BackgroundRecognition of the diversity of living beings, including the classification and naming of species, is a fundamental condition for biological literacy with the aim of developing critical awareness of human relationships with nature, and for which formal education plays an important role. The present study aimed to analyze the representation that urban/rural students have for wild vertebrates and their main sources of knowledge.MethodsData collection took place in three public schools, one urban and two rural, in the municipality of Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. Questionnaires were given to 990 students (528 urban and 462 rural), distributed among all the grades that comprise middle school (Ensino Fundamental II, grades 6–9) and high school (Ensino Médio, grades 10–12) education.ResultsA total of 5877 citations were mentioned by the students, which corresponded to 224 distinct animals with 166 (72.0%) being wild vertebrates, 24 (25.7%) being domestic vertebrates, and 34 (2.3%) being invertebrates. Mammals and reptiles had the greatest observed richness of citations, while mammals (H′ = 3.37), birds (H′ = 2.84), and invertebrates (H′ = 2.94) had the greatest diversity. Positive correlations were found between citations of wild vertebrates and family income (rt = 0.06; P < 0.05) and curricular development (rs = 0.08; P < 0.01); negative correlations were found between curricular development and citations of domestic animals (rs = − 0.22; rs = − 0.11 P < 0.01) and between age group and citations of invertebrates (r = − 0.14; rs = − 0.11 P < 0.01). As for the sources of knowledge regarding the animals indicated by the students, “media,” “daily experiences,” “tradition” (here understood as knowledge resulting from interactions with parents and experienced community members), and “formal education” stood out.ConclusionsComprehension of vertebrate diversity is a fundamental condition for the development of attitudes compatible with its conservation, which emphasizes the importance of biological literacy in achieving this purpose.
The relationship between how humans and altitude influence the structure of plant communities has been poorly investigated and particularly so in semiarid ecosystems. Understanding the processes that affect plant community structure is essential for sustaining the biodiversity found in altitudinal refugia of the Brazilian Caatinga. In this study, we investigated the influence of altitudinal gradients and human impacts on floristic composition and structure of a shrubby-arboreal community in northeastern Brazil. We recorded a total of 68 tree species in 45 randomly sampled 4 Â 50 m plots in three different altitudinal levels (Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3). The species clearly separated among the altitudes studied when the abundance data were analyzed (Bray-Curtis, Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling). Whittaker plots indicated that Level 3 (highest) had more species and greater evenness and thus greater diversity. On the other hand, Level 1 (lowest) had lower diversity with greater dominance of a few pioneer species. Our results indicated that higher altitudes appear to function as refugia for many plant species (unique species and species shared with Atlantic Forest), which results in greater specie richness. However, high levels of human disturbance at lower altitudinal levels contribute to lower diversity due to the competitive abilities and dominance of pioneer tree species. The maintenance of these altitudinal Caatinga refugia is important and should be a priority for the implementation of new protected areas in the semiarid region of Brazil.
Unlike well-known global patterns of plant species richness along altitudinal gradients, in the mountainous areas of the Brazilian Caatinga, species richness and diversity reach their maxima near mountain tops. The causes of this unusual pattern are not well understood, and in particular the role of edaphic factors on plant community assembly along these gradients has not been investigated. Our goal was to assess the role of edaphic factors (fertility and soil texture) on plant community composition and structure on two mountains of the Brazilian semi-arid region. In 71 plots (Bodocongó site, twenty-one 200-m2 plots, 401–680 m asl; Arara site, fifty 100-m2 plots, 487–660 m asl) we recorded 3114 individuals representing 61 plant species; in addition, at each plot we collected composite soil samples from 0–20 cm depth. Significant altitude-related changes were observed both for community structure and composition, and edaphic variables. A canonical correspondence analysis allowed the distinction of two groups of plots according to species abundances, indicating a preferential habitat distribution of species depending both on altitude and soil variables. Although soil fertility was lowest at the highest altitudes, these areas had high richness and diversity. Conversely, the more fertile foothills were characterized by the dominance of generalist pioneer species. Despite the relatively short altitudinal range that characterizes the studied mountains, this study elucidates the role of edaphic factors on the floristic composition and species richness patterns on the mountains of the Brazilian semi-arid region.
Background: The diversity of plants indicated for the same use, plays important strategies which can affect the resilience of local ecological knowledge. In this context, we investigated the variation of local ecological knowledge through the richness of cited species, redundancy on an individual level and utilitarian redundancy (fuel, construction and technology) by local populations inserted in a dry forest with different environmental characteristics in northeastern Brazil.Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 120 local experts and described metrics which indicate the intensity of chronic human disturbance, defined as ongoing activities to remove natural resources, as well as the average annual rainfall in forests close to populations.Results: We verified that there are differences between the number of species mentioned and the utilitarian redundancy between the studied areas. The richness of known species is suggested to influence redundancy on an individual level. Furthermore, we observed that information sharing about the plants among local experts is different, as some species were shared more than others. Conclusions: Our results suggest that people living in areas of greater chronic anthropic impact and less rainfall may be subject to a lower resilience of local knowledge.
Understanding the impacts caused by invasive plant species, especially in regions where studies are scarce, is of great importance to the development of management and conservation strategies. Amongst the biomes present in Brazil, the Caatinga (Dry Tropical Forest) stands out for having had few studies dealing with biological invasions by plants and animals. An evaluation of scientific production can provide a means by which the progress of invasion-related studies can be assessed, as well as identify research gaps and provide a broad overview of the importance of invasions in this biome. Thus, the objective of this study was to perform a scientometric analysis to evaluate the development of scientific research over the years on exotic and invasive plant species in the Caatinga. We found 46 papers dealing with invasive plants in the Caatinga published over a 14-year period. The main objectives of most of the papers focused on identifying the main strategies used by plants in the process of invasion and characterising the invaded environment. A total of 28 species were cited as invasive for the Caatinga, with Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC., Cryptostegia madagascariensis Bojer, Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T.Aiton and Parkinsonia aculeata L. being the most cited species. Although studies on the subject are incipient, there is already important information about the dynamics of the invasiveness of plant species in the Caatinga, which can serve as a basis for new studies, as well as for the development of management policies, based on consistent information. Biological invasion, dry forest, exotic species, northeast Brazil, scientometry, semi-arid
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