The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

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The aim of this paper is to provide a checklist of flying and non-flying mammal species which occur in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, delimiting species by vegetation domains and vulnerability. Records were based on specimens in museums, literature, and only eventually on photos (by camera traps). There are 151 mammal species reported or collected in the state, comprising 10 orders and 29 families. The richest orders were Chiroptera (61 spp.), Rodentia (35), Carnivora (18), and Didelphimorphia (16). The richest families were Phyllostomidae (33 species), Cricetidae (23), Didelphidae (16), Molossidae (13), Vespertilionidae (9), Felidae (7), and Dasypodidae (6). Cerrado was the richest domain (117 spp.) followed by Pantanal (110). According to the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 17 species are threatened; they are species of Felidae (n = 6), but also include Canidae (2), Didelphidae (2), Cervidae (1), Dasypodidae (1), Dasyproctidae (1), Mustelidae (1), Myrmecophagidae (1), Phyllostomidae (1), and Tapiridae (1).

Aim Because of their recent evolutionary radiation, capuchin monkeys represent an ideal group with which to investigate ecomorphological adaptations in relation to geography and climate. Our aim was to identify patterns of both skull size and shape variation in capuchins in relation to environmental variables and latitude.Location Tropical and subtropical South America.Methods We performed geometric morphometric analyses of skull shape in 228 capuchin monkey individuals belonging to either the genera Sapajus (seven species) or Cebus (two species), representing 94 localities in South America. Twenty-three homologous landmarks were digitized to describe skull shape. We regressed skull shape against latitude, longitude, skull size and environmental variables, using ordinary and partial least squares regressions. Variation partitioning was used to test for the relative contribution to shape variance by taxonomy, allometry and environment, and their interaction terms. ResultsWe found a significant impact of latitude, climate and size on skull shape. The allometric component of shape variation, although large, is not congruent with shape differences between species, and probably reflects ontogenetic effects. Partial least squares between bioclimatic variables and skull shape explain some 98% of the covariation between environment and shape. Species distributed in drier, more seasonal southern localities exhibit a narrow skull with elongated muzzle and relatively larger teeth. Variation partitioning suggests that the difference in skull shape between species is highly correlated with climatic variation but not with skull size.Main conclusions Skull shape in capuchins is significantly related to both environment and skull size. The former, but not the latter, is significantly associated with shape differences between species. The Sapajus clade originated in the south, and experienced an evolutionary radiation during the Pleistocene. As new Sapajus species moved to the north, they adapted to the local environmental conditions, eventually resembling Cebus in skull shape as they reached the Amazon rain forest, in response to their shared environmental conditions.

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