Although predictions of potential distributions of invasive species often assume niche conservatism, recent analyses suggest that niche shifts can also occur. Thus, further studies are necessary to provide a better understanding of niche dynamics and to predict geographic distribution in invaded areas. The present study investigated the niche shift hypothesis at a broad biogeographical scale, using the comprehensive distribution of the invasive species Zaprionus indianus in its native (Africa) and invaded (America and India) ranges. Z. indianus is a very successful invasive species that presents high adaptive flexibility and extreme physiological tolerance. To investigate whether Z. indianus changed its climatic niche from Africa to America and India, multivariate analyses, as well as ecological niche modeling procedures (GARP, MAXENT and Mahalanobis distances), were used. Multivariate analyses showed that the niche spaces of Z. indianus in Africa, India and the Americas were significantly different (Wilks' k from a Multivariate Analysis of Variance, MANO-VA = 0.115; P \ 0.0001). Out of 108 occurrences in America, only 11 (ca 10%) were classified, by Canonical Variate Analysis scores, as belonging to its original range in Africa, whereas only 5% of the 39 occurrences in India were classified as belonging to Z. indianus' original range. Consensus results from MAXENT, GARP and Mahalanobis distances correctly predicted only 27% of the occurrences in India and 85% of occurrences in America. Thus, all analyses showed that Zaprionus indianus quickly expanded ranges into different environments in the invaded areas, suggesting climatic niche shifts, primarily in India.
1. Two new records for the Neotropical damselflies, Schistolobos boliviensis and Tuberculobasis inversa, previously known only from the Amazonia, are presented from the Brazilian Cerrado.2. Potential distribution models for the two species were built first using only previous occurrence points from the literature, and later adding the new records. The first niche models had low capacity to predict the new records for both species. The models with with all biogeographical information increased overall distributional area for both species and indicated priority areas for inventory outside its original distribution. The results reinforce the use of modelling as a tool to increase faunal knowledge in poorly studied areas, allowing an initial evaluation of conservation status and the indication of priority areas for inventories.
Protected areas (PAs) are vital for the conservation of Brazil's biodiversity (Barber et al.2014). However, they are at risk of a downgrade in legal status due to economic pressures on natural resources (Bernard et al.2014; De Marques & Perez 2014; Pack et al.2016). Mining is one of the most urgent environmental threats in Brazil (Ferreira et al.2014; El Bizri et al.2016), with plans in place for a 10-fold increase in the number of mining projects in c. 8 years. If all were developed, the Brazilian territory occupied by mining would increase 23-fold in the near future. Currently, 12 697 projects covering 98 × 105 ha are planned within PAs. Licensing and exploitation of 53% of this land will depend on the approval of three bills that intend to authorize mining in areas where it was formerly forbidden. Here, we analyse the potential consequences of the approval of these new policies for conservation.
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