Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources

About: Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources is a government organization based out in Brasília, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Deforestation. The organization has 549 authors who have published 732 publications receiving 13999 citations. The organization is also known as: IBAMA.

Rapid population decline in red knots: fitness consequences of decreased refuelling rates and late arrival in Delaware Bay

Abstract: Most populations of migrant shorebirds around the world are in serious decline, suggesting that vital condition-dependent rates such as fecundity and annual survival are being affected globally. A striking example is the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) population wintering in Tierra del Fuego, which undertakes marathon 30,000 km hemispheric migrations annually. In spring, migrant birds forage voraciously on horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay in the eastern USA before departing to breed in Arctic polar deserts. From 1997 to 2002 an increasing proportion of knots failed to reach threshold departure masses of 180-200 g, possibly because of later arrival in the Bay and food shortage from concurrent over-harvesting of crabs. Reduced nutrient storage, especially in late-arriving birds, possibly combined with reduced sizes of intestine and liver during refuelling, had severe fitness consequences for adult survival and recruitment of young in 2000-2002. From 1997 to 2002 known survivors in Delaware Bay were heavier at initial capture than birds never seen again, annual survival of adults decreased by 37% between May 2000 and May 2001, and the number of second-year birds in wintering flocks declined by 47%. Population size in Tierra del Fuego declined alarmingly from 51,000 to 27,000 in 2000-2002, seriously threatening the viability of this subspecies. Demographic modelling predicts imminent endangerment and an increased risk of extinction of the subspecies without urgent risk-averse management.

Biogeochemical cycling of carbon, water, energy, trace gases, and aerosols in Amazonia: The LBA‐EUSTACH experiments

Abstract: The biogeochemical cycling of carbon, water, energy, aerosols, and trace gases in the Amazon Basin was investigated in the project European Studies on Trace Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry as a Contribution to the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA-EUSTACH). We present an overview of the design of the project, the measurement sites and methods, and the meteorological conditions during the experiment. The main results from LBA-EUSTACH are: Eddy correlation studies in three regions of the Amazon Basin consistently show a large net carbon sink in the undisturbed rain forest. Nitrogen emitted by forest soils is subject to chemical cycling within the canopy space, which results in re-uptake of a large fraction of soil-derived NOx by the vegetation. The forest vegetation is both a sink and a source of volatile organic compounds, with net deposition being particularly important for partially oxidized organics. Concentrations of aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are highly seasonal, with a pronounced maximum in the dry (burning) season. High CCN concentrations from biomass burning have a pronounced impact on cloud microphysics, rainfall production mechanisms, and probably on large-scale climate dynamics.

Human–wildlife conflicts in a fragmented Amazonian forest landscape: determinants of large felid depredation on livestock

Abstract: Most large carnivore species are in global decline. Conflicts with people, particularly over depredation on small and large livestock, is one of the major causes of this decline. Along tropical deforestation frontiers, large felids often shift from natural to livestock prey because of their increased proximity to human agriculture, thus increasing the likelihood of conflicts with humans. On the basis of data from 236 cattle ranches, we describe levels of depredation by jaguars Panthera onca and pumas Puma concolor on bovine herd stocks and examine the effects of both landscape structure and cattle management on the spatial patterns and levels of predation in a highly fragmented forest landscape of southern Brazilian Amazonia. Generalized linear models showed that landscape variables, including proportion of forest area remaining and distance to the nearest riparian forest corridor, were key positive and negative determinants of predation events, respectively. We detected clear peaks of depredation during the peak calving period at the end of the dry season. Bovine herd size and proportion of forest area had positive effects on predation rates in 60 cattle ranches investigated in more detail. On the other hand, distance from the nearest riparian forest corridor was negatively correlated with the number of cattle predated. The mean proportion of cattle lost to large felids in 24 months for the region varied according to the herd class size (o500: 0.82%; 500–1500: 1.24%; 41500: 0.26%) but was never greater than 1.24%. The highest annual monetary costs were detected in large cattle ranches (41500 head of cattle), reaching US$ 885.40. Patterns of depredation can be explained by a combination of landscape and livestock management variables such as proportion of forest area, distance to the nearest riparian corridor, annual calving peak and bovine herd size.