Small mammals from the Caatinga: A dataset for the Brazilian semiarid biome.

The Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome, and is the largest and most biodiverse Seasonal Tropical Dry Forest in the world. Despite that, the mammalian fauna, especially small mammals, is the least studied of all Brazilian biomes. In order to fill gaps and provide detailed information on small mammals (Didelphimorphia, Rodentia) in the Caatinga biome, we compiled reliable records focusing on richness, composition and some biometric data. These records came from mammal collections, papers, theses, books, and unpublished data, prioritizing records with vouchers housed in scientific collections. We compiled a total of 3133 records from 816 locations, resulting in a richness of 47 native species (12 marsupials and 35 rodents, plus three exotic rodents, Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus, and Mus musculus). This dataset includes records of three new species for the biome and its transition zone: the rodents Calomys mattevii, Holochilus oxe, and Nectomys squamipes. Of the total number of records, 1808 (57.71%) are from consulting activities, 95 (3.03%) are from zoonoses studies and 104 (3.32%) are from the National Plague Service (SNP). All nine Brazilian states with territory in the Caatinga have sampling data for small mammals, but the number of records and localities are unevenly distributed, with the state of Rio Grande do Norte having the lowest number of records and locations sampled. Our dataset is the first of its kind for the Caatinga biome and has considerable potential value for studies of habitat use, landscape ecology, macroecology, biogeography, and conservation. There are no copyright restrictions on the data. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

We're building it up to burn it down: fire occurrence and fire-related climatic patterns in Brazilian biomes.

Background: Terrestrial biomes in South America are likely to experience a persistent increase in environmental temperature, possibly combined with moisture reduction due to climate change. In addition, natural fire ignition sources, such as lightning, can become more frequent under climate change scenarios since favourable environmental conditions are likely to occur more often. In this sense, changes in the frequency and magnitude of natural fires can impose novel stressors on different ecosystems according to their adaptation to fires. By focusing on Brazilian biomes, we use an innovative combination of techniques to quantify fire persistence and occurrence patterns over time and evaluate climate risk by considering key fire-related climatic characteristics. Then, we tested four major hypotheses considering the overall characteristics of fire-dependent, fire-independent, and fire-sensitive biomes concerning (1) fire persistence over time; (2) the relationship between climate and fire occurrence; (3) future predictions of climate change and its potential impacts on fire occurrence; and (4) climate risk faced by biomes. Methods: We performed a Detrended Fluctuation Analysis to test whether fires in Brazilian biomes are persistent over time. We considered four bioclimatic variables whose links to fire frequency and intensity are well-established to assess the relationship between climate and fire occurrence by confronting these climate predictors with a fire occurrence dataset through correlative models. To assess climate risk, we calculated the climate hazard, sensitivity, resilience, and vulnerability of Brazilian biomes, and then we multiplied the Biomes' vulnerability index by the hazards. Results: Our results indicate a persistent behaviour of fires in all Brazilian biomes at almost the same rates, which could represent human-induced patterns of fire persistence. We also corroborated our second hypothesis by showing that most fire-dependent biomes presented high thermal suitability to fire, while the fire-independent biome presented intermediate suitability and fire-sensitive biomes are the least suitable for fire occurrence. The third hypothesis was partially corroborated since fire-dependent and independent biomes are likely to increase their thermal suitability to fire, while fire-sensitive biomes are likely to present stable-to-decreasing thermal suitability in the future. Finally, our fourth hypothesis was partially corroborated since most fire-dependent biomes presented low climate risk, while the fire-independent biome presented a high risk and the fire-sensitive biomes presented opposite trends. In summary, while the patterns of fire persistence and fire occurrence over time are more likely to be related to human-induced fires, key drivers of burned areas are likely to be intensified across Brazilian biomes in the future, potentially increasing the magnitude of the fires and harming the biomes' integrity.

Spondias mombin as a reservoir of fruit fly parasitoid populations in the Eastern Amazon: an undervalued ecosystem service.

Fruit flies are economically important pests that infest a wide variety of host trees. The environmental damage caused by traditional pesticide-based control methods has prompted scientists to seek less damaging alternatives such as biological control by native species. Parasitoids, especially Braconidae species, have excellent potential as biological control agents for fruit flies, being both generalists and well distributed geographically. Native fruit trees that support medium or high levels of these parasitoids could therefore play an important role in biological control strategies. A good potential example is Spondias mombin L. in the Brazilian Amazon, which hosts several species of fruit flies and associated parasitoids. Here, we provide a unique synthesis of over nearly two decades of data from the east Amazon, clearly demonstrating the potential of S. mombin to act as a source and reservoir of fruit fly parasitoids. This important ecosystem service (biological control) provided by the parasitoids and supported by S. mombin could be further enhanced through conservation of this plant species in its natural environment.

Immediate social and economic impacts of a major oil spill on Brazilian coastal fishing communities.

In August 2019, a major oil spill hit nine Brazilian coastal states, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities. In this study, we assess the immediate social and economic impacts of this oil spill on fishing communities of the northeast coast. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focal meetings with 381 fishers and shellfish gatherers to understand the perceived socioeconomic impacts on different types of fishing. We also obtained information on fish consumption after the oil spill, which we compared with data prior to the oil spill from the same communities. Sales decreased by more than 50% for all types of fishing, strongly impacting local income generation. These communities, which are already social-ecologically vulnerable, have had their subsistence, food security and cultural maintenance strongly compromised. We argue that there is a clear need for coordinated state interventions to mitigation the impacts, considering it's environmental, social, economic, human health and political dimensions.

Brazilian Dry Forest (Caatinga) Response To Multiple ENSO: the role of Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

The semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil (NEB) experiences severe droughts during El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) years, with major impacts on the dynamics of the native vegetation (Caatinga). However, the effect of these droughts on carbon cycling is not well understood. Here, a numerical model is used to investigate the influence of variations in Pacific and Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SST) on drought and carbon dynamics of the Caatinga during past ENSO events. We demonstrate that precipitation reductions in the Caatinga have a strong influence on vegetation dynamics, with net primary production (NPP) remaining low throughout the droughts. Furthermore, the Caatinga acts as a carbon sink, even in years of severe drought. However, net ecosystem exchange (NEE) is lower in years of low NPP rates, resulting in long periods with limited ecosystem activity. The SST patterns indicate that extreme vegetation changes in the Caatinga are associated with the combination of ENSO events and North Atlantic SST warming.

Are Protected Areas undervalued? An asset-based analysis of Brazilian Protected Area Management Plans.

When effectively managed, Protected Areas (PAs) are capable of generating multiple forms of value, both tangible and intangible, for individuals and institutions. However, the value-generating potential of many PAs may be going unrecognized and underutilized due to a limited view of management objectives as codified within the parks' Management Plan. Here, we test the hypothesis that PAs are undervalued by evaluating the degree to which Management Plans from four different Brazilian designations (National Parks, Ecological Stations, Environmental Protected Areas and National Forests) recognize different categories of nature-related assets (entities, attributes and relationships that can be protected, managed and/or invested in to generate forms of value). Based on a recently proposed PA Asset Framework, we identify what assets are mentioned by Management Plans and what assets are under-represented. Our results indicate that Human and Cultural assets are the least represented of the major asset classes (Biophysical, Human, Infrastructural, Institutional and Cultural) and that many asset sub-categories that should reasonably be expected to be present in Management Plans are frequently not mentioned. Assets that are not being considered in Management Plans are, by extension, less likely to be managed and/or invested in. Given the strong similarities between PA Management Plans in different countries, these results probably reflect a general trend. A simple way to ensure that PAs maximize the value generating potential (within the context of their designation) would be to survey their assets and generate a 'PA Asset Management and Investment Plan' to supplement and support existing planning documentation.

Inbreeding depression on production and reproduction traits of buffaloes from Brazil.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of inbreeding depression on traits of buffaloes from Brazil. Specifically, the traits studied were body weight at 205 and 365 days of age, average daily gain from birth to 205 days (ADG_205), average daily gain between 205 and 365 days (ADG205_365) in Mediterranean buffaloes, and milk yield, lactation length, age of first calving and calving intervals in Murrah buffaloes. Inbreeding effects on the traits were determined by fitting four regression models (linear, quadratic, exponential and Michaelis-Menten) about the errors generated by the animal model. The linear model was only significant (P < 0.05) for growth traits (exception of ADG205_365). The exponential and Michaelis-Menten models were significant (P < 0.01) for all the studied traits while the quadratic model was not significant (P > 0.05) for any of the traits. Weight at 205 and 365 days of age decreased 0.25 kg and 0.39 kg per 1% of increase in inbreeding, respectively. The inbred animals (F = 0.25) produced less milk than non-inbred individuals: 50.4 kg of milk. Moreover, calving interval increased 0.164 days per 1% of increase in inbreeding. Interestingly, inbreeding had a positive effect on age at first calving and lactation length, decreasing age of first calving and increasing lactation length.

Population structure and genetic variability in the Murrah dairy breed of water buffalo in Brazil accessed via pedigree analysis.

The objective of this study was to use pedigree analysis to evaluate the population structure and genetic variability in the Murrah dairy breed of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Brazil. Pedigree analysis was performed on 5,061 animals born between 1972 and 2002. The effective number of founders (fe) was 60, representing 6.32 % of the potential number of founders. The effective number of ancestors (fa) was 36 and the genetic contribution of the 17 most influent ancestors explained 50 % of the genetic variability in the population. The ratio fe/fa (effective number of founders/effective number of ancestors), which expresses the effect of population bottlenecks, was 1.66. Completeness level for the whole pedigree was 76.8, 49.2, 27.7, and 12.8 % for, respectively, the first, second, third, and fourth known parental generations. The average inbreeding values for the whole analyzed pedigree and for inbreed animals were, respectively, 1.28 and 7.64 %. The average relatedness coefficient between individuals of the population was estimated to be 2.05 %-the highest individual coefficient was 10.31 %. The actual inbreeding and average relatedness coefficient are probably higher than estimated due to low levels of pedigree completeness. Moreover, the inbreeding coefficient increased with the addition of each generation to the pedigree, indicating that incomplete pedigrees tend to underestimate the level of inbreeding. Introduction of new sires with the lowest possible average relatedness coefficient and the use of appropriate mating strategies are recommended to keep inbreeding at acceptable levels and increase the genetic variability in this economically important species, which has relatively low numbers compared to other commercial cattle breeds. The inclusion of additional parameters, such as effective number of founders, effective number of ancestors, and fe/fa ratio, provides better resolution as compared to the inclusion of inbreeding coefficient and may help breeders and farmers adopt better precautionary measures against inbreeding depression and other deleterious genetic effects.

History of registered Gyr breed in Brazilian Northeast: population structure and genetic improvement of growth traits / Histórico da raça Gir registrada no Nordeste brasileiro: melhoramento genético em características de crescimento e estrutura populacional

This paper provides an evaluation of the population structure, phenotype and genetic trends of registered Gyr herd cattle in northeast Brazil. The study provides important baseline information for the management, conservation and potential population expansion of this economically and culturally important cattle breed. Pedigree data were analyzed for individuals born between 1964 and 2006. Body weight values were adjusted to 205 and 365 days of age for animals born between 1978 and 2006. Phenotypic change of zebu Gyr in northeast Brazil is solely due to environmental improvement. However, there is potential for artificial selection for weight gain in young cattle. Effective population size decreased during the 1990s and the average inbreeding coefficient increased during the studied period. An increase of the effective population size of Gyr in northeast Brazil is strongly recommended, along with an increase in the management of the mating process to prevent inbreeding and to maintain the genetic variability of the breed.

Com o intuito de fornecer subsídios para programas de conservação, seleção e expansão da raça Gir no Nordeste do Brasil, objetivou-se avaliar o histórico do rebanho Gir registrado no nordeste brasileiro, com base na sua estrutura populacional e no progresso genético e fenotípico de características de desenvolvimento ponderal. Foram utilizadas informações de pedigree de animais nascidos no período de 1964 a 2006 e dados dos pesos ajustados aos 205 e 365 dias de idade de bovinos nascidos de 1978 a 2006. O progresso genético para a raça no Nordeste foi ocasionado exclusivamente pelo melhoramento ambiental. O tamanho efetivo da população reduziu a partir da década de 90, e o coeficiente de endogamia médio aumentou durante o período estudado. É imprescindível que o tamanho efetivo da raça Gir do nordeste seja ampliado e que haja maior controle de acasalamentos entre indivíduos aparentados, para prevenção da endogamia e conservação da variabilidade genética e viabilidade da raça.

Perceptions of Amazonian deforestation in the British and Brazilian media / Percepções do desmatamento da Amazônia na mídia Britânica e Brasileira

The Amazon rainforest stretches across more than six million square kilometers and nine countries. Of the original forest area it is thought that 18 per cent has been cleared, mainly for farming purposes. In Brazil, the main drivers of deforestation are beef ranching and soya production that together occupy more than 75 per cent of newly deforested land. The situation in the Amazon illustrates a fundamental dilemma facing environmentalists around the world: how to reconcile economic development with biodiversity conservation. In this paper the representation of this dilemma in the British and Brazilian news media is assessed. The results indicate that there were far more articles referring to deforestation in the Brazilian press (816 Brazilian to 29 UK) but that many of these make no mention of what factors are responsible for deforestation. The patterns of representation of the proximate (direct) causes of Amazonian deforestation were very similar in the two countries, with soya and beef cattle ranching commanding the most press attention. The ultimate (indirect) causes of deforestation, however, are treated very differently, with the Brazilian media seemingly far more aware of the role of economic development needs than the UK press. Interestingly, the role of international demand for soya, beef, and forest products in driving deforestation was highlighted primarily in the UK press. These findings are critically discussed in the context of media influence on public understandings of Amazonian deforestation.

A floresta Amazônica abrange mais de 6 milhões de km² e engloba 9 países. Acredita-se que 18% da superficie florestal já tenha sido desmatada principalmente para usos agropecuários. No Brasil, a pecuária e a produção de soja encabeçam as causas do desmatamento, sendo estes responsáveis por 75% das terras desmatadas. A situação da Amazônia ilustra o principal dilema que enfrentam os ambientalistas em todo o mundo: como permitir um desenvolvimento econômico que mantenha a biodiversidade. Este estudo examina a representação deste dilema na mídia britânica e brasileira. Foram encontrados 816 artigos nos jornais brasileiros e apenas 29 nos jornais britânicos. No entanto, a grande maioria dos artigos não discutem as causas do desmatamento. A representação das causas diretas do desmatamento é extremamente similar nos dois países sendo soja e pecuária os principais fatores apontados pela mídia. Entretanto, os fatores secundários são tratados diferentemente, sendo que a mídia brasileira mostra como principal fator a necessidade de desenvolvimento econômico. Por outro lado, o papel da demanda internacional da soja, carne e produtos florestais como causas do desmatamento foi bastante discutida na mídia inglesa. Os resultados destas representações em relação a influência que a mídia exerce no entendimento do desmatamento da Amazônia são discutidos.

The drought of the century in the Amazon Basin: an analysis of the regional variation of rainfall in South America in 1926

A mais severa seca nos trópicos da América do Sul durante o século 20 ocorreu em 1926. Este ano extremo de El Niño é documentado nos níveis de observações do rio (Negro) em Manaus, nos registros anuais de precipitação e anedoticamente. A anomalia anual de precipitação é um dipolo leste-oeste sobre os trópicos da América do Sul, com seca a oeste sobre a bacia Amazônica cuja a descarga é documentada em Manaus, e um residuo para o leste incluindo a região nordeste do Brasil. Especulações sobre a função dos aerosóis na agravação da seca são discutidos.