Flavio Nunes Ramos

Federal University of Alfenas | UNIFAL · Instituto de Ciências da Natureza (ICN)

Habitat loss can lead to biotic homogenization (decrease in β diversity) or differentiation (increase in β diversity) of biological communities. However, it is unclear which of these ecological processes predominates in human-modified landscapes. We used data on vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants to quantify β diversity based on species occurre...

Habitat loss can lead to biotic homogenization (decrease in β diversity) or differentiation (increase in β diversity) of biological communities. However, it is unclear which of these ecological processes predominates in human‐modified landscapes. We used data on vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants to quantify β diversity based on species occurre...

Aim Endemic species, characterised by limited geographic ranges, face a high risk of extinction. The neotropical region harbours diverse ecosystems and a substantial number of endemic species, thus identifying areas of high endemism is crucial for protecting unique and threatened species and ecosystems. Vascular epiphytes—nonparasitic plants that g...

The South America Dry Diagonal (SADD) is the most extensive and continuous portion of dry vegetation on the continent, characterised by lower rainfall and a marked dry season. Epiphytes are very poorly known and understudied in this area, even though they represent a high proportion of plant diversity in South America. Here, we compiled a dataset o...

Land cover change threatens biodiversity by reducing species richness, altering species composition, and favouring generalist species. Pasture creation can promote the loss of original species, although this loss can be mitigated by maintaining scattered trees to reduce their structural differences with forests and thus retaining a portion of regio...

The Neotropical realm hosts some of the Earth's most species-rich biodiversity hotspots, with vascular epiphytes significantly contributing to this diversity, regionally accounting for up to 39% of the vascular flora. However, many regions of the Neotropics where epi-phytic species of restricted distribution are reported coincide with threatened ec...

It is important to consider the ecological relevance of small forest fragments, especially in areas that have high deforestation rates and few inventories. We aim to describe two stratum of tree communities from small fragments of Atlantic Semideciduous Forest in a highly fragmented landscape. We inventoried all woody individuals taller than 1.3 m...

Increasing urban expansion has resulted in the decline of many natural and seminatural communities globally. However, the connectivity and genetic structure of species that survive in these urban landscapes have received little attention, especially with regard to epiphytic plants. This study aimed to describe and evaluate the connectivity and gene...

Understanding the mechanisms driving community assembly has been a major focus of ecological research for nearly a century, yet little is known about these mechanisms in commensal communities, particularly with respect to their historical/evolutionary components. Here, we use a large-scale dataset of 4,440 vascular plant species to explore the rela...

The Neotropical realm hosts some of the Earth’s most species-rich biodiversity hotspots, with vascular epiphytes significantly contributing to this diversity. However, many regions of the Neotropics where epiphytic species of restricted distribution are reported coincide with threatened ecosystems, such as the tropical montane cloud forest. Moreove...

Context Conservation strategies assume all species populations respond equally to habitat loss, but we investigated sensitivity patterns and tested two hypotheses: 1) equal sensitivity across the range or environmental suitability, and (2) highest sensitivity in range edge populations or at low environmental suitability. We also evaluated if specie...

Climatic niches are key factors driving global and regional species distributions. The Atlantic Forest domain is considered one of the most threatened biomes in the world, and one of the main centres of plant diversity and endemism in the Neotropics. Of the over 13,000 species of vascular plants, nearly 15% are vascular epiphytes. Here we analysed...

Tillandsia recurvata L. may show morphophysiological plasticity in response to radiation availability, since this species is found in different environments. This work aimed to evaluate the anatomical and physiological modifications of T. recurvata isolated individuals under different shading levels and the consequences of these changes on the grow...

Encounters between flowers and invertebrates are key events for the functioning of tropical forests. Assessing the structure of networks composed of the interactions between those partners leads to a better understanding of ecosystem functioning and the effects of environmental factors on ecological processes. Gathering such data is, however, costl...

Understanding the response of seed rain and seed bank to landscape changes is critical for maintaining the forest remnants integrity and the potential for natural regeneration in abandoned lands. Ecological research typically focuses on direct responses of these seed processes (i.e., seed rain and seed bank), without considering the relationship be...

Distribution data sharing in global databases (e.g. GBIF) allowed the knowledge synthesis in several biodiversity areas. However, their Wallacean shortfalls still reduce our capacity to understand distribution patterns. Including exclusive records from other databases, such as national ones (e.g. SpeciesLink), could mitigate these shortfall problem...

Background Plants develop mechanisms that confer tolerance to sun or shade exposure and the knowledge of their responses may help to devise strategies for the conservation of natural populations and their propagation. Aims We study the effect of shading on the ecophysiology and anatomy of Epiphyllum phyllanthus to determine its plasticity and tole...

Forest canopies are incredibly complex self-maintaining biological structures. Conditions above and within the canopy can differ vastly, often resulting in a vertical gradient of microclimate conditions. Canopy epiphytic plants have to deal with climatic variability on much more variable scales compared to many other plant groups. The difficulty of...

Increasing urban expansion has resulted in the decline of many natural and semi-natural communities globally. However, the connectivity and genetic structure of species that survive in these urban landscapes has received little attention, especially with regard to epiphytic plants. The aims of this study were to 1) investigate how an urban landscap...

Ants, an ecologically successful and numerically dominant group of animals, play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, nutrient recyclers, and regulators of plant growth and reproduction in most terrestrial ecosystems. Further, ants are widely used as bioindicators of the ecological impact of land use. We gathered information of ant sp...

Plant functional traits impact the fitness and environmental niche of plants. Major plant functional types have been characterized by their trait spectrum, and the environmental and phylogenetic imprints on traits have advanced several ecological fields. Yet, very few trait data on epiphytes, which represent almost 10% of vascular plants, are avail...

Bamboos, abundant in tropical forests, have high potential to dominate disturbed areas due to their high vegetative growth rate and preference for disturbed habitats. However, there are no studies exploring the influence of forest patch characteristics and anthropogenic land-use on bamboo populations. We investigated the influence of landscape matr...

Species distribution data are essential to understanding and protecting biodiversity against current human threats. However, biodiversity knowledge is unevenly distributed geographically and needs to be evaluated to target deficient knowledge locations and support conservation planning. In this study, we intend to assess the inventory completeness...

Environmental characteristics are among the most important triggers and regulators of plant phenophases, so that the abiotic and biotic changes driven by habitat loss and fragmentation can result in alterations of plant phenological patterns. We investigated whether forest edge and interior have differences in phenological pattern of tree communiti...

Environmental characteristics are among the most important triggers and regulators of plant phenophases, so that the abiotic and biotic changes driven by habitat loss and fragmentation can result in alterations of plant phenological patterns. We investigated whether forest edge and interior have differences in phenological pattern of tree communiti...

PREMISE: Epiphytes have commensal relationships with their host trees. Besides the influence of tree traits, little has been discussed concerning the ecology of epiphytes in disturbed habitats (e.g., pasture). We herein tested whether the occurrences of pasture and forest specialist epiphytes in pastures are affected differently by tree traits. We...

Epiphytes are plants that germinate and root non-parasitically on other plants, without contact with the soil. They are hyper-diverse and comprise approximately 9% of all vascular plant species. We discuss here vascular epiphytes growing in the Atlantic Forest, focusing on (i) their diversity, the number of epiphyte species, and the main groups and...

We investigated morpho-physiological plasticity in the leaves of Ocotea odorifera trees growing under different environmental conditions in a fragmented forest. Microclimatic data were collected in a pasture matrix, forest edge, and forest interior in three Atlantic Forest fragments. Leaf gas exchange, as well as leaf anatomy in paradermal and tran...

Vascular epiphytes are a diverse and conspicuous component of biodiversity in tropical and subtropical forests. Still, the patterns and drivers of epiphyte assemblages are poorly studied in comparison to soil‐rooted plants. Our current knowledge about diversity patterns of epiphytes mainly stems from local studies or floristic inventories, but this...

Habitat destruction is the single greatest anthropogenic threat to biodiversity. Decades of research on this issue have led to the accumulation of hundreds of data sets comparing species assemblages in larger, intact, habitats to smaller, more fragmented, habitats. Despite this, little synthesis or consensus has been achieved, primarily because of...

Urban tree cover has important environmental and social functions and can act as ecological refuges. The objective of the present study was to investigate the taxonomic and functional diversities of urban plant communities in Alfenas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. We sampled all trees DBH ≥ 3 cm in eight different urban green areas, recording 1,138 i...

Epiphytes are hyper‐diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non‐vas...

The establishment of agricultural matrices generally involves deforestation, which leads to fragmentation of the remaining forest. This fragmentation can affect forest dynamics both positively and negatively. Since most animal species are affected, certain groups can be used to measure the impact of such fragmentation. This study aimed to measure t...

Rarefaction curve. Lines in red are agricultural matrices and the green lines are the forest fragments. (DOCX)

Numbers of each ant species sampled at the various locations. (XLSX)

The epiphytes occurrence is influenced by a complex variables conjunct. Phorophyte traits and seed source dependence act together in epiphyte assemblage composition. For being the opposite of forest habitat, the pasture can be most harsher to forest species. However, isolated trees can make the pasture less severe, for providing microclimate more s...

Species distribution models have been intensively used in recent years to understand the processes behind the spatial patterns of potential species habitats. However, this approach has received some criticism, mainly because landscape metrics are neglected. Here, we tested the relative impact of landscape predictors in the accuracy of habitat model...

Vascular epiphytes are an important and diverse plant assemblage in tropical rainforests and it accountings for about 10% of all world flora. Due to their aerial condition they are particularly sensitive to the effects of environmental modifications caused by anthropogenic activities. Currently, forest fragmentation has been described as one of the...

With about 10% of all vascular flora, the epiphytes present great influence on the dynamics of tropical forests, acting as a source of canopy fauna resources. Due to their way of life, anthropic disturbances are more susceptible. Fragmentation is a set of landscape modifications, resulting in isolated habitat patches in an anthropic matrix that can...

Diversity analysis by partition is an approach employed in order to understand how communities spatially structure themselves and the factors that operate in the generation and maintenance of distribution patterns. We examined the spatial structure of species diversity of four taxonomic groups, with different dispersal abilities, in 16 forest fragm...

Abiotic and biotic changes caused by forest fragmentation have led to the decline of many plant species. We sought to investigate how biotic (liana and bamboo cover) and abiotic (soil moisture, litter depth, and canopy openness) factors affect the total abundance and the numbers of individuals of Psychotria vellosiana Benth. at each stage of its li...

Species homogenization or floristic differentiation are two possible consequences of the fragmentation process in plant communities. Despite the few studies, it seems clear that fragments with low forest cover inserted in anthropogenic matrices are more likely to experience floristic homogenization. However, the homogenization process has two other...

(XLSX)

Accepted The fragmentation process has many negative effects on communities, particularly for plants. This process can generate two distinct scenarios: homogenization of species composition, due to assemblage nestedness, or flora differentiation, due to spatial species turnover. The aim of this study was to answer the following: (a) Is the tree can...

Pasture and crop lands restrict seed dispersal near remnant forest fragments, especially by restricting the movements of dispersal agents and limiting propagule dispersal. However, some factors can improve seed dispersal in open areas, such as the presence of high numbers of isolated trees in close proximity to forest fragments. We sought to determ...

Criação: 27 de outubro de 2014 Titular(es): FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE MINAS GERAIS-FAPEMIG (21.949.888/0001-83) UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE ALFENAS (17.879.859/0001-15) Autor(es): CLlBSON ALVES DOS SANTOS (788.980.801-15) FLÁVIO NUNES RAMOS (073.122.687-90) GABRIEL GERBER HORNINK (220.828.798-36) LUCAS FALONI FERREIRA (065.355.446-05)...

Tropical forests have a high level of habitat loss, suffering an intensive process of forest fragmentation. The increasing pressure of farming and cattle ranching is one of the main causes of this problem, influencing the animal community by the environmental homogenization. To understand the impact of this homogenization on the native community st...

For butterflies, tolerance to the matrix may be an important criterion of habitat occurrence in fragmented landscapes. Here we examine the relative effects of habitat fragmentation and the surrounding agricultural matrix on the functional composition of fruit-feeding butterflies of the Atlantic rain forest in southeastern Brazil. Generalized linear...

For butterflies, tolerance to the matrix may be an important criterion of habitat occurrence in fragmented landscapes. Here we examine the relative effects of habitat fragmentation and the surrounding agricultural matrix on the functional composition of fruit-feeding butterflies of the Atlantic rain forest in southeastern Brazil. Generalized linear...

We evaluated the ontogeny of the understory shrub Psychotria tenuinervisMüll.Arg., considering morphological and morphometric characters. Four ontogenetic stages were identified: seedling, juvenile, immature and adult (vegetative and reproductive phases). Size measurements and allometric relationships of the stem and crown were compared between the...

The aim of this study was to evaluate Syagrus romanzoffiana (Arecaceae) (1) reproductive phenology, (2) seed dispersal and (3) seed predation in a highly fragmented landscape. Over a 24-month period, we recorded flowering and fruiting events, proportions of fallen fruit infested by insects, as well as seed dispersal and seed predation by squirrels....

The aim of this study was to evaluate Syagrus romanzoffiana (Arecaceae) (1) reproductive phenology, (2) seed dispersal and (3) seed predation in a highly fragmented landscape. Over a 24-month period, we recorded flowering and fruiting events, proportions of fallen fruit infested by insects, as well as seed dispersal and seed predation by squirrels....

Lianas interagem de forma negativa com as árvores, uma vez que aumentam suas taxas de mortalidade. Seria esperado, portanto, que árvores apresentassem possíveis caracteres que as defenderiam contra lianas. O objetivo desse estudo foi testar se os seguintes caracteres das árvores limitam sua infestação por lianas: 1) baixa altura; 2) tronco com rami...

Lianas (woody climbers) interact negatively with trees, increasing their mortality rates. We expect, therefore, that trees have developed supposed traits that would defend them against lianas. The aim of this paper was test if these tree traits limit their liana occupation: 1) smaller height; 2) taller free bole height; 3) smooth bark; 4) exfoliati...

Despite landscape-level changes in fruit quantity, food resources may be constantly available to frugiv-orous animals if they track asynchronous fruit peaks. To investigate fruit availability patterns and their consequences on bird abundance, we tested for the occurrence of seasonal patterns in fruit production at three elevations (range 500e1000 m...

Small mammals seem to be affected by edge effects, hence understanding the local dynamics of these populations is important to assess the risks to which they are exposed. The objective of this study was to compare population size, sex ratio and home range size of the rodent Akodon montensis (Cricetidae) between the edge and interior of an Atlantic...

The purpose of this study was to examine if germination is a critical phase on Enterolobium glaziovii regeneration. Hence, the germinative response of E. glaziovii seeds was investigated in relation to some of the main environmental factors (temperature, light and water stress) to which its seeds are subjected in the forest, as well as its dormancy...

Habitat fragmentation may cause functional disruption in seed dispersal, if the disperser species become locally extinct in the fragments. However during the fragmentation process, there is empirical evidence of replacement of specialist by generalist species, and these generalist species could also replace the functional activity of the specialist...

Small mammals seem to be affected by edge effects, hence understanding the local dynamics of these populations is important to assess the risks to which they are exposed. The objective of this study was to compare population size, sex ratio and home range size of the rodent Akodon montensis (Cricetidae) between the edge and interior of an Atlantic...

The regeneration of fragments and adjacent landscape depends on, among others factors, seedling establishment, both in the interior and at the edge. This work considers differences between the edge and fragment interior in (1) environmental descriptors (canopy openness, temperature, soil moisture, bamboo and liana coverage and litterfall), (2) the...

The purpose of this study was to examine if germination is a critical phase on Enterolobium glaziovii regeneration. Hence, the germinative response of E. glaziovii seeds was investigated in relation to some of the main environmental factors (temperature, light and water stress) to which its seeds are subjected in the forest, as well as its dormancy...

The tree species Guarea guidonea (Meliaceae) belongs to a predominantly tropical family, being largely found in natural or anthropic forest fragments within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Aiming to develop future studies on the genetic structure of plant species from forests fragments, eleven microsatellite markers were developed for Guarea guidoni...

Approximately 7.2% of the Atlantic rainforest remains in Brazil, with only 16% of this forest remaining in the State of Rio de Janeiro, all of it distributed in fragments. This forest fragmentation can produce biotic and abiotic differences between edges and the fragment interior. In this study, we compared the structure and richness of tree commun...