Underlying and proximate drivers of biodiversity changes in Mesoamerican biosphere reserves.

Protected areas are of paramount relevance to conserving wildlife and ecosystem contributions to people. Yet, their conservation success is increasingly threatened by human activities including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and species overexploitation. Thus, understanding the underlying and proximate drivers of anthropogenic threats is urgently needed to improve protected areas' effectiveness, especially in the biodiversity-rich tropics.

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) feathers as bioindicators of exposure to metals and metalloids contamination in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas from Campeche state, Mexico.

Landfills are sources of soil, water, and air pollution due to the release of toxic compounds such as metals and metalloids. In both tropical and temperate environments, scavenger birds such as the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) that have learned to use these sites as a feeding area are probably exposed to metals, metalloids and other "persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances (PBTs)" released in open dumpsite (OD) and sanitary landfill (SL). The objective of this study is to evaluate the presence and distribution of toxic metals (Al, Sn, Hg, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr) and As in OD and SL from urban, semi-urban and rural localities in Campeche, México, using molting feathers of C.

Classification and distribution of functional groups of birds and mammals in Mexico.

There has been a recent exponential growth in the study of functional trait ecology. Nonetheless, the study of functional traits and functional groups has been limited for terrestrial vertebrates. We conducted a classification update of functional groups (FG) of birds and mammals in Mexico, and determined the distribution patterns of FG species richness in different ecosystems nationwide.

Organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals and metalloids in microplastics found in regurgitated pellets of black vulture from Campeche, Mexico.

Plastics are produced by the millions of tons worldwide each year, with their final deposition in landfills (LFs). Plastics deposited in LFs can fragment over time, giving rise to mesoplastics and later to microplastics (MPs), in which toxic chemicals such as heavy metals, organochlorine pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can adhere. MPs can be vectors for the exposure to pollutants of black vultures (Coragyps atratus) due to feeding in LFs, resulting in accidental ingestion of MPs.

Assessment of the American Flamingo distribution, trends, and important breeding areas.

The American Flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber, is a charismatic bird distributed throughout the Caribbean, North and South America. Its wide distribution, the complexity of international monitoring due to its capacity for long-distance flying, and a focus mostly on local populations, make it difficult to understand the dynamics between sites. Here, we took advantage of the citizen eBird science project to present a global perspective on the distribution of the American Flamingo, and identify the potentially most important countries for breeding.

Plastic density as a key factor in the presence of microplastic in the gastrointestinal tract of commercial fishes from Campeche Bay, Mexico.

Microplastics (MPs) are currently one of the primary marine pollution problems around the world. MPs are distributed throughout the water column, dependent mainly on the density that is given by the polymer type, as well as the location, depth, and velocities of the water flows. This situation allows all aquatic organisms to be exposed to MPs.

Evaluating the sustainability of conservation and development strategies: The case of management units for wildlife conservation in Tabasco, Mexico.

Strategies that integrate conservation and development objectives are increasingly common, albeit still controversial, at the global scale. There are information gaps regarding their overall reach and sustainability through an integral assessment approach. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: 1) to design a Methodological Framework of Sustainability Evaluation (MFSE) that could be applied to the assessment of conservation and development strategies; and 2) to apply this MFSE in an empirical exercise with management units for wildlife conservation (UMAs, by its Spanish acronym), a major environmental policy in Mexico.

Field evidence for transfer of plastic debris along a terrestrial food chain.

Although plastic pollution happens globally, the micro- (<5 mm) and macroplastic (5-150 mm) transfer of plastic to terrestrial species relevant to human consumption has not been examined. We provide first-time evidence for micro- and macroplastic transfer from soil to chickens in traditional Mayan home gardens in Southeast Mexico where waste mismanagement is common. We assessed micro- and macroplastic in soil, earthworm casts, chicken feces, crops and gizzards (used for human consumption).

[[Characterization of the potential geographical distribution area of parrot species in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico].

Psittacidae family is one of the most endangered groups in Mexico, since many of their habitats are disappearing. In this research, we characterized the land cover of the potential geographical distribu- tion area of eight extant parrot species within the Yucatan Peninsula. We used the Maximum Entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) and species historical records.

CracidMex1: a comprehensive database of global occurrences of cracids (Aves, Galliformes) with distribution in Mexico.

Cracids are among the most vulnerable groups of Neotropical birds. Almost half of the species of this family are included in a conservation risk category. Twelve taxa occur in Mexico, six of which are considered at risk at national level and two are globally endangered.