The biogeography of the Anura of sub-equatorial Africa and the prioritisation of areas for their conservation

There is an increasing need for protected areas to conserve biodiversity efficiently. The Anura of sub-equatorial Africa have received little attention, but we quantitatively analyse a database containing presence-only data for anurans of sub-equatorial Africa to determine patterns of distribution and species richness, and discuss the roles of present and past environmental conditions in shaping these patterns. We consider the distribution of areas rich in endemic, range-restricted and Red Data Book (RDB) species to identify areas of significance to conservation. The Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and adjacent area in Mozambique, southeastern Malawi and the northern coast of KwaZulu/Natal are particularly species rich, whereas the southwestern Cape of South Africa and northwestern Zambia exhibit high degrees of endemism. Four major biogeographical sub-regions are identified, which can be further subdivided into provinces. All statistically significant, current environmental factors together account for 52.6% of species richness. Annual maximum rainfall, soil type variation, minimum temperature and range of elevation were all positively correlated with species richness. Thus, both habitat influences and history appear to have influenced patterns of anuran richness in the region. Generally, areas of high species richness coincide with those high in range-restricted, endemic and RDB species. In South Africa, the northeastern coast and southwestern Cape are hypothesised to have been both refugia and centres of speciation. Results suggest that the current reserve system in sub-equatorial Africa is inadequate for the conservation of the full complement of anuran species in the region.     

Floristic relationships of the woody component in rocky outcrops savanna areas in Central Brazil

Rocky outcrops usually have a peculiar vegetation which differs from that of the surrounding vegetation matrix. In Brazil, a savanna type (cerrado rupestre) is particularly characterized by rocky outcrops and is one of eleven vegetation types which occur throughout Cerrado biome. It has been scarcely studied in detail. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the phytogeographical patterns of the woody species in ten areas of the rocky outcrop savanna in the Brazilian Central Plateau. The difference in spatial distribution of the species was assessed through indicator species and CCA ordination analyses. Ten indicator species showed significantly different distribution. The first axis of the ordination showed association with the edaphic gradient, based on maximum temperature, pH and physical properties of the soils (eigenvalue 0.63). The second axis showed an eigenvalue 0.46, associated with poor rainfall and land declivity. It appears that the woody flora of the rocky outcrop savanna areas of the Brazilian Central Plateau is relatively homogeneous, with low β diversity. Apparently, the size of the woody species populations is what distinguishes the ten investigated areas. Therefore, initiatives and actions for the Cerrado biome conservation must consider not only the size of the protected areas but also that of the populations to be protected, especially the woody species on rocky outcrops.     

Plant endemism in two forests in southern Bahia, Brazil

An important factor in determining species rarity is the geographic distribution of species. Estimates were made of the level of endemism of the flora of two sites in the southern Bahian wet forest zone. Estimates were made for endemism in the Atlantic forest biome and for the much more restricted area of southern Bahia and northern Espi´rito Santo and are derived from analyses of the distributions of the species known from each area. The species checklist for each area is based on identified specimens resulting from intensive collecting in a forest near Serra Grande (40km north of Ilhe´us) and the Una Biological Reserve (40km south of Ilhe´us). Slightly less than half of the species (45.2% at Una and 47.7% at Serra Grande) have widespread distributions and 7.4% at each site are disjunct between the coastal forests and Amazonia. In the Una Reserve, 44.1% of the species are endemic to the coastal forest and 28.1% endemic to southern Bahia and northern Espi´rito Santo. At Serra Grande, 41.6% of the species are endemic to the coastal forest and 26.5% endemic to southern Bahia and northern Espi´rito Santo.     

New systematic position of Itatingamyia Albuquerque (Diptera,Muscidae) based on molecular evidence,and description of the female of I. couriae

Itatingamyia Albuquerque, 1979 is rare in collections, with only nine specimens preserved in museums. Two species are known, and their placement within Muscidae was never tested using molecular data. Here, we estimate the position of Itatingamyia within Muscidae with mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (AATS, CAD, and EF1-α) markers using Maximum likelihood and Bayesian posterior probabilities as optimality criteria. According to our results, we propose to classify Itatingamyia as a Cyrtoneurininae. We also describe the previously unknown female and egg of Itatingamyia couriae Haseyama and de Carvalho, 2011 and expand the known distribution of this species to the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, through the discovery of 13 new specimens there. We also argue that Itatingamyia distribution is restricted to Atlantic Forest areas.     

Juçara palm ecological interactions threatened by climate and land-cover changes

Ongoing climate change has caused well-documented displacements of species' geographic distribution to newly climatically suitable areas. Ecological niche models (ENM) are widely used to project such climate-induced changes but typically ignore species' interspecific interactions that might facilitate or prevent its establishment in new areas. Here, we projected the change in the distribution of Juçara Palm (Euterpe edulis Mart., Arecaceae), a neotropical threatened palm, taking into consideration its ecological interactions. We run ENMs of E. edulis, plus its known seed dispersers (15 bird species) and predators (19 birds and mammals) under current and future climatic conditions. Additionally, for E. edulis, we removed deforested areas from the model. When considering only climate, climate change has a positive impact on E. edulis, with a predicted westward expansion and a modest southward contraction, with a 26% net gain in distribution by 2060. When removing deforested areas, however, climate change harms E. edulis, with a 66% predicted net distribution loss. Within the palm's distribution in this more realistic model, there is also a predicted reduction in the richness of its dispersers and predators. We conclude that the possible benefits of climate change to E. edulis' distribution are overshadowed by widespread habitat loss, and that global change is likely to disrupt some of its ecological interactions. The outcome of the interplay between the negative impact of the loss of dispersers, and the benefit of the loss of predators, is unclear, but the large contraction of E. edulis' range predicted here foresees a dim future for the species. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.     

Prediction of phylogeographic endemism in an environmentally complex biome

Phylogeographic endemism, the degree to which the history of recently evolved lineages is spatially restricted, reflects fundamental evolutionary processes such as cryptic divergence, adaptation and biological responses to environmental heterogeneity. Attempts to explain the extraordinary diversity of the tropics, which often includes deep phylogeographic structure, frequently invoke interactions of climate variability across space, time and topography. To evaluate historical versus contemporary drivers of phylogeographic endemism in a tropical system, we analyse the effects of current and past climatic variation on the genetic diversity of 25 vertebrates in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. We identify two divergent bioclimatic domains within the forest and high turnover around the Rio Doce. Independent modelling of these domains demonstrates that endemism patterns are subject to different climatic drivers. Past climate dynamics, specifically areas of relative stability, predict phylogeographic endemism in the north. Conversely, contemporary climatic heterogeneity better explains endemism in the south. These results accord with recent speleothem and fossil pollen studies, suggesting that climatic variability through the last 250 kyr impacted the northern and the southern forests differently. Incorporating sub-regional differences in climate dynamics will enhance our ability to understand those processes shaping high phylogeographic and species endemism, in the Neotropics and beyond.     

Taxic Richness Patterns and Conservation Evaluation of Madagascan Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae)

Distributional ranges of 17 genera and 172 species of Malagasy tiger beetles (Coleoptera, Cicindelidae) have been compiled to determine patterns of species richness and endemism. These patterns reveal large sampling gaps, and potential priority areas for conservation action. Northern and south-western parts of the island are richer in genera, whereas eastern and especially northern parts of the rainforest show higher species richness, due to extensive radiations within the genera Pogonostoma and Physodeutera. A set of 23 areas are identified in this study as priority foci for tiger beetle conservation, and six general regions are bioinventory priorities.     

Physiological synecology of tree species in relation to geographic distribution and ecophysiological parameters at the Atlantic forest periphery in Brazil: an overview

This paper provides a synthesis of the three papers published in the series Ecophysiology of selected tree species in different plant communities at the periphery of the Atlantic forest of SE – Brazil (Trees, this issue). We reviewed data obtained for seven tree species, belonging to the legume family and the genus Clusia of the Clusiaceae. These groups were chosen because legumes are the most abundant tree species in the Atlantic forest complex (except in the open restingas), and the genus Clusia is reportedly of utmost ecological importance as nurse plants in several habitats of the complex. These species were surveyed along one or more of several forest and open habitats at the margin of the Atlantic rain forest (open restingas, restinga dry forest, inselberg, semideciduous dry forest) and indicated the following general patterns: (1) at the intraspecific level, ecophysiological performance often (but not always) varied largely in both time and space; (2) at the interspecific level, ecophysiological performance was often (but not always) related positively to species dominance in the community; and (3) at both levels, ecophysiological performance was not related to the geographic distribution patterns, i.e., generalists and specialists did not form groups of similarly behaving plants in regard to ecophysiology. We discuss the implications of these findings, compare them with earlier studies, and suggest that ecophysiological research in the Atlantic rain forest complex could enhance its explanatory power by increasing spatial and temporal scales of observation.