| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Total Authors: 3
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia - Brasil
[2] Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia - Brasil
[3] Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências - Brasil
Total Affiliations: 3
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Conservation Biology; v. 19, n. 3, p. 640-645, June 2005. |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Ecology |
| Abstract | |
As one of the world's prime megadiverse countries, Brazil holds an immense number of terrestrial invertebrates. Current knowledge of this biota is very heterogeneous. Several taxa are sufficiently well known to be used as indicators of ecological integrity or of endemism. The current Brazilian national and regional red lists include 130 terrestrial invertebrate species, of which 42% are butterflies. These lists are contingent on available knowledge, and many taxa that are omitted certainly include species at risk. Knowledge of various biomes and habitats is also quite irregular, with the Caatinga and Pantanal in need of more study, compared with the Atlantic Forest, the Amazon, and Cerrado. Canopy, host-associated, and soil faunas also need further intensive study. Invertebrate conservation will be promoted more effectively by habitat preservation and management rather than single-species initiatives. To this end, better geographic surveys of entire taxonomic or functional assemblages are needed. An improved understanding of the invertebrate role in ecosystem processes will strengthen enormously the case for their conservation. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 02/08558-6 - Biodiversity and social processes in São Luiz do Paraitinga, São Paulo |
| Grantee: | Paulo Inácio de Knegt López de Prado |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 98/05085-2 - Species and interaction diversity in plants and phytophagous insects |
| Grantee: | Thomas Michael Lewinsohn |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 98/05101-8 - Lepidoptera of the State of São Paulo: diversity, distribution, resources, and use for analysis and environmental monitoring |
| Grantee: | Keith Spalding Brown Junior |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 00/01484-1 - Butterfilies as environmental indicators: monitoring with Nymphalidae (Eurytelinae and Satyrinae) |
| Grantee: | André Victor Lucci Freitas |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |