Guilherme de Oliveira

Length-weight relationship and condition factor of Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) (Decapoda, Palaemonidae) from a reservoir in Bahia, Brazil

Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) is a freshwater prawn occurring in rivers and reservoirs of Central and South America. Given its broad geographical distribution, the species shows great intraspecific morphological, reproductive, physiological and ecological plasticity. Furthermore, it also stands out for its economic importance, especially in the states of North (Para and Amapa) and Northeast Brazil. Despite the wide geographic distribution and economic importance of M. amazonicum, the biology of this species is poorly known, particularly in Northeast Brazil. We analyzed the length-weight relationships and condition factor of males and females of M. amazonicum. Specimens were collected monthly from September 2008 to August 2009 at the Pedra do Cavalo Reservoir, city of Cabaceiras do Paraguacu, State of Bahia. All specimens were sexed, measured and weighted. After that, length-weight relationships and the allometric (K) and relative (Kr) condition factors were calculated. Altogether 2,974 specimens were analyzed, 334 of which were males (11%) and 2,640 were females (89%). Females were larger and heavier than males. Males and females showed isometric and negative allometric growth, respectively. Monthly variations in the condition factor were similar for both sexes, and correlated strongly with rainfall regime and temperature in the region. Such variations are not correlated with the reproductive cycle of the species, but are probably correlated with food availability and somatic growth.

Human occupation explains species invasion better than biotic stability: evaluating Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Moraceae; jackfruit) invasion in the Neotropics

Aims Biological invasions are recognized to put native species in risk of extinction. In this study, I tested whether the invasion of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Moraceae; jackfruit) in the Neotropics was explained by its biotic stability, an intrinsic force, or by human occupation, an extrinsic force. Methods I used an ensemble framework combining 12 ecological niche models (ENMs) and 4 atmosphere-ocean general circulation models. ENMs were constructed for the pre-industrial time period in the Indo-Malaya biogeographic region, the native habitat of A. heterophyllus, and were then projected to past (last glacial maximum, 21 000 years ago and mid-Holocene, 6000 years ago) and future (end of century, 2080) periods. The ENMs were used to establish the biotic stability of A. heterophyllus in areas where it was predicted to be present concomitantly within these four time periods. This biotic stability was projected onto the Neotropics, and then I used a null model and logistic regression to test what the main driver of A. heterophyllus invasion. Important Findings In general, the presence of A. heterophyllus in the Neotropics was not explained by biotic stability, tested by the null model. However, human occupation explained much of its presence in the invaded habitat, once all standardized coefficients related to this driver was significant positive in the logistic regression. Based on these results, humans sustained the presence of A. heterophyllus in the Neotropics, probably because of the additive influences of propagule pressure and habitat disturbance. Thus, the recommendation is that the cultivation of A. heterophyllus in the Neotropics must be regulated and supervised, primarily near reserve areas.

Stacked species distribution and macroecological models provide incongruent predictions of species richness for Drosophilidae in the Brazilian savanna

We tested the adequacy of two richness‐modelling approaches within the ‘spatially explicit species assemblage modelling’ (SESAM) framework for drosophilid flies in a tropical biome. The pattern of drosophilid species richness throughout the Brazilian savanna was investigated by comparing richness estimates from macroecological models (MEM) and stacked species distribution models (S‐SDM). We used occurrence records for macroecological modelling and to generate geographic ranges by modelling species’ niches, which were stacked to generate SDM richness. Richness predictions were compared between models and with empirical data from well‐sampled areas. The spatial variation in drosophilid richness for both estimates revealed more species in the central and south‐eastern regions of the biome. Nonetheless, MEM generated a more fragmented pattern than S‐SDM, with scattered patches of high richness. S‐SDM produced richness estimates nearer to the empirical values than MEM, which in turn strongly underestimated richness. The correlation between S‐SDM and observed richness suggests that climate is the major (indirect) driver of drosophilid richness in the Brazilian savanna. Richness estimates based on macroecological modelling are, however, almost certainly affected by inventory incompleteness and sampling bias. We emphasise that S‐SDM can be a valuable approach to explore species richness patterns in poorly sampled regions.

Combining Cetacean Soundscape Ecology and Niche Modeling to Contribute in the Mapping of the Brazilian Continental Shelf

This chapter will introduce readers to the marine soundscape ecology through a cetacean study perspective. Unravelling the behavioral ecology of whales and dolphins in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean provides information about the marine habitat in which they live, in this case, the continental shelf. The study also describes methods for underwater mapping such as bioacoustics, photo-video recordings, GIS and behavioral observations.

The invasion of Artocarpus heterophyllus, jackfruit, in protected areas under climate change and across scales: from Atlantic Forest to a natural heritage private reserve

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone to biodiversity conservation, reducing the negative effects of human occupation on the biodiversity persistence. However, the implementation of PAs does not always mitigate the impacts of human occupation such as biological invasions and climatic changes. We evaluated the effect of the invasion of Artocarpus heterophyllus, the jackfruit, over Atlantic Forest PAs, under the influence of climate changes and across scales. The environmental suitability of jackfruit for preindustrial, future (2080), and delta (= future − preindustrial) was used to establish the risk of invasiveness. To validate the hypothesis that PAs have higher jackfruit invasiveness than usual in preindustrial, future, and delta periods, we used a null model. We conducted a phytosociological study in Guarirú Natural Heritage Private Reserve (NHPR) for evaluating the effect of jackfruit on species richness. The Atlantic Forest PAs have higher jackfruit environmental suitability than expected for both preindustrial, future, and delta periods. In Guarirú NHPR, the presence of jackfruit was inversely proportional to the species richness. The combined effect of jackfruit invasion and climatic changes showed that the Atlantic Forest PAs are threatened by the effect of jackfruit competitive pressure over native species, thus dominating ecosystems both by density and biomass, in preindustrial, and under climate changes. Guarirú NHPR is already losing its biodiversity through the presence of jackfruit, needing management interventions. We strongly recommend that to combat the occurrence of jackfruit in Atlantic Forest PAs, management interventions should be taken to control its persistence, also delineating its role inside the community structure.

Combining the effects of biological invasion and climate change into systematic conservation planning for the Atlantic Forest

Biological invasions and climate changes are the major causes of changes in biodiversity, which reduce, shift, and extinguish species ranges. While climate changes have been widely used in systematic conservation planning (SCP), biological invasions are rarely considered. Here, we combine the effects of climate changes and Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Moraceae) invasion on the SCP for endemic aromatic fruit tree species from the Atlantic Forest (EFAF). We tested the effect of invasion on SCP measures of species turnover, biotic stability, and irreplaceability. Ecological niche models were used to establish species environmental suitability for the preindustrial period for both invasive species and EFAF and to forecast to the end of the century (2080–2100). We calculated the niche overlap between the invasive species and EFAF and tested the overlap significance using a null model. We tested the biological invasion effect on the results using results with no species invasion correction. The niche overlap between A. heterophyllus and EFAF was significant for 50% of species in the preindustrial period and for 33% in the future. The spatial patterns of species turnover, biotic stability, and irreplaceability had significant effects on biological invasion changing the spatial pattern in both shape and magnitude, which can misplace and overvalue conservation priorities. We showed that the disregard of biological invasion on SCP can cause negative effects on SCP under climate change. We strongly recommend accounting for biological invasion in the evaluation of SCP.