speciesLink: rich data and novel tools for digital assessments of biodiversity / speciesLink: dados valiosos e ferramentas inovadoras para avaliações digitais da biodiversidade

Abstract speciesLink is a large-scale biodiversity information portal that exists thanks to a broad collaborative network of people and institutions. CRIA's involvement with the scientific community of Brazil and other countries is responsible for the significant results achieved, currently reaching more than 15 million primary biodiversity data records, 95% of which are associated with preserved specimens and about 25% with high-quality digital images. The network provides data on over 200,000 species, of which over 110,000 occur in Brazil. This article describes thematic networks within speciesLink, as well as some of the most useful tools developed. The importance and contributions of speciesLink are outlined, as are concerns about securing stable budgetary support for such biodiversity data e-infrastructures. Here we review the value of speciesLink as a major source of biodiversity information for research, education, informed decision-making, policy development, and bioeconomy.

Resumo speciesLink é um portal de informações em larga escala sobre biodiversidade, que existe graças a uma ampla rede colaborativa de pessoas e instituições. O envolvimento do CRIA com a comunidade científica do Brasil e de outros países é responsável pelos resultados expressivos alcançados, atingindo atualmente mais de 15 milhões de registros de dados primários de biodiversidade, sendo 95% associados a espécimes preservados e cerca de 25% a imagens digitais de alta qualidade. A rede fornece dados sobre mais de 200.000 espécies, das quais mais de 110.000 ocorrem no Brasil. Este artigo descreve as redes temáticas do speciesLink, bem como algumas das ferramentas mais úteis desenvolvidas. A importância e as contribuições do speciesLink são destacadas, assim como as preocupações em garantir um apoio financeiro estável para e-infraestruturas de dados sobre biodiversidade. Aqui revisamos o valor do speciesLink como uma das principais fontes de informação sobre biodiversidade para pesquisa, educação, tomada de decisão, desenvolvimento de políticas e bioeconomia.

Fatiga de vigilancia (fatigatio vigilantiae) durante epidemias / Surveillance fatigue (fatigatio vigilantiae) during epidemics

This manuscript presents the concept of "surveillance fatigue" (fatigatio vigilantiae), to describe an epidemiological scenario of an evident underreporting of cases during overwhelming epidemics. We revised past epidemics and found that surveillance fatigue is a common pattern, thus, it may be a useful concept in modern epidemiology.

Se presenta el concepto de "fatiga de vigilancia" (fatigatio vigilantiae) para describir un escenario epidemiológico en el que es evidente el subreporte de casos durante epidemias abrumadoras. Revisamos epidemias pasadas y encontramos que la fatiga de vigilancia es un patrón común, por lo tanto, puede ser un concepto útil en la epidemiología moderna.

Mapping the global geographic potential of Zika virus spread

The Americas are presently experiencing the most serious known outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV). Here, we present a novel set of analyses using environmental characteristics, vector mosquito distributions, and socioeconomic risk factors to develop the first map to detail global ZIKV transmission risk in multiple dimensions based on ecological niche models. Our model predictions were tested against independent evaluation data sets, and all models had predictive ability significantly better than random expectations. The study addresses urgent knowledge gaps regarding (1) the potential geographic scope of the current ZIKV epidemic, (2) the global potential for spread of ZIKV, and (3) drivers of ZIKV transmission. Our analysis of potential drivers of ZIKV distributions globally identified areas vulnerable in terms of some drivers, but not for others. The results of these analyses can guide regional education and preparedness efforts, such that medical personnel will be better prepared for diagnosis of potential ZIKV cases as they appear.

Atlas of Mexican Triatominae (Reduviidae: Hemiptera) and vector transmission of Chagas disease

Chagas disease is one of the most important yet neglected parasitic diseases in Mexico and is transmitted by Triatominae. Nineteen of the 31 Mexican triatomine species have been consistently found to invade human houses and all have been found to be naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The present paper aims to produce a state-of-knowledge atlas of Mexican triatomines and analyse their geographic associations with T. cruzi, human demographics and landscape modification. Ecological niche models (ENMs) were constructed for the 19 species with more than 10 records in North America, as well as for T. cruzi. The 2010 Mexican national census and the 2007 National Forestry Inventory were used to analyse overlap patterns with ENMs. Niche breadth was greatest in species from the semiarid Nearctic Region, whereas species richness was associated with topographic heterogeneity in the Neotropical Region, particularly along the Pacific Coast. Three species, Triatoma longipennis, Triatoma mexicana and Triatoma barberi, overlapped with the greatest numbers of human communities, but these communities had the lowest rural/urban population ratios. Triatomine vectors have urbanised in most regions, demonstrating a high tolerance to human-modified habitats and broadened historical ranges, exposing more than 88% of the Mexican population and leaving few areas in Mexico without the potential for T. cruzi transmission.

Bat-borne rabis in latin america / Rabia transmitida por murciélagos en Latino América

The situation of rabies in America is complex: rabies in dogs has decreased dramatically, but bats are increasingly recognized as natural reservoirs of other rabies variants. Here, bat species known to be rabies-positive with different antigenic variants, are summarized in relation to bat conservation status across Latin America. Rabies virus is widespread in Latin American bat species, 22.5%75 of bat species have been confirmed as rabies-positive. Most bat species found rabies positive are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “Least Concern”. According to diet type, insectivorous bats had the most species known as rabies reservoirs, while in proportion hematophagous bats were the most important. Research at coarse spatial scales must strive to understand rabies ecology; basic information on distribution and population dynamics of many Latin American and Caribbean bat species is needed; and detailed information on effects of landscape change in driving bat-borne rabies outbreaks remains unassessed. Finally, integrated approaches including public health, ecology, and conservation biology are needed to understand and prevent emergent diseases in bats.

La situación de rabia en América es compleja: la rabia en perros ha disminuido drásticamente pero los murciélagos están siendo reconocidos cada vez más como reservorios naturales de otras variantes de rabia. Aquí compilamos las especies de murciélagos reconocidas como positivas a rabia con diferentes variantes antigénicas, así como su relación con el estado de conservación de los murciélagos a lo largo de América Latina. El virus de rabia está ampliamente distribuido en las especies de murciélagos de América Latina, 22.5% (75) de las especies de murciélagos conocidas han sido confirmadas como especies positivas a rabia. La mayoría de las especies de murciélagos reportadas como positivas a rabia son clasificadas por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza como “Preocupación Menor”. De acuerdo al tipo de dieta, los murciélagos insectívoros tuvieron la mayor cantidad de especies reconocidas como reservorio del virus rabia, mientras en proporción los hematófagos fueron los más importantes. Investigaciones a escala gruesa deben buscar entender aspectos de ecología de la rabia; es necesaria la información básica sobre la distribución y dinámica poblacional para muchas especies de murciélagos de América Latina y el Caribe; y el efecto del cambio del paisaje en la generación de brotes de rabia transmitida por murciélagos permanece sin ser evaluado. Por último, para entender y prevenir enfermedades emergentes a partir de los murciélagos es necesario un enfoque integral incluyendo salud pública, ecología y biología de la conservación.

Trans-Amazon dispersal potential for Crotalus durissus during Pleistocene climate events / Potencial de dispersión trans-Amazónica de Crotalus durissus durante el Pleistoceno

Two disjunct distributional areas of Crotalus durissus (Neotropical rattlesnake) are in open habitats north and south of the Amazon Basin and are presently separated by humid rainforest habitats. We used ecological niche modeling to identify and investigate potential dispersal pathways for this species between the two areas during the late Pleistocene. Niches estimated for the two populations did not differ significantly. Our analyses indicated two possible, but a single most likely, potential routes of dispersal during the last glacial cycle. These results are important to understanding the history of Amazon Basin humid forest biotas, as they suggest agents of isolation among putative humid forest refugia in the form of dry forest and scrub, and associated biotas.

Actualmente existen dos áreas de distribución disyuntas de la serpiente de cascabel Crotalus durissus, afín a hábitats abiertos, al norte y al sur de la cuenca del Río Amazonas, separadas por selvas húmedas. Usamos técnicas de modelado de nicho ecológico para identificar corredores potenciales de dispersión para esta especie entre las dos áreas en el Pleistoceno tardío. Los nichos estimados para las poblaciones de cada una de las áreas de distribución no presentaron diferencias significativas. Nuestros análisis identificaron un corredor de dispersión más probable para esta especie durante el Último Máximo Glaciar. Estos resultados tienen implicaciones para el entendimiento de la historia de las biotas de las selvas húmedas del Amazonas, ya que sugieren causas de aislamiento entre refugios potenciales de selva húmeda, en la forma de selva seca y matorral.

Leishmaniasis transmission: distribution and coarse-resolution ecology of two vectors and two parasites in Egypt

Introduction: In past decades, leishmaniasis burden has been low across Egypt; however, changing environment and land use has placed several parts of the country at risk. As a consequence, leishmaniasis has become a particularly difficult health problem, both for local inhabitants and for multinational military personnel. Methods: To evaluate coarse-resolution aspects of the ecology of leishmaniasis transmission, collection records for sandflies and Leishmania species were obtained from diverse sources. To characterize environmental variation across the country, we used multitemporal Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for 2005-2011. Ecological niche models were generated using MaxEnt, and results were analyzed using background similarity tests to assess whether associations among vectors and parasites (i.e., niche similarity) can be detected across broad geographic regions. Results: We found niche similarity only between one vector species and its corresponding parasite species (i.e., Phlebotomus papatasi with Leishmania major), suggesting that geographic ranges of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis and its potential vector may overlap, but under distinct environmental associations. Other associations (e.g., P. sergenti with L. major) were not supported. Mapping suitable areas for each species suggested that northeastern Egypt is particularly at risk because both parasites have potential to circulate. Conclusions: Ecological niche modeling approaches can be used as a first-pass assessment of vector-parasite interactions, offering useful insights into constraints on the geography of transmission patterns of leishmaniasis. .

An ecoregional classification for the state of Roraima, Brazil: the importance of landscape in malaria biology

Understanding the different background landscapes in which malaria transmission occurs is fundamental to understanding malaria epidemiology and to designing effective local malaria control programs. Geology, geomorphology, vegetation, climate, land use, and anopheline distribution were used as a basis for an ecological classification of the state of Roraima, Brazil, in the northern Amazon Basin, focused on the natural history of malaria and transmission. We used unsupervised maximum likelihood classification, principal components analysis, and weighted overlay with equal contribution analyses to fine-scale thematic maps that resulted in clustered regions. We used ecological niche modeling techniques to develop a fine-scale picture of malaria vector distributions in the state. Eight ecoregions were identified and malaria-related aspects are discussed based on this classification, including 5 types of dense tropical rain forest and 3 types of savannah. Ecoregions formed by dense tropical rain forest were named as montane (ecoregion I), submontane (II), plateau (III), lowland (IV), and alluvial (V). Ecoregions formed by savannah were divided into steppe (VI, campos de Roraima), savannah (VII, cerrado), and wetland (VIII, campinarana). Such ecoregional mappings are important tools in integrated malaria control programs that aim to identify specific characteristics of malaria transmission, classify transmission risk, and define priority areas and appropriate interventions. For some areas, extension of these approaches to still-finer resolutions will provide an improved picture of malaria transmission patterns.

Using epidemiological survey data to infer geographic distributions of leishmaniasis vector species

Um aspecto importante da medicina tropical é a análise de aspectos geográficos relacionados com o risco de transmissäo de doenças. Devido à ausência de dados detalhados de saúde pública, estas análises säo freqüentemente reduzidas à compreensäo da distribuiçäo de espécies críticas como vetores e reservatórios. Neste trabalho, é examinada a aplicabilidade de uma nova técnica, a modelagem de nicho ecológico, no estudo da distribuiçäo destas espécies nos municípios do Estado de São Paulo, onde um grupo de 5 mosquitos do gênero Lutzomyia foi encontrado. A técnica foi testada em conjuntos de dados independentes, resultando em previsöes altamente significativas; a amostragem mínima para se obter previsöes eficazes foi de cerca de 40 municípios.

Geographic variation in the rosy thrush-tanager (rhodinocichla rosea) complex of mesoamerica (aves: passeriformes)

Patterns of differentiation and geographic variation among populations of the Rhodinocichla complex are described. We document the existence of a heretofore unreported population in the vicinity of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. The species occurs in 4-6 allopatric populations, each of which has unique characters that make it diagnosable. We recommend that the complex be considered a single biological species, but at least five phylogenetic species.

Se describen los patrones de diferenciación y variación geográfica entre poblaciones del complejo de Rhodinocichla. Se documenta la existencia de una población antes no conocida en los alrededores de Acapulco, Guerrero, México. La especie se encuentra dividida en 4-6 poblaciones alopátricas, cada una de las cuales tiene caracteres únicos que permiten diagnosticar a la población. Se recomienda que el compejo sea considerado como una sola especie biológica o como por lo menos cinco especies filogenéticas.