The creation of the Fundação Brasileira para a Conservação da Natureza / A criação da Fundação Brasileira para a Conservação da Natureza

Abstract This study within the field of environmental history explores the scenario amid which the Fundação Brasileira para a Conservação da Natureza (Brazilian Foundation for Nature Conservation) was founded between 1958 and 1966; this important Brazilian non-governmental organization headquartered in Rio de Janeiro worked at the local, national, and international levels. Primary documentary sources were utilized, along with research of the related literature. The conclusions demonstrate the importance of non-governmental organizations predating this foundation, and the influence of conservationists on its establishment and current work.

Resumo Este estudo se insere no campo da história ambiental e tem o objetivo de compreender o cenário de criação, entre 1958 e 1966, da Fundação Brasileira para a Conservação da Natureza, importante organização não governamental ambientalista brasileira, com sede no Rio de Janeiro e atuação local, nacional e internacional. Para isso, utiliza fontes documentais primárias e pesquisa bibliográfica relacionada. As conclusões demonstraram a importância da existência de organizações não governamentais mais antigas que a fundação e a influência de conservacionistas sobre sua criação e sua atuação inicial.

Risk of extinction, variability in fish species composition, and factors influencing fish biodiversity in the Malacca Strait.

Fish biodiversity in Malaysia is under pressure due to overexploitation, pollution, and climatic stressors. Nevertheless, the information on fish biodiversity and species vulnerability status is not well documented in the region. Therefore, a study on fish species composition and abundance in the Malacca Strait of Malaysia has been conducted for the purpose of monitoring biodiversity, determining the risk of species extinction, and identifying factors influencing biodiversity distribution. The sampling was conducted based on a random stratified sampling method from the three zones of sampling locations, i.e., estuary, mangrove, and open sea area of Tanjung Karang and Port Klang of Malacca Strait. Higher species diversity was recorded at Tanjung Karang coastal and mangrove areas (H' = 2.71; H' = 1.64) than Port Klang coastal and mangrove areas (H' = 1.50, H' = 0.29), an indication that the Port Klang area is comparatively more vulnerable. The study also explored sampling location, habitat, and IUCN red list as the influencing factors for fish biodiversity. Applying IUCN red list, this study identified one Endangered and one Vulnerable species with the forecasted increasing landing for both species. Our findings suggest the urgent need for the implementation of conservation measures as well as the continuous monitoring of fish biodiversity in the area.

Seabird meta-Population Viability Model (mPVA) methods.

The seabird meta-population viability model (mPVA) uses a generalized approach to project abundance and quasi-extinction risk for 102 seabird species under various conservation scenarios. The mPVA is a stage-structured projection matrix that tracks abundance of multiple populations linked by dispersal, accounting for breeding island characteristics and spatial distribution. Data are derived from published studies, grey literature, and expert review (with over 500 contributions). Invasive species impacts were generalized to stage-specific vital rates by fitting a Bayesian state-space model to trend data from Islands where invasive removals had occurred, while accounting for characteristics of seabird biology, breeding islands and invasive species. Survival rates were estimated using a competing hazards formulation to account for impacts of multiple threats, while also allowing for environmental and demographic stochasticity, density dependence and parameter uncertainty.•The mPVA provides resource managers with a tool to quantitatively assess potential benefits of alternative management actions, for multiple species•The mPVA compares projected abundance and quasi-extinction risk under current conditions (no intervention) and various conservation scenarios, including removal of invasive species from specified breeding islands, translocation or reintroduction of individuals to an island of specified location and size, and at-sea mortality amelioration via reduction in annual at-sea deaths.

Alkaloids of Phaedranassa dubia (Kunth) J.F. Macbr. and Phaedranassa brevifolia Meerow (Amaryllidaceae) from Ecuador and its cholinesterase-inhibitory activity.

Alzheimer's disease is considered the most common cause of dementia and, in an increasingly aging population worldwide, the quest for treatment is a priority. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are of main interest because of their cholinesterase inhibition potential, which is the main palliative treatment available for this disease. We evaluated the alkaloidal profile and the in vitro inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) of bulb alkaloid extract of Phaedranassa dubia and Phaedranassa brevifolia collected in Ecuador. Using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we identified typical Amaryllidaceae alkaloids in these species, highlighting the presence of lycorine-type alkaloids in P. dubia and haemanthamine/crinine-type in P. brevifolia. The species P. dubia and P. brevifolia showed inhibitory activities against AChE (IC50 values of 25.48 ± 0.39 and 3.45 ± 0.29 µg.mL-1, respectively) and BuChE (IC50 values of 114.96 ± 4.94 and 58.89 ± 0.55 µg.mL-1, respectively). Computational experiments allowed us to understand the interactions of the alkaloids identified in these samples toward the active sites of AChE and BuChE. In silico, some alkaloids detected in these Amaryllidaceae species presented higher estimated binding free energy toward BuChE than galanthamine. This is the first study about the alkaloid profile and biological potential of P. brevifolia species.

Intraspecific Variation in Worker Body Size Makes North American Bumble Bees (Bombus spp.) Less Susceptible to Decline.

Population declines have been documented in approximately one-third of bumble bee species. Certain drivers of these declines are known; however, less is known about the interspecific trait differences that make certain species more susceptible to decline. Two traits that have implications for responding to rapidly changed environments may be particularly consequential for bumble bee populations: intraspecific body size variation and brain size. Bumble bee body size is highly variable and is likely adaptive at the colony level, and brain size correlates with cognitive traits (e.g., behavioral plasticity) in many groups. Trait variation and plasticity may buffer species against negative effects of rapidly changed environments. Using phylogenetically controlled analyses of 31 North American bumble bee species, we find that higher intraspecific body size variation is associated with species having increased their relative abundance over time. However, this variation does not significantly interact with tongue length, another trait thought to influence bees' decline susceptibility. Head size, a proxy for brain size, is not correlated with change in relative abundance. Our results support the hypothesis that variation in body size makes species less susceptible to decline in rapidly altered environments and suggests that this variation is important to the success of bumble bee populations.

Characterization of the Gray Whale Eschrichtius robustus Genome and a Genotyping Array Based on Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Candidate Genes.

Genetic and genomic approaches have much to offer in terms of ecology, evolution, and conservation. To better understand the biology of the gray whale Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861), we sequenced the genome and produced an assembly that contains ∼95% of the genes known to be highly conserved among eukaryotes. From this assembly, we annotated 22,711 genes and identified 2,057,254 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Using this assembly, we generated a curated list of candidate genes potentially subject to strong natural selection, including genes associated with osmoregulation, oxygen binding and delivery, and other aspects of marine life. From these candidate genes, we queried 92 autosomal protein-coding markers with a panel of 96 SNPs that also included 2 sexing and 2 mitochondrial markers. Genotyping error rates, calculated across loci and across 69 intentional replicate samples, were low (0.021%), and observed heterozygosity was 0.33 averaged over all autosomal markers. This level of variability provides substantial discriminatory power across loci (mean probability of identity of 1.6 × 10-25 and mean probability of exclusion >0.999 with neither parent known), indicating that these markers provide a powerful means to assess parentage and relatedness in gray whales. We found 29 unique multilocus genotypes represented among our 36 biopsies (indicating that we inadvertently sampled 7 whales twice). In total, we compiled an individual data set of 28 western gray whales (WGSs) and 1 presumptive eastern gray whale (EGW). The lone EGW we sampled was no more or less related to the WGWs than expected by chance alone. The gray whale genomes reported here will enable comparative studies of natural selection in cetaceans, and the SNP markers should be highly informative for future studies of gray whale evolution, population structure, demography, and relatedness.

Integrating Biodiversity Data into Botanic Collections.

BACKGROUND: Today's species names are entry points into a web of publicly available knowledge and are integral parts of legislation concerning biological conservation and consumer safety. Species information usually is fragmented, can be misleading due to the existence of different names and might even be biased because of an identical name that is used for a different species. Safely navigating through the name space is one of the most challenging tasks when associating names with data and when decisions are made which name to include in legislation. Integrating publicly available dynamic data to characterise plant genetic resources of botanic gardens and other facilities will significantly increase the efficiency of recovering relevant information for research projects, identifying potentially invasive taxa, constructing priority lists and developing DNA-based specimen authentication. NEW INFORMATION: To demonstrate information availability and discuss integration into botanic collections, scientific names derived from botanic gardens were evaluated using the Encyclopedia of Life, The Catalogue of Life and The Plant List. 98.5% of the names could be verified by the combined use of these providers. Comparing taxonomic status information 13 % of the cases were in disagreement. About 7 % of the verified names were found to be included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, including one extinct taxon and three taxa with the status "extinct in the wild". As second most important factor for biodiversity loss, potential invasiveness was determined. Approximately 4 % of the verified names were detected using the Global Invasive Species Information Network, including 208 invasive taxa. According to Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe around 20 % of the verified names are European alien taxa including 15 of the worst European invasive taxa. Considering alternative names in the data recovery process, success increased up to 18 %.

Brood parasitism: a good strategy in our changing world?

The original life-history strategy of brood-parasitic birds has been the focus of a large number of studies in ecology and evolution. Whether species adopting such a strategy differ in their response to global changes remains, however, unknown. Both the absence of investment in parental care and the capacity to spread nesting failure by laying eggs in several nests might help brood parasites in dealing with environmental changes. Alternatively, brood parasites might cumulate the negative effects of environmental changes on their own environment and on their hosts' environment. Here, I tested whether brood parasites' extinction risk and population trend differed from those of species with parental care. Focusing on the five bird families containing brood parasite species, I show that brood parasites are less at risk of extinction, and have a more stable population trend than species with parental care. In addition, I found that brood parasites with a higher host diversity were more likely to be increasing than those with fewer hosts. The bet-hedging strategy of brood parasites, by allowing them to spread nesting failure risks associated with environmental changes, is likely to help them resist current global changes.

Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica e as Áreas de Proteção Ambiental / Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Environmental Protection Areas

O estabelecimento e manejo de áreas protegidas constituem importantes estratégias para a proteção da biodiversidade. Para as Áreas de Proteção Ambiental (APA), os planos de manejo são essenciais para a consecução dos objetivos. Para melhorar os resultados, alguns países utilizam a Avaliação Ambiental Estratégica (AAE) para elaborar planos de manejo. Essa estratégia tem apresentado bons resultados, com a melhora na gestão da área protegida. No Brasil, há um Roteiro Metodológico para Gestão de APAs (RMG-APAs) que orienta a elaboração dos planos de manejo desta categoria. Neste contexto, o artigo analisa as contribuições da AAE para os planos de manejo e discute se estas contribuições podem ser encontradas no RMG-APAs utilizado no Brasil. O método utilizado neste artigo foi qualitativo e, a partir de um levantamento conceitual obtido na literatura internacional e a definição de cinco unidades de análise, foi realizada uma análise documental de três estudos de caso relacionados às áreas protegidas. Dois destes trabalhos obversavam planos de manejo com influência da AAE (internacionais) e o terceiro, sem influência da AAE, o RMG-APAs. Os resultados mostram importantes contribuições da AAE para os planos manejo, a saber: melhor integração das etapas de planejamento, notadamente com outros planos de uso do solo e também de outros setores; avaliação dos objetivos dos planos de manejo; melhor integração e avaliação de estratégias envolvendo o social, o ambiental e o econômico; fortalecimento da gestão participativa e outros. Com relação ao RMG-APAs, a conclusão é que os planos de manejo poderão apresentar melhores resultados quando associados à AAE.

The plans establishment and management for protected areas are key strategies for biodiversity protection. The management plans are essential to achieving the goals for Environmental Protected Areas (EPA), one of the conservation areas types in Brazil. Some countries use Strategic Environmental Assessment to make management plans and they are getting good results. On the other hand, in Brazil, the management plans preparation applied in EPAs follows a specific Methodological Guide. In this context, the present paper analyzed the SEA contribution to management plans and discussed how these contributions can improve Methodological Guide of EPA in Brazil. The method used was qualitative and the conceptual framework obtained from international literature. Thus, the paper analyzed three case studies: two were related to protected areas with SEA influence and the third without influence of SEA. The results show SEA important contributions for plans management, namely: planning stages better integration, especially with land use plans; consider other management plans objectives; better integration and evaluation of strategies involving social, environmental and economic issues; participatory management strengthening. Also, considering Methodological Guide of EPA, the conclusion is that management plans can provide better results when associated with SEA.

Genetic divergence in natural populations of bronze featherback, Notopterus notopterus (Osteoglossiformes: Notopteridae) from five Indian rivers, analyzed through mtDNA ATPase6/8 regions.

The present study characterized 842 bp fragment of mitochondrial ATP synthase 6 and 8 (ATPase6/8) genes in Notopterus notopterus. In all, 97 samples of N. notopterus were collected from five distant rivers; viz Satluj, Gomti, Yamuna, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi representing 4 river basins in India. The analysis of variation revealed presence of 23 haplotypes in ATPase6/8 gene with haplotype diversity (Hd) of 0.899 and nucleotide diversity (π) of 0.00336. The within population variation which was 41.78% of the total variation of 58.22% was found among population. The Fst value of 0.582 (P < 0.05) of the total population was found significant. The results concluded that the polymorphism in ATPase6/8 gene is a potential marker that is important for determining genetic divergence of wild N. notopterus populations. The findings reveal common ancestry of mahanadi population with the populations in rivers of Indo-Gangetic region. However, long evolutionary isolation must be responsible for the high genetic divergence between N. notopterus in Mahanadi and other regions.