Article
Environmental Sciences
Manuel Eduardo Ferreira, Sergio Henrique de Moura Nogueira, Edgardo Manuel Latrubesse, Marcia Nunes Macedo, Marcos Callisto, Jose Fernandes Bezerra Neto, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes
Summary: Hydropower dams, touted as clean energy, have severe environmental impacts on river ecosystems and land use in the Brazilian Cerrado region. The study analyzed the distribution of large and small hydroelectric plants in the area and their effects on land use changes. Results showed a significant number of dams in the region, leading to native vegetation clearance and the potential incorporation of new crops, pastures, and urban equipment.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nubia C. S. Marques, Ricardo B. Machado, Ludmilla M. S. Aguiar, Luciana Mendonca-Galvao, Rosana Tidon, Emerson M. Vieira, Onildo J. Marini-Filho, Mercedes Bustamante
Summary: Protected areas are important tools for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, but megadiverse countries face challenges in managing and expanding these areas due to increasing human pressures. The Brazilian Cerrado biome, a biodiversity hotspot, has a small percentage of its land area under strict protections. The Brazilian Long-Term Ecological Research Program monitors long-term changes in protected and non-protected areas in Brazilian biomes. The findings reveal that even within a protected area, changes in the surrounding landscape can impact biodiversity and ecosystem functions, emphasizing the importance of continuous monitoring for conservation.
PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
M-S Tixier, M. Douin, I Lopes, A. Migeon, A. Fossoud, M. Navajas
Summary: The present study characterized the genetic variability of Amblyseius swirskii and found that except for one population from Cape Verde, all other populations were not differentiated from the commercial ones. Amblyseius swirskii is widely distributed primarily in the eastern Mediterranean basin and Africa, and can be found on multiple plant families.
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Caitlin E. Smith, Gustavo Boitt, Bryan Boruff, Matthias Leopold
Summary: The study aims to identify key soil-related factors influencing plant community distribution and understand an old, climatically buffered infertile landscape. The research focuses on the Alison Baird Reserve in south-west Western Australia, analyzing soil samples for physical and chemical properties. It finds that elevation, sub-surface moisture, electrical conductivity, and clay content are crucial in determining vegetation composition and distribution.
Review
Ecology
Hannah J. J. White, Caroline M. M. McKeon, Robin J. J. Pakeman, Yvonne M. M. Buckley
Summary: This study provides a synthesis of research on the contribution of geographic rarity to the spatial distribution of biodiversity. It finds that widespread species tend to contribute more to biodiversity, but there are discrepancies between studies. Further research should consider multiple biodiversity components and the influence of spatial scale to better understand the underlying processes that shape spatial variation of biodiversity.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Peng Hou, Junjun Bai, Yan Chen, Jing Hou, Jiajun Zhao, Yutiao Ma, Jun Zhai
Summary: This study used the MaxEnt model and GIS spatial analysis to analyze the spatial distribution of bird biodiversity in coastal areas of China. The findings showed that bird richness was influenced by environmental factors such as land use, temperature range, and precipitation. The high-value areas of bird richness were identified in different sea regions with a concentration of hotspots of birds of national priority protection.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Lara Naves-Alegre, Zebensui Morales-Reyes, Jose Antonio Sanchez-Zapata, Carlos Javier Dura-Aleman, Leilda Goncalves Lima, Lourival Machado Lima, Esther Sebastian-Gonzalez
Summary: The study identified carcass size as the most important factor affecting scavenger assemblage and consumption patterns, with vultures dominating large carcasses and facultative scavengers consuming small carcasses. Differences were found between large and small carcasses in all carcass consumption variables except for detection time.
Article
Immunology
Sarah E. Wilson, Andrean Bunko, Steven Johnson, Jillian Murray, Yue Wang, Shelley L. Deeks, Natasha S. Crowcroft, Lindsay Friedman, Lawrence C. Loh, Melissa MacLeod, Christina Taylor, Ye Li
Summary: This study aimed to describe the geographic distribution of un-immunized children in Ontario, Canada, identify and analyze hotspots of vaccine refusal, and explore specific factors in these areas. The results showed clustering of un-immunized children in hotspot areas in the south, with significant differences in the contribution of covariates and spatial effects on the risk of vaccine refusal in these regions.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tomasz Rewicz, Grzegorz Tonczyk, Lukasz Trebicki, Piotr Gadawski, Tomasz Mamos, Vladimir Pesic, Andrzej Zawal, Michal Grabowski
Summary: Lake Skadar and its surrounding areas are highly diverse freshwater ecosystems in the Mediterranean region and are crucial for biodiversity conservation in Europe. However, they are facing threats from climate change and rapid tourism development. This study provides the first comprehensive DNA barcode library for aquatic Heteroptera in the area and reveals potential taxonomic inconsistencies and cryptic diversity. It emphasizes the need for more research in understudied hotspots like Lake Skadar and highlights the value of DNA-barcoding-based surveys for biomonitoring and taxonomy.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Aaron J. Brunton, Gabriel C. Conroy, David S. Schoeman, Maurizio Rossetto, Steven M. Ogbourne
Summary: Southern Fontainea and Coastal Fontainea are rare plant species endemic to the subtropical rainforests of central, eastern Australia. Their conservation status is threatened, and the distribution of these species is poorly known. This study used species distribution models to assess the present and future distribution and conservation of the two species. The models indicate potential expansion of suitable habitat for Southern and Coastal Fontainea, with the mountain ranges serving as climate refugia. However, the critically endangered Coastal Fontainea is projected to lose suitable habitat under high-emission climate scenarios.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shingo Fujimoto, Hajime Yaguchi, Taijun Myosho, Hiroaki Aoyama, Yukuto Sato, Ryosuke Kimura
Summary: Cost-effective genotyping can be achieved by sequencing PCR amplicons. The study proposed a new method using short primers to amplify thousands of loci and examined their efficiency in sequencing and genotyping. The method was successfully applied to studying the population structure of medaka and evaluating the genetic disturbance caused by a commercial mutant strain.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Federico Morelli, Yanina Benedetti, Jeffrey O. Hanson, Richard A. Fuller
Summary: Specialist bird species are more at risk of extinction than generalist species, and their distribution does not always align with overall bird species richness. Certain areas, such as the Amazon and Central Africa, have a higher concentration of diet specialist birds than expected. While the global protected area system adequately represents a significant portion of resident and breeding species, there is still a need to improve protection for the most threatened species by including measures of specialization in conservation planning.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Shuwang Hou, Changwei Tian, Jianghui Meng, Chunyan Liu, Zhen Yao
Summary: Spontaneous herbaceous plants (SHPs) play an important role in urban biodiversity and green space management. Our investigation in Jingzhou, China, revealed that different habitats provide abundant living space for SHPs of various growth forms and life forms. Wasteland and road gaps and slopes support a diverse range of SHP growth forms, while water edges mainly support pseudo-rosette, partial-rosette, and perennial plants. The Ji'nan region has a higher number of SHP species due to less disruptive and milder management. SHPs have the potential to be utilized in urban landscaping due to their good performance and wild landscape effects.
Article
Zoology
Fabio Falcao, Ana Carolina Pavan
Summary: This article provides updated information on the distribution of Mormoopids bats in Brazil through acoustic surveys and literature review, revealing a larger occurrence area than previously known.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Felipe D. Gatti, Frederico F. Salles, Tomas Derka, Yuri L. R. Leite
Summary: The complex geological and environmental dynamics of South America contributed to the evolutionary history of Massartella species. The study revealed that the Pantepui and Atlantic Forest lineages underwent speciation events around 66 million years ago and remained isolated from each other thereafter.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Maria Joao Verdasca, Raquel Godinho, Rita Gomes Rocha, Marco Portocarrero, Luisa Gigante Carvalheiro, Rui Rebelo, Hugo Rebelo
Summary: Through DNA metabarcoding, it was found that worker jaws and larval faecal pellets are the most effective sample types for studying Asian giant hornets' predation on honeybees, while stomachs are the least useful. The presence of honeybee DNA in all analysed colonies regardless of collection site and the variety of insect orders detected in the diet support concerns over the negative impact of Asian giant hornets on managed honeybees and pollination services provision.
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Felipe D. Gatti, Frederico F. Salles, Tomas Derka, Yuri L. R. Leite
Summary: The complex geological and environmental dynamics of South America contributed to the evolutionary history of Massartella species. The study revealed that the Pantepui and Atlantic Forest lineages underwent speciation events around 66 million years ago and remained isolated from each other thereafter.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Marcio Leite de Oliveira, Francisco Grotta-Netto, Pedro Henrique de Faria Peres, Alexandre Vogliotti, Carlos Rodrigo Brocardo, Jorge Jose Cherem, Mariana Landis, Roberta Montanheiro Paolino, Roberto Fusco-Costa, Andressa Gatti, Danielle Oliveira Moreira, Paula Modenesi Ferreira, Sergio Lucena Mendes, Jade Huguenin, Marina Zanin, Joana Zorzal Nodari, Yuri Luiz Reis Leite, Georgea Silva Lyrio, Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz, Fernando C. Passos, Jose Mauricio Barbanti Duarte
Summary: Researchers compiled a dataset of occurrence records for five species of forest deer in the Atlantic Forest, primarily gathered through fecal sampling and camera traps. The majority of the 1,456 records in the dataset are from protected areas, making it the most comprehensive source of information on Neotropical forest deer occurrence to date.
Article
Zoology
Luis M. Rosalino, Daniela Teixeira, Claudia Camarinha, Guilherme Pereira, Ana Magalhaes, Guilherme Castro, Catia Lima, Carlos Fonseca
Summary: Humans have negatively impacted ecosystems, including altering species' habitats and activity patterns. The conversion of native habitats into production forests and hunting are significant factors affecting animal activity patterns, particularly in Mediterranean Europe. This study examines the temporal activity patterns of the resilient wild boar in Portugal, revealing that they primarily exhibit nocturnal behavior, with increased nighttime activity during the wet season and in plantations. They also avoid dusk during the hunting season. These findings suggest that even resilient species like wild boar tend to avoid adverse weather conditions and disturbance factors. The impacts on other sensitive or resource-demanding mammals should be prioritized to inform sustainable management and hunting practices.
Correction
Zoology
Luis M. Rosalino, Daniela Teixeira, Claudia Camarinha, Guilherme Pereira, Ana Magalhaes, Guilherme Castro, Catia Lima, Carlos Fonseca
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rita Tinoco Torres, Monica V. Cunha, Debora Araujo, Helena Ferreira, Carlos Fonseca, Josman Dantas Palmeira
Summary: In this nationwide study in Portugal, wild ungulates were used as model species to investigate the occurrence of bacteria carrying clinically significant antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG). The results suggest that wild ungulates may serve as environmental reservoirs of CTX-M ESBL-producing E. coli, contributing to the spread of antimicrobial resistance bacteria and genes.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rita Tinoco Torres, Monica Cunha, Helena Ferreira, Carlos Fonseca, Josman Dantas Palmeira
Summary: This study reports the isolation of a carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain from the feces of a wild red deer in Europe, marking the first description of carbapenem resistance in deer in Europe. The strain was classified as a high-risk clone and carried multiple resistance genes. These findings highlight the potential impact of wild animals on the spread of antimicrobial resistance and the importance of considering wildlife in antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Guilherme Castro, Daniela Teixeira, Guilherme Ares-Pereira, Catia Lima, Ana Magalhaes, Claudia Camarinha, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, Carlos Fonseca, Luis Miguel Rosalino
Summary: The replacement of natural areas with forestry plantations has direct consequences for biodiversity, and in Portugal, where Eucalyptus plantations dominate, it poses challenges to native wildlife. This study found that the red fox prefers native vegetation over non-native plantations and avoids areas with higher human disturbance, suggesting negative impacts of exotic plantations on species occurrence.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Diana Dias, Dario Hipolito, Ana Figueiredo, Carlos Fonseca, Tania Caetano, Sonia Mendo
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance is a major concern in the twenty-first century. Red foxes have been identified as potential reservoirs and disseminators of antibiotic resistance and zoonotic agents. Urgent multisectoral action is needed to address this issue and achieve sustainable development goals.
Article
Zoology
Sofia Lino, Ana Lino, Joana M. M. Fernandes, Eduardo Ferreira, Carlos Fonseca, Sara Aliacar, Duarte Cadete, Luis M. Rosalino, Joao Carvalho
Summary: For centuries, human-wildlife conflicts have been caused by wolf depredation on livestock throughout Europe. However, free-ranging dogs are now also becoming prevalent predators of livestock herds. Efforts should be made to identify the causes of depredation events and improve procedures for predator identification.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Daniela F. Teixeira, Guilherme Ares-Pereira, Claudia Camarinha, Catia Lima, Ana Magalhaes, Guilherme Castro, Carlos Fonseca, Luis Miguel Rosalino
Summary: Humans have been altering the Mediterranean landscapes for a long time, and many species have adjusted their behavior to become more nocturnal to avoid encounters with humans and domestic animals. However, there have been limited studies on the activity patterns of mesocarnivores, such as red fox and stone marten, in Eucalyptus plantations in Portugal. Based on camera traps, this study aimed to analyze the temporal and spatio-temporal activity patterns of these animals and how they are influenced by human disturbances.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Matthew Owen Moreira, Carlos Fonseca, Danny Rojas
Summary: Climate change will have a negative impact on high-mountain species, especially reptiles, as it may result in the loss of suitable climatic niches and even local extinctions. It is important to identify high-risk species and implement conservation measures to protect them.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Sofia Lino, Mariana Rossa, Joana M. Fernandes, Tania Barros, Ana Lino, Dario Hipolito, Eduardo Ferreira, Sara C. Aliacar, Duarte Cadete, Carlos Fonseca, Rita T. Torres, Luis M. Rosalino, Joao Carvalho
Summary: This study aims to compare and evaluate the diet composition of wolves and free-ranging dogs in the southern range in Portugal. The findings highlight the predatory role of dogs on livestock and the challenges it poses to wolf conservation.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Daniela F. Teixeira, Antonio J. Carpio, Luis Miguel Rosalino, Davide Carniato, Carlos Fonseca, Pelayo Acevedo
Summary: This study aims to identify the drivers of distribution for five mesocarnivores in Portugal (e.g., land cover, ecogeographic predictors, mammal prey availability), and understand the influence of Eucalyptus plantations on their range.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Ana M. Figueiredo, Pamela C. Koster, Alejandro Dashti, Rita T. Torres, Carlos Fonseca, Atle Mysterud, Begona Bailo, Joao Carvalho, Eduardo Ferreira, Dario Hipolito, Joana Fernandes, Ana Lino, Josman D. Palmeira, Pedro Sarmento, Nuno Neves, Carlos Carrapato, Rafael Calero-Bernal, David Carmena
Summary: This study investigated the occurrence, distribution, and genetic diversity of enteric protozoan parasites in both wild and domestic species in Portugal. The findings suggest a widespread presence of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp., with some subtypes posing potential threats to human and animal health.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2023)
