomes of CBTH programs.

Open access
3709
Level-2 ecological integrity: Assessing ecosystems in a changing world
Charles A. Martin, Raphaël Proulx
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:197-202
3709
Highlights

  • Measuring objectively the ecological integrity of an ecosystem is a complex task.

  • Deviation of an indicator variable from a reference relationship is a measure of integrity.

  • Plant biomass (indicator) is constrained by vegetation height (context variable).

  • Fragmentation (indicator) is constrained by the amount of habitats (context variable).

  • In the anthropocene, conservation goals must be set without pristine reference states.

Open access
3696
Fire drives abandoned pastures to a savanna-like state in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
Jerônimo B.B Sansevero, Mário L. Garbin, Andrea Sánchez-Tapia, Fernando Valladares, Fabio R. Scarano
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:31-6
3696
Highlights

  • Fire induces the establishment of a savanna-like state in abandoned pastures impairing the recovery of the Atlantic Forest.

  • Vegetation structure and plant functional traits in abandoned pastures were more similar to savannas than to the Atlantic Forest.

  • The establishment of a savanna-like state reveal a worrying future for the Atlantic Forest because the ongoing climate change.

Open access
3633
Diving into science and conservation: recreational divers can monitor reef assemblages
Edson Aparecido Vieira, Leonardo Rodrigues de Souza, Guilherme Ortigara Longo
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:51-9
3633
Highlights

  • Volunteer divers recorded data for all species selected for the monitoring protocol.

  • Diving experience did not affect data collection.

  • Volunteer divers estimated abundance and size similarly to trained scientific divers.

  • Volunteer divers recorded flagship species, complementing traditional surveys.

  • Recreational divers enjoyed the citizen-science experience, attesting its potential.

Open access
3574
Can we produce more beef without increasing its environmental impact? Argentina as a case study
Carlos Gonzalez Fischer, David Bilenca
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:1-11
3574
Highlights

  • Best practice could increase beef production without increasing its impacts.

  • There are trade-offs between GHG reduction and other impacts.

  • Interventions in the cow-calf stage have more potential to increase production.

Open access
3530
Recognizing sources of uncertainty in disease vector ecological niche models: An example with the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato
Abdelghafar Alkishe, Marlon E. Cobos, A. Townsend Peterson, Abdallah M. Samy
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:91-102
3530
Highlights

  • For the first time, we used the tick species Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (distributed in different areas around the world) to characterize its global geographic distribution using ecological niche modeling, and explore the uncertainty involved in transferring models in space and time.

  • The global model (the one calibrated in all calibration areas together) predicted broad suitable areas for the species around the world.

  • Models based on each calibration area separately showed the potential geographic distribution of R. sanguineus sensu lato under current-day conditions with high agreement across the eastern United States, southern Mexico, northern South America, Brazil, Europe, North Africa, sub-Saharan countries, Asia, and Australia.

  • The global potential distributions of R. sanguineus sensu lato under future conditions were very similar between the two RCPs, but GCMs, model replicates, and model parametrizations contributed importantly to the overall variation detected.

Open access
3517
Drivers of biodiversity associated with rhodolith beds from euphotic and mesophotic zones: Insights for management and conservation
Priscila de Cerqueira Veras, Ivan Pierozzi-Jr., Jaqueline Barreto Lino, Gilberto Menezes Amado-Filho, André Resende de Senna, Cinthya Simone Gomes Santos, Rodrigo Leão de Moura, Flávio Dias Passos, Vinicius José Giglio, Guilherme Henrique Pereira-Filho
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:37-43
3517
Highlights

  • The density of organisms associated with rhodoliths in the euphotic zone is higher than in the mesophotic zone.

  • Drivers of macrofauna associated to rhodoliths were depth zone, average diameter, biomass of macroalgae and density of rhodoliths.

  • The biodiversity associated with the SW Atlantic mesophotic rhodolith beds seems to be much higher as previous works had shown for other rhodolith beds.

Open access
3494
Population viability analysis as a tool for giant anteater conservation
Arnaud Leonard Jean Desbiez, Alessandra Bertassoni, Kathy Traylor-Holzer
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:124-31
3494
Highlights

  • We provide a giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) baseline population viability model built using multi-data source;

  • A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate each parameter impact on the model and to guide future research efforts;

  • Baseline model showed a 5% growth rate, and the most sensitive parameters are mortality rates and the percentage of females breeding;

  • A case study based on real data showed that road kill decreases the stochastic growth rate of local giant anteater populations by half;

  • Our baseline model has the potential to ensure scientific input into conservation planning for the species.

Open access
3467
Using genetics to plan black rat (Rattus rattus) management in Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil
Fernanda Gatto-Almeida, Florian Pichlmueller, Tatiane Micheletti, Carlos R. Abrahão, Paulo R. Mangini, James C. Russell
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:44-50
3467
Highlights

  • Two geographically partitioned haplotypes reported.

  • No recent gene flow between islands.

  • Results indicate good chances of Rata Island remaining rat-free after eradication.

Open access
3435
Birds’ gap-crossing in open matrices depends on landscape structure, tree size, and predation risk
Cristina Magalhães Silva, Jader Augusto Costa Pereira, Júlia Dell Sol Passos Gusmões, Barbara Emanuelle Penha Mendes, Halissa Valente, Ana Paula Morgan, Dhiéssica Goulart, Érica Hasui
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:73-82
3435
Highlights

  • Birds use scattered trees mainly as stepping stones and feeding sites.

  • Their use as stepping stones depends on tree size and distance to a forest patch.

  • Bird are able to move greater distances and at higher frequencies across a landscape using stepping stones.

  • Both forest cover and tree aggregation increase tree visits under predation risk.

Open access
3312
Biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Campo Rupestre: A road map for the sustainability of the hottest Brazilian biodiversity hotspot
G. Wilson Fernandes, Lucas Arantes-Garcia, Milton Barbosa, Newton P.U. Barbosa, Eugênia K.L. Batista, Wallace Beiroz, Fernando M. Resende, Anna Abrahão, Emmanuel D. Almada, Elaine Alves, Natacha J. Alves, Patrícia Angrisano, Montserrat Arista, Juan Arroyo, André Jardim Arruda, Thaise de Oliveira Bahia, Laura Braga, Lílian Brito, Marcos Callisto, Dario Caminha-Paiva, Marília Carvalho, Abel Augusto Conceição, Leda N. Costa, Antonio Cruz, Jessica Cunha-Blum, John Dagevos, Braulio F.S. Dias, Victor D. Pinto, Rodolfo Dirzo, Daniel Quedes Domingos, Lívia Echternacht, Stephannie Fernandes, Jose Eugenio C. Figueira, Cecilia F. Fiorini, Ana Maria Giulietti, Augusto Gomes, Vanessa M. Gomes, Bernardo Gontijo, Fernando Goulart, Tadeu J. Guerra, Patrícia A. Junqueira, Débora Lima-Santos, Julia Marques, Joao Meira-Neto, Deise T.B. Miola, Leonor Patrícia C. Morellato, Daniel Negreiros, Elizabeth Neire, Ana Carolina Neves, Frederico S. Neves, Samuel Novais, Yumi Oki, Elizabeth Oliveira, Rafael S. Oliveira, Marco O. Pivari, Euripedes Pontes Junior, Bernardo D. Ranieri, Rodrigo Pinheiro Ribas, Aldicir Scariot, Carlos E. Schaefer, Letícia Sena, Pedro G. da Silva, Paulo R. Siqueira, Natalia C. Soares, Britaldo Soares-Filho, Ricardo Solar, Marcelo Tabarelli, Rogério Vasconcellos, Evaldo Vilela, Fernando A.O. Silveira
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:213-22
3312
Highlights

  • Campo Rupestre (CR) occurs in the ecotone Cerrado-Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspots.

  • CR epitomizes the conflicts between exploitative and sustainable socioeconomic models.

  • We propose and describe the Action Plan for the Campo Rupestre (APCR).

  • The APCR aims to reconcile the socio-economic and environmental values in the CR.

Open access
3305
Opportunities to close the gap between science and practice for Marine Protected Areas in Brazil
Morena Mills(), Rafael A. Magris, Mariana M.P.B. Fuentes, Roberta Bonaldo, Dannieli F. Herbst, Monique C.S. Lima, Isabela K.G. Kerber, Leopoldo C. Gerhardinger, Rodrigo L. de Moura, Camila Domit, João B. Teixeira, Hudson T. Pinheiro, Gabriel Vianna, Rodrigo Rodrigues de Freitas
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:161-8
3305
Highlights

  • Identifying specific and quantitative objectives and linking them to timeframes and budgets.

  • Developing strategic monitoring and evaluation programs focussed on MPA performance.

  • Enabling local stakeholders to participate in planning processes.

  • Explicitly considering MPA costs and leveraging existing sources of funding.

  • Decentralizing resource management and empowering local stakeholders to manage resources sustainably.

Open access
3301
Mining activity in Brazil and negligence in action
Gilberto Nepomuceno Salvador, Cecília Gontijo Leal, Gabriel Lourenço Brejão, Tiago Casarim Pessali, Carlos Bernardo Mascarenhas Alves, Gustavo Ribeiro Rosa, Raphael Ligeiro, Luciano Fogaça de Assis Montag
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:139-44
3301
Highlights

  • A new disaster in Brazil involving the rupture of a tailings dam reopened the discussions about socio-environmental impact.

  • The absence of actions by the companies and the lack of a management plan can imperil the efforts for environmental recovery.

  • The slowdown of Brazilian environmental legislation can generate a future darker scenario.

Open access
3228
Climate and land-use change refugia for Brazilian Cerrado birds
Fábio Júlio Alves Borges, Rafael Loyola
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:109-15
3228
Highlights

  • Climate and land-use changes threatens Brazilian Cerrado birds.

  • Only 13% of the Cerrado could serve as refugia for the bird species.

  • Refugia areas do not coincide with current species-rich areas.

  • ∼11% of the refugia areas overlapped with protected areas.

  • Different conservation strategies must be adopted to protect species.

Open access
3127
Testing the accuracy of biological attributes in predicting extinction risk
Bruna F. Ceretta, Carine O. Fogliarini, Vinicius J. Giglio, Melina F. Maxwell, Luiza S. Waechter, Mariana G. Bender
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:12-8
3127
Highlights

  • We tested the accuracy of biological attributes to predict reef fish species’ vulnerability to extinction.

  • Megafauna, carnivorous, mobile invertivorous, habitat specialists, highly mobile species and Elasmobranchii have greater extinction risks.

  • Reef sites along southestern Brazil have greater proportions and richness of threatened species.

  • Biological attributes may be a tool to predict the vulnerability of reef fishes.

Open access
3118
Use of unfenced highway underpasses by lowland tapirs and other medium and large mammals in central-western Brazil
Fernanda Delborgo Abra, Ariel da Costa Canena, Guilherme Siniciato Terra Garbino, Emília Patrícia Medici
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation. 2020;18:247-56
3118
Highlights

  • The lowland tapir was the most recorded species using the underpasses.

  • Tapir underpass use summed more than 180 tons of biomass that crossed safely under the highway.

  • Mammal species assemblages differed among use in cattle boxes and drainage culverts.

  • Traffic activity on the highway peaked opposite to the activity peak of the mammals in the crossings.

  • Countries with limited financial resources should consider retrofitting of existing highway underpasses.

Open access
Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation