Publications by authors named "Augusto JoAo Piratelli"

Urban parks and cemeteries constitute hot spots of bird diversity in urban areas. However, the seasonal dynamics of their bird communities have been scarcely explored at large scales. This study aims to analyze the drivers of urban bird assemblage seasonality in urban parks and cemeteries comparing assemblages during breeding and non-breeding seasons in the Neotropical Region.

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The escape behaviour, measured as flight initiation distance (FID; the distance at which individuals take flight when approached by a potential predator, usually a human in the study systems), is a measure widely used to study fearfulness and risk-taking in animals. Previous studies have shown significant differences in the escape behaviour of birds inhabiting cemeteries and urban parks in European cities, where birds seem to be shyer in the latter. We collected a regional dataset of the FID of birds inhabiting cemeteries and parks across Latin America in peri-urban, suburban and urban parks and cemeteries.

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Encounters between flowers and invertebrates are key events for the functioning of tropical forests. Assessing the structure of networks composed of the interactions between those partners leads to a better understanding of ecosystem functioning and the effects of environmental factors on ecological processes. Gathering such data is, however, costly and time-consuming, especially in the highly diverse tropics.

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Article Synopsis
  • Deforestation and habitat loss due to land use changes pose significant threats to tropical birds in human-modified landscapes (HMLs), impacting their diets and ecological roles.
  • A study analyzed feathers from 851 birds across 28 landscapes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, using stable isotopes to compare bird trophic guilds in HMLs and natural landscapes (NLs).
  • Findings revealed that most bird niches are narrower and food resources scarcer in HMLs, except for granivores, underscoring the need for landscape management to enhance habitat diversity and support bird populations.
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Ecological restoration is a traditional option for recovering biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Birds perform pollination, seed dispersal, and pest-control services, which catalyze increases in habitat structure. Habitat complexity changes bird composition, but there is little evidence of its effects on bird functional diversity in Neotropical restorations.

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Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists aim to uncover the reasons behind the Neotropical region's high bird diversity by examining factors like climate and human impact on morphological variation.
  • The ATLANTIC BIRD TRAITS dataset includes over 67,000 bird records spanning 711 species in South America’s Atlantic forests, covering up to 44 morphological traits collected over 200 years.
  • This dataset, which is the most extensive of its kind in a biodiversity hotspot, supports both basic scientific research and practical conservation efforts.
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