Ecosystem Services from Ecological Agroforestry in Brazil: A Systematic Map of Scientific Evidence

(1) Brazil has great potential to expand the area under agroforestry, and thereby simultaneously enhance multiple ecosystem services. However, divergent interests are currently polarized between drastic environmental deregulation and public resource allocation to chemical-intensive land use versus conservation and sustainable agriculture. This highlights an urgent need for a comprehensive overview of the evidence of the benefits to society generated by agroforestry across Brazil. (2) We present a systematic map of the scientific evidence related to the effects of agroforestry on ecosystem services in Brazil. (3) Reviewing 158 peer-reviewed articles, published in international scientific journals (database: Web of Science), we identified a disproportionate emphasis on the Atlantic Forest. Very little research has been published on the Cerrado savanna, Pampa grasslands and Pantanal wetlands. Regulating services were much more frequently studied (85%) than provisioning (13%), while cultural services represent a major gap. A consistent positive effect of agroforestry was demonstrated for soil quality, habitat and food provisioning. Trade-offs were demonstrated for soils and habitats. (4) Our analysis identifies high-priority gaps given their critical importance for human well-being which should be filled: agroforestry effects on water provision and regulation. Moreover, they should assess other ES such as erosion control, flood protection and pest control to enable a more reliable inference about trade-offs.

Habitat Differences Affect the Nuclear Morphology of the Erythrocytes and the Hepatic Melanin in Leptodactylus Fuscus (Anura) in the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna

The sensitivity of anuran to the effects of habitat destruction and contamination has led to a preoccupying global decline in their populations. Morphological biomarkers such as micronuclei and other erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities (ENAs) and the occurrence of hepatic melanin can be used to evaluate the effects of habitat impacts. In the present study, these two procedures were combined for the in situ assessment of the effects of soybean cultivation on the grassfrog, Leptodactylus fuscus. Specimens were also collected from a protected area to provide a control (non-agricultural environment). The frequency of some nuclear abnormalities in the animals from the soybean plantation was much higher than the control, specifically, micronuclei were 3.6 times more frequent, while lobulated nuclei were 3.4 times more frequent, and reniform nuclei, four times more common. The combined analysis of all the ENAs also revealed a frequency approximately 1.4 times higher in the animals from the soybean plantation, in comparison with the protected area. Smaller areas of hepatic melanin were observed in the specimens from the soybean plantation. These results provide further evidence of the sensitivity of anurans to habitat impacts, and indicate that animals found in soybean plantations are susceptible to systematic alterations of the cells.

Scavengers flesh flies (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) from two phytophysiognomies in the state of Maranhão, Northeastern of Brazil

Flesh flies (Sarcophagidae) have been found in a wide range of natural and anthropogenic environments, from forests to deserts. The state of Maranhão, located in Northeastern Brazil, has a diverse phytogeography, but few faunistic studies have been conducted in this area. Therefore, the objective of this study was to inventory species of Sarcophagidae and compare abundance patterns between the Cerrado (savanna-like vegetation) and riparian forests in the municipality of Codó, state of Maranhão. Twelve sampling events were carried out from the second half of 2015 to the first half of 2017. This resulted in 3,220 specimens, 27.15% of which were males, from nine genera and 27 species. A total of 491 specimens (16 species) were collected in the Cerrado, and 383 specimens (21 species) in the riparian forest. Peckia (Sarcodexia) lambens (Wiedemann) was the most abundant species (56,18% of the specimens sampled), followed by Peckia (Peckia) pexata (Wulp) (13%); Peckia (Euboettcheria) collusor (Curran & Walley) (13%), and Peckia (Peckia) chrysostoma Wiedemann (10%). Only P. (E.) collusor was found in greater abundance in the Cerrado. Oxysarcodexia angrensis (Lopes), Peckia (Peckia) enderleini (Engel), and Retrocitomiya andina Lopes are all new records to Maranhão and the entire Northeast Region of Brazil. Titanogrypa (Cuculomyia) albuquerquei (Lopes) is also a new to Maranhão.

Checklist of large and medium-bodied mammals from four areas of Tocantins state, Central Brazil

The state of Tocantins is located in Central Brazil. The northern extreme of this state corresponds to the southeastern portion of the Amazon biome, while it is covered primarily by Cerrado savanna, as well as the transition area between these two biomes. We provide a checklist of large- and medium-bodied mammals from four localities in Tocantins, update the list of species for the state, and compile the available information on their geographic distribution. We surveyed mammals at four sites during different periods (between 2010 and 2018), using camera traps and opportunistic observations. In spite of the differences in the sampling effort among the sites, we recorded 42 mammal species belonging to eight orders and 20 families. Our list includes rare and threatened species, such as the jaguar (Panthera onca), the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), and the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris). One species (Galictis cuja) was recorded in the state for the first time and the known range distribution of two others (Speothos venaticus and Alouatta caraya) was updated.

Foraging and Spatial Ecology of a Polydomous Carpenter Ant, Camponotus leydigi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in Tropical Cerrado Savanna: A Natural History Account

Carpenter ants (genus Camponotus) are considered to be predominantly omnivorous, mixing several feeding habits that include predation, scavenging of animal matter, and plant-derived resources. Nitrogen acquisition is crucial for the nutritional ecology of ant colonies because growing larvae require sustainable protein provisioning. Here, we investigate the foraging ecology and the spatial nesting structure of the carpenter ant, Camponotus leydigi Forel, in Brazilian cerrado savanna. By marking workers from different nests with distinct colors, we revealed that C. leydigi occupies physically separated but socially connected nests (up to 30 m apart), a phenomenon known as polydomy. Observational data on aboveground internest movements in C. leydigi corroborate cooperative exchanges between nest units and confirm several types of social connections, including internest transfer of liquid and solid food, transport of colony members (brood, workers), movement of solitary workers, and internest recruitment. Polydomous C. leydigi allocate foragers throughout 1,700 m2, feeding mostly on termites and plant-derived exudates. Influx of exudates is threefold higher compared with solid food. Uric acid pellets excreted by lizards comprise 20% of the solid diet in C. leydigi, a rare quantitative assessment of this peculiar type of nitrogen complementation in ants. Based on video recordings, we hypothesize that nest decentralization in C. leydigi may reduce foraging constraints caused by overt interference by the aggressive ant, Ectatomma brunneum Smith, F. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which regularly blocks nest entrances. Our field study enhances the importance of natural history data to clarify selective pressures underlying the evolution of particular behavioral patterns (nutritional and nesting habits) in ants.