Jose Carlos Morante-Filho

Birds perform several ecological roles for ecosystem functioning and generate great benefits for human population in some circumstances. However, environmental disturbances, mostly due to anthropogenic actions, have caused a decrease of bird diversity and can lead to the loss of their functions in the remaining habitats. Here, we conducted a scientific literature review to understand the general trends on the ecosystem functions executed by birds and the possible effects of environmental disturbances on them. Our research was conducted in September 2016 in Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science databases, which returned 154 papers that targeted the importance of birds to the ecosystems’ maintenance. Among the studies (n = 99) that effectively assessed the ecological role of bird species, most were conducted in natural habitats (n = 63), and the most evaluated function was invertebrate population control (n = 70). About 58% of the publications related some environmental characteristic to the ecological function, but patch and landscape-scaled factors were poorly investigated. Furthermore, 52% of the papers showed that the ecological function of birds can arise from a cascade effect on other trophic levels, though this may depend on the environmental characteristics. Despite the numerous studies in the ornithology field, the ecological roles of birds in several ecosystems are still poorly understood. Future research should consider others ecological functions mediated by birds, such as disease control, and must take different spatial scales and human modification of habitats into consideration, enabling generalizations based on ecosystem type and landscape composition variation.

1. Tropical forest loss can drive the extinction of forest-dependent species. Yet, non-forest species can proliferate in deforested landscapes, thus enabling community-level attributes (e.g., total abundance and richness) to be maintained in the remaining forest patches. Such compensatory dynamics have been, however, poorly investigated regarding the phylogenetic dimension of species diversity. Here, we assessed whether compensatory dynamics can stabilize the phylogenetic richness, divergence and structure of bird communities in response to forest loss in two regions in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, each under with different levels of land use intensification. 2. We surveyed birds in 40 forest sites, and assessed the response of five phylogenetic metrics to forest cover measured in local (600-m radius) landscapes. We separately assessed the entire community, forest-dependent and non-forest-dependent species and used information-theoretic criteria to assess the effect of forest cover on each response variable. In particular, we evaluated the plausibility of four models: a null model (no effect of forest cover), a linear model, a power law model (nonlinear effect), and an analysis of covariance model (to assess whether the effect of forest cover differed between regions). 3. Forest cover varied from 7% to 98%, and was positively related to the phylogenetic richness of forest-dependent species, but negatively related to the phylogenetic richness and divergence of non-forest birds, particularly in the more disturbed region. As consequence, the phylogenetic richness and divergence of the entire community were weakly related to forest cover. 4. Forest birds were less phylogenetically clustered in sites surrounded by lower forest cover, but the phylogenetic structure of non-forest birds was independent of forest cover. 5. Synthesis and applications. The phylogenetic impoverishment of forest-dependent birds is offset by the phylogenetic enrichment and divergence of non-forest-dependent birds in severely tropical deforested landscapes. These compensatory dynamics suggest that both bird groups are important for safeguarding bird evolutionary diversity in human-modified landscapes. Although deforested landscapes are reservoirs of bird phylogenetic diversity, suggesting that ecosystem functioning may be maintained in these sites, preventing further deforestation is urgently needed to preserve forest birds and their key ecological roles in the ecosystem.

Forest loss threatens biodiversity, but its potential effects on multitrophic ecological interactions are poorly understood. Insect herbivory depends on complex bottom-up (e.g., resource availability and plant antiherbivore defenses) and top-down forces (e.g., abundance of predators and herbivorous), but its determinants in human-altered tropical landscapes are largely unknown. Using structural equation models, we assessed the direct and indirect effects of forest loss on insect herbivory in 40 landscapes (115 ha each) from two regions with contrasting land-use change trajectories in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. We considered landscape forest cover as an exogenous predictor, and (i) forest structure, (ii) abundance of predators (birds and arthropods), and (iii) abundance of herbivorous arthropods as endogenous predictors of insect leaf damage. From 12 predicted pathways, 11 were significant and showed that (i) leaf damage increases with forest loss (direct effect); (ii) leaf damage increases with forest loss through the simplification of vegetation structure and its associated dominance of herbivorous insects (indirect effect); and further demonstrate (iii) a lack of top-down control of herbivores by predators (birds and arthropods). We conclude that forest loss favors insect herbivory by undermining the bottom-up control (presumably reduced plant antiherbivore defense mechanisms) in forests dominated by fast-growing pioneer plant species, and by improving the conditions required for herbivores proliferation.

1.Biodiversity maintenance in human-altered landscapes (HALs) depends on the species turnover among localities, but the patterns and determinants of β-diversity in HALs are poorly known. In fact, declines, increases, and neutral shifts in β-diversity have all been documented, depending on the landscape, ecological group and spatial scale of analysis. 2.We shed some light on this controversy by assessing the patterns and predictors of bird β-diversity across multiple spatial scales considering forest specialist and habitat generalist bird assemblages. 3.We surveyed birds from 144 point counts in 36 different forest sites across two landscapes with different amount of forest cover in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. We analysed β-diversity among points, among sites, and between landscapes with multiplicative diversity partitioning of Hill numbers. We tested whether β-diversity among points was related to within-site variations in vegetation structure, and if β-diversity among sites was related to site location and/or to differences among sites in vegetation structure and landscape composition (i.e. percent forest and pasture cover surrounding each site). 4.β-diversity between landscapes was lower than among sites and among points in both bird assemblages. In forest specialist birds, the landscape with less forest cover showed the highest β-diversity among sites (bird differentiation among sites), but generalist birds showed the opposite pattern. At the local scale, however, the less forested landscape showed the lowest β-diversity among points (bird homogenisation within sites), independently of the bird assemblage. β-diversity among points was weakly related to vegetation structure, but higher β-diversity values were recorded among sites that were more isolated from each other, and among sites with higher differences in landscape composition, particularly in the less forested landscape. 5.Our findings indicate that patterns of bird β-diversity vary across scales and are strongly related to landscape composition. Bird assemblages are shaped by both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation, particularly in less forested landscapes. Conservation and management strategies should therefore prevent deforestation in this biodiversity hotspot.

Habitat loss is the dominant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in terrestrial environments. In this study, we used an a priori classification of bird species based on their dependence on native forest habitats (forest-specialist and habitat generalists) and specific food resources (frugivores and insectivores) to evaluate their responses to forest cover reduction in landscapes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. From the patch-landscapes approach, we delimited 40 forest sites, and quantified the percentage of native forest within a 2 km radius around the center of each site (from 6 - 85%). At each site, we sampled birds using the point-count method. We used a null model, a generalized linear model and a four-parameter logistic model to evaluate the relationship between richness and abundance of the bird groups and the native forest amount. A piecewise model was then used to determine the threshold value for bird groups that showed nonlinear responses. The richness and abundance of the bird community as a whole were not affected by changes in forest cover in this region. However, a decrease in forest cover had a negative effect on diversity of forest-specialist, frugivorous and insectivorous birds, and a positive effect on generalist birds. The species richness and abundance of all ecological groups were nonlinearly related to forest reduction and showed similar threshold values, i.e., there were abrupt changes in individuals and species numbers when forest amount was less than approximately 50%. Forest sites within landscapes with forest cover that was less than 50% contained a different bird species composition than more extensively forested sites and had fewer forest-specialist species and higher beta-diversity. Our study demonstrated the pervasive effect of forest reduction on bird communities in one of the most important hotspots for bird conservation and shows that many vulnerable species require extensive forest cover to persist.

Context The increase of areas destined for tree plantations worldwide, combined with a reduction in native habitats, has generated a growing debate about the capacity of these production systems in maintaining biodiversity. Indeed, tree plantations’ landscape context and local vegetation structure can affect biological diversity. Objectives To assess the influence of landscape and local variables on multiple facets of bird diversity in eucalypt plantations distributed in Atlantic Forest landscapes Methods Using Generalized Additive Models, we assessed the effects of landscape (i.e. forest cover, pasture cover, number of forest fragments and edge density) and local variables (i.e. number of understory plants, native trees, perches, understory layer height and mean diameter at breast height) on bird taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic richness and diversity. Results Only the number of forest fragments and understory plants showed a significant effect on the different facets of bird diversity. Taxonomic and functional diversities, and phylogenetic richness were negatively influenced by the number of forest fragments in the landscape. Conversely, taxonomic richness and diversity, functional diversity, and phylogenetic richness were positively influenced by the number of plants in the understory of the eucalypt plantations. Conclusion To maintain multiple facets of bird diversity in anthropic landscapes, we reinforce the need to avoid fragmenting the existing forest remnants in the landscape and ensure the presence of understory vegetation in eucalypt plantations.

Landscape-scale deforestation poses a major threat to global biodiversity, not only because it causes habitat loss, but also because it can drive the degradation of remaining habitat. However, the multiple pathways by which deforestation directly and indirectly affects wildlife remains poorly understood, especially for elusive forest-dependent species such as arboreal mammals. Using structural equation models, we assessed the direct and indirect effects of landscape forest loss on arboreal mammal assemblages in the Lacandona rainforest, Mexico. We placed camera traps in 100 canopy trees, and assessed the direct effect of forest cover and their indirect effects via changes in tree basal area and canopy openness on the abundance and diversity (i.e. species richness and exponential of Shannon entropy) of arboreal mammals. We found that forest loss had negative indirect effects on mammal richness through the increase of tree canopy openness. This could be related to the fact that canopy openness is usually inversely related to resource availability and canopy connectivity for arboreal mammals. Furthermore, independently of forest loss, the abundance and richness of arboreal mammals was positively related to tree basal area, which is typically higher in old-growth forests. Thus, our findings suggest that arboreal mammals generally prefer old-growth vegetation with relatively low canopy openness and high tree basal area. However, unexpectedly, forest loss was directly and positively related to the abundance and richness of mammals, probably due to a crowding effect – a reasonable possibility given the relatively short history (~40 years) of deforestation in the study region. Conversely, the Shannon diversity was not affected by the predictors we evaluated, suggesting that rare mammals (not the common species) are the ones most affected by these changes. All in all, our findings emphasize that conservation measures ought to focus on increasing forest cover in the landscape, and preventing the loss of large trees in the remaining forest patches.

Species interactions can propagate disturbances across space via direct and indirect effects, potentially connecting species at a global scale. However, ecological and biogeographic boundaries may mitigate this spread by demarcating the limits of ecological networks. We tested whether large-scale ecological boundaries (ecoregions and biomes) and human disturbance gradients increase dissimilarity among plant-frugivore networks, while accounting for background spatial and elevational gradients and differences in network sampling. We assessed network dissimilarity patterns over a broad spatial scale, using 196 quantitative avian frugivory networks (encompassing 1496 plant and 1004 bird species) distributed across 67 ecoregions, 11 biomes, and 6 continents. We show that dissimilarities in species and interaction composition, but not network structure, are greater across ecoregion and biome boundaries and along different levels of human disturbance. Our findings indicate that biogeographic boundaries delineate the world’s biodiversity of interactions and likely contribute to mitigating the propagation of disturbances at large spatial scales.

Understanding how biological communities respond to human-caused landscape disturbances is urgently needed to identify optimal spatial scenarios for preserving biodiversity in anthropogenic landscapes. Forest loss is increasingly cited as a major disturbance in these landscapes, but its impact on biodiversity in mountain regions with high endemism is not well understood. Here we evaluated how bird species diversity responds to forest loss in ‘La Montaña’ mountain region of Guerrero State, Mexico. We separately assessed the complete bird assemblage, and the diversity and spatial distribution of three different ecological groups (forest-specialists, habitat-generalists, and disturbance-adapted species) in the whole landscape mosaic. We found that the diversity of the complete assemblage decreased linearly with forest loss. However, species responses to forest loss differed among ecological groups, with the diversity of forest-specialist and habitat-generalist species increasing in more forested landscapes, and the diversity of disturbance-adapted species following the opposite pattern. Similarly, the proportion of sites occupied by forest-specialist birds decreased with forest loss, but site occupancy by habitat-generalist and disturbance-adapted birds was independent from forest cover. Our findings highlight that the optimal landscape scenarios for preserving bird biodiversity in general and forest species in particular, are those that maintain as much forest cover as possible.

Biodiversity is already experiencing the effects of climate change through range expansion, retraction, or relocation, potentializing negative effects of other threats. Future projections already indicate richness reduction and composition modifications of bird communities due to global warming, which may disrupt the provision of key ecological services to ecosystem maintenance. Here, we systematically review the effect of morphological, ecological, and geographical traits on the amount of future suitable area for birds worldwide. Specifically, we tested whether body mass, diet, habitat type, movement pattern, range size, and biogeographic realm affect birds’ suitable area. Our search returned 75 studies that modeled the effects of climate change on 1991 bird species. Our analyses included 1661 species belonging to 128 families, representing 83% of the total, for which we were able to acquire all the six traits. The proportion of birds’ suitable area was affected by range size, body mass, habitat type, and biogeographic realm, while diet and movement pattern showed lower relative importance and were not included in our final model. Contrary to expectations, the proportion of birds’ suitable area was negatively related to range size, which may be explained by higher climatic stability predicted in certain areas that harbor species with restricted distribution. In contrast, we observed that birds presenting higher body mass will show an increase of the proportion of suitable area in the future. This is expected due to the high exposure of smaller birds to environmental changes and their difficulty to keep thermoregulation. Our results also indicated a low proportion of suitable area to forest-dependent birds, which is in accordance with their higher vulnerability due to specific requirements for reproduction and feeding. Finally, the proportion of suitable area was low for birds from Oceania, which is expected since the region encompasses small islands isolated from continents, preventing their species from reaching new suitable areas. Our study highlights that different traits should be considered when assessing extinction risk of species based on future projections, helping to improve bird conservation, especially the most vulnerable to climate change.

Aim Changes in climatic conditions are predicted to impact species distribution and hence alter their diversity patterns. Modifications in the composition of biological communities are expected as a result of the loss and replacement of species due to global warming. Forest frugivorous birds already suffer from habitat loss and may disappear locally due to suitable area contraction or range shifts to novel areas, disrupting seed dispersal and consequently the functioning of natural ecosystems. Here, we investigate the impacts of different climate scenarios on alpha and beta diversities of forest frugivorous birds. Location Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest (CCAF), Brazil. Methods We used ecological niche models to project species distribution of 68 frugivorous birds for the baseline and future (2050 and 2070) scenarios. We generated binary maps of suitable areas for each species by climate scenario to calculate alpha and beta diversities. Results Most forest frugivorous birds were projected to lose suitable area, as a consequence of climate change, reducing alpha diversity in future scenarios and increasing temporal beta diversity, which is dominated by the nestedness component. In addition, species richness decreased from the east to the west portion of the CCAF, while differentiation of bird communities increased in the same direction, a pattern consistent across all climate scenarios evaluated. Main conclusions Climate change may exert drastic alterations in the composition of frugivorous bird communities in the CCAF. As forest frugivorous birds are critical to seed dispersal of forest plant species, impoverishment of their communities can drastically affect forest regeneration, diversity, and structure in the decades to come. Therefore, a better comprehension of spatio‐temporal changes in diversity patterns of frugivorous birds can help us to avoid the disruption of seed dispersal and its consequences, such as cascading effects that will trigger biodiversity loss in the CCAF.

Abstract. Several phytogeographic regions (Cerrado, Pantanal, Atlantic Forest, Gran Chaco, and Chiquitano Dry Forests) converge in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and influence regional biodiversity. Despite a list of birds in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul being published by Nunes et al. (2017), it is necessary to update and critically review avifauna records. In this study, we gathered the results of several records obtained from species lists and online data platforms of the 336 sites in this state over the last decades and grouped them into Main (Primary and Secondary) and Tertiary Lists. The avifauna of Mato Grosso do Sul is composed of 678 species, of which 643 (95%) have records proving their occurrence (Primary List), whereas 34 still lack documentation (Secondary List). The number of related species for Mato Grosso do Sul represents 34% of the Brazilian avifauna. Some species stand out for their unique occurrence in Mato Grosso do Sul, such as Melanerpes cactorum, Celeus lugubris, Phaethornis subochraceus, and Cantorchilus guarayanus, reflecting the influence of different phytogeographic regions of the Chaco and Chiquitano Dry Forests. Migrants represent 20% of the bird community occurring in the state, of which 93 species correspond to migrants from various regions of South America (south and west) and 40 to boreal migrants. Thirty-three species perform nomadic movements across the Pantanal Plain and other regions of the state. Thirty-one species are included in some conservation-threatened categories of global and/or national endangered species lists. Other 30 species are included in the near-threatened category at the global level and 23 at the national level. In addition, species typical of dry forests (in Serra da Bodoquena and Urucum Massif) and those from the Atlantic Forest in the south of the state deserve attention due to their restricted distribution and the high anthropogenic pressure on their habitat.

The Atlantic Forest remnants in southern Bahia, Brazil, contain large tree species that have suffered disturbances in recent decades. Anthropogenic activities have led to a decrease in the population of many tree species and a loss of alleles that can maintain the evolutionary fitness of their populations. This study assessed patterns of genetic diversity, spatial genetic structure, and genetic structure among Manilkara multifida Penn. populations, comparing the genetic parameters of adult and juvenile trees. In particular, we collected leaves from adults and juveniles of M. multifida in two protected areas, the Veracel Station (EVC) and the Una Biological Reserve (UBR), located in threatened Atlantic Forest fragments. We observed a substantial decay in genetic variability between generations in both areas i.e., adults’ HO values were higher (EVC = 0.720, UBR = 0.736) than juveniles’ (EVC = 0.463 and UBR = 0.560). Both juveniles and adults showed genetic structure between the two areas (θ = 0.017 for adults and θ = 0.109 for juveniles). Additionally, forest fragments indicated an unexpectedly short gene flow. Our results, therefore, highlight the pervasive effects of historical deforestation and other human disturbances on the genetic diversity of M. multifida populations within a key conservation region of the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot.

Species interactions can propagate disturbances across space, though ecological and biogeographic boundaries may limit this spread. We tested whether large-scale ecological boundaries (ecoregions and biomes) and human disturbance gradients increase dissimilarity among ecological networks, while accounting for background spatial and elevational effects and differences in network sampling. We assessed network dissimilarity patterns over a broad spatial scale, using 196 quantitative avian frugivory networks (encompassing 1,496 plant and 1,003 bird species) distributed across 67 ecoregions and 11 biomes. Dissimilarity in species and interactions, but not in network structure, increased significantly across ecoregion and biome boundaries and along human disturbance gradients. Our findings suggest that ecological boundaries contribute to maintaining the world’s biodiversity of interactions and mitigating the propagation of disturbances at large spatial scales.

Global biodiversity is threatened by land-use changes through human activities. This is mainly due to the conversion of continuous forests into forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic matrices. In general, sensitive species are lost while species adapted to disturbances succeed in altered environments. However, whether the interactions performed by the persisting species are also modified, and how it scales up to the network level throughout the landscape are virtually unknown in most tropical hotspots of biodiversity. Here we evaluated how landscape predictors (forest cover, total core area, edge density, inter-patch isolation) and local characteristics (fruit availability, vegetation complexity) affected understory birds seed-dispersal networks in 19 forest fragments along the hyperdiverse but highly depauperate northeast distribution of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Also, our sampled sites were distributed in two regions with contrasting land cover changes. We used mist nets to obtain samples of understory bird food contents to identify the plant species consumed and dispersed by them. We estimated network complexity on the basis of the number of interactions, links per species, interaction evenness, and modularity. Our findings showed that the number of interactions increased with the amount of forest cover, and it was significantly lower in the more deforested region. None of the other evaluated parameters were affected by any other landscape or local predictors. We also observed a lack of significant network structure compared to null models, which we attribute to a pervasive impoverishment of bird and plant communities in these highly modified landscapes. Our results demonstrate the importance of forest cover not only to maintain species diversity but also their respective mutualistic relationships, which are the bases for ecosystem functionality, forest regeneration and the provision of ecological services.

Banks-Leite et al. (2021) claim that our suggestion of preserving ≥40% forest cover lacks evidence and can be problematic. We find these claims unfounded, and discuss why conservation planning urgently requires valuable, well-supported, and feasible general guidelines like the 40% criterion. Using region-specific thresholds worldwide is unfeasible and potentially harmful.

Tropical forests have been intensively degraded and deforested for different anthropogenic uses, mostly associated to agricultural expansion due to increasing human demands. Therefore, an emerging number of studies has advocated on the benefits of land-sharing strategies such as agroforestry systems which conciliate biodiversity conservation with production. Yet features at both landscape and local scales could affect ecological processes and productivity within agroforests. Here, we used structural equation models to investigate the direct and indirect effects of landscape forest cover, animal seed dispersers and local vegetation variables on the seed rain structure of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) agroforests of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. We sampled seed rain for 12 consecutive months, performed bird and bat surveys and measured local structure variables related to management intensification (i.e., lower abundance and richness of adult trees and lower canopy shading indicating farm intensification) in 15 farms embedded within landscapes showing varying forest cover amount (2.3-74.9%). Our results indicate that total and animal-dispersed seed richness in cocoa agroforests increased in more forested landscapes induced by the frugivorous bird richness, whereas the abundance of total and animal-dispersed seeds was greater in more shaded farms. Contrary to expectations, the abundance of total and animal-dispersed trees negatively influenced the richness of frugivorous birds, thus indirectly affecting the richness of total and animal-dispersed seeds. Finally, we observed a weak similarity among the composition of arrived seeds and adult trees of animal-dispersed species recorded in the same sampling sites, suggesting that several seeds were actively dispersed from other localities. Our results therefore demonstrate that landscape forest amount and local management intensification play key roles in determining the seed diversity reaching cocoa agroforestry farms. We emphasize the importance of retaining native vegetation cover around the cocoa agroforestry, by either preserving the existing forest remnants or promoting restoration programs within deforested landscapes, in addition to locally ensure tree shading to boost seed arrival and enhance ecosystem functionality.

Context. Biodiversity in tropical region has declined in the last decades, mainly due to forest conversion into agricultural areas. Consequently, species occupancy in these landscapes is strongly governed by environmental changes acting at multiple spatial scales. Objectives. We investigated which environmental predictors best determines the occupancy probability of 68 bird species exhibiting different ecological traits in forest patches. Methods. We conducted point-count bird surveys in 40 forest sites of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Using six variables related to landscape composition and configuration and local vegetation structure, we predicted the occupancy probability of each species accounting for imperfect detections. Results. Landscape composition, especially forest cover, best predicted bird occupancy probability. Specifically, most bird species showed greater occupancy probability in sites inserted in more forested landscapes, while some species presented higher occurrence in patches surrounded by low-quality matrices. Conversely, only three species showed greater occupancy in landscapes with higher number of patches and dominated by forest edges. Also, several species exhibited greater occupancy in sites harbouring either larger trees or lower number of understory plants. Of uttermost importance, our study revealed that a minimum of 54% of forest cover is required to ensure high (>60%) occupancy probability of forest species. Conclusions. We highlighted that maintaining only 20% of native vegetation in private property according to Brazilian environmental law is insufficient to guarantee a greater occupancy for most bird species. We recommend that policy actions should safeguard existing forest remnants, expand restoration projects, and curb human-induced disturbances to minimise degradation within forest patches.

Banks-Leite et al. (2021) claim that our suggestion of preserving ≥40% forest cover lacks evidence and can be problematic. We find these claims unfounded, and discuss why conservation planning urgently requires valuable, well-supported, and feasible general guidelines like the 40% criterion. Using region-specific thresholds worldwide is unfeasible and potentially harmful.

Biodiversity-friendly agricultural systems allow the maintenance of native species even in highly fragmented landscapes by providing corridors to species dispersion and offering supplementary resources for animal populations. In the tropical region, cocoa agroforestry systems are of great importance for biodiversity conservation as they maintain part of the native vegetation, and therefore can be used by the local fauna. In this system, understory of native forests is replaced by cocoa trees, which are shaded by large old-growth trees. However, the persistence of native species in cocoa agroforests depends on local vegetation characteristics but also the landscape structure in which these systems are located. Here, we investigated the influence of landscape composition (i.e. amount of forest cover, cocoa agroforestry and cattle pasture) and local vegetation structure (i.e. number of native and cocoa trees, basal area of native trees and canopy closure) on understory birds in 18 cocoa agroforestry systems located in three regions in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, presenting distinct land use contexts. Specifically, we assessed the effects of these landscape and local features in predicting richness and abundance patterns of the entire community, and also in distinct ecological groups, such as forest-dependent and non-forest-dependent birds, and insectivores, frugivores, and omnivores. Using generalized linear models and Akaike information criterion, we observed lower species richness of complete community, non-forest and omnivorous birds in the most deforested region. Also, our findings demonstrated that cocoa agroforests integrated in more forested landscapes harbor greater richness and abundance of frugivorous birds. Conversely, the increase in cattle pasture amount at the landscape had a harsh effect on all bird groups evaluated. Regarding local vegetation, we observed that the increase of canopy closure leads to greater abundance of insectivorous birds in cocoa agroforestry systems. Similarly, abundance of non-forest species increased in agroforests with higher number of cocoa trees. Our study demonstrated that cocoa agroforestry systems can provide complementary habitats for many species, including forest birds, and therefore can mitigate the effects of habitat loss. However, this key benefit for bird conservation will be more effective when these agroforestry systems are located in more forested landscapes, with low amount of cattle pastures. Our findings therefore reinforce the alarming need to maintain and recover landscape-scale forest amount to ensure species persistence of birds in anthropogenic landscapes, even in those comprising biodiversity-friendly land uses such as cocoa agroforestry systems.

Agriculture and development transform forest ecosystems to human-modified landscapes. Decades of research in ecology have generated myriad concepts for the appropriate management of these landscapes. Yet, these concepts are often contradictory and apply at different spatial scales, making the design of biodiversity-friendly landscapes challenging. Here, we combine concepts with empirical support to design optimal landscape scenarios for forest-dwelling species. The supported concepts indicate that appropriately sized landscapes should contain ≥40% forest cover, although higher percentages are likely needed in the tropics. Forest cover should be configured with ~10% in a very large forest patch, and the remaining 30% in many evenly-dispersed smaller patches and semi-natural treed elements (e.g. vegetation corridors). Importantly, the patches should be embedded in a high-quality matrix. The proposed landscape scenarios represent an optimal compromise between delivery of goods and services to humans and preserving most forest wildlife, and can therefore guide forest preservation and restoration strategies.

Anthropogenic disturbances represent the main threat to biodiversity around the globe, yet effects are not restricted to species loss. Assessing the functional diversity, which measures the range and value of ecological traits of organisms, can provide a more direct link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Therefore, as species’ responses to disturbances depend on their ecological traits, ecosystem functions are likely to be also imperiled by human perturbations. Although the literature on the effects of disturbances on functional diversity has been increasing, results are highly varied. Here, we provided the first comprehensive global meta-analysis on the effects of human disturbances on functional diversity of birds. We also performed subgroup analyses by region, habitat specialization, functional trait, functional diversity index and disturbance type. Our results indicate a consistent negative effect of disturbances on bird functional diversity, regardless of the variability caused by the different predictor variables considered. Specifically, we revealed that studies that were conducted in the tropics, focused on feeding traits and calculated functional diversity and richness indices presented negative responses to disturbances. Additionally, the functional diversity of birds, regardless of habitat specialization, was also negatively affected by anthropogenic disturbances. Lastly, habitat isolation, logging and urbanization exhibited a consistent negative effect on the functional diversity of birds, whereas agriculture, habitat loss and multiple disturbances had no detectable influence. These results indicate that anthropogenic disturbances can be detrimental to birds, possibly jeopardizing their ecological functions and threatening ecosystem resilience. We therefore suggest that conservation efforts should particularly focus on reducing or mitigating the effects of these three disturbances to at least diminish their effects on avian functional diversity. Additionally, we highlight the need for novel studies to simultaneously investigate the direct relationship between disturbance, functional diversity and especially ecosystem function, through the employment of multiple complementary indices, in order to effectively assist conservation decisions.

en Tropical forests have been facing high rates of deforestation driven by multiple anthropogenic disturbances, with severe consequences for biodiversity. However, the understanding of such effects on functional diversity is still limited in tropical regions, especially considering different ecological groups responses. Here, we evaluated the functional responses of birds to forest loss at the threatened Brazilian Atlantic forest, considering the complete assemblage, and both forest‐dependent and non‐forest‐dependent species. Birds were surveyed in 40 forest sites with a forest cover gradient, located in two regions showing different land use types. We tested different models to assess the responses of functional diversity indices to forest loss in these sites. Although functional diversity did not differ between regions, forest and non‐forest birds showed divergent responses to forest loss. Deforested landscapes presented an increase in functional richness (SESFRic) and evenness for forest species and an increase of functional dispersion for non‐forest birds. Additionally, forested landscapes harbor birds presenting lower body mass and wing length, and non‐forest species with lower tarsus length. The maintenance of some functional metrics through forest loss resulted from a compensatory dynamic between forest and non‐forest birds, indicating that only evaluating the complete assemblage may mask important idiosyncratic patterns of different ecological groups. Although non‐forest species are relatively capable to maintain bird functional diversity in deforested landscapes, forest birds are facing a drastic ongoing collapse in these sites, representing an alarming signal for the maintenance of forest ecosystem function. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material. RESUMO pt Florestas tropicais têm apresentando altas taxas de desmatamento causadas por múltiplas perturbações antrópicas, com severas consequências para a biodiversidade. Porém, o entendimento dos efeitos na diversidade funcional ainda é limitado em regiões tropicais, especialmente considerando as respostas de diferentes grupos ecológicos. Nós avaliamos as respostas funcionais de aves à perda de floresta na ameaçada Mata Atlântica brasileira, considerando a assembleia completa e espécies florestais e não‐florestais. As aves foram amostradas em 40 sítios florestais dentro de um gradiente de cobertura florestal, em duas regiões com diferentes usos de solo. Nós testamos diferentes modelos para avaliar as respostas de índices de diversidade funcional à perda de floresta nesses locais. Apesar da diversidade funcional não diferir entre as regiões, aves florestais e não‐florestais mostraram respostas divergentes à perda de floresta. Paisagens desmatadas apresentaram aumento na riqueza (SESFRic) e uniformidade funcionais para espécies florestais e aumento na dispersão funcional para não‐florestais. Adicionalmente, paisagens florestadas abrigam aves com menor massa corporal e comprimento de asa, e espécies não‐florestais com menor comprimento de tarso. A manutenção de algumas métricas com a perda de floresta resultou de uma dinâmica compensatória entre aves florestais e não‐florestais, indicando que avaliar apenas a assembleia completa pode mascarar importantes padrões idiossincráticos dos grupos ecológicos. Apesar das espécies não‐florestais serem relativamente capazes de manter a diversidade funcional de aves em paisagens desmatadas, as aves florestais estão enfrentando um drástico colapso nesses locais, representando um sinal de alerta para a manutenção do funcionamento da floresta.

We are selecting four (4) Ph.D. candidates to conduct research in agricultural landscapes in the biodiversity-rich Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil. Selected candidates will study the Ecosystem Services, Restoration Ecology and Economic Valuation to achieve their Ph.D. in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation at the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), located in Bahia state, Brazil. The 4-year course is tuition-free, and each candidate will be granted a stipend (for up to 48 months) of R$2,200.00/month (~U$550.00). The research is led by the Applied Ecology and Conservation Lab, please have a look at Apply from 13 February to 2nd May at: www.ecologiauesc.com / pgecologia@uesc.br contact supervisors at: deborahuesc@gmail.com ; gaiotto@esc.br ; marianon@gmail.com

Is it possible to reconcile production with biodiversity conservation? The south of Bahia, where cocoa is planted under the shade of native forest - called cabrucas - is helping us to answer this question. Get to know a little about this region and our research in this video, and fall in love with the landscape, culture and science that we are unveiling with the “Eco-nomia das cabrucas” project. The project is hosted by Applied Ecology Lab (Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação - LEAC), State University of Santa Cruz (Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz - UESC), Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, located in the cacao coast. Cacao was the largely responsible for the development of the region, which is still the major producer of the fruit in Brazil. Only 12% of the Atlantic Forest is left in the Bahia, mostly overlapped with cacao plantations. By merging production & Conservation, the cabrucas represent a tangible path towards SUSTAINABILITY. We are very grateful to Fapesb (Fundação de Ampara à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia) for financing this video (number 03/2019) Programa de Popularização das Ciências - and our extension project: "Primeiro olhar do antes nunca visto: popularização do conhecimento sobre serviços ecossistêmicos em agroflorestais do Sul da Bahia". See your extended video at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM-XMik7Nf4&t=195s

Vulnerability to habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation caused by human activities has consequences for the distribution and movement of organisms. Betts et al. present a global analysis of how exposure to habitat fragmentation affects the composition of ecological communities (see the Perspective by Hargreaves). In a dataset consisting of 4489 animal species, regions that historically experienced little disturbance tended to harbor a higher proportion of species vulnerable to fragmentation. Species in more frequently disturbed regions were more resilient. High-latitude areas historically experienced more disturbance and harbor more resilient species, which suggests that extinction has removed fragmentation-sensitive species. Thus, conservation efforts to limit fragmentation are particularly important in the tropics. Science , this issue p. 1236 ; see also p. 1196

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

It is generally assumed that deforestation affects a species consistently across space, however populations near their geographic range edge may exist at their niche limits and therefore be more sensitive to disturbance. We found that both within and across Atlantic Forest bird species, populations are more sensitive to deforestation when near their range edge. In fact, the negative effects of deforestation on bird occurrences switched to positive in the range core (>829 km), in line with Ellenberg’s rule. We show that the proportion of populations at their range core and edge varies across Brazil, suggesting deforestation effects on communities, and hence the most appropriate conservation action, also vary geographically.

Os ambientes úmidos ao redor do mundo vêm sofrendo severos efeitos devido às atividades antrópicas que degradam e reduzem a quantidade de habitat disponível, afetando negativamente a biodiversidade. Esse padrão é observado em diferentes regiões brasileiras, como no estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. Neste estudo nós apresentamos dados sobre a composição, riqueza e abundância de aves de 41 áreas úmidas inseridas no Pantanal e Cerrado no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Nós registramos 96 espécies de aves que são predominantemente associadas com estes ambientes. A riqueza de espécies e a abundância de aves de áreas úmidas foram maiores no Pantanal, com 2,6 vezes mais indivíduos no Pantanal do que no Cerrado. A maioria das espécies (66,6%) ocorreu em ambos os domínios, porém 25 espécies foram exclusivas do Cerrado e 7 do Pantanal, o que resultou em uma composição de espécies diferente entre os ambientes. Desta forma, estratégias de conservação de ambientes úmidos devem ser adotadas no Pantanal, dada a grande riqueza e abundância de aves presente neste domínio, mas também no Cerrado, onde existem muitas espécies que não ocorrem ou são raras no Pantanal.

Scientists have long been trying to understand why the Neotropical region holds the highest diversity of birds on Earth. Recently, there has been increased interest in morpho- logical variation between and within species, and in how climate, topography, and anthropogenic pressures may explain and affect phenotypic variation. Because morphological data are not always available for many species at the local or regional scale, we are limited in our understanding of intra- and interspecies spatial morphological variation. Here, we present the ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS, a data set that includes measurements of up to 44 morphological traits in 67,197 bird records from 2,790 populations distributed throughout the Atlantic forests of South America. This data set comprises information, compiled over two centuries (1820– 2018), for 711 bird species, which represent 80% of all known bird diversity in the Atlantic For- est. Among the most commonly reported traits are sex (n = 65,717), age (n = 63,852), body mass (n = 58,768), flight molt presence (n = 44,941), molt presence (n = 44,847), body molt presence (n = 44,606), tail length (n = 43,005), reproductive stage (n = 42,588), bill length (n = 37,409), body length (n = 28,394), right wing length (n = 21,950), tarsus length (n = 20,342), and wing length (n = 18,071). The most frequently recorded species are Chiroxiphia caudata (n = 1,837), Turdus albicollis (n = 1,658), Trichothraupis melanops (n = 1,468), Turdus leucomelas (n = 1,436), and Basileuterus culicivorus (n = 1,384). The species recorded in the greatest number of sampling localities are Basileuterus culicivorus (n = 243), Trichothraupis melanops (n = 242), Chiroxiphia caudata (n = 210), Platyrinchus mystaceus (n = 208), and Turdus rufiventris (n = 191). ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS (ABT) is the most comprehensive data set on measurements of bird morphological traits found in a biodiversity hotspot; it provides data for basic and applied research at multiple scales, from individual to community, and from the local to the macroecological perspectives. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications or teaching and educational activities.

Scientists have long been trying to understand why the Neotropical region holds the highest diversity of birds on Earth. Recently, there has been increased interest in morphological variation between and within species, and in how climate, topography and anthropogenic pressures may explain and affect phenotypic variation. Because morphological data are not always available for many species at the local or regional scale, we are limited in our understanding of intra- and inter-species spatial morphological variation. Here we present the ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS, a dataset that includes measurements of up to 44 morphological traits in 67,197 bird records from 2,790 populations distributed throughout the Atlantic forests of South America. This dataset comprises information, compiled over two centuries (1820–2018), for 711 bird species, which represent 80% of all known bird diversity in the Atlantic Forest. Among the most commonly reported traits are sex (n=65,717), age (n=63,852), body mass (n=58,768), flight molt presence (n=44,941), molt presence (n=44,847), body molt presence (n=44,606), tail length (n=43,005), reproductive stage (n=42,588), bill length (n=37,409), body length (n=28,394), right wing length (n=21,950), tarsus length (n=20,342) and, wing length (n=18,071). The most frequently recorded species are: Chiroxiphia caudata (n=1,837), Turdus albicollis (n=1,658), Trichothraupis melanops (n=1,468), Turdus leucomelas (n=1,436), and Basileuterus culicivorus (n=1,384). The species recorded in the greatest number of sampling localities are Basileuterus culicivorus (n=243), Trichothraupis melanops (n=242), Chiroxiphia caudata (n=210), Platyrinchus mystaceus (n=208), and Turdus rufiventris (n=191). ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS (ABT) is the most comprehensive dataset on measurements of bird morphological traits found in a biodiversity hotspot; it provides data for basic and applied research at multiple scales—from individual to community—and from the local to the macroecological perspectives. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this dataset. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications or teaching and educational activities.

Study Description In a recently accepted article for publication in Ecological Applications, we observed that habitat simplification and fruit scarcity in highly deforested landscapes of Brazilian Atlantic forest limits the maintenance of forest-dependent frugivorous birds. Conversely, landscapes with higher forest edge amount showed higher diversity of non-forest frugivorous birds, probably because the increasing length of ecotones in these landscapes can increase resource availability and foraging efficiency of this bird group. As the seed dispersal services offered by forest-dependent species cannot be ecologically compensated for by the proliferation of non-forest-dependent species, preventing forest loss is imperative to maintain forest-dependent birds and forest regeneration in this vanishing biodiversity hotspot.

Com apenas 12 % de cobertura florestal original, a Mata Atlântica é um dos biomas com maior biodiversidade do mundo, mesmo que muito fragmentada devido ao desmatamento para estabelecimento de cidades, pastagens e plantios diversos (monoculturas, silviculturas e agroflorestas). No entanto, nosso conhecimento ainda é limitado no entendimento de como a diversidade de espécies, suas funções e histórias evolutivas estão estruturadas ao longo de um gradiente de perda de cobertura florestal, e como esta estrutura está ligada aos fatores abióticos e bióticos, assim como as restrições ecológicas das espécies. Áreas de “cabruca” (Figura 1), plantações do cacao (Theobroma cacao) sombreado por árvores nativas, são comumente encontradas em áreas de floresta Atlântica no sul da Bahia, e são muito utilizadas como habitat ou passagem para diversas espécies de aves, morcegos, invertebrados e pequenos mamíferos. No entanto, diferentes formas de manejo desse sistema agrícola, com objetivo de aumento da produtividade local, podem interferir na diversidade de espécies associadas e nos serviços ecossistêmicos por elas desempenhados. O projeto “Biodiversidade, serviços ecossistêmicos e produtividade em agroflorestas de cacau” visa entender variações na biodiversidade e serviços ecossistêmicos ao longo de gradientes de (1) intensificação do manejo local em áreas de cabruca e (2) percentual de floresta original remanescente na paisagem. Neste contexto buscamos alunos interessados em desenvolver pesquisas de mestrado ou doutorado. Maiores informações sobre o processo seletivo (edição 2019) do Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade da Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz estão disponiveis em https://www.ecologiauesc.com/single-post/2018/10/01/Processo-seletivo-PPGECB-2019---MS-e-DR

Understanding the patterns and processes driving biodiversity maintenance in fragmented tropical forests is urgently needed for conservation planning, especially in species-rich forest reserves. Of particular concern are the effects that habitat modifications at the landscape scale may have on forest regeneration and ecosystem functioning – a topic that has received limited attention. Here, we assessed the effects of landscape structure (i.e., forest cover, open area matrices, forest fragmentation, and mean inter-patch isolation distance) on understory plant assemblages in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Previous studies suggest that the demographic burst of the strong competitor palm Astrocaryum mexicanum in the core area of this reserve limits plant recruitment and imperils biodiversity conservation within this protected area. Yet, the local and landscape predictors of this palm, and its impact on tree recruitment at a regional scale are unknown. Thus, we used structural equation modeling to assess the direct and cascading effects of landscape structure on stem and species density (i.e., number of stems and species per 0.1 ha, respectively) in the understory of 20 forest sites distributed across this biodiversity hotspot. Indirect paths included the effect of landscape structure on tree basal area (a proxy of local disturbance), and the effects of these variables on A. mexicanum. Density of A. mexicanum mainly increased with decreasing both fragmentation and open areas in the matrix (matrix contrast, hereafter), and such an increase in palm density negatively affected stem and species density in the understory. The negative direct effect of matrix contrast on stem density was overridden by the indirect positive effects (i.e., through negative cascading effects on A. mexicanum), resulting in a weak effect of matrix contrast on stem density. These findings suggest that dispersal limitation and negative edge effects in more fragmented landscapes dominated by open areas prevent the proliferation of this palm species, enhancing the diversity and abundance of understory trees. This ‘positive’ news adds to an increasing line of evidence suggesting that fragmentation may have positive effects on biodiversity, in this case by preventing the proliferation of species that can jeopardize biodiversity conservation within tropical reserves.

Global biodiversity is increasingly threatened by land-use change, but the direct and indirect drivers of species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes are poorly known. Forest-dependent species are expected to be particularly sensitive to changes in landscape composition (e.g., forest loss) and configuration (e.g., increase of forest edges), both directly and indirectly through cascading landscape effects on local patterns of forest structure and resource availability. In contrast, non-forest dependent species are probably more strongly related to landscape changes than to local forest patterns, as these species are able to use resources not only from the forest, but also from other landscape elements over larger spatial scales. We tested these hypotheses using structural equation modeling. In particular, we sampled 20 landscapes (115 ha each) from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest to assess the effect of landscape-scale forest cover and amount of forest edges on the diversity of frugivorous birds, both directly and indirectly through the effect that these landscape variables may have on vegetation complexity and fruit biomass. We separately assessed the response of forest-dependent and non-forest dependent frugivores to infer potential mechanisms underlying bird assemblages in fragmented landscapes. The diversity of forest-dependent birds mainly decreased with the simplification of vegetation complexity in more deforested landscapes, but increased with increasing fruit biomass in more forested landscapes (indirect effects). Both patterns were significant, thus supporting a strong bottom-up control, i.e., local habitat simplification and resource scarcity in highly deforested landscapes limits the maintenance of forest-dependent birds. Conversely, but as expected, non-forest dependent birds were more strongly and directly related to landscape-scale patterns. In particular, landscapes with higher forest edge amount showed higher bird species diversity, probably because the increasing length of ecotones and interspersion/juxtaposition of different habitat types in landscapes with more forest edges can increase resource availability and foraging efficiency of non-forest dependent birds. As the seed dispersal services offered by forest-dependent species cannot be ecologically compensated for by the proliferation of non-forest dependent species, preventing forest loss is imperative to maintain forest-dependent birds and forest regeneration in this vanishing biodiversity hotspot.

Aim Mega hydroelectric dams have become one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in the lowland tropics. In these reservoirs, vertebrate studies have focused on local (α) diversity measures, whereas between‐site (β) diversity remains poorly assessed despite its pivotal importance in understanding how species diversity is structured and maintained. Here, we unravel the patterns and ecological correlates of mammal β‐diversity, including both small (SM) and midsized to large mammal species (LM) across 23 islands and two continuous forest sites within a mega hydroelectric reservoir. Location Balbina Hydroelectric Dam, Central Brazilian Amazonia. Methods Small mammals were sampled using live and pitfall traps (48,350 trap‐nights), and larger mammals using camera traps (8,160 trap‐nights). β‐diversity was examined for each group using multiplicative diversity decomposition of Hill numbers, which considers the importance of rare, common and dominant species, and tested to what extent those were related to a set of environmental characteristics measured at different spatial scales. Results β‐diversity for both mammal groups was higher when considering species presence–absence. When considering species abundance, β‐diversity was significantly higher for SM than for LM assemblages. Habitat variables, such as differences in tree species richness and percentage of old‐growth trees, were strong correlates of β‐diversity for both SMs and LMs. Conversely, β‐diversity was weakly related to patch and landscape characteristics, except for LMs, for which β‐diversity was correlated with differences in island sizes. Main conclusions The lower β‐diversity of LMs between smaller islands suggests subtractive homogenization of this group. Although island size plays a major role in structuring mammal α‐diversity in several land‐bridge islands, local vegetation characteristics were additional key factors determining β‐diversity for both mammal groups. Maintaining the integrity of vegetation characteristics and preventing the formation of a large set of small islands within reservoirs should be considered in long‐term management plans in both existing and planned hydropower development in lowland tropical forests.

Forest edges influence more than half of the world's forests and contribute to worldwide declines in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, predicting these declines is challenging in heterogeneous fragmented landscapes. Here we assembled a global dataset on species responses to fragmentation and developed a statistical approach for quantifying edge impacts in heterogeneous landscapes to quantify edge-determined changes in abundance of 1,673 vertebrate species. We show that the abundances of 85% of species are affected, either positively or negatively, by forest edges. Species that live in the centre of the forest (forest core), that were more likely to be listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), reached peak abundances only at sites farther than 200-400 m from sharp high-contrast forest edges. Smaller-bodied amphibians, larger reptiles and medium-sized non-volant mammals experienced a larger reduction in suitable habitat than other forest-core species. Our results highlight the pervasive ability of forest edges to restructure ecological communities on a global scale.

O Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade (PPGECB) da Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilhéus-BA, oferece uma vaga de pós-doutorado PNPD (Programa Nacional de Pós-Doutorado – CAPES), para realizar pesquisa em ecologia da conservação em paisagens antrópicas no sul da Bahia, em um dos trechos mais ricos em biodiversidade da costa Atlântica. Maiores informações em: http://www.ecologiauesc.com.br/page.php?l=br&p=306

Insect herbivory has been observed to be affected by habitat loss and fragmentation, although the mechanisms by which these anthropogenic disturbances affect this process are not well understood. To aid in clarifying this issue, we assess the relation between forest cover and leaf damage caused by herbivorous insects on a representative tropical forest understory plant family, the Rubiaceae. We measured leaf area loss of Rubiaceae plants in 20 forest sites located in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, and also tested whether variation in forest cover, abundance of insectivorous birds (predators) and of Rubiaceae plants (resources) could explain the observed variation in leaf damage. Herbivory levels varied between 2.6 and 12.5 percent leaf area lost and increased with decreasing forest cover, whereas the other explanatory variables did not provide additional explanatory power. Therefore, forest loss appears to be the main driver of changes in herbivory, and ecological processes such as top-down and bottom-up control may not account for the deforestation-related increase in herbivory levels. Other mechanisms, for example, leaf quality and/or the influence of the adjoining land uses have to be explored in future studies.

Forest loss and fragmentation change the dynamics and structure of remnant populations, ultimately affecting key processes with implications for ecosystem functioning. Fruit consumption has important consequences for seed dispersal, maintaining the plant demography, which is also critical to the populations of animals that utilize them for resources. Therefore, understanding how forest cover reduction affects fruit consumption and, consequently, seed dispersal is essential to informing conservation policy for the remaining forest patches. This study was conducted in 20 forest sites with varying amounts of forest cover (from 6% - 85%) located in the Atlantic forest of southern Bahia, Brazil. We investigated whether forest loss and local bird diversity affected fruit consumption rates in the forest edge and interior. We used artificial fruit to estimate fruit consumption by birds. At each site, we set up 14 experimental stations, one located on the forest edge (~ 3m) and the others in the forest interior (75 m), each one composed of 15 artificial fruits fixed to a plant. Our results showed that forest loss and the reduction of bird abundance led to a decrease in fruit consumption in the forest interiors, but not on the forest edges. This verifies that forest cover loss results in changes in fruit consumption, and has important consequences for seed dispersal by birds in forest remnants.

Habitat loss is one of the primary drivers of change in forest biodiversity and ecosystem function worldwide. The synergetic effects of habitat loss and fragmentation might lead to profound impacts on forest structure and composition, conducting forest fragments towards early successional stages (retrogressive succession). In this study, we tested this hypothesis by evaluating how landscape-scale forest loss affects the forest structure. We sampled forest structure descriptors in 40 forest sites in landscapes ranging from 3 to 100% forest cover. Forest cover was negatively related to most of the structural variables, generally in a non-linear manner. In contrast, dead trees and logging were ubiquitous and not related to forest cover. The forest remnants in more deforested landscapes retain early successional forest attributes, with tree assemblages that are less dense, shorter, thinner, with an overall basal area loss, and with increasing canopy openness. This structural degradation indicates that landscape scale forest loss strongly determines the trajectory of the local forest structure, pushing forests to a retrogressive succession process, which is more likely to occur in deforested landscapes and can lead to functional forest erosion. Our findings indicate that remnants within deforested landscapes may suffer recruitment limitation, primarily of large trees. Additionally, the forest structure characteristics were more severely degraded in landscapes with less than 40% forest cover. In the face of these results, the recommendation is to avoid the reduction of forest cover belowthis threshold, atwhich point structural erosion becomesmore severe,with predictable negative consequences on biodiversity and ecosystem service maintenance.

1. Biodiversity maintenance in human-altered landscapes (HALs) depends on the species turnover among localities, but the patterns and determinants of β-diversity in HALs are poorly known. In fact, declines, increases, and neutral shifts in β-diversity have all been documented, depending on the landscape, ecological group and spatial scale of analysis. 2. We shed some light on this controversy by assessing the patterns and predictors of bird β-diversity across multiple spatial scales considering forest specialist and habitat generalist bird assemblages. 3. We surveyed birds from 144 point counts in 36 different forest sites across two landscapes with different amount of forest cover in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. We analysed β-diversity among points, among sites, and between landscapes with multiplicative diversity partitioning of Hill numbers. We tested whether β-diversity among points was related to within-site variations in vegetation structure, and if β-diversity among sites was related to site location and/or to differences among sites in vegetation structure and landscape composition (i.e. percent forest and pasture cover surrounding each site). 4. β-diversity between landscapes was lower than among sites and among points in both bird assemblages. In forest specialist birds, the landscape with less forest cover showed the highest β-diversity among sites (bird differentiation among sites), but generalist birds showed the opposite pattern. At the local scale, however, the less forested landscape showed the lowest β-diversity among points (bird homogenisation within sites), independently of the bird assemblage. β-diversity among points was weakly related to vegetation structure, but higher β-diversity values were recorded among sites that were more isolated from each other, and among sites with higher differences in landscape composition, particularly in the less forested landscape. 5. Our findings indicate that patterns of bird β-diversity vary across scales and are strongly related to landscape composition. Bird assemblages are shaped by both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation, particularly in less forested landscapes. Conservation and management strategies should therefore prevent deforestation in this biodiversity hotspot.

Habitat loss threatens biodiversity in tropical forests, having harmful effects on population dynamics and, ultimately, determining the evolutionary destiny of species. Thus, understanding how habitat loss affects microevolu-tionary processes is an important step in the conservation of genetic resources. However, few studies have explored landscape genetics for plants in tropical environments. Our study evaluated the effects of a landscape-scale reduction in forest cover on genetic diversity and structure of Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae). The research was conducted in Atlantic Forest landscapes in Northeastern Brazil. We randomly chose 16 forest sites, each located in a 13 km 2 landscape with forest cover ranging from 6 to 83 %. After a survey of adults and seedlings in each sampling site, we found a minimum of five individuals of E. edulis at nine sites and sampled leafs from all adults within a 15 9 400 m plot and all seedlings within a 2 9 400 m subplot in each sampling site. We found that the gradient of remaining forest cover at the landscape scale did not affect the genetic diversity measured by any of the descriptors analyzed and each sampling site still harbored populations with high levels of genetic variability. However, we detected the presence of two distinct genetic groups with signs of admixture; the structural pattern of these groups differed between adults and seedlings, mainly in less forested landscapes areas. We believe that E. edulis is a good example of a tropical palm that is experiencing local extirpation before suffering loss of genetic alterations.

To determine how different habitats affect the bird community structure is fundamental for the formulation of conservation strategies. Herein, we performed a comparative study on the community of tyrant flycatchers in a mosaic of habitats in the Cerrado, located in eastern Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The avifauna sampling was accomplished via point count method in four habitats: grassland swamp, savanna, woodland savanna and semideciduous forest. Thirty-seven species were recorded, and the highest richness was observed in semideciduous forest (25 spp, N = 220) and woodland savanna (24 spp, N = 192). In general, 51% of species were recorded in three or four habitats and 43% only in one habitat. The richness and abundance were similar among habitats, but species composition was different between grassland swamp and arboreal habitats. Moreover, the additive partitioning of diversity showed that the beta diversity among habitats (β = 15.75) is the most important contribution to regional diversity, an evidence of landscape heterogeneity. The preservation of all habitats is crucial for the conservation of tyrant flycatchers, once that environmental heterogeneity creates favorable conditions for the occurrence of species with different ecological traits and consequently contributes to increase the bird diversity

The Upper Paraná River Basin covers approximately half of the territory of Mato Grosso do Sul state. There are two phytogeographic domains in this region: Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. Despite these domains have a high biological diversity and suffer intense anthropogenic pressure, little is known about their avifauna in this region. Thus, we presented a compilation of the avifauna based on field studies conducted by the authors, supplementary data from literature and institutional material deposited in museum collections. We recorded 472 species of birds belonging to 25 orders and 71 families. Eleven species are endemic to the Cerrado and 26 to the Atlantic Forest. Nine species with Amazonian distribution and four from the Chaco were also found in this region. Sixteen intercontinental migratory species were recorded and 20 species are considered endangered. These endangered species are rare or uncommon in the region, except for Rhea americana and Alipiopsitta xanthops, which are very common. These data reinforce the importance of the conservation of birds in these areas, as well as additional studies that will allow a better characterization of the avifauna of the region. We recommend the creation of new protected areas in the Upper Paraná River region, in addition to the full maintenance of Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves. This will ensure the conservation of these birds currently threatened by strong anthropic pressure due to the presence of pastures and large-scale agriculture in the region.

The birds of cerrado in Mato Grosso are poorly studied and although the RPPN Parque Ecológico João Basso is a natural cerrado remnant, there are no studies of fauna in this area. Thus, we conducted the first bird survey in this area to describe the avifauna composition and to analyze the spatial distribution among three habitats (gallery forest, cerradão and cerrado stricto sensu). We adopted the transect method (100 m) in 56 h of sampling. We recorded 191 species (2.865 contacts). The Shannon-Wiener index was 4,258 and equity 0,819. We detected only two endangered species, five endemic species to the cerrado, and 31 migratory species. We recorded 101 species in gallery forests (29 only in this habitat), 107 in cerradão (22 exclusive) and 115 in cerrado stricto sensu (50 exclusive). The cerradão was intermediate between gallery forest and cerrado stricto sensu in terms of both horizontal and vertical distribution of species, being slightly more similar to the gallery forest and the cerrado stricto sensu. High indices of richness and evenness detected among bird communities of different habitat types reinforce the importance of the study area for the conservation of the cerrado avifauna.

A better understanding of patterns of species distribution is critical to carrying out the ecological studies needed to develop more appropriate conservation plans. Here we present records for six bird species in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Five of these species (Trogon rufus, Baryphthengus ruficapillus, Notharchus swainsoni, Synallaxis ruficapilla and Procnias nudicollis) are rare and their distribution range is still poorly understood; one species (Tyrannopsis sulphurea) was recorded for the first time in the state.

The Crested Black-Tyrant (Knipolegus lophotes) is a member of the Tyrannidae family that occurs throughout open areas in central, southeastern and southern Brazil. Although this species occurs in regions that surround the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, there had never been a recorded sighting in the state. Thus, information on its distribution across Brazil's midwestern region is scarce. In this study, we report the first sightings of K. lophotes in Mato Grosso do Sul. These records extend the known distribution range of the species in midwestern Brazil and contribute to expanding knowledge of bird species composition in this region. We believe that the absence of K. lophotes from the lists of bird species recorded in different localities in Mato Grosso do Sul may be a reflection of its local rarity and the lack of bird inventory efforts in this region, which underscores the need for further research into bird communities in this poorly known region of Brazil.