Priority areas for anuran conservation using biogeographical data: a comparison of greedy, rarity, and simulated annealing algorithms to define reserve networks in Cerrado

Abstract

Spatial patterns in biodiversity variation at a regional scale are rarely taken into account when a natural reserve is to be established, despite many available methods for determining them. In this paper, we used dimensions of occurrence of 105 species of Anura (Amphibia) in the cerrado region of central Brazil to create a regional system of potential areas that preserves all regional diversity, using three different algorithms to establish reserve networks: "greedy", rarity, and simulated annealing algorithms. These generated networks based on complementarity with 10, 12, and 8 regions, respectively, widely distributed in the biome, and encompassing various Brazilian states. Although the purpose of these algorithms is to find a small number of regions for which all species are represented at least once, the results showed that 67.6%, 76.2%, and 69.5% of the species were represented in two or more regions in the three networks. Simulated annealing produced the smallest network, but it left out three species (one endemic). On the other hand, while the greedy algorithm produce a smaller solution, the rarity-based algorithm ensured that more species were represented more than once, which can be advantageous because it takes into consideration the high levels of habitat loss in the cerrado. Although usually coarse, these macro-scale approaches can provide overall guidelines for conservation and are useful in determining the focus for more local and effective conservation efforts, which is especially important when dealing with a taxonomic group such as anurans, for which quick and drastic population declines have been reported throughout the world.

Leaf breakdown in two tropical streams: Differences between single and mixed species packs

“…However, in the large picture of tropical ecosystems, this information may be of great importance due to the constant human impacts that riparian zones are suffering, specially in the developing countries. We expect that our study may be useful to a better understanding of the patterns that determine organic matter processing in tropical streams and contributes with some information to the conservation of Brazilian Cerrado Biome that is one of the 25 terrestrial hotspots (Myers, Mittermeier, Mittermeier, Fonseca, and Kent, 2000) and is considered the largest, the richest, and possibly the most threatened tropical savannah of the whole world (Diniz-Filho, Bini, Bastos, Vieira, & Vieira, 2005).…”

Amphibians of the state of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil: a preliminary assessment

“…For the Caatinga endemics, Rhinella jimi occurs in the north of the state in the coastal zone (Silva et al 2007, Loebmann & Mai 2008 Valdujo et al (2012) for amphibians, however we believe that new inventories, especially at the border of the states of Tocantins and Maranhão on the southwestern region, can substantially increase the diversity in Piauí. Those region encompass one of richest amphibian diversity areas in Cerrado, and are considered priority areas for conservation (Diniz-Filho et al 2005). Undescribed species such as Adenomera sp.…”

MiniTUBA: a Web-Based Dynamic Bayesian Network Analysis System

“…In analogy with the annealing of metals, the temperature is made high in the early stages of the process for faster minimisation or learning, is then reduced for greater stability (Ispolatov and Maslov, 2008). The greedy random algorithm makes the locally optimal choice at each stage with the hope of finding the global optimum (Diniz-Filho, et al, 2005). Simulated annealing was found to consistently find the highest scoring Bayesian network models while greedy random algorithm does not (Hartemink, et al, 2002).…”