Squamate richness in the Brazilian Cerrado and its environmental–climatic associations

We investigate patterns of species richness of squamates (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) in the Brazilian Cerrado, identifying areas of particularly high richness, and testing predictions of large‐scale richness hypotheses by analysing the relationship between species richness and environmental climatic variables. We used point localities from museum collections to produce maps of the predicted distributions for 237 Cerrado squamate species, using niche‐modelling techniques. We superimposed distributions of all species on a composite map, depicting richness across the ecosystem. Then, we performed a multiple regression analysis using eigenvector‐based spatial filtering (Principal Coordinate of Neighbour Matrices) to assess environmental–climatic variables that are best predictors of species richness. We found that the environmental–climatic and spatial filters multiple regression model explained 78% of the variation in Cerrado squamate richness (r² = 0.78; F = 32.66; P < 0.01). Best predictors of species richness were: annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality, altitude, net primary productivity, and precipitation during the driest quarter. A model selection approach revealed that several mechanisms related to the different diversity hypothesis might work together to explain richness variation in the Cerrado. Areas of higher species richness in Cerrado were located mainly in the south‐west, north, extreme east, and scattered areas in the north‐west portions of the biome. Partitioning of energy among species, habitat differentiation, and tolerance to variable environments may be the primary ecological factors determining variation in squamate richness across the Cerrado. High richness areas in northern Cerrado, predicted by our models, are still poorly sampled, and biological surveys are warranted in that region. The south‐western region of the Cerrado exhibits high species richness and is also undergoing high levels of deforestation. Therefore, maintenance of existing reserves, establishment of ecological corridors among reserves, and creation of new reserves are urgently needed to ensure conservation of species in these areas.     

Expected impacts of climate change threaten the anuran diversity in the Brazilian hotspots

We performed Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) to generate climatically suitable areas for anurans in the Brazilian hotspots, the Atlantic Forest (AF), and Cerrado (CER), considering the baseline and future climate change scenarios, to evaluate the differences in the alpha and beta diversity metrics across time. We surveyed anuran occurrence records and generated ENMs for 350 and 155 species in the AF and CER. The final predictive maps for the baseline, 2050, and 2070 climate scenarios, based on an ensemble approach, were used to estimate the alpha (local species richness) and beta diversity metrics (local contribution to beta diversity index and its decomposition into replacement and nestedness components) in each ~50 × 50 km grid cell of the hotspots. Climate change is not expected to drastically change the distribution of the anuran richness gradients, but to negatively impact their whole extensions (i.e., cause species losses throughout the hotspots), except the northeastern CER that is expected to gain in species richness. Areas having high beta diversity are expected to decrease in northeastern CER, whereas an increase is expected in southeastern/southwestern CER under climate change. High beta diversity areas are expected to remain in the same AF locations as the prediction of the baseline climate, but the predominance of species loss under climate change is expected to increase the nestedness component in the hotspot. These results suggest that the lack of similar climatically suitable areas for most species will be the main challenge that species will face in the future. Finally, the application of the present framework to a wide range of taxa is an important step for the conservation of threatened biomes.     

Conserving Biogeography: Habitat Loss and Vicariant Patterns in Endemic Squamates of the Cerrado Hotspot

Little is known about the threat levels and impacts of habitat loss over the Cerrado Squamate fauna. The region is under severe habitat loss due to mechanized agriculture, accelerated by changes in the Brazilian National Forest Code. The Squamate fauna of the Cerrado is rich in endemics and is intrinsically associated with its surrounding microhabitats, which make up a mosaic of phitophysiognomies throughout the region. Herein we evaluate current conservation status of Squamate biogeographic patterns in the Brazilian Cerrado, the single savanna among global biodiversity hotspots. To do so, we first updated point locality data on 49 endemic Squamates pertaining to seven non-random clusters of species ranges in the Cerrado. Each cluster was assumed to be representative of different biogeographic regions, holding its own set of species, herein mapped according to their extent of occurrence (EOO). We then contrasted these data in four different scenarios, according to the presence or absence of habitat loss and the presence or absence of the current protected area (PA) cover. We searched for non-random patterns of habitat loss and PA coverage among these biogeographic regions throughout the Cerrado. Finally, with the species EOO as biodiversity layers, we used Zonation to discuss contemporary PA distribution, as well as to highlight current priority areas for conservation within the Cerrado. We ran Zonation under all four conservation scenarios mentioned above. We observed that habitat loss and PA coverage significantly differed between biogeographic regions. The southernmost biogeographic region is the least protected and the most impacted, with priority areas highly scattered in small, disjunct fragments. The northernmost biogeographic region (Tocantins-Serra Geral) is the most protected and least impacted, showing extensive priority areas in all Zonation scenarios. Therefore, current and past deforestation trends are severely threatening biogeographic patterns in the Cerrado. Moreover, PA distribution is spatially biased, and does not represent biogeographic divisions of the Cerrado. Consequently, we show that biogeographic patterns and processes are being erased at an accelerated pace, reinforcing the urgent need to create new reserves and to avoid the loss of the last remaining fragments of once continuous biogeographic regions. These actions are fundamental and urgent for conserving biogeographic and evolutionary information in this highly imperiled savanna hotspot.     

Precipitation of the warmest quarter and temperature of the warmest month are key to understanding the effect of climate change on plant species diversity in Southern African savannah

In this study, we test for the key bioclimatic variables that significantly explain the current distribution of plant species richness in a southern African ecosystem as a preamble to predicting plant species richness under a changed climate. We used 54,000 records of georeferenced plant species data to calculate species richness and spatially interpolated climate data to derive nineteen bioclimatic variables. Next, we determined the key bioclimatic variables explaining variation in species richness across Zimbabwe using regression analysis. Our results show that two bioclimatic variables, that is, precipitation of the warmest quarter (R² = 0.92, P < 0.001) and temperature of the warmest month (R² = 0.67, P < 0.001) significantly explain variation in plant species richness. In addition, results of bioclimatic modelling using future climate change projections show a reduction in the current bio‐climatically suitable area that supports high plant species richness. However, in high‐altitude areas, plant richness is less sensitive to climate change while low‐altitude areas show high sensitivity. Our results have important implications to biodiversity conservation in areas sensitive to climate change; for example, high‐altitude areas are likely to continue being biodiversity hotspots, as such future conservation efforts should be concentrated in these areas.     

Compliance to Brazil's Forest Code will not protect biodiversity and ecosystem services

In striking contrast to heartening events in the adjacent Amazon, Brazil's Cerrado biome has seen continued deforestation over the past decade. Though approved in 2012, no study evaluated the impacts of new Brazilian Forest Code (FC) revision on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Here, we report the first assessment of the likely loss and gain in biodiversity and ecosystem services expected if the FC is properly enforced across 200 million hectares of the Cerrado. We also discuss the challenges associated to compliance with the law and present opportunities for conservation. Establishing restoration programmes in private properties with currently less native vegetation than required by the FC could create habitat for 25% more threatened species than now found in these places and could also increase water security and carbon stock in 56.6 MtC. More important, trading environmental reserve quotas coupled with the strategic expansion of protected areas on private and public land could definitely rescue the Cerrado from the brink.     

Relative need for conservation assessments of vascular plant species among ecoregions

Aim (1) To determine the relative need for conservation assessments of vascular plant species among the world’s ecoregions given under‐assessed species distributions; (2) to evaluate the challenge posed by the lack of financial resources on species assessment efforts; and (3) to demonstrate the utility of nonlinear mixed‐effects models with both homoscedastic and heteroscedastic error structures in the identification of species‐rich ecoregions. Location Global. Methods We identified the world’s ecoregions that contain the highest vascular plant species richness after controlling for area using species–area relationship (SAR) models built within a mixed‐effects multi‐model framework. Using quantitative thresholds, ecoregions with the highest plant species richness, historical habitat loss and projected increase in human population density were deemed to be most in need of conservation assessments of plant species. We used generalized linear models to test if countries that overlap with highly important ecoregions are poorer compared with others. Results We classed ecoregions into nine categories based on the relative need for conservation assessments of vascular plant species. Ecoregions of highest relative need are found mostly in the tropics, particularly Southeast Asia, Central America, Tropical Andes and the Cerrado of South America, and the East African montane region and its surrounding areas. Countries overlapping with ecoregions deemed important for conservation assessments are poorer as measured by their capita gross national income than the other countries. The nonlinear mixed modelling framework was effective in reducing residual spatial autocorrelation compared with nonlinear models comprised of only fixed effects. In contrasting multiple SAR models to identify species‐rich ecoregions, there was not one SAR model that fitted best across all biomes. Not all SAR models displayed homoscedastic errors; therefore it is important to consider models with both homoscedastic and heteroscedastic error structures. Main conclusions We propose that conservation assessments should be conducted first in ecoregions with the greatest predicted species richness, historical habitat loss and future human population increase. As ecoregions deemed to be important for conservation assessments are located in the poorest countries, we urge international aid agencies and botanic gardens to cooperate with both local and international scientists to fund and implement conservation assessment programmes there.     

Diversity patterns and zoogeography of the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean shallow-water sponge fauna

Recognizing and understanding present-day biodiversity and biogeographical patterns and how these relate to contemporary and past climate is pivotal to predict the effect of future climate on marine biodiversity and promote adequate conservation policies. Sponges constitute an important and dominant component of the marine benthos and are therefore an excellent model group for such investigations. In this study, we assessed the diversity patterns and the zoogeographical affinities of the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean shallow-water demosponge assemblages. Data on the distribution of 745 species throughout 28 areas was compiled from the literature and used to build a presence/absence matrix. Diversity patterns were assessed from estimates of species richness (S) and taxonomic distinctness (AvTD). The Mediterranean Sea proved to be more diverse both in terms of species richness and taxonomic distinctness (S = 539, AvTD = 94.74) than the Northeast Atlantic (S = 480, AvTD = 92.42) and the two regions together were found to constitute a diversity hotspot harbouring approximately 11% of the global demosponge diversity. We found an Atlantic N–S and a Mediterranean NW–SE gradient of increasing taxonomic distinctness that is strongly correlated to both contemporary (R ² = 0.5667; P < 0.01) and historical values (R ² = 0.7287; P < 0.01) of sea surface temperature (SST) at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The zoogeographical affinities examined through classification (cluster analysis) and ordination (non-metric multidimensional scaling, nMDS) based on the Bray–Curtis similarity index, revealed the presence of three groups approximately corresponding to the Northern European Seas, Lusitanian and Mediterranean provinces outlined in the ‘Marine Ecoregions of the World’ (MEOW) classification system. Geographical distance and oceanographic circulation were shown to constitute important factors in shaping the zoogeographical affinities among areas. The vast majority of the species occurring in the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean (67 and 57%, respectively) was shown to have extremely restricted geographical ranges, as single-area or narrow-range (2–3 areas) endemics, which raises some concerns regarding their conservation.     

Climate change and opposing spatial conservation priorities for anuran protection in the Brazilian hotspots

In conservation biogeography, the process of spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) aims to select areas that meet biodiversity targets at a minimum set coverage. Here, we propose a SCP scheme for the highly endemic and diverse anuran fauna of the Atlantic Forest (AF) and Cerrado (CER) South American hotspots under different climate change scenarios. Specifically, we make use of predicted anuran occurrences, built for baseline and future (2050 and 2070) time slices, and address biological and conservation metrics to identify potential priority regions for anuran conservation over time using the software MARXAN. Considering each time slice separately, the percentage area needed for total anuran representation varies at magnitudes of 9.8–10.66% for the AF and 6.4–8.8% for the CER. Pooling all time slices together in the selected conservation network, the identified spatial priorities account for 15.56% and 13.25% of the total AF and CER areas respectively. However, we identified opposing strategies for the anuran spatial conservation prioritization in the AF and CER over the different time periods; the increasing of priority cells across time considering the potential species redistribution under climate change in the AF, and the selection of fewer priority cells in the future than the identified for the baseline climate in the CER. The southeastern AF coast was identified as a priority area for amphibian conservation in this hotspot, as well as some other smaller areas in the northern and southern regions. Priority areas identified in the CER, although patchy distributed across the hotspot, are found in specific central-northern, western, and southeastern regions. The different conservation strategies identified in the present SCP emphasize the need for establishing different conservation efforts according to a sequential scheduling of priority areas that optimizes the long-term conservation goals.     

Effect of Forest Fragmentation on Tick Infestations of Birds and Tick Infection Rates by Rickettsia in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Habitat loss and modifications affect biodiversity, potentially contributing to outbreaks of infectious diseases. We evaluated if the patch sizeinfragmented areas of Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil influences the diversity of forest birds and consequently the prevalence of ticks on birds and the rickettsial infection of these ticks. During 2 years, we collected ticks from birds in 12 sites: four small forest patches (80–140 ha), four large ones (480–1,850 ha), and four forest control areas within the much larger Morro do Diabo State Park (~36,000 ha). A total of 1,725 birds were captured (81 species, 24 families), from which 223 birds were infested by 2,339 ticks of the genus Amblyomma, mostly by the species A. nodosum. Bird diversity and richness were higher in larger than smaller forest fragments. The prevalence of ticks on birds was inversely correlated with bird diversity and richness. Among 174 A. nodosum tested for rickettsial infection by polymerase chain reaction, 51 were found to be infected by Rickettsia bellii or Rickettsia parkeri. However, tick infection rates by Rickettsia spp. were not statistically different between forest patch sizes. The higher prevalence of ticks on birds in degraded patches might be caused by a dominance of a few generalist bird species in small patches, allowing an easier transmission of parasites among individuals. It could also be related to more favorable microclimatic conditions for the free-living stages of A. nodosum in smaller forest fragments.The higher burden of ticks on birds in smaller forest fragments is an important secondary effect of habitat fragmentation, possibly increasing the likelihood of Rickettsia contagion.     

Local richness and distribution of the lizard fauna in natural habitat mosaics of the Brazilian Cerrado

We investigate local lizard richness and distribution in central Brazilian Cerrado, harbouring one of the least studied herpetofaunas in the Neotropical region. Our results are based on standardized samplings at 10 localities, involving 2917 captures of 57 lizard species in 10 families. Local richness values exceeded most presented in earlier studies and varied from 13 to 28 species, with modal values between 19 and 28 species. Most of the Cerrado lizard fauna is composed of habitat‐specialists with patchy distributions in the mosaic of grasslands, savannas and forests, resulting in habitat‐structured lizard assemblages. Faunal overlap between open and forested habitats is limited, and forested and open areas may act as mutual barriers to lizard distribution. Habitat use is influenced by niche conservatism in deep lineages, with iguanians and gekkotans showing higher use of forested habitats, whereas autarchoglossans are richer and more abundant in open habitats. Contrary to trends observed in Cerrado birds and large mammals, lizard richness is significantly higher in open, interfluvial habitats that dominate the Cerrado landscape. Between‐localities variation in lizard richness seems tied to geographical distance, landscape history and phylogenetic constraints, factors operating in other well‐studied lizard faunas in open environments. Higher richness in dominant, open interfluvial habitats may be recurrent in Squamata and other small‐bodied vertebrates, posing a threat to conservation as these habitats are most vulnerable to the fast, widespread and ongoing process of habitat destruction in central Brazil.     

Habitat diversity enhances ant diversity in a naturally heterogeneous Brazilian landscape

Understanding the factors that drive species richness and composition at multiple scales is of crucial importance for conservation. Here we evaluated how habitat heterogeneity—at the local and landscape scales—affects the diversity of ants in the Brazilian Cerrado. The Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot that is characterized as a mosaic of habitats, including savannas of variable structure (the dominant vegetation), grasslands, and forests. We sampled ground-dwelling ants in four habitats, representing a gradient of increasing tree cover and decreasing grass cover. Twelve sites, distributed along two degrees of latitude, were sampled. Our sampling revealed a highly diverse and patchily distributed fauna comprising 150 species (from 44 genera), of which nearly 40% were found in only one site. On average, we found fewer species in the least structurally complex habitat. However, there was relatively little variation in species density among the remaining habitats despite strong differences in vegetation structure among them. Ant species composition varied markedly among sites and such differences were related to variations in vegetation structure but not to inter-site distances (latitude). Similar results were obtained when overall ant species richness (γ diversity) was partitioned additively into three components: α₁ (diversity within sampling sites), β₁ (diversity among sites within the same habitat type), and β₂ (diversity among sites from different habitats). The β₂ component contributed much more to γ diversity than did the remaining diversity components, indicating that conservation of the Cerrado ant fauna depends on the maintenance of habitat diversity.     

Effects of past climate on Passiflora actinia (Passifloraceae) populations and insights into future species management in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest is one of the most diverse and threatened ecoregions on the planet and displays high levels of endemism. Despite several population analyses and phylogeographical studies, the origins of its species richness and the evolutionary processes that gave rise to this diversification remain poorly understood, especially at the southern edge of the Atlantic Forest. Passiflora actinia is an indigenous species from the southern Atlantic Forest and, as such, was influenced by climatic changes during the Pleistocene. In this study, we investigated the effects of past climate changes on the genetic diversity of P. actinia, using nuclear and plastid markers. We subsequently suggest strategies for the preservation of this species in particular and the whole ecoregion in general. We employed phylogeographical methods and combined these results with past, present and future ensemble niche models. Genetic variability in P. actinia was similar to that of other species with similar geographical distributions, and geographical structuring was not observed based on either type of genetic marker. Diversification in P. actinia was dated to the Pleistocene, suggesting that climate changes could have influenced the distribution of genetic diversity in this species. Our results predicted that suitable P. actinia habitat will persist in the highlands but will be reduced in the lowlands, especially with higher greenhouse gas concentrations. Conservation efforts should focus on populations with unique genetic units and populations from areas with greater climatic instability. Habitat loss due to deforestation in the Atlantic Forest constitutes a major risk to this species, especially to small populations or those with low diversity indices.     

Biogeography and priority areas for the conservation of bats in the Brazilian Cerrado

In this study, we describe the distribution pattern of bat species and select priority areas for the conservation of the Cerrado based on a systematic planning approach. We estimated species richness and calculated the total beta diversity based on Sørensen’s dissimilarity index (βsor). We estimated the species turnover using Simpson’s dissimilarity index (βsim). We then evaluated the nesting (βsne) by the difference between the dissimilarity indices (βsor and βsim). Based on this analysis, we identified the priority areas for the conservation of bats in the Cerrado based on the zonation approach. We found that the species richness and beta diversity of bats in the Cerrado are concentrated primarily in the central and northern portions of the biome. We also discovered that the conservation units of the Cerrado are ineffective for the protection of species with a restricted distribution (≤ 150 grid cells), such as Vampyrum spectrum, for which we propose the creation of new conservation units that better cover the diversity patterns observed in the present study. By conserving this diversity, we will also be protecting local habitats, which will in turn enable the survival of a wide range of species, and provide the ecosystems with the capacity to respond adequately to future changes in the environment.     

Global population structure and demographic history of the grey seal

Although the grey seal Halichoerus grypus is one of the most familiar and intensively studied of all pinniped species, its global population structure remains to be elucidated. Little is also known about how the species as a whole may have historically responded to climate‐driven changes in habitat availability and anthropogenic exploitation. We therefore analysed samples from over 1500 individuals collected from 22 colonies spanning the Western and Eastern Atlantic and the Baltic Sea regions, represented by 350 bp of the mitochondrial hypervariable region and up to nine microsatellites. Strong population structure was observed at both types of marker, and highly asymmetrical patterns of gene flow were also inferred, with the Orkney Islands being identified as a source of emigrants to other areas in the Eastern Atlantic. The Baltic and Eastern Atlantic regions were estimated to have diverged a little over 10 000 years ago, consistent with the last proposed isolation of the Baltic Sea. Approximate Bayesian computation also identified genetic signals consistent with postglacial population expansion across much of the species range, suggesting that grey seals are highly responsive to changes in habitat availability.     

Ecological release in lizard assemblages of neotropical savannas

We compare lizard assemblages of Cerrado and Amazonian savannas to test the ecological release hypothesis, which predicts that niche dimensions and abundance should be greater in species inhabiting isolated habitat patches with low species richness (Amazonian savannas and isolated Cerrado patches) when compared with nonisolated areas in central Cerrado with greater species richness. We calculated microhabitat and diet niche breadths with data from 14 isolated Cerrado patches and Amazon savanna areas and six central Cerrado populations. Morphological data were compared using average Euclidean distances, and lizard abundance was estimated using the number of lizards captured in pitfall traps over an extended time period. We found no evidence of ecological release with respect to microhabitat use, suggesting that historical factors are better microhabitat predictors than ecological factors. However, data from individual stomachs indicate that ecological release occurs in these areas for one species (Tropidurus) but not others (Ameiva ameiva, Anolis, Cnemidophorus, and Micrablepharus), suggesting that evolutionary lineages respond differently to environmental pressures, with tropidurids being more affected by ecological factors than polychrotids, teiids, and gymnophthalmids. We found no evidence that ecological release occurs in these areas using morphological data. Based on abundance data, our results indicate that the ecological release (density compensation) hypothesis is not supported: lizard species are not more abundant in isolated areas than in nonisolated areas. The ecology of species is highly conservative, varying little from assemblage to assemblage. Nevertheless, increases in niche breadth for some species indicate that ecological release occurs as well. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Potential distribution patterns of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil under scenarios of future climate change

Current predictions about the responses of species to climate change strongly rely on projecting altered environmental conditions on their distributions. In this study, we investigated the effects of future climate change scenarios on the potential distribution of 10 species of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil in the context of their degree of specialisation to closed (Atlantic and Amazon Forests) and open (Caatinga and Cerrado) habitats. Scorpion species were classified as habitat specialists or generalists according to the IndVal index, and present and future species distribution models were prepared using minimum volume ellipsoids. According to IndVal, four species were classified as closed‐forest specialists (Ananteris mauryi, Tityus brazilae, Tityus pusillus and Tityus neglectus), four as open‐forest specialists (Jaguajir agamemnon, Jaguajir rochae, Physoctonus debilis and Bothriurus rochai), and two as generalists (Tityus stigmurus and Bothriurus asper). All species presented a drastic reduction in potential distribution, ranging from 44% to 72%, when compared with their current distribution. In addition, we found a reduction in scorpion species richness under future climate change scenarios. This finding has implications for scorpion conservation. Further, the results show that climate change may impact the composition of scorpion assemblages in north‐eastern Brazil, revealing important implications for human–scorpion interactions.     

Increased isolation of two Biosphere Reserves and surrounding protected areas (WAP ecological complex, West Africa)

Protected areas such as nature reserves have been found to be effective in preventing habitat destruction and protecting ecosystems within their borders. Recent studies however found extensive loss of tropical forest habitat around protected areas, vastly contributing to increase the levels of ecological isolation. Using high-resolution satellite data we investigated the isolation trend occurring in the W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) ecological complex in West Africa. A land-cover change analysis was performed for the period 1984–2002: savanna vegetation extension and loss were derived within the complex and in a 30 km peripheral buffer. Sample regions in the buffer were also analysed using selected spatial indicators to quantify temporal trends in habitat fragmentation. Implications for change in relative capacity to conserve biodiversity were discussed through the calculation of the species richness capacity (SRC). More than 14.5% of savanna habitat was lost in the WAP peripheral areas, while 0.3% was converted inside the complex. The degree of fragmentation of remnant savanna habitat has also drastically increased. Despite the effectiveness of the park conservation programme, we found through the SRC approach that the WAP complex is decreasing its potential capacity to conserve species richness. This process is mainly due to the rapid and extended agricultural expansion taking place around the complex. A better understanding of the ecological dynamics occurring in the peripheral regions of reserves and the consideration of development needs are key variables to achieve conservation goals in protected areas.     

Diversity of plant evolutionary lineages promotes arthropod diversity

Large‐scale habitat destruction and climate change result in the non‐random loss of evolutionary lineages, reducing the amount of evolutionary history represented in ecological communities. Yet, we have limited understanding of the consequences of evolutionary history on the structure of food webs and the services provided by biological communities. Drawing on 11 years of data from a long‐term plant diversity experiment, we show that evolutionary history of plant communities – measured as phylogenetic diversity – strongly predicts diversity and abundance of herbivorous and predatory arthropods. Effects of plant species richness on arthropods become stronger when phylogenetic diversity is high. Plant phylogenetic diversity explains predator and parasitoid richness as strongly as it does herbivore richness. Our findings indicate that accounting for evolutionary relationships is critical to understanding the severity of species loss for food webs and ecosystems, and for developing conservation and restoration policies.     

Safeguarding sloths and anteaters in the future: Priority areas for conservation under climate change

Sloths and anteaters form the monophyletic order Pilosa, which is currently represented by only 16 extant species distributed exclusively in the Neotropics. This present-day low species richness is an inheritance of the Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions, where over 65 Pilosa species known from the fossil record went extinct. The large number of species lost in the recent past suggests that this group is greatly vulnerable to extinction. Here, we propose long-term priority conservation areas for the order Pilosa, considering different future climate change scenarios, biotic stability, and the multiple dimensions of the group's biodiversity, such as species richness, species endemism, and phylogenetic diversity. Projections of species distribution for future scenarios show increased fragmentation and clear habitat loss as the Amazon Forest is replaced by savanna-like habitats. Conservation solutions were highly congruent for the different dimensions of biodiversity, with priority areas emerging mainly in the Atlantic Forest, Amazonian wetlands, highlands of Ecuador, and the Central American isthmus. Expanding the currently protected areas network by 6% with the proposed priority areas, independently of which future climatic scenario is considered, can increase sloths and anteaters' coverage in the future by 12%. As a group of high phylogenetic and ecological importance, future conservation planning should deliberately aim to protect areas favorable to Pilosa, especially given the current scenario of environmental dismantling and neglect of critical Neotropical biomes.     

How Well Will Brazil's System of Atlantic Forest Reserves Maintain Viable Bird Populations?

It is crucial for biodiversity conservation that protected areas are large and effective enough to support viable populations of their original species. We used a point count distance sampling method to estimate population sizes of a range of bird species in three Atlantic forest protected areas of size 5600, 22,500, and 46,050 ha. Population sizes were generally related to reserve area, although in the mid-sized reserve, there were many rare species reflecting a high degree of habitat heterogeneity. The proportions of forest species having estimated populations >500 ranged from 55% of 210 species in the largest reserve to just 25% of 140 species in the smallest reserve. All forest species in the largest reserves had expected populations >100, but in the small reserve, 28% (38 species) had populations <100 individuals. Atlantic forest endemics were no more or less likely to have small populations than widespread species. There are 79 reserves (>1000 ha) in the Atlantic forest lowlands. However, all but three reserves in the north of the region (Espírito Santo and states north) are smaller than 10,000 ha, and we predict serious levels of local extinction from these reserves. Habitat heterogeneity within reserves may promote species richness within them, but it may also be important in determining species loss over time by suppressing populations of individual species. We suggest that most reserves in the region are so small that homogeneity in the habitat/altitude within them is beneficial for maintenance of their (comparatively small) original species compliment. A lack of protection in the north, continued detrimental human activity inside reserves, and our poor knowledge of how well the reserve system protects individual taxa, are crucial considerations in biodiversity management in the region.