Forest Remnants Research Articles

New amphibian records for the Serranía de San Jacinto, Bolívar Department, Colombia

The San Jacinto Highlands are a mountainous formation that is part of the Montes de María in theColombian Caribbean Region. It harbors remnants of Tropical Dry Forest, which is rapidly disappearing due to developmentfor agriculture and livestock. This loss impacts amphibian diversity by fragmenting habitat, creating homogeneouslandscapes, and reducing environmental complexity. Despite its ecological importance, information on theherpetofauna in this region is limited due to access and security issues. We herein present five new amphibian records(Rhinella alata, Hyalinobatrachium tatayoi, Colostethus inguinalis, Boana rosenbergi, and Dendropsophus ebraccatus) forthe Bolívar Department, which extend the distributions of these species.

Landscape degradation drives metal bioaccumulation in bats from Atlantic Forest cacao region, Brazil.

Agricultural landscapes worldwide are heavily sprayed with agrochemicals to increase crop productivity. These agrochemicals release bio-accumulative pollutants such as heavy metals that often persist in the environment with harmful impacts on biota. In a prime endangered Atlantic Forest biome, in Bahia, Brazil, agroforestry of cacao (Theobroma cacao) provides a livelihood for small farmers and suitable habitats for forest species. However, landscape transformation to pasture and monoculture expose vulnerable communities to scarcely evaluated pollutants with unknown effects on the health of humans and animals. We assessed the bioaccumulation of manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and copper (Cu) by analyzing hair samples of 326 bats representing 28 species across 15 cacao agroforestry and 2 forest remnants. Bats from regions heavily disturbed by pastures and monocultures showed higher levels of Pb (41.20µg/g) and Mn (0.44µg/g) compared to those from areas where forest or cacao agroforestry dominates the landscape. Local grassland covers increased Pb bioaccumulation, while forest cover reduced it. Cacao agroforestry appeared to increase Cu exposure, likely due to fungicide use. This study pioneers the evaluation of heavy metal accumulation in bats inhabiting cacao agroforestry and Atlantic Forest remnants, highlighting the need for sustainable agricultural practices to protect wildlife and ecosystem health.

Forest cover is more important than its integrity or landscape configuration in determining habitat use by mammals in a human-modified landscape in Colombia

Human activities shape the structure of landscapes in different ways and hence modify animal communities depending on the type and intensity of these activities. The Montes de Maria subregion of Colombia has experienced a heavy transformation of most areas despite covering one of the last remnants of dry forest, a critically endangered ecosystem. However, the effects of this transformation have been little explored. Here, we used a multispecies occupancy model (MSOM) to understand the relative influence of three components of land-use change – deforestation (remaining forest amount), degradation of forest integrity (forest quality) and fragmentation (landscape configuration) on mammalian habitat use across a mosaic of tropical dry forest in Colombia. Our data suggest that the percentage of forest cover was substantially important for herbivores, and consistently showed a moderate effect on the entire community and some individual species. High variability in species-specific responses to the examined variables hindered broad taxonomic generalizations, nevertheless, we detected a moderate positive effect of forest cover in both diet specialists and generalists species, as well as in species with small home ranges. Although omnivores responses, tended to use less complex landscapes (mosaics of land uses), there was high uncertainty in this response. The lack of substantial effects on most species, and the absence of threatened species across this anthropogenic landscape, suggests that the current community is composed of species tolerant to habitat modifications, but not only diet generalist species. This is most likely the result of a long filtering process caused by land use transformation and hunting which could have caused non-sensitive species to distribute relatively homogenously across this landscape. Our results suggest that conservation strategies in the study area should focus on conserving and expanding as much forest as possible rather than only improving the quality of already existing forest patches.

First molecular detection of adenoviruses in bats from an urban Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Bats comprise one of the most diverse and abundant groups of mammals in the world and host a significant viral diversity with zoonotic potential. Bat adenoviruses (bat AdVs), members of the family Adenoviridae, have been detected in several bat species, suggesting that bats are natural reservoirs. Here, faeces and rectal/anal-swabs were collected from 321 bats of an urban Atlantic Forest remnant from Rio de Janeiro, during 2019–2022, and screened for bat AdV nucleic acid with PCR. The positivity of bat AdVs was 3.7 % (12/321). Twelve individuals of four bat species were infected: Artibeus lituratus (66.7 %; 8/12), Desmodus rotundus (8.3 %; 1/12), Platyrrhinus lineatus (16.7 %; 2/12), and Sturnira lilium (8.3 %; 1/12). Phylogenetic analysis based on nucleotide and amino acid sequences showed that the detected bat AdVs clustered into four clades corresponding to the host species, identifying the presence of two potentially new bat adenoviruses. This is the first report of bat AdV detected in Platyrrhinus lineatus.

Propagule bank dynamics in subtropical urban forest remnants: edge effects, fragmentation and plant invasion

Propagule bank dynamics in subtropical urban forest remnants: edge effects, fragmentation and plant invasion

Using biodiversity databases to assess vascular plant diversity in Protected Areas: a case study of Parque Estadual do Forno Grande, Brazil.

The Parque Estadual do Forno Grande is a fully protected area in the southern Espírito Santo State, Brazil. It belongs to the Atlantic Forest domain, with predominantly dense, ombrophilous, seasonal semi-deciduous forests and herbaceous/shrubby vegetation on rock outcrops. The area is recognised as highly important for conservation, designated as a priority biological area for protecting the Atlantic Forest's biodiversity. Although the importance of Protected Areas in conserving the Atlantic Forest biodiversity is unquestionable, it is crucial to understand the floristic patterns within these regions to develop effective conservation strategies. We utilised national online databases to compile species lists containing relevant information about their biodiversity. The updated list of vascular plants recorded in the Parque Estadual do Forno Grande is available in the "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil" and it is presented here with further information on richness, endemism and conservation status. The Parque Estadual do Forno Grande harbours 958 species of vascular plants, of which 79.2% are angiosperms, 18.4% are ferns and 2.4% are lycophytes. Amongst these species, 44% are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. There are 58 threatened species, of which six are Critically Endangered, 39 are Endangered and 13 are Vulnerable. Amongst the threatened species, 51 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. The number of records and the species richness in this area are notably high for Atlantic Forest standards. Our findings suggest that floristic inventories of Brazilian Protected Areas are a key contribution to the general perception of how much we still do not know about our flora. It also highlights the necessity of supporting floristic surveys in poorly-known areas, especially those remaining as forest remnants.

New species and records of the treehopper genus Cyphonia (Hemiptera: Membracidae) from the northern Amazonia lowlands of Ecuador

Summary. We describe two new species of Cyphonia Laporte, 1832 from the Amazonia lowlands of Ecuador: Cyphonia dayuma Montalvo-Salazar & Karbaum n. sp. (♀) and C. kellyswingi Montalvo-Salazar & Torres n. sp. (♀). We also add two new records for Ecuador from an urban forest remnant in the Amazonia: Cyphonia clavigera (Fabricius, 1803) and C. longistyla Sakakibara, 1972. With this contribution, the number of known species of Cyphonia inhabiting Ecuador is elevated to seven. We lastly provide a key to the known Cyphonia species of Ecuador.

Two new species of the treehopper genus Enchenopa Amyot & Serville, 1843 (Hemiptera, Membracidae) from northwest Ecuador.

Enchenopa Amyot & Serville, 1843 is a diverse treehopper genus widespread across the New World. We describe two new Enchenopa species from northwest Ecuador: Enchenopagennyae sp. nov. from urban forest remnants at the foothills of the Andes cordillera and Enchenopachocoandina sp. nov. from secondary montane forests. Enchenopagennyae sp. nov. is placed in the E.biplaga species group and is distinguished by the sexual dimorphism of the pronotal horn and lateral carina shape, the straight metopidium, 2-4 accessory carinae and the whitish dorsal spot and subapical band. Enchenopachocoandina sp. nov. belongs to the E.andina species group and is diagnosed by its reddish central carina and posterior pronotal process apex, presence of an obtuse projection rather than an anterior horn, three or four irregular accessory carinae, and apical amber forewing patch. Illustrations, notes on natural history, and keys to species of the E.biplaga and E.andina species groups are also provided.

Water quality benefits of implementing Green and Blue Infrastructure in a peri-urban catchment – Case study of a Brazilian metropolis

This paper investigates the effectiveness of Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) in managing non-point source pollution in the 120 km2 catchment of the Vargem das Flores reservoir, which supplies water to 600,000 inhabitants in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, Brazil's third-largest metropolis. A calibrated water quality model within the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was used to simulate total suspended solids (TSS) and nutrients loads under different future land use scenarios. The first scenario reflects maximum urban development according to current legislation. An alternative scenario was proposed considering the protection of forest remnants and the adoption of the most cost-effective GBI techniques in newly developed areas. Results indicated a substantial contribution of diffuse pollution to the reservoir's water quality degradation, mainly due to TSS loads transported from the most urbanized subcatchments. The application of bioretention cells to treat 12.6 km2 new impervious areas effectively mitigated diffuse pollution, removing 52.1% of TSS, 19.5% of total phosphorus (TP), and 17.1% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) loads flowing into the reservoir. The GBI implementation would maintain pollutant loads similar to current levels despite the increased urbanization.

Small forest patches in West Africa: mapping how they are changing to better inform their conservation

Summary In West Africa, vast areas are being deforested; the remnant forest patches provide a wealth of ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation potential, yet they are threatened by human activity. Forest patches <100 ha have not been widely catalogued before; we mapped forest loss of small forest patches outside of protected areas in the Guinean savannah and humid Guineo-Congolian bioclimatic regions of Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon between 2000 and 2022. Focusing on the dynamics of small patches, without considering the splitting process of larger patches, we quantified changes in their number and area and the rate and trend of forest loss. Small forest patches are widespread, yet their area and number have decreased, while the forest loss rate is increasing. Primary forest patches lost almost half of their area annually – twice as much as secondary forests, and this loss was especially pronounced across small patches (0.5 – 10 ha), suggesting deforestation preferentially occurs in the smallest patches of primary forest. If forest loss continues at the current rate, 14% of the total forest area mapped in this study will have disappeared by 2032, jeopardizing their potential to provide ecosystem services and emphasizing the need for measures to counter their deforestation.

Anurans in the ecotone between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado in the Campos das Vertentes, southeast Brazil

Knowing the biodiversity of anurans in poorly studied regions, especially those in biomes declining in areaas a result of human activities, such as the Campos das Vertentes in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is essential for developing andimplementing management and conservation strategies for the biota and for monitoring environmental quality. Ourobjective was to inventory the anurans of forest remnants in an ecotonal area between Atlantic Forest and Cerrado inBarroso and Prados Municipalities, Minas Gerais, Brazil. From October 2020 to March 2021, four researchers sampledanurans during three nighttime hours over 24 days for a total of 168 person-hours. We recorded 26 anuran species (16in the Family Hylidae) in 13 genera and seven families. Forest fragments, such as those sampled, are important for theprotection of anurans but are disappearing rapidly, mostly due to conversion to agricultural activities. Reduction oreven local extinctions of anuran populations renders conservation actions urgent.

A New Species of Nealiolus Mason, 1974 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Traditional Cocoa Agroforestry and Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest.

The genus Nealiolus Mason, 1974 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Brachistinae) is recorded for the first time in the Atlantic forest remnants and traditional cocoa agroforests, Theobroma cacao (Malvaceae) in the northeastern Brazilian region. A new species Nealiolus seb Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. n. is described and named in honor of the "Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil - SEB", on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary (golden jubilee). Digital images, map and an identification key for all Brazilian species of Nealiolus are provided.

Exploring the distribution pattern of native and alien forests and their woody species diversity in a small Mediterranean city

Recent studies have explored the ecological relationship between native urban forests and self-sown non-native forests in large cities and metropolises but further research efforts dedicated to analyzing this relationship in small cities are still needed. To improve our understanding of the ecology of urban native and alien forests in Mediterranean small cities, we analyzed the woody species richness, the community-weight mean of moisture and nitrogen ecological indicators, and soil disturbance indicators in the main urban wood types of the city of Campobasso (Italy), as well as their spatial distribution pattern across a gradient of cover and aggregation of green areas. The study showed that both native oak forests and Robinia pseudoacacia forests contributed to the maintenance of woody species richness. If we exclude the riparian environment, R. pseudoacacia forests occupied small marginal patches, tolerating soil disturbance and a high disturbance frequency, thus occupying habitats where the native oak forests could not grow. Conversely, R. pseudoacacia forests shared the ecological niche with the native riparian forests, which calls for action to prevent the spread of this alien species along river banks. Our results highlighted that urban remnant forests should be considered important assets for the planning and upkeep of urban green areas.

Floristic patterns of Atlantic Forest's coastal remnants: insights to guide conservation and management

The coastal remnants of the Atlantic Forest are important sources of plant biodiversity and are a significant part of this endangered biome. Despite this, in some areas the flora is still little known, such as the Serra da Tiririca State Park (PESET), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here we used information from scientific studies and data from the REFLORA virtual herbarium to synthesize the floristic parameters relating to the taxonomic classification of species, origin, life form, substrate, endemism and threat. For PESET, a total of 1519 species have been recorded 1360 of which are native to Brazil. Four hundred and eighty-one species are endemic to the Atlantic Forest and six are endemic to PESET. The Fabaceae family and the Eugenia genus had the highest number of records (160 and 33 species, respectively). Approximately 32% of documented plant species comprise trees, while 85.78% are associated with terrestrial habitats. Seventy-nine species are threatened (CR, EN and VU), while 868 have Not Evaluated or have Deficient Data (NE and DD). When compared with other Atlantic Forest remnants, PESET surprisingly showed greater species similarity with the Serra de São José (ISs = 0.91) in the Brazilian Cerrado and less similarity with the Costa do Sol State Park (ISs = 0.59), which is geographically closer. Our approach, used at PESET, can be applied to other coastal remnants and increase the knowledge about the patterns of flora richness in the Atlantic Forest's coastal remnants and provide support for the conservation and management strategies in this biome.

A new endemic Begonia species (sect. Knesebeckia, Begoniaceae) from the south-western montane forest remnants of Ecuador

Begonia jocotocoi is a new species described from the Buenaventura Reserve in El Oro Province, south-west Ecuador. The new species morphologically resembles Begonia serotina, but differs by its minutely bullate leaf lamina (vs. smooth), the dense red long trichomes that cover the petioles and the lower surface of the leaf lamina, the latter of which distinctly become purple at maturity (vs. usually glabrous or occasionally with an indument of minute glandular white hairs and pale green below), presence of a pair of bracteoles directly beneath the pistillate flowers (vs. bracteoles absent), and the pedicels and also sometimes the abaxial surfaces of most floral whorls having a sparse cover of glandular hairs (vs. glabrous to puberulous). Photos of the new species and a distribution map are provided. Relationships with other species are discussed and the species’ preliminary conservation status is assigned as critically endangered (CR).

GPS-telemetry as a method to assess nest attendance by a female broad-snouted caiman Caiman latirostris

Crocodylians exhibit parental care, guarding their eggs during incubation to ensure offspring survival. We present the first description of nest attendance of a wild broad-snouted caiman using GPS-telemetry. During the reproductive season of 2022, we tracked a 1.8-metre female in the Tapacurá reservoir, a water source bordered by Atlantic Forest remnants and human settlements in north-eastern Brazil. Telemetry data revealed that 75.8% of the female’s position records were near the nest, suggesting parental care and nest protection. However, the female periodically returned to water. We observed no differences in proximity to the nest between day and night-time, which could be possibly related to different egg predators in the area foraging at different times of the day. Furthermore, the period when the nest was unattended could be associated with either feeding activities or avoidance of human presence. This research brings light on an important part of the reproductive behaviour of broad-snouted caimans in their natural environment, highlighting the importance of GPS-telemetry as a tool for monitoring reproductive behaviour of crocodylians, while contributing to understanding their biology under human-influenced settings. Keywords: Atlantic Forest, crocodylian, movement, parental care, reproductive biology

Linking changes in landscape structure to insect herbivory in forest edges and interiors of Atlantic Forest remnants.

Human activities have triggered profound changes in natural landscapes, resulting in species loss and disruption of pivotal ecological interactions such as insect herbivory. This antagonistic interaction is affected by complex pathways (e.g., abundance of herbivores and predators, plant chemical defenses, and resource availability), but the knowledge regarding how forest loss and fragmentation affect insect herbivory in human-modified tropical landscapes still remains poorly understood. In this context, we assessed multi-pathways by which changes in landscape structure likely influence insect herbivory in 20 Atlantic forest fragments in Brazil. Using path analysis, we estimated the direct effects of forest cover and forest edge density, and the indirect effect via canopy openness, number of understory plants and phenolic compounds, on leaf damage in understory plants located in the edge and interior of forest fragments. In particular, plants located in forest edges experienced greater leaf damage than interior ones. We observed that landscape edge density exerted a positive and direct effect on leaf damage in plants sampled at the edge of forest fragments. Our findings also indicated that forest loss and increase of edge density led to an increase in the canopy opening in the forest interior, which causes a reduction in the number of understory plants and, consequently, an increase in leaf damage. In addition, we detected that phenolic compounds negatively influence leaf damage in forest interior plants. Given the increasing forest loss in tropical regions, in which forest fragments become stranded in highly deforested, edge-dominated and degraded landscapes, our study highlights the pervasive enhancement in insect herbivory in remaining forest fragments-especially along forest edges and canopy gaps in the forest interior. As a result, increased herbivory is likely to affect forest regeneration and accelerate the ecological meltdown processes in these highly deforested and disturbed anthropogenic landscapes.

Two new species of Atatina earthworm (Rhinodrilidae, Clitellata) from the Gurupi Biological Reserve, Maranhão, Brazil

Only three species of the Atatina genus had been reported, both living distant one of another in the Amazon. Here we reported two new species for the genus living in remnant forest of the Gurupi Biological Reserve. Atatina arimikuriaka sp. nov. with three pairs of spermathecae, prostomium tentacular, and annular clitellum while Atatina arimikuritea sp. nov. has only one pair of spermathecae in IX, annular clitellum, and a smallest tubercula pubertatis. The two species are unique because the annular clitellum is contrasting with the saddle-shaped of other species.

Modeling aboveground carbon stock under the forest canopy influence

The dominance, size, and sociological position of tree species are essential components of natural forest patterns, providing critical information for understandinh forest dynamics. These patterns can be influenced by a variety of factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using spectral, hydrological, and geographical variables to estimate aboveground carbon stock (AGC) across four canopy strata, defined by diametric percentiles, in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest remnant. Our methodology, which employed machine learning techniques (Random Forest - RF + Genetic Algorithm - GA) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to model AGC, proved to be highly efficient, as evidenced by our results. We observed a wide range of AGC values, from 0.37 to 467.71 MgC.ha-1, with an average of 77.4 MgC.ha-1. Trees in the 30th, 60th, and 90th percentiles contributed, respectively, 97.32%, 87.74%, and 52.02% of the total AGC. Spectral and hydrological variables combined with basal area explain AGC stock. Our findings demonstrate the robustness of machine learning techniques and MLR methods in obtaining accurate carbon estimates and generating an optimized dataset. Trees within the 30th percentile represent a smaller portion of the total AGC, and their removal does not interfere with the relationship between AGC and spectral variables.

Herpetofauna Diversity and Habitat Use Assessment in Two Remnant Forests of Western Ecuador

Herpetofauna Diversity and Habitat Use Assessment in Two Remnant Forests of Western Ecuador