Most often read
- •
Fire incidence in Brazil increased in 2019−2020, with unprecedented magnitude in the Pantanal.
- •
Fire effects vary according to the evolutionary history of the affected ecosystem.
- •
A drier climate and land use changes increase the risk of wildfires throughout Brazil.
- •
Poor governance further exacerbates the risk and damage of wildfires.
- •
Fire policies must be improved by collaboration among different sectors of the society.
- •
Top-down restrictive measures are the basis of Araucaria Forest System conservation
- •
Bottom-up collaborative management could favor keystone plant Araucaria angustifolia
- •
Top-down model had negative feedback that dampens the system limiting its resilience
- •
Bottom-up model had positive feedback expanding the system and its general resilience
- •
Collaborative management could maintain the Araucaria Forests System in the long term
- •
The pandemic brought to light diverse issues concerning the science-policy interface.
- •
These issues are particularly relevant for conservation science and practice.
- •
To tackle them requires recognizing that science is not value-free.
- •
Science should be immersed in processes that include conflict mediation to set goals.
- •
To that end, it is vital to change science policies and training.
- •
Global climate and land-use changes will have a serious impact on individual species and communities of hummingbirds.
- •
Existing protected areas showed an important reduction of surface across the species distribution and hotspot areas for future.
- •
A large proportion of “safe places” does not match the areas targeted for agriculture expansion in future scenarios.
- •
It is imperative that policy-makers promote policies that are resilient to both threats as soon as possible.
- •
Brazil is among the three countries with the highest diversity of bird species in the Americas, but it is the first in number of threatened birds with 166 species.
- •
Greatest number of endangered species are recorded in the Atlantic Forest.
- •
79,500 ha of new areas officially protect the most endangered bird species in Brazil.
- •
30-40,000 Brazilian birdwatchers generating information for bird conservation.
- •
Mammal richness and body mass are directly and negatively affected by deforestation.
- •
Vulnerable ecological functions lose prevalence with land-use change.
- •
Persistent ecological functions are benefitted by increasing anthropogenic land-use.
- •
Five out of ten ecological functions lose prevalence in human-modified landscapes.
- •
The loss of ecological functions might compromise the persistence of forest remnants.
- •
Conservation biology literature is dominated by problem-based research.
- •
Solution-based papers are becoming more common along the last four decades.
- •
Solution-to-problem word ratio suggests greater concern with conservation action.
- •
Higher emphasis on solution-based research can advance biodiversity conservation.
- •
The expansion of bat habitat generalists coupled with range contraction of bat habitat specialist will homogenize the Neotropical bat communities.
- •
Warm-adapted bat species might expand their ranges towards higher altitudes, while mountain-top specialists will run out of suitable climate.
- •
Monitoring programs will be important to track species that are predicted to become extinct and also the projected range expansion of sanguivorous bats.
- •
The most effective way to protect Neotropical bat species will be increasing landscape connectivity and safeguarding the refugia highlighted here.
- •
Primate responses to forest patch size and quality vary among species and regions.
- •
Patch size is the best predictor of two species in two different regions.
- •
Patch quality (vegetation attributes) better predicts primates in two regions.
- •
Conservation outcomes can improve if considering both patch size and quality.
- •
Grassy ecosystems in South America have developed under grazing by large herbivores until the Early Holocene.
- •
The grassy biomes need grazing animals and/or fire to maintain their biodiversity and ecological characteristics.
- •
Grazing in the Legal Reserve can represent a social process with benefits for land users and biodiversity conservation.
- •
Knowledge on grazing in Brazil’s grassy ecosystems should be developed by researchers and stakeholders.
- •
Changes in the Brazilian semi-arid coast reveal key questions to advance research.
- •
Changes in the semi-arid coast can have consequences in the ecological stability and connectivity.
- •
Modifications of the coastal dynamics can impact structure and function of adjacent marine ecosystems.
- •
Semi-arid coast community dynamics under ongoing climate change should be monitored.
- •
Beaches and nearshore mangroves erosion contrast with mangrove expansion inland.
- •
Probability of giant armadillo presence was associated with forests and savannas.
- •
In Mato Grosso do Sul, suitable habitat is heavily fragmented.
- •
Less suitable altered habitat presents high resistance for travel and dispersal.
- •
There are only 69 patches of suitable habitat ≥25 km2 in the region.
- •
Populations surviving in these remnants could be declining or functionally extinct.
- •
Agroecosystem management needs to be considered in landscape ecology studies.
- •
Three components of heterogeneity are important to characterize agroecosystems.
- •
Studies should include the economic gains provided by ecological farming practices.
- •
Studies should include social and economic components of agricultural landscapes.
- •
Fine spatial and temporal data are necessary to better characterize agroecosystems.
- •
Fire has a strong impact in structuring the community of non-volant small mammals.
- •
Fire may restrict and promote the occurrence of different mammal species.
- •
Vegetation attributes have a fundamental role in the occupancy by small mammals.
- •
Fire might disrupt gallery forests’ functioning affecting keystone interactions.
- •
Estimation of over 4740 road-killed bats during a 5-year period.
- •
Phyllostomidae bats were the most affected by roadkill in the study area.
- •
Road casualties were more numerous during rainy season.
- •
Collisions occurred 12 times more in four-lane highways than in two-lane ones.
- •
Distance from water and presence of light were not significantly related to roadkill.
- •
Long-term (>4.2 years) contamination and ecological risks of the Rio Doce estuary.
- •
Sediment metal(loid)s concentrations support a continued potential adverse biological effect.
- •
Despite a decrease in metal(loid)s concentration, the chronic contamination is still above reference values.
- •
The Rio Doce estuary works as a sink for tailings and a source of toxic metal(loid)s.
- •
Native and non-native congeneric species respond differently to climate change.
Climate change reduces environmental suitability for the native Euterpe edulis.
- •
Climate change impacts on E. edulis are spatially heterogeneous.
- •
Current and future overlap areas are concentrated mostly in the southeastern region.
- •
Introduction of the non-native E. oleracea should be avoided.
- •
Urge for combining local and broad scales to evaluate human impact on biodiversity.
- •
A new niche modelling framework predicting the species richness at different scales.
- •
Climate and landscape metrics joint uncover the land-use effect on species richness.
- •
Landscape modification as the main driver of Atlantic butterfly richness decrease.
- •
A guide for conservation actions based on predicted species richness combinations.
- •
Public awareness policies needs to be more comprehensive and interdisciplinary.
- •
Brazilian scientists should be consulted and participate in proposing laws.
- •
Non bee pollinators must be considered in protective policies.
- •
Brazilian largest biome has the lower number of pollinator-policies.
- •
Policies on biodiversity protection in cities and on long-term monitoring are necessary.
- •
Most species have restricted distribution within the natural regions of Colombia.
- •
Seven of nine species would experience reduction in their climatically suitable areas.
- •
Relocation of nests outside bees’ native range needs to be avoided.
- •
Conservation policies and monitoring programs are urgently needed.