Ecosystem services provided by armadillos

Autor(es)

Rodrigues, Thiago F. ^[1] ; Mantellatto, Aline M. B. ^[2] ; Superina, Mariella ^[3] ; Chiarello, Adriano G. ^[4]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Qieiroz Coll Agr, Appl Ecol Program, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sul Bahia, Campus Sosigenes Costa, BR-45810000 Porto Seguro, BA - Brazil

^[3] IMBECU CCT CONICET Mendoza, Lab Med & Endomnol Fauna Silvestre, RA-5500 Mendoza - Argentina

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Philosophy Sci & Letters Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS; v. 95, n. 1 AUG 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Awareness of the natural ecological processes provided by organisms that benefit human well-being has significantly progressed towards the goal of making conservation a mainstream value. Identifying different services and the species that provide them is a vital first step for the management and maintenance of these so-called ecosystem services. Herein, we specifically address the armadillos, which play key functional roles in terrestrial ecosystems, including as ecosystem engineers, predators, and vectors of invertebrates and nutrients, although these roles have often been overlooked. Armadillos can control pests, disperse seeds, and be effective sentinels of potential disease outbreaks or bioindicators of environmental contaminants. They also supply important material (meat, medicines) and non-material (learning, inspiration) contributions all over the Americas. We identify key gaps in the understanding of ecosystem services provided by armadillos and areas for future research required to clarify their functional role in terrestrial ecosystems and the services they supply. Such information will produce powerful arguments for armadillo conservation. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 16/19106-1 - Ocorrência de mamíferos e invasão biológica em remanescentes de Cerrado de paisagens agrícolas
• Beneficiário: Adriano Garcia Chiarello
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular