@unifal-mg.edu.br
Universidade Federal de Alfenas
Scopus Publications
P.R. Anunciação, A. Valencia-Zuleta, L. Signorelli, M. Martins, R.P. Bastos, Y. Bataus, and C.E. Guidorizzi
Elsevier BV
Paula Ribeiro Anunciação, Raffael Ernst, Felipe Martello, MaurÃcio Humberto Vancine, Luis Marcelo Tavares de Carvalho, and Milton Cezar Ribeiro
Elsevier BV
Vinicius Tonetti, João Carlos Pena, Marina DA Scarpelli, Larissa SM Sugai, Fábio M Barros, Paula R Anunciação, Paloma M Santos, André LB Tavares, and Milton C Ribeiro
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Summary The intrinsic complexity, variety of concepts and numerous ways to quantify landscape heterogeneity (LH) may hamper a better understanding of how its components relate to ecological phenomena. Our study is the first to synthesize understanding of this concept and to provide the state of the art on the subject based on a comprehensive systematic literature review of 661 articles published between 1982 and 2019. Definitions, terminologies and measurements of LH were diverse and conflicting. Most articles (534 out of 661) did not provide any definition for LH, and we found great variation among the studies that did. According to our review, only 10 studies measured the effects of different land-cover types on biotic or abiotic processes (functional LH). The remaining 651 studies measured physical attributes of the landscape without mentioning that different land-cover types may impact biotic and abiotic processes differently (structural LH). The metrics most frequently used to represent LH were the Shannon diversity index and proportion of land-cover type. Most metrics used as proxies of LH also coincided with those used to represent non-heterogeneity metrics, such as fragmentation and connectivity. We identify knowledge gaps, indicate future perspectives and propose guidelines that should be addressed when researching LH.
Paula Ribeiro Anunciação, Larissa Sayuri Moreira Sugai, Felipe Martello, Luis Marcelo Tavares de Carvalho, and Milton Cezar Ribeiro
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Paula Ribeiro Anunciação, Fabio M. Barros, Milton Cezar Ribeiro, Luis Marcelo Tavares de Carvalho, and Raffael Ernst
Elsevier BV
Abstract Ecological thresholds are an indicator of rapid and non-linear changes along both natural habitat and land-use gradients. Thus, they can be used to quantify biodiversity responses to human-induced environmental change. We investigated multiple thresholds by analyzing eight environmental predictors of both taxonomic and functional composition of amphibian and bird communities in 47 independent sample units, located within a heterogeneous land use matrix of the megadiverse Atlantic Forest hotspot. We demonstrate that current land use practices alter both the taxonomic and functional composition and promote the establishment of non-native taxa resulting in novel assemblages. Whereas anuran communities experienced dramatic compositional shifts as a result of the transformation of closed forest habitats into Eucalyptus monocultures (at less than 10% land cover), bird communities were mainly altered through the loss of old-growth forest (at 20% forest cover loss). In both groups, observed thresholds were lower than previously reported and much lower than the 20% forest set-aside requirement defined by current land-use legislation. We argue that the strategy of halting forest loss through rapid afforestation with non-native trees has converse and potentially detrimental effects on the conservation of native forest biodiversity. Future studies need to investigate how including novel assemblages in current conservation management strategies can enhance biodiversity protection in human-impacted forest landscapes. The identification of taxon-specific thresholds for both taxonomic and functional community shifts is indispensable when formulating common land use practices and designing mitigation measures. Threshold analyses can guide these actions by providing clear and quantifiable break-points for conservation practitioners.
Paula Eveline Ribeiro D’Anunciação, Marcela Fernandes Vilela Silva, Lucas Ferrante, Diego Santana Assis, Thamires Casagrande, Andréa Zalmora Garcia Coelho, Bárbara Christina Silva Amâncio, Túlio Ribeiral Pereira, and VinÃcius Xavier da Silva
Hindawi Limited
In recent years, there has been increasing interest in matrix-type influence on forest fragments. Terrestrial amphibians are good bioindicators for this kind of research because of low vagility and high philopatry. This study compared richness, abundance, and species composition of terrestrial amphibians through pitfall traps in two sets of semideciduous seasonal forest fragments in southeastern Brazil, according to the predominant surrounding matrix (sugar cane and pasture). There were no differences in richness, but fragments surrounded by sugar cane had the lowest abundance of amphibians, whereas fragments surrounded by pastures had greater abundance. The most abundant species,Rhinella ornata, showed no biometric differences between fragment groups but like many other amphibians sampled showed very low numbers of individuals in fragments dominated by sugar cane fields. Our data indicate that the sugar cane matrix negatively influences the community of amphibians present in fragments surrounded by this type of land use.
Paula Eveline Ribeiro D’Anunciação, P. S. Lucas, V. X. Silva and A. Bager
Many species of amphibians have suffered serious population declines. Several factors contribute separately or jointly to these declines. However, the reduction of an available habitat due to human expansion is still the main cause, and roads are a major mean for this expansion. Both the construction phase and the subsequent use of roads have negative consequences for amphibians. We reviewed the literature on the subject within the Neotropical context. To this end, the paper begins with a summary of recent reviews and proceeds through an analysis of sampling methods used in roadkill studies, mitigation measures and the Neotropical scenario and concludes with several suggestions to guide future studies. More attention will be given to roadkills, which is one of the primary impacts on wildlife that is caused by roads. Even in the Neotropical zone most studies are foot-based, the richness and abundance of amphibians affected are higher in regions outside the Neotropics. One possible explanation is that in the other regions, the proportion of studies exclusively on amphibians is bigger. Regarding mitigation measures, most studies only indicates what should be used, but do not implement or evaluate their effectiveness.