| Grant number: | 10/05343-5 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | March 01, 2011 |
| Effective date (End): | April 30, 2015 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology |
| Principal Investigator: | Hilton Thadeu Zarate do Couto |
| Grantee: | Eduardo Roberto Alexandrino |
| Host Institution: | Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil |
| Associated scholarship(s): | 14/14925-9 - The usage of bird assemblages as environmental quality indicator of forest patches in a highly agricultural landscape, BE.EP.DR |
Abstract The conversion of original habitats in agricultural lands, and consequently the habitat fragmentation, is considered the main threat for biodiversity conservation. Nowadays, fragmented habitats embedded by an agricultural matrix are common scenarios in many regions on Earth, and therefore research is necessary to provide knowledge about the potential adaptation of biodiversity on these anthropogenic landscapes. Thus, the following study aims to describe the structure of bird assemblages that occur in forest patches inserted in pasture and sugarcane matrices, as well as in the interior of these crops, evaluating the effects caused by the dynamics, structure and composition of the landscapes on these bird assemblages. As experimental design, in 2010/2011 five samples of landscape (each one with 16km2) were placed in an agricultural landscape in southeast Brazil (Corumbataí river basin, 170000ha), after searching for sites composed at least by 70% of the matrix and 10% of forest habitat in its interior. Three samples of landscape were placed on pasture matrix (north) and two on sugarcane matrix (south). Thereafter eight forest patches were selected in these samples of landscapes considering the mean forest age through historical images analyses (1962, 1978, 1995, 2000 and 2008), resulting in a selection of four old patches (the most part of the patch was present on the river basin since 1962 or 1978) and four new patches (the most part of the patch has early re-growth started in 1995), being two old and two new on both matrix categories. Also, eight samples plots inside each crop (pasture and sugarcane) were chosen considering sites located at least 300 meters radius distant of other land uses. Thus, birds assemblages in forest patches and samples plots in crops were one year sampled (Nov2011-Nov2012) using point counts and transect methods. The landscape structure, through recent aerial images, are being collected by 1000m of circular buffers on the samples sites (forest and samples plots in each crop), and for the dynamic (fragmentation and forest re-growth) the historical images are being used. Initially, classical approaches of community ecology, such as richness, Shannon diversity, species composition, as well as innovative approaches (Functional diversity and Index of Biotic Integrity) will be performed in order to test which approach could be the best dependent variable to evaluate the effects of the landscape dynamic and structure on bird assemblages. The expectation of this project is to produce useful information to identify possible ways to promote high biodiversity maintenance in agricultural landscapes, and to produce useful knowledge for future researchers to test agricultural management actions. This Project is linked to FAPESP Projeto Auxilio Pesquisa n.2011/06782-5. (AU) | |
| News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the scholarship: | |
| TITULO | |
| Articles published in other media outlets (0 total): | |
| More itemsLess items | |
| VEICULO: TITULO (DATA) | |
| VEICULO: TITULO (DATA) | |