Alpina Begossi

Medicinal plants in the Atlantic forest (Brazil): knowledge, use, and conservation.

This study focuses on knowledge of medicinal plants among the Caiçaras (rural inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil). In particular, we examine the use of medicinal plants according to sex and age to reveal general patterns of Caiçara knowledge and use of plant resources. Data collected through 449 interviews at 12 Caiçara communities (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coastal sites) include citations of 249 plants and identification of 227 species. We show the importance of introduced as opposed to native plants and of key individuals for the conservation of the Caiçaras-Atlantic Forest.

Use of ecological methods in ethnobotany: diversity indices

The application of ecological concepts to ethnobotanical studies, in particular of diversity, is analyzed. Diversity indices are important tools that may help in understanding human-environment interactions. Those indices allow comparisons on the use of plants by different populations in different environments. A review on recent major ethnobotanical journals was carried out, and 10 studies (7 from Latin America, 2 from Asia and 1 from Europe) were selected based on available data to calculate diversity indices. The Shannon-Wiener indices and rarefaction curves were obtained. High diversity on plant uses were found for studies carried out at Peru, Mexico, Brazil and Thailand. A low diversity was found for Tonga, and island biogeography theory is used to discuss these results. Sampling effort is evaluated through rarefaction curves. The estimation of the diversity of resources used by native populations may be useful when planning conservation areas and their management.RésuméA aplicação de conceitos de ecologia em estudos etnobotânicos, em particular diversidade, é analisada. Os índices de diversidade são ferramentas importantes que nos ajudam a entender as interações humanas com o ambiente. Esses indices permitem comparar o uso de plantas por populações diferentes em ambientes diferentes. Foi realizada uma revisão nos principals periódicos recentes de etnobotânica e foram selecionados 10 estudos (7 da America Latina, 2 da Ásia e l da Europa), com base na disponibilidade de dados, para o cálculo dos indices de diversidade. Indices de Shannon-Wiener e curvas de rarefação foram obtidas. Foi encontrada uma alta diversidade de uso de plantas para Peru, México, Brazil e Tailândia. Uma baixa diversidade foi encontrada em Tonga, e a biogeografia de ilhas é usada para discutir os resultados. O esforço de amostragem é avaliado com base nos curvas de rarefação. A estimativa da diversidade dos recursos usados por populações nativas pode ser util no planejamento de áreas de conservação e em seu manejo.

Diversity of plant uses in two Caiçara communities from the Atlantic Forest coast, Brazil

Caiçaras are native inhabitants of the Atlantic coast on southeastern Brazil, whose subsistence is based especially on agriculture and artisanal fishing. Because of their knowledge about the environment acquired through generations, Caiçara people can play an important role in Atlantic Forest conservation. An ethnobotanical study was conducted within two Caiçara communities (Ponta do Almada and Camburí beach, São Paulo State, Brazil), focusing on plant uses. In 102 interviews, 227 plant ethnospecies were quoted, mainly for food, medicine, handicraft and construction of houses and canoes. People from studied communities depend on the native vegetation for more than a half of the species known and used. Using diversity indices, plant uses are compared between studied communities and between gender and age categories within each community. We found quantitative differences in the knowledge about plants between gender categories for each kind of use (medicinal, food and handicrafts). Older and younger informants also have different knowledge about plants for handicraft and medicine, but not for edible plants.

Ethnobotany of caiçaras of the Atlantic Forest coast (Brazil)

Caiçaras are inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest coast in SE Brazil. We studied the uses of plants by five Caiçara communities and compared medicinal plant citations by informants in coastal and island communities. We use diversity indices to evaluate the use of plants and to compare communities. There is a high diversity of plants used in the Atlantic Forest coasts: we found 276 species used for food, medicine and construction. Caiçaras rely on folk medicine, and medicinal plants were especially cited in interviews. Following predictions of island biogeography theory, we found a lower diversity of medicinal plants cited in islands compared to continental communities.ResumenOS caiçaras são habitantes da costa da Mata Atlântica no SE do Brasil. Estudamos o uso de plantas em cinco comunidades caiçaras e comparamos as citações de plantas medicinais entre as comunidades da costa e das ilhas. Usamos indices de diversidade para comparar as comunidades. Há uma alta diversidade de plantas usadas na costa da Mata Atlântica: encontramos 276 plantas usadas para alimento, medicina e construçāo. Os caiçaras dependem da medicina tradicional, e plantas medicinais foram especialmente citadas nos entrevistas. Seguindo as expectativas da teoria de biogeografia de ilhas, encontramos uma diversidade menor de plantas medicinais citadas nas ilhas comparado às comunidades continentais.

Ethnobotany of Atlantic Forest coastal communities: Diversity of plant uses in Gamboa (Itacuruçá island, Brazil)

Local plants are a very important resource for the community of Gamboa, located at Itacuruçá Island, Sepetiba Bay, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Ninety species of plants, belonging to 40 families, are used for a variety of purposes, such as food, construction, handicraft, and medicine. In a survey medicinal uses for plants were the most quoted by the community. Uses of medicinal plants within Gamboa and with other coastal communities are analyzed using diversity indices. Use by different categories of people based on sex, age, and economic activity was compared and significant differences were found among the groups compared, except for economic categories (fishermen and non-fishermen). The theory of island biogeography is shown to be useful for analyzing different levels of resource uses on different islands.

Temporal Stability in Fishing Spots: Conservation and Co- Management in Brazilian Artisanal Coastal Fisheries

The management of small-scale artisanal fisheries in Brazil should be a priority because of their importance as a source of food for internal markets and their location in sites with high biodiversity, such as the Atlantic Forest coast. Fishing spots, territories, and sea tenure have been widely studied within artisanal fisheries, and, in this study, a fishing spot of this type may be a defended area or an area that imposes rules for users, making the exclusion of outsiders feasible, or even a place in which fishing occurs with some exclusivity. This analysis takes into account the importance of fishing areas for the conservation of artisanal fishing in Brazil and the relative temporal stability of these areas. In particular, examples of the use of the marine space on the coast of Brazil in areas such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Bahia States are presented. Fishing spots used by artisanal fishers were marked using a Global Positioning System (GPS). An informal division of the marine space and high temporal stability, often in the range of 10-30 yr, in the use of the fishing spots were found. For some fishing areas, information published in the 1960s provided a relevant comparison for the current use of the fishing spots at sea. Such information is very helpful for the management of artisanal fishing in Brazil because tourism has increased in some areas, recreational fishers have been fishing in marine spots used by artisanal fishers, and industrial fishers are spread over a wide range of the marine space in these coastal waters. This stability in the use of marine space among artisanal fishers plus local rules support the case for local co-management of artisanal fisheries. Reserving areas for artisanal fishers and understanding the behavior of other users are essential aspects for the management and conservation of artisanal fishing in Brazil.

Fishing Spots and Sea Tenure: Incipient Forms of Local Management in Atlantic Forest Coastal Communities

Recent work has dealt with the local management of aquatic resources as an alternative to Hardins (1968) “tragedy of the commons.” In communities with no formal management of resources, informal ownership of fishing spots or conflicts with outside competitors may determine the basis for future local management. In this study, I analyze the use of aquatic resources by five fishing communities on the Atlantic Forest coast of southeast Brazil: Búzios Island, Puruba, and Picinguaba in São Paulo State, and Jaguanum and Itacuruçá Islands at Sepetiba Bay in Rio de Janeiro State. Informal ownership of fishing spots, used for set gillnet fishing, is regulated by kin ties at Búzios Island. The artisanal fishers of Sepetiba Bay, especially those from Jaguanum Island, have a conflict with Bay “intruders,” such as the shrimp and herring trawlers. Two coastal communities, Puruba and Picinguaba, have conflicts with fishing regulations from a State Park (Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar),created in 1977. The transformation of populated areas of the Atlantic Forest to Extractive Reserves might be a way to avoid conflicts with intruders and with governmental agencies, and to involve local populations in management. Kinship rules at Búzios Island and the territorial behavior of fishers at Sepetiba Bay may form a basis for local organization.

FOOD CHAIN AND THE REASONS FOR FISH FOOD TABOOS AMONG AMAZONIAN AND ATLANTIC FOREST FISHERS (BRAZIL)

Food taboos or food prohibitions are still controversial in ecological anthropology and in human ecology. In the literature, the explanations for such taboos find their origin in the book of Leviticus in the Bible, or in the abundance of fat found in the tissue of different fish species, or on the consequences for conservation practices. In this comparative study, we show the various interpretations concerning the food taboos observed in tropical societies, including their association to the availability of resources, i.e., the protein coming from local fish resources. We show that, in the Amazon and on the Atlantic Forest coast, fish food taboos, or dietary prohibitions during illness, are associated with carnivorous fish, especially piscivorous fish, and the fish that are recommended for consumption during illness are usually herbivorous or invertebrate eaters. Explanation for this preference is based into the consideration that, at high trophic levels, animals may accumulate toxins by eating plants, in...

Fishermen's local ecological knowledge on Southeastern Brazilian coastal fishes: contributions to research, conservation, and management

Analisamos o conhecimento ecologico local (CEL) dos pescadores sobre os habitos alimentares, interacoes troficas, habitats, locais de pesca, migracao e reproducao de nove peixes costeiros na Ilha de Buzios, litoral sudeste do Brasil. Entrevistamos 39 pescadores, utilizando questionarios padronizados. As informacoes sobre uso do habitat e interacoes troficas entre os peixes estudados com base no CEL dos pescadores foram condizentes com a literatura cientifica, permitindo a organizacao de teias troficas para os habitats recifal e pelagico. Os pescadores entrevistados mencionaram que formacoes de rochas submersas seriam habitats importantes para alguns peixes comerciais de grande porte, como Seriola spp., Caranx latus e Epinephelus marginatus. Em algumas circunstâncias, nao haviam dados biologicos para serem comparados com o CEL dos pescadores, que, portanto seria a unica fonte disponivel de informacao, por exemplo sobre a reproducao e migracao de varios dos peixes estudados. Sugerimos aqui formas de aplicar o CEL dos pescadores para desenvolver e aprimorar medidas de manejo pesqueiro, como zoneamento do espaco marinho, areas marinhas protegidas e epocas de defeso da pesca. O CEL dos pescadores pode ser um apoio importante e factivel para iniciativas de manejo e co-manejo pesqueiro.

Ethnobotany of Atlantic Forest Coastal Communities: II. Diversity of Plant Uses at Sepetiba Bay (SE Brazil)

This is an ethnobotanical study of Atlantic Forest coastal communities located at Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Atlantic Forest remnants are top priority conservation areas, and include native communities that depend on fish and small-scale agriculture. We conducted fieldwork in the community of Calhaus (Jaguanum Island) from 1989 to 1991, and interviewed adults on their use of plants. We examined the diversity of medicinal plants used among communities of different islands and found results similar to previous research at Gamboa (Itacuruçá Island); communities living in smaller islands and on islands further from the coast use a lower diversity of plants. Also, older islanders show a deeper knowledge of medicinal plants than younger islanders.