Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge

Redirections in Conservation Biology

According to Caughley (J Anim Ecol 63:215–244, 1994), there are only four categories of humans’ intervention in nature at the population level: biological conservation, control, sustainable use, and monitoring. As the vast majority of the species are not endangered, nor valuable or damaging, monitoring is by far the most relevant of such alternatives. A global network of long-term biodiversity monitoring sites should be established in order to effectively contribute to the decision-making processes concerning biodiversity conservation, use, and control. The following limiting factors should be pursed in terms of conceptual basis: spatial–temporal heterogeneity, human dimensions, adaptation, and the complexity of processes complementarily to the patterns of diversity. In addition, abundance estimates should be improved and the use of molecular markers and stable isotopes should be stimulated to assess ecological and evolutionary processes. Last but not least, governance should be based on the use of populations as units of management and landscapes as units of administration.

Applied ecology and human dimensions in biological conservation

Part I. Concepts 1 Redirections in Conservation Biology Luciano M. Verdade, Carlos I. Pina, and Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge 2 Historical Ecology and the Explanation of Diversity: Amazonian Case Studies William Balee 3 Phylogenetic diversity and the sustainable use of biodiversity Daniel P. Faith and Laura Jo Pollock 4 Adaptation and Evolution in Changing Environments Luiz Miguel Rosalino, Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge, and Luciano M. Verdade 5 Biodiversity loss and infectious diseases Kevin D. Lafferty 6 The conservation value of agricultural landscapes Luciano M. Verdade, Marli Penteado, Carla Gheler-Costa, Graziella Dotta, Luis Miguel Rosalino, Vania Regina Pivello, Carlos I. Pina, and Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge Part II. Innovation 7 The use of molecular tools in ecological studies of mammalian carnivores Francisco Palomares and Begona Adrados 8 The Role of Abundance Estimates in Conservation Decision-Making James D. Nichols 9 Wildlife surveys in agricultural landscapes: Terrestrial medium- to large-sized mammals Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge, Carla Gheler-Costa, Carlos Ignacio Pina, Luiz Miguel Rosalino, and Luciano M. Verdade 10 Point Counts Method for Bird Surveys in Agroecosystems of the State of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil Marli Penteado, Wesley R. Silva, and Luciano M. Verdade 11 The use of stable isotopes analyses in wildlife studies Thiago S. Marques, Neliton R.F. Lara, Plinio B. Camargo, Luciano M. Verdade, and Luiz A. Martinelli Part III. Governance 12 Multi-taxa surveys: integrating ecosystem processes and user demands William E. Magnusson, Ben Lawson, Fabricio Baccaro, Carolina Volkmer de Castilho, J. Guy Castley, Flavia Costa, Debora P. Drucker, Elizabeth Franklin, Albertina P. Lima, Regina Luizao, Fernando Mendonca, Flavia Pezzini, Juliana Schietti, Jose Julio Toledo, Ana Tourinho, Luciano M. Verdade, and Jean-Marc Hero 13 Whos in conflict with whom? Human dimensions of the conflicts involving wildlife. Silvio Marchini 14 BIOTA/FAPESP - The Biodiversity Virtual Institute: translating research on biodiversity and ecosystem services into policies in a megadiverse country. Carlos A. Joly

The Conservation Value of Agricultural Landscapes

Agricultural landscapes are formed by a matrix of agricultural fields (i.e., agroecosystems) more or less interspersed by remaining fragments of native vegetation, water courses, roads, and human habitations. Although their presumptive mission is the production of domesticated species or their commodities, agricultural landscapes always support some wild species, which can demand human efforts to be conserved, controlled, used, or simply monitored. Such efforts can only be effective if public policy recognizes the multifunctionality of agricultural landscapes, which should be based on the following principles: (a) The conservation value of agricultural landscapes is more related to the landscape β-diversity than to the matrix α-diversity; (b) the agricultural impacts on biodiversity transcend the limits of agricultural landscapes affecting water courses and nature reserves outside them; and (c) agriculture depends on ecosystem and evolutionary services provided by biodiversity in order to be sustainable.

Adaptation and Evolution in Changing Environments

In a planet in continuous change, where humans and their activities have enhanced this modification’s rate, wildlife had to develop mechanisms to cope with this change to avoid extinction. The challenges imposed by agricultural landscapes, often associated with production cycles and intensification, has led to the extinction of many populations or species unable to track resources or change their behavioral or biological processes to allow them to use the available resources. However, not always the story has a negative outcome. In the present chapter, we present several examples of acclimation and adaptation processes of species trying to survive in changing environments, which include morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations (i.e., with genetic implications) and behavioral acclimations. However, there is a threshold of changes that a species may manage to overcome. This limit is species specific and directly related to the species natural history, plasticity and genetic structure and diversity.

Wildlife Surveys in Agricultural Landscapes: Terrestrial Medium- to Large-Sized Mammals

Human-induced changes have drastically modified pristine environments, and the replacement of natural ecosystems constrained the composition and structure of communities that they are made of, due to the modification of ecological processes. Survey and monitoring sampling schemes have been defined and mostly applied to natural environments, which are characterized by a spatial and structural heterogeneity. However, their application to agroforestry areas should take into consideration that these environments are spatially more homogeneous, but present a temporal heterogeneity linked with the production cycles. In this chapter, we present a description of the assumptions, weaknesses, and strengths of the main methods used in surveying and monitoring medium and large mammals. Moreover, we advise researchers to the need to take into consideration the particularities of agroforestry landscapes and adapt the mentioned methods to assure the representativeness of the collected data and the accuracy of the detected patterns.