Deforestation Trends of Tropical Dry Forests in Central Brazil

Tropical dry forests are the most threatened forest type in the world yet a paucity of research about them stymies development of appropriate conservation actions. The Paranã River Basin has the most significant dry forest formations in the Cerrado biome of central Brazil and is threatened by intense land conversion to pastures and agriculture. We examined changes in Paranã River Basin deforestation rates and fragmentation across three time intervals that covered 31 yr using Landsat imagery. Our results indicated a 66.3 percent decrease in forest extent between 1977 and 2008, with an annual rate of forest cover change of 3.5 percent. Landscape metrics further indicated severe forest loss and fragmentation, resulting in an increase in the number of fragments and reduction in patch sizes. Forest fragments in flatlands have virtually disappeared and the only significant forest remnants are mostly found over limestone outcrops in the eastern part of the basin. If current patterns persist, we project that these forests will likely disappear within 25 yr. These patterns may be reversed with creation of protected areas and involvement of local people to preserve small fragments that can be managed for restoration.     

Burning the Seasonal Mosaic: Preventative Burning Strategies in the Wooded Savanna of Southern Mali

Data are presented indicating a seasonal mosaic pattern of burning in the savanna of southern Mali. A seasonal mosaic is a landscape that is annually re-created by people, and which contains patches of unburned, early burned, and recently burned vegetation. A survey of over 100 farmers and in-depth interviews demonstrates that rural inhabitants of southern Mali begin an annual burning regime early in the dry season in order to fragment the landscape, with the goal of preventing later fires that can damage natural resources. The process of gradually burning off the driest vegetation creates a seasonal mosaic of habitat patches that increases the potential of the landscape for a variety of dry season land uses, including hunting, gathering of savanna products, and grazing. An analysis of a series of Landsat images shows that the practice of mosaic burning is widespread in the wooded savanna, in which burning usually begins early and large fires are rare. On the basis of recent developments in ecological theory and empirical evidence from similar burning regimes in parts of Australia, it is suggested that seasonal mosaic burning in Mali not only prevents damaging late-season fires but increases biodiversity. It is concluded that discourse on African savanna burning overemphasizes the ecologically detrimental aspects of fire, while neglecting the beneficial ones resulting in misguided policies that pose a threat to human livelihoods and savanna ecosystems.     

The Role of Education in Neotropical Deforestation: Household Evidence from Amerindians in Honduras

A survey of 101 Tawahka Amerindian households in the Honduran rain forest examined the effects of schooling on the clearance of old-growth rain forest. The results of tobit, ordinary least square, probit, and median regressions suggest that: (i) each additional year of education lowers the probability of cutting old-growth rain forest by about 4% and reduces the area cut by 0.06 ha/family each year, and (ii) the effect of education on deforestation is non-linear. With up to 2 years of schooling forest clearance declines; with between 2 and 4 years of schooling, clearance increases, but beyond 4 years education once again seems to curb deforestation. Even a little education curbs forest clearance because it is easier for individuals to acquire information about new farm technologies from outsiders in order to intensify term production by river banks. Estimates of the social rate of return to education for indigenous populations of Latin American have been shown to be high. We suggest that these rates of return may need reappraisal for Amerindians in the rain forest to take into account the positive and negative environmental externalities of education.     

High Abundance of Neotropical Drosophilids (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Four Cultivated Areas of Central Brazil

The drosophilid assemblages of four cultivated areas (soy, bean, corn, and orange plantations) grown in the core of the Neotropical region were analyzed by comparing their abundances and compositions. The collections, which were gathered using 38 banana traps, captured 12,560 drosophilids, including nine Neotropical and six exotic species. Most of the flies were collected in the bean (43%) and soy (42%) fields. The composition and relative abundance of species also varied among cultivated areas, with orange orchards presenting the highest relative abundance of exotics due to the dominance of the Afrotropical Zaprionus indianus (Gupta). Crop plantations were dominated by a Neotropical species, Drosophila cardini (Sturtevant), which has been shown to be well adapted to dry and disturbed environments. We discuss the drosophilid assemblages of the cultivated areas, comparing them with assemblages from neighbor urban and natural environments. The low drosophilid richness found in this study is similar to the richness found in urban environments and lower than the drosophilid richness of forests, supporting a pattern already known for other taxa. The high abundance of drosophilids in cultivated areas, as well as the dominance of a Neotropical species (D. cardini) in the crop assemblages, was a surprising result.     

Prevalence of Hypertension and Associated Factors in an Indigenous Community of Central Brazil: A Population-Based Study

Objective

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors among the native indigenous of Jaguapiru village in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Method

A cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted with adult indigenous aged 18 years or more. The subjects'' blood pressure was measured twice, and the mean of the two measurements was calculated. Body weight, height, capillary blood glucose and waist circumference were measured. Pregnant women, individuals using glucocorticoids, and non-indigenous villagers and their offspring were excluded. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted on the socio-demographic and clinical independent variables. Interactions between independent variables were also tested.

Results

We included 1,608 native indigenous eligible to the research. The prevalence of hypertension was 29.5% (95% CI: 27–31.5), with no significant difference between the genders. For both men and women, diastolic hypertension was more common than systolic hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension was higher among obese, diabetic, and older participants, as well as those who consumed alcohol, had a lower educational level, or had a family history of hypertension. There was no association between hypertension and tobacco smoking or family income.

Conclusion

Hypertension among the indigenous from Jaguapiru village was similar to the prevalence in the Brazilians, but may have a more negative effect in such disadvantaged population. The associated factors we found can help drawing prevention policies.     

A Systems Perspective on the Conservation and Erosion of Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge in Central India

Many scholars are concerned that globalization and scientization of local management systems threatens the survival of valuable indigenous knowledge of agriculture and agroforestry. This paper addresses such concerns by drawing on a field study of knowledge about tree and crop cultivation in central India to examine dynamics of knowledge system change. It uses concepts from systems studies, including hierarchy, adaptability, connectedness, and scale, to show how parts of indigenous knowledge systems might be more likely to be lost or preserved under various socio-economic circumstances. It then suggests some concrete lessons for those interested in conserving indigenous knowledge: that knowledge is best conserved in situ; that concepts can be more important to communicate and preserve than mere facts or practices; that researchers might identify those parts of a knowledge system most in need of conservation attention; and that technical innovation might allow local-scale indigenous knowledge to interface more effectively with large-scale global technologies.     

Learning Courage: Child Labour as Moral Practice in Northeast Brazil

This article explores the moral dimensions of child labour as cultural practice in Northeast Brazil. It reveals a link between children's participation in labour and local constructions of childhood as a period of ontological uncertainty and impending transition. Through detailed ethnographic exegesis, the article reveals the symbolic dimensions surrounding children's engagement in productive endeavours, and shows how the local opposition between ‘work’ and ‘play’ arises out of an encompassing moral process. The article critiques the tendency within protectionist influenced anthropological literature to acknowledge the important contribution that children make towards material survival, while denying that contribution any deeper cultural significance.     

Polyphagy and Obligate Myrmecophily in the Butterfly Hallonympha paucipuncta (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae) in the Neotropical Cerrado Savanna

This study analyzes host plant use and obligate myrmecophily in Hallonympha paucipuncta, an endemic butterfly of the Cerrado. Larvae of H. paucipuncta are polyphagous, using at least 19 species of plants in 10 families. All larvae found were being tended by Crematogaster ants. Spatial distribution of larvae and tending ants were strongly aggregated, suggesting an influence of ants on oviposition and/or larval survival. Implications of obligate myrmecophily in the evolution of polyphagy in Riodinidae are discussed.     

Artists as Harvesters: Natural Resource Use by Indigenous Woodcarvers in Central Arnhem Land,Australia

Plant resources are used, managed and conserved by local communities in many parts of the world. However, very few studies have examined the site-specific factors and mechanisms that affect resource extraction. We apply methodology from the social and biological sciences to examine the cultural and socio-economic factors that influence the harvest practice and resource use of indigenous wood carvers in the Maningrida region of central Arnhem Land. Woodcarvers from this region use a small number of carving timbers with two species dominant, Bombax ceiba and Brachychiton diversifolius. There were many cultural differences in harvest practice, with artists from the Kuninjku/Kunibeidji language community harvesting a greater number of tree species, larger quantities per harvest trip and smaller sized stems. Socio-economic factors also played an important role in facilitating the collection of stems as artists owning a vehicle acquired more stems than those who did not. Harvest sites closest to the township of Maningrida had higher visitation frequencies than those further away. These influences on harvest practice have significant implications for the ecological sustainability of timber harvesting in this region and we highlight the need to examine such localised factors when assessing the sustainability of indigenous wildlife harvests.     

Ants as Bioindicators of Natural Succession in Savanna and Riparian Vegetation Impacted by Dredging in the Jequitinhonha River Basin,Brazil

We investigated the response of ant species to landscape and geomorphologic parameters of a long‐term (7–11 years) restoration project in the Jequitinhonha River (Northern State of Minas Gerais, Brazil) margins, previously dredged by a diamond mining company. Geomorphological changes from the dredging were severe and the area is unlikely to be adequately restored, mainly due to the negative effects of flooding. Our hypothesis is that ant species assemblages bioindicate successional stages and soil characteristics. We studied the association of effects from the river's flooding zone, the native vegetation, and sedimentary grain size with that of ant species diversity, abundance, and composition. An ant sampling program was conducted in April 2005, using three methods: baits, pitfall traps, and direct collection. Grain size was measured by sieving. In total, 10,784 ants were sampled, belonging to 7 subfamilies, 24 genera and 45 morphospecies. Ant species richness was greater in the undisturbed savanna area than in the restored habitats, and equivalently greater in the ecotone and intermediate zone habitats than on the river bank, the poorest habitat. Atta sexdens rubropilosa indicated a condition related to small forest remnants having well‐structured soil. On the other hand, ants with a body length of under 0.5 cm (Dorymyrmex pyramicus and Pheidole fallax) predominated in sandy areas, where the majority of the granules were the finest. The lack of organic matter and soil structure for constructing suitable nests may prevent large ants from colonizing such areas, and thus inhibit the advance of natural succession.     

Molecular phylogeny of Neotropical bioluminescent beetles (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in southern and central Brazil

Bioluminescence in beetles is found mainly in the Elateroidea superfamily (Elateridae, Lampyridae and Phengodidae). The Neotropical region accounts for the richest diversity of bioluminescent species in the world with about 500 described species, most occurring in the Amazon, Atlantic rainforest and Cerrado (savanna) ecosystems in Brazil. The origin and evolution of bioluminescence, as well as the taxonomic status of several Neotropical taxa in these families remains unclear. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of bioluminescent Elateroidea we sequenced and analyzed sequences of mitochondrial NADH2 and the nuclear 28S genes and of the cloned luciferase sequences of Brazilian species belonging to the following genera: (Lampyridae) Macrolampis, Photuris, Amydetes, Bicellonycha, Aspisoma, Lucidota, Cratomorphus; (Elateridae) Conoderus, Pyrophorus, Hapsodrilus, Pyrearinus, Fulgeochlizus; and (Phengodidae) Pseudophengodes, Phrixothrix, Euryopa and Brasilocerus. Our study supports a closer phylogenetic relationship between Elateridae and Phengodidae as other molecular studies, in contrast with previous morphologic and molecular studies that clustered Lampyridae/Phengodidae. Molecular data also supported division of the Phengodinae subfamily into the tribes Phengodini and Mastinocerini. The position of the genus Amydetes supports the status of the Amydetinae as a subfamily. The genus Euryopa is included in the Mastinocerini tribe within the Phengodinae/Phengodidae. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel long-distance movements by Neotropical bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) evidenced by recaptures in southeastern Brazil

We report recapture data for phyllostomid bats in different types of forests, and at different altitudes, obtained through long-term fieldwork in southeastern Brazil. We provide evidence of long-distance movements, with bats moving up to 120 km from mountains to the beach, with an altitudinal variation of 1,237 m. These movements demonstrate the high mobility of these bats and represent the longest distances recorded for them so far in the Neotropics, besides reinforcing the need for long-term capture and recapture programs aimed at understanding the movement dynamics of bat populations.     

Diversity and distribution of aquatic insects in Southern Brazil wetlands: implications for biodiversity conservation in a Neotropical region

The selection of priority areas is an enormous challenge for biodiversity conservation. Some biogeographic methods have been used to identify the priority areas to conservation, and panbiogeography is one of them. This study aimed at the utilization of panbiogeographic tools, to identify the distribution patterns of aquatic insect genera, in wetland systems of an extensive area in the Neotropical region (approximately 280 000km2), and to compare the distribution of the biogeographic units identified by the aquatic insects, with the conservation units of Southern Brazil. We analyzed the distribution pattern of 82 genera distributed in four orders of aquatic insects (Diptera, Odonata, Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera) in Southern Brazil wetlands. Therefore, 32 biogeographic nodes corresponded to the priority areas for conservation of the aquatic insect diversity. Among this total, 13 were located in the Atlantic Rainforest, 16 in the Pampa and three amongst both biomes. The distribution of nodes showed that only 15% of the dispersion centers of insects were inserted in conservation units. The four priority areas pointed by node cluster criterion must be considered in further inclusions of areas for biodiversity conservation in Southern Brazil wetlands, since such areas present species from different ancestral biota. The inclusion of such areas into the conservation units would be a strong way to conserve the aquatic biodiversity in this region.     

Conservation strategies for Araucaria Forests in Southern Brazil: assessing current and alternative approaches

Efforts to protect the remaining Araucaria Forest fragments in Southern Brazil have focused on large forests dominated by the threatened species Araucaria angustifolia. However, such an approach can miss significant biodiversity by ignoring smaller forest fragments scattered throughout the landscape, many of which exist on small farms. Here, I evaluate the method used to define a set of natural reserves in Southern Brazil to assess if it captures and preserves the significant biodiversity that exists in this unique biome. I used a relatively simple field sampling methodology and statistical analyses to evaluate floristic and structural parameters, comparing tree species diversity within a large forest fragment (with and without A. angustifolia dominance) to smaller fragments in the surrounding landscape. While stands dominated by A. angustifolia showed primary forest‐like physiognomy, they did not have the levels of diversity expected for old‐growth forests. Traditional forestry parameters, especially basal area and number of individuals, are useful for differentiating forest types in terms of structure. While no single diversity index provides a complete picture of the composition and variation of diversity in forest fragments, when taken together and assessed using extrapolation and comparative statistics, they provide a meaningful method for comparing and identifying high priority areas for conservation. Future conservation strategies should look to alternative approaches for assessing biodiversity across the landscape, while including small‐scale landowners in conservation efforts.     

Measurements of N2 fixation by common bean in Central Brazil as affected by different reference crops

An experiment was conducted at EMBRAPA/CNPAF, Goiânia, Goias, Brazil, on a typic haplustox soil to evaluate growth and N₂ fixation-related parameters of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Bean lines, which had been selected for N₂ fixation at CNPAF, including production cultivars, germplasm bank entries, and parents and progenies of a cross made to improve this characteristic. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and dwarf sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were evaluated as non-N₂-fixing reference crops for difference method (DM) and ¹⁵N isotope dilution technique (IDT) estimates of N₂ fixation. IDT estimates ranges from 4 to 18 kg N₂ fixed ha^-1. High variability associated with low levels of N₂ fixation precluded definitive identification of the best N₂ fixing bean lines. Due to differences in growth cycle and in patterns and amounts of soil N uptake during the season, neither of the reference crops tested appears to be an adequate control for either DM or IDT estimates of N₂ fixation. However, ranking of lines for effectiveness in N₂ fixation could be performed without the use of any reference crops.     

The assembly of plants used as nectar sources by hummingbirds in a Cerrado area of Central Brazil

Studies on hummingbird–plant interactions commonly use a pollination approach emphasizing mutualistic relationships. But floral resources are often used opportunistically by these birds. Plant–pollinator assemblies and pollination sustainability will depend both on the well-adapted plants and other potential floral resources. The Cerrado, Neotropical savannas of Central Brazil, has ca. 7.5 % of its flora supposedly adapted to hummingbird pollination. But detailed information about flowers effectively used by hummingbirds at community level is still lacking. Hence, we recorded all plant species visited by hummingbirds, to determine how these nectariferous flowers were distributed in time and space in different plant formations of a Cerrado area, and also the hummingbird species that visit them. The study was conducted between March 2007 and December 2008 in the Panga Ecological Station. Data regarding flowering phenology, floral morphology and visitation were collected monthly. Forty-six nectariferous species from 39 genera and 17 families were recorded, most with annual flowering dynamics and tubular flowers. But only 21 species had a combination of traits fitting classic ornithophilous syndrome. For the remaining species hummingbird visitation was ascertained from observations at the study site or other sites in the region. Eight hummingbird species occurred in the area and were recorded visiting directly 36 plant species. The study area presented a relatively low number of ornithophilous plants, but a great habitat diversity and many non-ornithophilous plants that hummingbirds used as nectar sources. Therefore, in the studied Cerrado, the diversity of environments and nectariferous plants favour the maintenance of resident and migrant hummingbirds.     

Childbirth as ritual in Brazil: young mothers' experiences

The article examines childbirth in a public hospital in Salvador, Brazil, as a multidimensional, embodied process and as a rite of passage. The birth narratives of young, poor, black mothers are seen through ethnography of the obstetric centre, run by white, middle-class obstetricians. The article follows the biosocial process of birth, tracing the development and mutation of loneliness, fear, and pain into motherlove. This subjective journey is generated within the social interactions constituting the physiological birth events. Primiparous women are shown to construct the birth as a rite of passage into legitimate motherhood, in the face of a hegemonic symbolic frame that stigmatizes youthful motherhood and delegitimizes reproduction amongst young, black, low-income women. Hospital childbirth's most powerful social effect is the constitution and consecration of a race/class divide.