Simone Almeida Pena

Summary: The Brazilian Amazon’s savanna enclaves harbour unique biodiversity but face escalating degradation, and their conservation value for non-volant small mammals (orders Didelphimorphia and Rodentia) remains poorly quantified. Using species distribution models and spatial prioritization ( Zonation software), we assessed: (1) whether protected areas (PAs) and Indigenous territories (ITs) overlap with high-importance habitats; (2) the mapping of priority savanna enclaves to support the conservation of species found exclusively in these habitats; and (3) the correlation between the remaining natural vegetation cover and conservation priority. Our results reveal that while ITs and strictly protected areas (SPAs) effectively conserve some functional guilds (e.g., insectivorous marsupials), critical savanna enclaves are both biologically significant and highly degraded. Negative correlations between habitat importance and vegetation cover highlight urgent conservation gaps. We advocate for expanded PA networks targeting savanna enclaves, habitat restoration and stronger integration of IT management to safeguard these irreplaceable ecosystems and their exclusive fauna.

The species of the Bufonidae family exhibit a great diversity of habitats, diurnal or nocturnal habits, a complex evolutionary history, and a wide distribution, which makes this group suitable for morphological studies. In this work, we aimed to identify the existence of morphological patterns related to the habitat use and diurnal or nocturnal habits of Bufonidae in the Brazilian Amazon. To achieve this, we studied the morphological measurements of 210 specimens from three zoological collections and characterized the type of habitat and diurnality/nocturnality of the species. The morphological patterns and habitat use were investigated through principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), respectively. The evaluation of the relationships between morphological variation, habitat use, and diurnality/nocturnality was performed via redundancy analysis (RDA). Accordingly, Amazonian bufonids were divided into three morphological groups associated with different vegetation types and environments, demonstrating that body size is closely linked to diurnal or nocturnal life habits and habitat. Species with large body sizes are associated to anthropized areas, while intermediate and smaller species are associated with primary forests.

Considering the hypothesis that there is a relationship between morphology and the choice or feeding habit in anurans, our objective was to identify the food items present in the anurans' diet; verify the existence of a pattern in the diet of the anurans collected; and show the relationship between diet and species morphology. Sampling was carried out using an active search methodology carried out by three people, lasting approximately three hours per unit. For that work, only species that had an abundance equal to or greater than five individuals were considered. We identified dietary patterns in taxonomic groups and tested their significance, in addition to groupings by family, genus and species and the relationship between morphology and diet. 148 individuals were collected, belonging to 41 anuran species, 16 genera and nine families, 44 items were observed, highlighting the Formicidae family and Tadpoles, with shrimp and crab being the least frequently found items. We concluded that there was a relationship between morphology and diet, in addition to the formation of a guild of insectivorous anurans, indicating a greater frequency of Hymenoptera as a food resource, mainly composed of the genus Rhinella.

The Amazon rainforest has approximately 23% of its sampled area dedicated to bats, making it one of the least sampled and most diverse regions for bats in Brazil. The lack of sampling results in a lack of knowledge regarding the accurate geographical distribution of bat species. This lack is referred to as the Wallacean shortfall, which should be addressed with primary data obtained from in situ collections. However, the use of Species Distribution Models (SDMs) can help alleviate this gap. The states of Pará and Acre are located in the Brazilian Amazon. So, our objective is to decrease the Wallacean shortfall concerning Amazonian bat species. To achieve this, we provide (i) a list of bat species sampled in the states of Pará and Acre in the last 5 years (2017 to 2022); (ii) the potential distribution of species considered as new occurrences for the region; and (iii) the potential distribution of species classified as Data Deficient (DD) and Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN classification. With 96 nights of collection and 129,600 m²h of mist netting, we obtained 75 bat species, with an estimated total of 94.78 species. Additionally, 21 species were considered as range extensions. The Brazilian Amazon region has a vast geographic expanse and few established research centers, resulting in a limited sampling of bats and other biological groups. Furthermore, we draw attention to the significant number of bat species with expanded geographical distributions, with 21 out of the 75 sampled species. This should be a reminder that primary biogeographic data is still necessary for the neotropical region.

Aim: The Amazon rainforest has approximately 23% of its sampled area dedicated to bats, making it one of the least sampled and most diverse regions for bats in Brazil. The lack of sampling results in a lack of knowledge regarding the accurate geographical distribution of bat species. This lack is referred to as the Wallacean shortfall, which should be addressed with primary data obtained from in situ collections. However, the use of Species Distribution Models (SDMs) can help alleviate this gap. Location: The states of Pará and Acre are located in the Brazilian Amazon. Methods: So, our objective is to decrease the Wallacean shortfall concerning Amazonian bat species. To achieve this, we provide (i) a list of bat species sampled in the states of Pará and Acre in the last five years (2017 to 2022); (ii) the potential distribution of species considered as new occurrences for the region; and (iii) the potential distribution of species classified as Data Deficient (DD) and Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN classification. Results: With 96 nights of collection and 129,600 m ² h of mist netting, we obtained 75 bat species, with an estimated total of 94.78 species. Additionally, 21 species were considered as range extensions. Main conclusions: The Brazilian Amazon region has a vast geographic expanse and few established research centers, resulting in a limited sampling of bats and other biological groups. Furthermore, we draw attention to the significant number of bat species with expanded geographical distributions, with 21 out of the 75 sampled species. This should be a reminder that primary biogeographic data is still necessary for the neotropical region.

The rapid alteration of the landscape caused by the accelerated process of deforestation in the Amazon has put biodiversity and ecosystem services at risk in recent years. Among the threatened Amazon ecosystems, the Cerrado enclaves stand out, particularly important for conservation, since they are home to a rich and peculiar biodiversity composed of communities of savannah and forest species and including numerous endemic species. In this research, we quantify the contribution of Protected Areas to the conservation of the diversity of small non-volant mammals in the Brazilian Amazon. We create summation models of species richness and present the potential distribution of species. Our results show that for marsupials, the concentration of wealth is located more in the center of the North region, in the states of Pará and Amazonas. The analyzed species tend to present less than 20% of their potential distribution area within the Protection Areas. For rodents, the contribution of each Protection Area represented an average of 9.56% of the potential distribution area of the species. Although, for both marsupials and rodents, protected areas alone are not sufficient for the conservation of species, when we include all categories, the level of contribution of protected areas increases.

The Brazilian Cerrado is undergoing important changes. It is estimated that 70% of its natural area has converted to human use. The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats is considered the main cause of species loss in ecosystems. However, the lack of knowledge of biodiversity makes it difficult to design effective conservation measures. This article presents a list and an estimate of the richness of bats in the Parque Estadual Altamiro de Moura Pacheco (PEAMP) in Goiás. All collected bats belong to the Phyllostomidae family, with Carollia perspicillata (67%) and Artibeus planirostris (18%) representing 86% of the captured individuals.

Bats provide essential ecosystem services and some are cave dependent. Caves favour the association of bats with ectoparasite Diptera, however, they are poorly sampled in the Amazon biome. Here we present the first description of a community of bats and bat flies from the largest sandstone cave in Brazil, the Planaltina cave, located in the municipality of Brasil Novo, state of Pará. Diptera were removed from captured bats and taken to the laboratory for identification. From nine species of bats belonging to four families we recorded 17 species of Diptera, 13 were monoxenous. A possible explanation for the monoxenous parasites collected is that flies have poor survival in unusual hosts. These results are an indicator that the Streblid species are host-specific since even if the hosts take refuge in the same cave, they will not share their parasites. Therefore, the present study provides important information on the parasite-host dynamics in a cave, thus highlighting the importance of cave as are essential shelters for bat species and, despite reported cases of cohabitation, mixed colonies are unlikely to form.