With the new contributions from abroad, the Scientific Expeditions call, issued in partnership with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, now has a fund totaling some BRL 94 million.
The study analyzed data for 13 Atlantic Rainforest restoration areas involving ten species of native trees that could be commercially useful to the timber industry. Publication of the findings comes during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
A study published in the journal Science shows for the first time the degree of threat to all tree species in the biome, classifying 65% as vulnerable or endangered to some extent. According to the authors, their findings are conservative – the actual situation could be even more alarming.
Surveys conducted in the Cerrado since the 1990s show falling biodiversity as the agricultural frontier advances in the vicinity of Emas National Park. Species with biotechnological potential are dwindling and even disappearing.
A study conducted in sustainable-use reserves shows that local game species become less abundant about 5 kilometers away from the nearest human community, but the negative effects of anthropic activity can be mitigated by appropriate management strategies.
Plant species native to the Brazilian savanna-like biome grow thick bark to protect their internal tissues and hide organs that assure resprouting below the ground, according to an article in Flora by researchers at São Paulo State University.
The findings evidenced high susceptibility to climate change by 2050 in 15%-18% of the areas with the most neglected biodiversity.
Record levels of destruction of native vegetation in the Brazilian savanna, the second-largest biome in South America, motivated the letter published in Nature Sustainability. The scientists who wrote it stress the need for specific measures to conserve the Cerrado’s rich biodiversity.
Subnational funding agencies and Brazil’s National Scientific Council will partner to allocate almost BRL 60 million to research projects that explore little-known areas of the world’s largest tropical forest.
The researchers correlated data on the animal’s ecological niche and connectivity among populations with existing and planned hydropower development sites in Brazil’s South region. They estimated that 30% of its habitat could be lost, heightening the risk of extinction.
Available free of charge on the internet, the platform simulates fire propagation in the savanna biome three times a day and is in use in nine conservation units.
Primates in a Brazilian national park spend 41% of their time on the ground. Territoriality influences stone tool use, the behavior of females while on heat, and care of disabled individuals.
An article in Science by 35 researchers affiliated with institutions in Brazil and elsewhere shows that carbon emissions resulting from forest degradation are equivalent to emissions from deforestation. The authors analyzed degradation due to fire, edge effects, illegal logging and extreme drought.
The study by Brazilian researchers showed that the microscopic arachnids rid stingless bee colonies of excessive fungi and serve as food for the larvae of these honey-making insects.
The mechanism has resulted from evolution over millions of years to protect the buds that enable plants to survive fire. A study conducted in an environmental protection unit in São Paulo state (Brazil) can contribute to strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change.
A review of the literature shows that 15% of articles published between 1960 and 2021 focused on only ten species, while no articles at all were published on almost 40% of all species. Research efforts tend to be biased toward large-bodied animals and species native to wealthier countries, among other factors that should be taken into consideration when planning future studies, according to the authors.
A survey of news items on Brazilian deer published between 2011 and 2021 shows that most referred to habitat loss and poaching, but diseases transmitted by cattle and low reproductive efficiency were ignored as factors that can lead to species extinction. Lack of the right information can hinder conservation efforts.
Two articles published in the journal Science by an international group of researchers that includes Brazilians present an up-to-date review of existing knowledge of the island’s rich biodiversity and how it is protected. Maintaining harmony between the species found on this tropical island off the coast of Africa and its human population is a daunting challenge.
According to a mapping exercise by a group of Brazilian researchers, 56.8% of the areas that should be priorities for conservation are not legally protected. They identified 21 large forests that could be converted into new conservation units.
Researchers documented the size and weight of the stones used as tools by three populations of these primates living in Central Brazil, as well as the hardness of the nuts and seeds the tools were used on. Even when more suitable tools were available, some animals preferred the heaviest stones, possibly as a result of cultural learning.
Genomic analyses performed by researchers in Brazil and Germany suggest that different groups of reptiles submitted to similar environmental conditions developed convergent adaptations independently.
In a special issue of the journal Science, some of the leading experts on the subject argue that rehabilitating degraded areas requires more complex solutions that take the biome’s specificities into account.
Genetic analysis of Aquarana catesbeiana, a species that originally came from North America and is now found in nine Brazilian states, shows that the lineage introduced in 1935 prevails in both captive and feral bullfrogs. Law enforcement to maintain sanitary standards is difficult. The invaders prey on native amphibians and transmit diseases to them.
The system is being developed by a Brazilian startup supported by FAPESP and can be used by biologists in scientific research, by NGOs to track endangered species, and by environmental consultants.
In a webinar held to present the third chapter of the book published by the São Paulo State Academy of Sciences to commemorate FAPESP’s sixtieth anniversary, specialists showed that protection of terrestrial and marine environments contributes to food production and job creation, among other benefits.
