Endemic angiosperms in Bahia Coastal Forests, Brazil: an update using a newly delimited area

Abstract

The forest along the coast of Bahia state, in northeastern Brazil, has been acknowledged as an area of endemism for several groups of organisms. The first study concerning endemic angiosperm species in this region, through which 395 taxa were registered, was conducted 15 years ago. However, this number is probably underrated. In this article, we present an updated checklist of angiosperm taxa in Bahia Coastal Forests (BCF) based on geographic distribution data available from the Brazilian Plant List (Flora do Brasil 2020). The records were checked in herbaria, recent taxonomic literature, and, when necessary, reviewed by experts. The final checklist consists of 547 taxa endemic to BCF, distributed in 69 families, with seven endemic genera: Bahiella (Apocynaceae), Santosia (Asteraceae), Harleyodendron (Fabaceae), Cubitanthus (Linderniaceae), Anomochloa and Parianella (Poaceae), and Andreadoxa (Rutaceae). The families with highest richness in endemic taxa were Bromeliaceae (108 spp.), Fabaceae (41 spp.) and Myrtaceae (32 spp.). This updated checklist shares only 143 taxa with a previous list published about 15 years ago. Those two lists differ mostly due to slightly different area limits, and to the large number of additional endemic species described since then. We hope our list will be used as a resource in future studies and contributes to the conservation of the highly diverse Bahia Coastal Forest.

Angiosperm endemism in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest biodiversity hot-point

“…Study area -The Bahia Coastal Forest (BCF) sensu Saiter et al (2016) was slightly modified by Ostroski et al (2018) to have its limits coincidental with municipal boundaries (Fig. 1).…”

“…Data collection -The most recent checklist of endemic BCF angiosperm species consisted of 547 taxa (535 species, six subspecies, and six varieties) (Ostroski et al 2018). From these taxa, 506 had precise location data and were used on the analyses (online Appendix 1).…”

“…In this area, Saiter et al (2016) recognized three main phytogeographic regions based on turnover models of tree species composition, one of which includes the coastal forests from southern Bahia and neighbor areas at Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais states (Bahia Coastal Forests, or BCF hereafter). The BCF, with approximately 99,000 km 2 (11° 53′-19° 08′ S, 37° 38′-40° 39′ W), is home to 547 endemic angiosperm species (Ostroski et al 2018), and it has been highlighted as a hot-point priority for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest hotspot (Martini et al 2007).…”

GeoTAB: Identificação dos biomas e da vegetação na região de atuação da Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros

“…No contexto regional, a Mata Atlântica no sul da Bahia destaca-se como uma região de megadiversidade, um hotspot da biodiversidade brasileira e mundial, e um dos mais importantes centros de endemismo da Mata Atlântica [14]. Ostroski et al (2018) [15] estudaram uma grande região de Mata Atlântica, que vai do município de Jaguaré, no litoral norte do Espírito Santo, até o município de Entre Rios, no litoral norte da Bahia, e apresentaram 547 espécies de angiospermas endêmicas, distribuídas em 69 famílias, incluindo também sete gêneros endêmicos: Bahiella (Apocynaceae), Santosia (Asteraceae), Harleyodendron (Fabaceae), Cubitanthus (Linderniaceae), Anomochloa e Parianella (Poaceae), e Andreadoxa (Rutaceae). As famílias com mais espécies endêmicas foram Bromeliaceae (108), Fabaceae (41) e Myrtaceae (32).…”

“…Das espécies amostradas, 39% são arbóreas, 31% são arbustivas, 21% são trepadeiras herbáceas ou lenhosas, 8% são ervas e 1% são epífitas. As famílias com mais espécies foram Fabaceae(18), Rubiaceae(15), Asteraceae (12), Bignoniaceae, Myrtaceae, Sapindaceae (10) e Malvaceae (9). Os gêneros com mais espécies foram Solanum (5), Cupania, Eugenia, Guapira, Myrcia (4), Casearia, Coccoloba, Erythroxylum, Lantana, Myconia, Ocotea, Passiflora, Pavonia, Psychotria, Senna e Serjania (3).…”