Cave Invertebrates in Northwestern Minas Gerais State, Brazil: Endemism, Threats and Conservation Priorities

Abstract

Lopes Ferreira: Jamski nevretenčarji v severozahodnem predelu Minas Gerais, Brazilija: endemizem, ogroženost in vidiki varovanja Kraška področja in jame v Braziliji so zaradi visoke gospodarske vrednosti že desetletja prizadeta. Posledično so, zlasti v zadnjih letih, pritegnila pozornost upravljalcev, okoljskih agencij in raziskovalcev. V pričujoči študiji so zbrani podatki o jamski favni severozahodnega območja Minas Gerais v Braziliji s poudarkom na bogastvu vrst in endemizmu, poleg ugotovljenih vplivov in nevarnosti, ki se pojavljajo v teh okoljih ter jam in drugih ranljivih predelov, za katere predlagamo ukrepe za njihovo ohranitev. Tri jame so bile opredeljene kot prednostne za ohranitev: jama Lagoa Rica v Paracatu in jami Lapa Nova in Lapa da Delza v Vazante. Poleg tega so bile prepoznane tri regije, kjer naj bi se izvajali ukrepi varovanja: Arinos, Paracatu in Cabeceira Grande/Unaí. Največja grožnja na teh območjih, kjer je registriranih 85% jam, je izsekavanje gozdov in sprememba v pašnike za vzgojo govedoreje. Glavna priporočila so zaščita področja, ozaveščanje prebivalstva in biospeleološke raziskave v drugih jamah na proučevanem območju. Vse raziskovane jame so heterogene, z edinstvenimi lastnostmi. Priporočene so raziskave v čim večjem številu jam, kot dodana vrednost pri načrtih za ohranjanje in varovanje jamske favne. Ključne besede: nevretenčarji, jame, varovanje, endemizem. attention of managers, environmental agencies and researchers, especially in recent years. The present study collected information regarding the cave invertebrate fauna of the Northwest region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, such as species richness and endemisms, besides the impacts and threats occurring in these environments, identifying caves and more vulnerable areas and proposing conservation actions. Three caves were identified as a priority for conservation: Lagoa Rica cave in Paracatu, and Lapa Nova and Lapa da Delza caves in Vazante. Another three areas were considered in need of conservation actions: regions of Arinos, Paracatu and Cabeceira Grande/Unaí. The main threat found in the area was the conversion of forests into pastures for cattle breeding, registered in the surroundings of 85% of the caves. The main recommendations were the recuperation of the surroundings, awareness raising of the population and biospeleological inventories in other caves of the area. The studied caves were very heterogeneous, presenting unique characteristics. Thus, the study of the highest possible number of caves of the region of interest is always recommended, to aid in conservation and action plans for cave fauna.

Are inner cave communities more stable than entrance communities in Lapa Nova show cave?

“…Although a recent study indicates the existence of two hotspots of subterranean biodiversity in Brazil (Souza-Silva and Ferreira 2016), Neotropical cave communities are formed mainly by troglophilic organisms (Trajano and Bichuette 2010). In many Brazilian caves, troglobitic species are even unknown (Souza-Silva et al 2011, Simões et al 2014, Simões et al 2015. Thus, studies in Neotropical caves focusing only on troglobite species would eventually neglect most of the species that make up the entire cave community.…”

The first survey on harvestmen in Brazilian artificial cavities, with notes on distribution and natural history

“…However, few studies registered the presence of these arthropods in artificial cavities in Brazil (Gnaspini and Trajano 1994, Bernardi et al 2010, 2011, Ázara et al 2013) and worldwide (Holmberg et al 1984, Angerilli and Holmberg 1986, Moseley and Hebda 2001, Isaia et al 2011. This is probably due to the small number of faunal surveys conducted in these environments when compared to natural caves (Trajano and Bichuette 2010, Reboleira et al 2011, Silva et al 2011a, Silva et al 2011b, Iniesta et al 2012, Pellegrini and Ferreira 2012, Simões et al 2014, Silva and Ferreira 2015.…”

Neocarus spelaion sp. n. (Parasitiformes, Opilioacaridae), a new species of cave dwelling Neocarus from Minas Gerais state, Brazil

“…The region of the Bambuí Geomorphological unit contains important limestone deposits and is under for intense pressure from mining activities, threatening caves and the surrounding epigean habitats (Ferreira et al 2009, Simões et al 2014. These activities threaten all species, due to the rapid and destructive nature of resource extraction methods, which often occur in an uncontrolled manner and which falls below the legally accepted standards.…”