Helder Lima Queiroz

• PhD, Environmental and Evolutionary Biology
• Senior Researcher at Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá

Plants cope with the environment by displaying large phenotypic variation. Two spectra of global plant form and function have been identified: a size spectrum from small to tall species with increasing stem tissue density, leaf size, and seed mass; a leaf economics spectrum reflecting slow to fast returns on investments in leaf nutrients and carbon...

Unlike most rivers globally, nearly all lowland Amazonian rivers have unregulated flow, supporting seasonally flooded floodplain forests. Floodplain forests harbor a unique tree species assemblage adapted to flooding and specialized fauna, including fruit-eating fish that migrate seasonally into floodplains, favoring expansive floodplain areas....

Leaf and wood functional traits of trees are related to growth, reproduction, and survival, but the degree of phylogenetic conservatism in these relationships is largely unknown. In this study, we describe the variability of strategies involving leaf, wood and demographic characteristics for tree genera distributed across the Amazon Region, and qua...

We describe the geographical variation in tree species composition across Amazonian forests and show how environmental conditions are associated with species turnover. Our analyses are based on 2023 forest inventory plots (1 ha) that provide abundance data for a total of 5188 tree species. Within-plot species composition reflected both local enviro...

Amazonia’s floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree...

Conservation funding is currently limited; cost-effective conservation solutions are essential. We suggest that the thousands of field stations worldwide can play key roles at the frontline of biodiversity conservation and have high intrinsic value. We assessed field stations’ conservation return on investment and explored the impact of COVID-19. W...

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated w...

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we inve...

ARTICLE Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by fore...

Indigenous societies are known to have occupied the Amazon basin for more than 12,000 years, but the scale of their influence on Amazonian forests remains uncertain. We report the discovery, using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) information from across the basin, of 24 previously undetected pre-Columbian earthworks beneath the forest canopy. Mo...

Graphical abstract Highlights d Ecological metadata were compiled for 7,694 sites across the Brazilian Amazon d Accessibility and proximity to research facilities influenced research probability d Knowledge gaps are greater in uplands than in wetlands and aquatic habitats d Undersampled areas overlap predicted hotspots of climate change and defores...

In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important...

Aim To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser‐avail...

Monitoring of the ecological and social, including economic aspects of uses of wild species is critical for sustainable use. Progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets is assessed using global indicators, however to date, there is not a comprehensive set of global indicators able to monitor statu...

Aim: Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroeco...

Saimiri are neotropical primates with seasonal reproduction, males develop a seasonal fattening condition that has been suggested as a pre-copulatory sexual selection strategy. Furthermore, females mate with multiple males in the same season. This could also favor the evolution of a postcopulatory sexual strategy by sperm competition. In this study...

Critical thermal maximum (CTmax) is often used as an index of upper thermal tolerance in fishes; however, recent studies have shown that some fishes exhibit agitation or avoidance behavior well before the CTmax is reached. In this study, we quantified behavioral changes during CTmax trials in two Amazonian cichlids, Apistogramma agassizii and Meson...

The neotropical primate family Pitheciidae consists of four genera Cacajao (uacaris), Callicebus (titis), Chiropotes (bearded sakis) and Pithecia (sakis), whose 40+ species display a range of sizes, social organisations, ecologies and habitats. Few are well known and the future survival of many is threatened, yet pitheciines have been little studie...

Globally, community-based initiatives are effective in protecting ecosystems and the species within them. In this paper, we analyze the emergence and large-scale expansion of a community-based environmental protection system (the Voluntary Environmental Agents Program-VEA Program) in the Brazilian Amazon and identify factors that have determined it...

Length-weight relationships (LWRs) were estimated for 16 ornamental fish species from Amanã Lake and nine tributary streams, in Central Brazilian Amazonia. Sampling was carried out bimonthly for a year (2007–2008), using two sets of four gillnets (20 m × 2 m, 2,5; 3,5; 04; 4,5 cm stretch mesh size); trawls were performed with seine nets (35 m × 6 m...

This species is listed as Endangered, given that its entire range is confined to one location within an area of occupancy of 870 km², which is split into three geographically isolated subpopulations with no demographic or genetic exchange: Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Capucho and Tarará islands. Although this protected area is well man...

In a time of rapid global change, the question of what determines patterns in species abundance distribution remains a priority for understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems. The constrained maximization of information entropy provides a framework for the understanding of such complex systems dynamics by a quantitative analysis of important...

This study aimed to evaluate the spatial and seasonal variability of ichthyoplankton, in addition to verifying the predominant composition and reproductive strategy of the species identified in the middle Solimões and lower Japurá rivers, in the vicinity of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve-MSDR, Central Amazon. The collections were carr...

The present study reviews the records of occurrences of fish species found in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR). The reserve is located in a large section of the middle Solimões River basin, in its interflow with Japurá River. For the elaboration of the list of fish species occurring in Mamirauá Reserve, we used a database of diff...

Introdução planeta passa por diferentes crises que se entrelaçam na dimensão am-biental, econômica, de saúde, e são agravadas pela crise de governança. Mas tantas crises simultâneas também oferecem à humanidade a rara oportunidade de redirecionar seus esforços de desenvolvimento para um modelo que seja mais sustentável, com menor utilização de comb...

Seguranças alimentar, hídrica e energética; rendas e modo de vida; saúde; dimensão imaterial da qualidade de vida; identidade e continuidade cultural; contribuição dos povos indígenas e de comunidades tradicionais para a agrobiodiversidade e o delineamento de paisagens no território brasileiro; e biocapacidade e pegada ecológica.

O estudo objetivou analisar a composição e a diversidade das assembleias de juvenis de peixes associadas às macrófitas aquáticas em lagos e canais de várzea na Amazônia Central. As amostragens foram realizadas durante os anos de 2010 e 2011, no médio Solimões, com o uso de um peneirão retangular (1,5 x 1,0 m e malhagem de 500 µm). Foram capturados...

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia...

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia...

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia...

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia...

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia...

By promoting the biological recruitment of relevant natural resources, wetlands offer a major ecosystem service. This study investigates the importance of wetland habitats of the central Amazon basin as sites for spawning and/or initial development of seven of the most important commercial Characiforms fish species. In order to confirm this importa...

Arapaima is a widely-distributed fish of enormous economic importance in the Amazon region. In the present study, a total of 232 specimens were sampled, 121 from five sites in the Amazon basin and 111 from five sites in the Tocantins-Araguaia basin. The analyses investigated fragments of the Cytochrome b, Control Region, Cytochrome Oxidase I, NADH...

Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such “monodominant” forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tr...

governança oficial da biodiversidade e dos serviços ecossistêmicos no Brasil é bipolar: por um lado, instituições fortes e capazes; por outro, problemas infraestruturais, processos lentos, ineficiência nas ações e conflitos jurídicos e socioecológicos. O Brasil dispõe de uma variedade de instrumentos de política e de opções de governança socioambie...

Distribuição de larvas de Brycon amazonicus (Pisces: Bryconidae) no entorno da Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá: base ecológica para manejo A conservação dos recursos pesqueiros no médio Amazonas está relacionada ao conhecimento acerca dos seus estoques pesqueiros mais importantes, incluindo também o conhecimento sobre os padrões de...

Population monitoring of endangered species is essential to the improvement of their management and conservation plans. The black-headed squirrel monkey (Saimiri vanzolinii) is a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List and has extreme geographical endemism, exhibiting the smallest known distribution among Neotropical primates (ca. 870 km2 ), over 9...

Distribuição de larvas de Brycon amazonicus (Pisces, Bryconidae) no entorno da Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá: base ecológica para manejo A conservação dos recursos pesqueiros no médio Amazonas está relacionada ao conhecimento acerca dos seus estoques pesqueiros mais importantes, incluindo também o conhecimento sobre os padrões de...

Chapter 6 on "Options for governance and decision-making across scales and sectors" is part of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for the Americas of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

We determined the filtered tree species pool of Amazonian wetland forests, based on confirmed occurrence records, to better understand how tree diversity in wetland environments compares to tree diversity in the entire Amazon region. The tree species pool was determined using data from two main sources: 1) a compilation of published tree species li...

Reference list for reviewed tree species lists. (XLSX)

List of herbaria available on SpeciesLink that contributed with records. (XLSX)

Checklist of the Amazonian wetlands tree species pool. (XLSX)

Integration between ecology and biogeography provides insights into how niche specialization affects the geographical distribution of species. Given that rivers are not effective barriers to dispersal in three parapatric species of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri vanzolinii, S. cassiquiarensis and S. macrodon) inhabiting floodplain forests of Central Ama...

Apistogramma agassizii is a dwarf cichlid species endemic of the Amazon basin, about which there is little biological and ecological information in their natural habitat, despite their ornamental importance. This study evaluated the populacional structure A. agassizii at Amana Sustainable Development Reserve, Middle Solimões basin, Amazonas, Brazil...

The reproductive parameters are among the most important life history aspects of fishes influenced by environmental variation. During recent years, the main life history strategies of Amazonian fish species were defined mostly by a set of reproductive parameters. In the present work, we sought to describe important life history parameters, in parti...

In many regions primates are an important dietary resource for isolated human populations, and they are among the most hunted species by traditional and indigenous communities in the Neotropics. Little is known about the characteristics or the spatial and temporal patterns of hunting, which limits a more detailed evaluation of its impact. We descri...

Seasonal changes in food availability influence the behavior and diet of primates, and an understanding of dietary changes is important for the development of informed conservation plans. Saimiri vanzolinii is a small-bodied, omnivorous squirrel monkey endemic to the floodplain forests in Central Amazonia. It has a restricted distribution of only c...

We describe morphological and morphometrical characteristics of preantral ovarian follicles from three recently recognized Saimiri species: S. macrodon, S. cassiquiarensis and S. vanzolinii; the last one a threatened species. Ovaries from four adult monkeys were evaluated: one pair from a pregnant S. macrodon, two ovarian pairs from S. cassiquiaren...

The spatio-temporal patterns of three species of Prochilodontidae larvae that are intensely used as fishery resources in Central Amazonia are analysed. Sampling was conducted during 2011 at four stages of the hydrological cycle (flood, high water, falling and low water phases). Sixteen collecting stations were located in different habitats (mouths...

Morphological information on the reproductive system allows the understanding of ecological and behavioural aspects of different species as well as supports the development of conservational strategies. Unfortunately, for many species, not enough relevant and precise information is available. In the present study, we describe for the first time the...

Ovarian agenesis is an unusual anomaly with traumatic or congenital origin. In the present case report, we describe our findings in a senile S. vanzolinii female. As this neotropical primate species is listed as vulnerable, with limited geographic distribution in the Brazilian Amazonia, ovarian agenesis may be an important finding to be reported.

In the present study, we aimed to assess the influence of different social contexts on the seminal coagulation and sperm quality in captive tufted capuchin monkeys. For this, males were housed either individually, in mixed-sex groups (with females), or in male-only groups. Monkeys were housed in cages and each cage type (i.e., individual or group c...

Aim Our aim was to examine gracile capuchin ( Cebus ) and robust capuchin monkey ( Sapajus ) diversification, with a focus on recent Sapajus expansion within Amazonia. We wanted to reconstruct the biogeographical history of the clade using statistical methods that model lineages’ occupation of different regions over time in order to evaluate recent...

Sperm morphometry can be applied to identify different animal groups and species and to evaluate sperm quality. Furthermore, knowledge on species-specific differences will help to enhance biological information, as well as to develop efficient reproductive technologies. The aims in the present study were to describe sperm morphometry from the recen...

Apistogramma agassizii is a dwarf cichlid species endemic of the Amazon basin, about which there is little biological and ecological information in their natural habitat, despite their ornamental importance. This study evaluated the populacional structure A. agassizii at Amana Sustainable Development Reserve, Middle Solimões basin, Amazonas, Brazil...

HOMOGENEIDADE GENÉTICA DE Symphysodon tarzoo (PERCIFORMES: CICHLIDAE) NO LAGO AMANÃ, AMAZONAS, BRASIL RESUMO: Análises para verificar os níveis de conectividade genética de populações são de extrema relevância para subsidiar políticas públicas visando o gerenciamento pesqueiro a fim de garantir o manejo e a conservação desses recursos. O sequenciam...

RESUMO: Análises para verificar os níveis de conectividade genética de populações são de extrema relevância para subsidiar políticas públicas visando o gerenciamento pesqueiro a fim de garantir o manejo e a conservação desses recursos. O sequenciamento de fragmento do DNA mitocondrial foi utilizado visando analisar a estrutura genética de populaçõe...

A caça de subsistência é uma atividade de grande importância para diversas populações tropicais em todo o mundo, principalmente como fonte proteica alimentar. No entanto, a maioria dos trabalhos sobre caça e os modelos mais utilizados para a avaliação deste recurso não levam em consideração os seus padrões espaciais desconsiderando a sua distribuiç...