ABSTRACT
Monimiaceae comprises approximately 26 genera and 250 species, with a pantropical distribution, predominantly occurring in humid forests. In Brazil, it is represented by five genera and 47 species, most of which are found in the Atlantic Forest, particularly in dense ombrophilous forest. Nevertheless, studies on this family in other biomes and vegetation types in Brazil are still scarce. The Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), a region located in the state of Minas Gerais, exhibits high plant species richness and endemism. During collections and analysis of herbarium materials from this region, some specimens of Mollinedia caught our attention due to a combination of characteristics that do not match those of any described species within the genus. For this reason, we describe this new taxon and assess its risk of extinction. Additionally, we review the occurrences of Monimiaceae in the QF and provide maps of its geographical distribution. With the description of this new species, the region now hosts eight species of Monimiaceae, two from the genus Macropeplus and six from Mollinedia. The new species is the first endemic species of the Monimiaceae family to be described in the QF. Concerning the extinction risk assessment, the new species was assessed as critically endangered.
ResumoMonimiaceae abrange c. 26 gêneros e 250 espécies, tem distribuição pantropical e suas espécies ocorrem predominantemente em florestas úmidas. No Brasil está representada por cinco gêneros e 47 espécies, a maior parte das quais com ocorrência na Mata Atlântica, em floresta ombrófila densa. Estudos com a família em outros biomas e vegetações ainda são escassos no Brasil. O Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), região localizada no estado de Minas Gerais, possui alta riqueza e endemismo de plantas. Durante coletas e análise de materiais herborizados da região, alguns espécimes de Mollinedia nos chamaram a atenção devido a uma combinação de caracteres que não coincidem com nenhuma espécie descrita para o gênero. Este novo táxon é aqui descrito e tem seu risco de extinção avaliado, além disso, revisamos as ocorrências de Monimiaceae no QF, e fornecemos mapas de distribuição geográfica. Com a descrição desta nova espécie, a região apresenta agora oito espécies de Monimiaceae, duas do gênero Macropeplus e seis de Mollinedia. A nova espécie é a primeira da família endêmica do QF. Em relação à avaliação do risco de extinção, a nova espécie foi categorizada como Criticamente em Perigo.
ABSTRACT
Climate change has impacted biodiversity, affecting species and altering their geographical distribution. Besides understanding the impact in the species, it has been advocated that answering if different traits will be differently impacted could allow refined predictions of how climate change will jeopardize biodiversity. Our aim was to evaluate if climate change will potentially impact plant species differently, considering their traits. We evaluated 608 plant species that occur in the naturally open areas of ferruginous outcrops (namely, cangas) in the National Forest of Carajás (Eastern Amazon). Firstly, we estimated the effects of climate change on each species using species distribution modeling, and analyzed this impact in the set containing all species. Secondly, we classified plant species considering the following traits: (i) pollination syndromes (melittophily, phalaenophily, psychophily, cantharophily, entomophily, ornithophily, chiropterophily, anemophily); (ii) habit (tree, shrub, herb, liana, parasite); and (iii) the main habitat of occurrence (open areas and forests). Thirdly, we investigated if the effects of climate change could be significantly more intense considering all the different traits quoted. Our results showed that most plant species will potentially face reduction of suitable habitats under future climate and the scenarios showed that 42% of them may not find suitable areas in the cangas of Carajás. We found no significant difference within each analyzed trait, considering the potential impact of climate change. The most climatically suitable areas (i.e., areas with high probability of species occurrence in the future) are those in the southwest of the study area. These areas can be considered as priority areas for species protection against climate change.
ABSTRACT
Pollination may be severely affected by the decreasing size and increasing isolation of habitat patches. However, most studies that have considered the effects of these two variables on plant-pollinator interactions have been carried out in areas that have undergone anthropogenic fragmentation, and little is known about their effects in natural habitats. The Carajás National Forest and Campos Ferruginosos National Park are two protected areas in the eastern Amazon where one can find isolated ferruginous outcrops characterized by iron-rich soil and herbaceous-shrub vegetation surrounded by Amazon forest. These patches of canga provide an opportunity to analyze plant-pollinator interactions in naturally fragmented areas. Our objective was to test whether the size and isolation of naturally isolated outcrops located in Carajás affect plant-pollinator interactions by using pollination syndromes and interaction networks. We determined the pollination syndromes of 771 plant species that occurred in eleven canga patches and performed field work to analyze plant-pollinator networks in nine canga patches. The structure of the plant-pollinator networks was not affected by the size or isolation of the canga patches. Generalist species were present in all canga areas, indicating that they are important in maintaining the plant communities in isolated canga patches. The lack of significance related to the distance between canga patches suggests that the forest does not prevent pollinator movement between canga patches.
Subject(s)
Bees/physiology , Plant Physiological Phenomena , Plants , Animals , Ecosystem , Forests , Pollination , TreesABSTRACT
The results of intensive fieldwork in the National Forest of Carajás (FLONA Carajás) led to the discovery of pistillate plants of Daphnopsisfilipedunculata, an endemic species from the Serra dos Carajás, previously known only from staminate individuals. These newly discovered populations add valuable missing information related to pistillate buds, mature flowers and fruits.
ABSTRACT
In the present study, we describe and illustrate a remarkable new species of Syngonanthus from South America (Bolivia, Brazil and Peru). This new species is quickly distinguished from all species in the genus by trimerous and bisexual flowers, a unique set of characteristics in Syngonanthus. Complementary to this study, sequences of 33 species were downloaded from GenBank and four species had sequences newly generated for this study. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and the plastid regions psbA-trnH and trnL-F were performed to determine its systematic position. The results have shown S. androgynus closely related to a well-supported clade that has been treated as Syngonanthus sect. Carphocephalus. Floral traits associated with this new plant also were surveyed. Character reconstruction suggests that the bisexual flowers originated independently more than once in the genus. However, trimerous flowers appear to be an ancestral condition of the whole genus.
