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Altitudinal migration is the seasonal altitudinal movement of birds from breeding areas to non-breeding or wintering areas at different elevations. Although this type of migration is widely reported, questions remain concerning the number of species that perform altitudinal migration, possible variation among different taxa and geographic locations in the extent of altitudinal migration, and the foraging guilds of altitudinal migrants. We conducted an extensive bibliographic survey and compiled a list of altitudinal migrant birds worldwide. We characterized species in terms of their foraging guilds because the spatial distribution of food resources along altitudinal gradients is often evoked as a driver of bird altitudinal migration. We identified 1238 species of altitudinal migrants, ~10% of the ~10,000 extant species of birds. We found a strong geographic bias in publications focusing on avian altitudinal migration toward the United States and Costa Rica, and a paucity of studies in megadiverse regions such as the Afrotropical and Indomalayan realms, and areas in the Neotropics other than Costa Rica. We also found that most species of altitudinal migrants were invertivores rather than frugivores or nectarivores. This general pattern held true for all zoogeographic realms except the Neotropics, where nectarivores and frugivores predominated among altitudinal migrants. The prevalence of invertivore birds among altitudinal migrants is not unexpected because this is the most common foraging guild among birds worldwide. Overall, we found no prevalence of any specific foraging guild among altitudinal migrants across zoogeographic regions. The results of studies to date suggest that altitudinal migration by birds may be driven by a number of factors, including access to increased food resources for breeding or molting, weather conditions, and mating and nesting opportunities. However, to better understand the mechanisms underlying altitudinal migration, broadening the geographic scope of studies is paramount, with additional study of altitudinal migration especially needed in the megadiverse tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. La migración altitudinal es el movimiento altitudinal estacional de las aves desde las áreas de reproducción a las áreas no reproductivas o de invernada a diferentes elevaciones. Aunque este tipo de migración es ampliamente reportado, quedan preguntas sobre el número de especies que realizan migración altitudinal, la posible variación entre direrentes taxones y ubicaciones geográficas en el grado de migración altitudinal, y los gremios de forrajeo de migrantes altitudinales. Realizamos una extensa encuesta bibliográfica y compilamos una lista de aves migratorias altitudinales en todo el mundo. Caracterizamos a las especies en términos de sus gremios de forrajeo porque la distribución espacial, y por los gradientes altitudinales, de los recursos de alimentación muchas veces se evoca como un impulsor de la migración altitudinal de las aves. Identificamos 1238 especies de migrantes altitudinales, ~ 10% de las ~ 10,000 especies de aves existentes. Encontramos un fuerte sesgo geográfico en las publicaciones que se enfoque en la migración altitudinal de las aves en los Estados Unidos y Costa Rica, y una escasez de estudios en regiones megadiversas como los regiones de Afrotropical e Indomalayan, y áreas en el Neótropico además de Costa Rica. También encontramos que la mayoría de las especies de migrantes altitudinales eran invertívoros en vez de frugívoros nectarívoros. Este patrón general se mantuvo para todas las regiones zoogeográficos, excepto el Neotrópico, donde los nectarívoros y frugívoros predominaron entre los migrantes altitudinales. La prevalencia de aves invertívoras entre los migrantes altitudinales no es inesperada, ya que es el gremio de forrajeo más común entre las aves en todo el mundo. En general, no encontramos prevalencia de ningún gremio de forrajeo específico entre todos los migrantes altitudinales en las regiones zoogeográficas. Los resultados de los estudios hasta ahora sugieren que la migración altitudinal de las aves puede estar impulsada por una serie de factores, incluido el acceso a mayores recursos alimentarios durante la cría o muda, las condiciones climáticas y las oportunidades de apareamiento y anidación. Sin embargo, para comprender mejor los mecanismos subyacentes a la migración altitudinal, es primordial a ampliar el alcance geográfico de los estudios, con estudios de la migración altitudinal especialmente necesario en las regiones tropicales y megadiversas del África subsahariana, el sudeste asiático y Sudamérica.

Bird migration is typically associated with a latitudinal movement from north to south and vice versa. However, many bird species migrate seasonally with an upslope or downslope movement in a process termed altitudinal migration. Globally, 830 of the 6,579 Passeriformes species are considered altitudinal migrants and this pattern has emerged multiple times across 77 families of this order. Recent work has indicated an association between altitudinal migration and diet, but none have looked at diet as a potential evolutionary driver. Here, we investigated potential evolutionary drivers of altitudinal migration in passerines around the world by using phylogenetic comparative methods. We tested for evolutionary associations between altitudinal migration and foraging guild and primary habitat preference in passerines species worldwide. Our results indicate that foraging guild is evolutionarily associated with altitudinal migration, but this relationship varies across zoogeographical regions. In the Nearctic, herbivorous and omnivorous species are associated with altitudinal migration, while only omnivorous species are associated with altitudinal migration in the Palearctic. Habitat was not strongly linked to the evolution of altitudinal migration. While our results point to diet as a potentially important driver of altitudinal migration, the evolution of this behavior is complex and certainly driven by multiple factors. Altitudinal migration varies in its use (for breeding or molting), within a species, population, and even at the individual level. As such, the evolution of altitudinal migration is likely driven by an ensemble of factors, but this study provides a beginning framework for understanding the evolution of this complex behavior. Globally, 830 of the 6,579 Passeriformes species are considered altitudinal migrants and this pattern has emerged multiple times across 77 families of this order. We investigated potential evolutionary drivers of altitudinal migration in passerines around the world by using phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results indicate that foraging guild is evolutionary associated with altitudinal migration, but this relationship varies across zoogeographical regions.

Most conservation decisions take place at national or finer spatial scales. Providing useful information at such decision-making scales is essential for guiding the practice of conservation. Brazil is one of the world's megadiverse countries, and consequently decisions about conservation in the country have a disproportionate impact on the survival of global biodiversity. For three groups of terrestrial vertebrates (birds, mammals, and amphibians), we examined geographic patterns of diversity and protection in Brazil, including that of endemic, small-ranged, and threatened species. To understand potential limitations of the data, we also explored how spatial bias in collection localities may influence the perceived patterns of diversity. The highest overall species richness is in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, while the Atlantic Forest dominates in terms of country endemics and small-ranged species. Globally threatened species do not present a consistent pattern. Patterns for birds were similar to overall species richness, with higher concentrations of threatened species in the Atlantic Forest, while mammals show a more generalized pattern across the country and a high concentration in the Amazon. Few amphibians are listed as threatened, mostly in the Atlantic Forest. Data deficient mammals occur across the country, concentrating in the Amazon and southeast Atlantic Forest, and there are no data deficient birds in Brazil. In contrast, nearly a third of amphibians are data deficient, widespread across the country, but with a high concentration in the far southeast. Spatial biases in species locality data, however, possibly influence the perceived patterns of biodiversity. Regions with low sampling density need more biological studies, as do the many data deficient species. All biomes except the Amazon have less than 3% of their area under full protection. Reassuringly though, rates of protection do correlate with higher biodiversity, including higher levels of threatened and small-ranged species. Our results indicate a need for expanded formal protection in Brazil, especially in the Atlantic forest, and with an emphasis on fully protected areas.

A key strategy in biodiversity conservation is the establishment of protected areas. In the future, however, the redistribution of species in response to ongoing climate change is likely to affect species' representativeness in those areas. Here we quantify the effectiveness of planning protected areas network to represent 151 birds endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot, under current and future climate change conditions for 2050. We combined environmental niche modeling and systematic conservation planning using both a county and a regional level planning strategy. We recognized the conflict between biodiversity conservation and economic development, including socio-economic targets (as opposed to biological only) and using planning units that are meaningful for policy-makers. We estimated an average contraction of 29,500 km in environmentally suitable areas for birds, representing 52% of currently suitable areas. Still, the most cost-effective solution represented almost all target species, requiring only ca. 10% of the Atlantic Forest counties to achieve that representativeness, independent of strategy. More than 50% of these counties were selected both in the current and future planned networks, representing >83% of the species. Our results indicate that: (i) planning protected areas network currently can be useful to represent species under climate change; (ii) the overlapped planning units in the best solution for both current and future conditions can be considered as \"no regret\" areas; (iii) priority counties are spread throughout the biome, providing specific guidance wherever the possibility of creating protected area arises; and (iv) decisions can occur at different administrative spheres (Federal, State or County) as we found quite similar numerical solutions using either county or regional level strategies.

Seismic surveys introduce high levels of noise into the soundscape. Thus, a major concern is the effect of these noise levels on animal communication, especially for species with high hearing acuity, such as cetaceans. We evaluated the effects of airgun pulses of seismic surveys on the acoustic behavior of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the two most important basins for oil and gas off Brazil. We detect the presence of airgun pulses and measure sound pressure levels (SPL) to evaluate whether SPL changed the acoustic parameters of cetacean vocalizations. Airgun pulses increased the SPL by 17%. This changes acoustic parameters differently: whales reduced call frequency and duration, while dolphins increased these parameters. In both cases, responses may be related to physiological limitations in sound modulation of each species. This was the first report on the impacts of seismic surveys on cetaceans’ communications in Brazil and the first for the pantropical spotted dolphin on this topic in the world. Impacts vary with the frequency and duration of emissions, indicating species-specific acoustic responses that depend on airgun noise characteristics. Whales cannot make efficient adjustments at higher or lower frequencies, and dolphins cannot adjust at lower frequencies. These results are important for discussing the effects of airgun noise on cetacean communication.

We combined mitochondrial DNA sequence data and paleoclimatic distribution models to document phylogeographic patterns and investigate the historical demography of two manakins, Ceratopipra rubrocapilla and Pseudopipra pipra, as well as to explore connections between Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest. ND2 sequences of C. rubrocapilla (75 individuals, 24 sites) and P. pipra (196, 77) were used in Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses. We estimated mitochondrial nucleotide diversity, employed statistical tests to detect deviations from neutral evolution and constant population sizes, and used species distribution modeling to infer the location of suitable climate for both species under present‐day conditions, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and the Last Interglacial Maximum (LIG). Mitochondrial sequence data from C. rubrocapilla indicate one Amazonian and one Atlantic Forest haplogroup. In P. pipra, we recovered a highly supported and differentiated Atlantic Forest haplogroup embedded within a large Southern Amazonian clade. Genetic and taxonomic structure in Amazonia differs widely between these two species; older P. pipra has a more marked genetic structure and taxonomic differentiation relative to the younger C. rubrocapilla. Both species have similar genetic patterns in the Atlantic Forest. Paleoclimatic distribution models suggest connections between southwestern Amazonia and the southern Atlantic Forest during the LIG, but not between eastern Amazonia and the northeastern Atlantic Forest, as suggested by previous studies. This indicates that multiple corridors, and at different locations, may have been available over the Pliocene and Pleistocene between these two regions. We combined mitochondrial DNA sequence data and paleoclimatic distribution models to document phylogeographic patterns and investigate the historical demography of two manakins, Ceratopipra rubrocapilla and Pseudopipra pipra, as well as to explore connections between Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest. Genetic and taxonomic structure in Amazonia differs widely between these taxa; P. pipra has a more marked genetic structure, agreeing with existing subspecies delimitation. Both species have similar genetic patterns in the Atlantic Forest. Paleoclimatic distribution models indicate connections between southwestern Amazonia and the southern Atlantic Forest during the LIG, but not between eastern Amazonia and the northeastern Atlantic Forest.

Territory size is affected by distribution of resources, density of potential competitors, body size of the territory holder and its ability to detect intruders. During four consecutive years (2009–2013), we determined territory size of the serra antwren, a highly territorial bird, that occupies permanent territories in the restinga habitat. We studied seasonal variation and relationship between territory size, number of neighboring territories and floaters (mature individuals without fixed territories), and body size of the territory holders. We also estimated population density using a capture–recapture method. Territory size was smaller during the breeding season with its size affected by number of neighboring territory holders and year. Densities were estimated to be 1.6–5.8 indiv. ha–1, which were 2 to 6 times higher than the value previously estimated by fixed-radius point counts (0.93 indiv. ha–1). This may be due to the high number of floaters, potentially important but usually neglected in density estimates. Neighboring territory holders affected more than floaters territory size, possibly because of their similar individual qualities.

Shipping is the principal source of anthropogenic noise in the aquatic soundscape of many coastal areas. Noise can affect temporally or permanently the physiology, behavior, and ecology of marine mammals. As noise pollution is considered to be an important threat to Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis), we focused the present study in the effects of noise on occurrence and acoustic behavior in Sepetiba Bay, southeastern Brazil. We modeled the impacts of anthropogenic noise on the acoustic behavior and distribution of these dolphins in an estuarine area. We considered the acoustic parameters (maximum frequency, minimum frequency, delta frequency, duration of whistles, and whistle rates) and occurrence of Guiana dolphins as the response variables and sound exposure levels (SEL) and environmental factors (sea surface temperature, depth, bottom heterogeneity, and bottom type) as the explanatory variables. While dolphin occurrence was explained by environmental variables, mainly SST, the whistle rate was explained by SEL (contribution = 52.4%). The dolphins used noisier areas but communicated mainly in less noisy areas. Although the dolphins did not appear to avoid the noisiest areas, noise levels were the most important variable to explain the reduction in whistle rates. Our results are particularly important since they indicate the effects of noise on an endangered species living in a region with high cumulative impacts.

Variation in the morphometry of individuals in a population may result from natural or sexual selection. In the present study we investigated morphometric differences between males and females of a bird species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, the Hangnest Tody-Tyrant, Hemitriccus nidipendulus (Wied, 1831), with no apparent sexual dimorphism. All individuals (n = 56) were sexed by PCR amplification of the intronic fragments of the CHDZ / CHDW alleles obtained from blood samples, and 12 morphometric measurements were recorded. The molecular configuration was similar to that described for other species of Passeriformes, with males presenting a single band of approximately 360 base pairs (bp), and females with two bands of 360 and 400 bp. Males had significantly larger tarsi and wings than the females, while the females had two larger beak measurements. This indicates that differential selection pressures may be modeling the morphometry of the Hangnest Tody-Tyrant. In the males, larger tarsi and wings may be beneficial for the exploration of the habitat or the acquisition of potential mates, while females with larger beaks may be able to exploit larger food items and forage more efficiently. However, these hypotheses need to be tested empirically in future studies.

Individual identification is particularly important for ethological studies and sampling design. Previous studies have developed various types of marking by tags and chemical marks, but these methods involve significant manipulation of the individuals. Other studies have reported natural marks as an efficient method for individual recognition. Our study aims to elucidate a new method for natural mark identification of seahorses, which we tested with the endangered Brazilian seahorse Hippocampus reidi . We avoid pseudoreplication by recognizing individuals. Seahorses have a hard bony structure on the top of their heads called the coronet, which has a different shape for each individual, corresponding to a fingerprint. We tagged seahorses in the field with collar tags and photographed their coronets. After two days, we identified seahorses by their photographs and verified their identification with the collar tags. We correctly identified all individuals by fingerprint identification. Although this method was only tested with adults, we suggest that it applies to seahorses in general, as all species possess the coronet structure.