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Fauna conservation in anthropic ecosystems is crucial. This study aimed to assess the role of forest fragments in protecting bird communities within the urban matrix of Blumenau, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Bird species were identified using visual and auditory methods across five forest remnants from January 2016 to December 2019. Fieldwork began in the early morning and covered both the interior and edges of the areas. The relationship between species richness and land use within the forest fragments and adjacent matrices was investigated to support management actions for expanding urban landscapes. These actions are necessary as habitats and corridors may be eliminated, leading to reduced landscape connectivity. The results indicate an interaction between fragment size and land use, which contributes to the formation of environmental mosaics in the urban landscape. These mosaics may influence bird species richness and composition. Effective public management of legally unprotected forest remnants, regardless of size, along with permanent preservation areas (e.g., riparian forests and urban green spaces) and conservation units, may strengthen a network of green areas for protecting and conserving Atlantic Forest bird species in urban environments.

The Atlantic Forest is one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity, a heterogeneous biome encompassing tropical and subtropical vegetation formations. Its remnants in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil, are mostly within state and federal Conservation Units. The largest Unit is the Sooretama Biological Reserve, which harbors several endemic occurrences of fauna and flora, and is the last refuge of some threatened animal species. Inventories of fauna are essential to know the community composition, and for the elaboration of preservation strategies. We conducted a survey focused on the bat fauna of the Sooretama Reserve, analyzing the trophic guilds and the conservation status of its species. We surveyed online taxonomic databases and the literature, resulting in 402 records from two different scientific collections. These records represent five families, 39 genera, and 57 species of bats, revealing that the Sooretama Biological Reserve has all known bat families in the Atlantic Forest biome. Phyllostomidae was the family with the highest number of species registered, and a majority of species belongs to the aerial insectivorous trophic guild. Four species are registered as “Vulnerable” in state and federal conservation books.

In many human-modified tropical landscapes, biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services require large-scale restoration initiatives. Such initiatives must be able to augment the amount and the quality of remaining natural habitats. There is thus a growing need for long-term, multi-stakeholder and multi-purpose initiatives that result in multiple ecological and socioeconomic benefits at the biome scale. The Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP) is a coalition of 260+ stakeholders, including governmental agencies, private sector, NGOs and research institutions, aimed at restoring 15 million ha of degraded and deforested lands by 2050. By articulating, and then integrating common interests, this initiative has allowed different sectors of society to implement an ambitious vision and create a forum for public and private concerns regarding forest restoration. The AFRP adopts a set of governance tools so multiple actors can implement key processes to achieve long-term and visionary restoration goals. Having overcome some initial challenges, AFRP now has to incorporate underrepresented stakeholders and enhance its efforts to make forest restoration more economically viable, including cases where restoration could be less expensive and profitable. The AFRP experience has resulted in many lessons learned, which can be shared to foster similar initiatives across tropical regions.

The importance of microhabitat traits such as floral availability is well known; however, forest bee spatial dynamics have been variably studied across local to broad geographic scales. Past literature suggests that landscape factors from proximate to distal are important in determining forest bee community metrics, including richness, abundance, and taxonomic composition. Leveraging the interest and assistance of citizen science volunteers, we employed standard bee bowl trap transects across Maryland, Delaware, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia and identified correlations between bee community composition, local and regional land cover, and broader geospatial patterns. We also identified the partial contributions of both specific species and sampling sites to total beta diversity. Various land cover metrics were significantly related to bee community structure, with bee abundance positively and negatively correlated with forest and wetland cover, respectively. In general, land cover metrics within 1000‐m buffer exhibited stronger correlations with bee communities; however, broader geographic variation, using Cartesian coordinates north and east as indices, was most significantly correlated with the bee community. Specifically, bee communities were less rich in the east and south of the study area. We also identified similar correlations with the bee community as categorized by both trophic and nesting behaviors, with both geographic northing and easting proving to be most strongly correlated with the forest bee community. Results of beta diversity and cluster analyses showed that the most species‐depauperate sites exhibited the highest contributions to beta diversity and that species‐poor sites consisted of a reduced subset of the greater community. Our results show that successful bee conservation must consider, beyond local‐scale resource availability, broad geospatial considerations and forest habitat connectivity across political and administrative boundaries.

The species Forcipomyia (Trichohelea) opilionivora (Lane, 1947) (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) was rediscovered in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 75 years after its original description. This study aimed to investigate the ectoparasitic relationship between F. (T.) opilionivora and its host and document its occurrence, which was recorded serendipitously during the collection of Opiliones (harvestmen) specimens in Parque Nacional do Itatiaia in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After the collection, both specimens were subjected to photographic documentation and preserved for further examination. This study presents the first photographic record of the ectoparasitic relationship between F. (T.) opilionivora and a harvestman, shedding light on a poorly studied interaction. The host specimen was identified as a female of Holcobunus nigripalpis Roewer, 1910 (Opiliones, Sclerosomatidae), a gagrelline commonlyfound in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Previous records of ectoparasitism between Ceratopogonidae and harvestmen were limited to the family level (Sclerosomatidae species, specifically Gagrellinae or Leiobuninae). However, no specific host species had been identified until now. The rediscovery of F. (T.) opilionivora, along with the identification of its host, addresses a significant gap in our knowledge regarding the biology and distribution of this species and provides valuable insights into the intricate relationships between biting midges and arachnids. This study emphasizes the need for further investigations into the biology of these ectoparasitic species and underscores the importance of documenting and studying lesser-known interactions within ecosystems.

Small rivers, henceforth streams, depend on organic matter (nutrients and energy) from riparian vegetation. The quality of such allochthonous debris is determinant for the transformation of organic matter compounds, where the bacterial community has a crucial role in the final decomposition of the substrate. During bacterial colonization, debris with higher concentration of nutrients (more palatable) is prioritized, which accelerates the process. This study investigated the effects of leaf palatability of two native trees on bacterial colonization (abundance) over time, through a laboratory experiment that lasted 60 days. Values of C, N, P, C:N, C:P, polyphenols, tannins, lignin, lignin:N and leaf toughness of both species were compared. Bacterial abundance was higher in species with higher nitrogen values, although they had higher leaf toughness and more polyphenols, which differs from studies indicating that high leaf toughness represents low nutritional quality. The colonization time did not influence bacterial abundance. Therefore, processes degrading riparian vegetation and reducing nutritional quality can affect local decomposition, decreasing bacterial abundance.

The diversity of hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) is poorly known in the biomes of the Bahia state. However, studies were carried out in other states of the northeastern region with species inventories in the Atlantic Forest, Caatinga and Cerrado. In order to bro aden the knowledge on of the richness and diversity of hawkmoths in the Atlantic Forest of the state of Bahia, six monthly sampling sessions were carried out in the State Ecological Station of Wenceslau Guimarães. Hawkmoths were captured using a 250-watt mercury-vapor light trap set against a white cloth panel, for two nights a month, between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. A total of 266 specimens were collected, distributed across 17 genera and 41 species. The most abundant and dominant species were Isognathus swainsoni C. Felder, 1862, with a relative abundance of 12.41%, and Xylophanes amadis (Cramer, 1782) and Xylophanes anubus (Cramer, 1777), both with 7.9%. Our study represents the second inventory of hawkmoths for the state, totaling 59 species known for the Atlantic Forest of Bahia. Isognathus excelsior (Boisduval, [1875]) and Manduca lucetius (Cramer, 1780) represented new records for the biome. The accumulated number of species indicates the need for further sampling in order to safely reach the curve asymptote.

Spotted fever (SF) is a tick-borne zoonosis caused by bacteria of the genus Rickettsia . The disease varies in severity from mild clinical forms to severe cases. In Brazil, Rickettsia rickettsii SF is the most serious rickettsiosis and can result in death if not diagnosed and treated at the onset of symptoms. The SF mild form is caused by Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic Rainforest, and this etiological agent has been reported in the South, Southeast and Northeast regions of the country, in areas of preserved or little antropized Atlantic Rainforest. Amblyomma ovale is the proven vector and dogs are the hosts associated with the bioagent cycle. During a SF case investigation in Paraty municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, an Atlantic Rainforest biome area in Southeastern Brazil, the human pathogen R. parkeri strain Atlantic Rainforest was detected by PCR in a sample of human skin inoculation eschar and in a female A. ovale tick collected from a dog. These results expand the known area of occurrence of this mild form rickettsiosis in Brazil. In addition, the results of the present study indicate the importance of implementing programs to control canine ectoparasites and to raise awareness of the risks of infection, signs and symptoms of SF caused by R. parkeri strain Atlantic Rainforest.

Erythroxylum pauferrense is an endemic understory plant species of the Northeast Region of Brazil. The species is of great importance to the region and so ecophysiological studies are needed for its preservation. The objective of the present study was to determine the best substrates and temperatures for testing germination and seed vigor of E. pauferrense. An experiment was performed comprising a completely randomized design in a 5 x 4 factorial scheme, with five temperature regimes (20, 25, 30, 35°C constant and 20-30°C alternating) and four types of substrates (paper, vermiculite, sand and commercial substrate). The following characteristics were evaluated: germination percentage, first germination count, germination speed index, mean germination time, seedling length and dry mass (root and shoot). Paper and vermiculite substrates combined with constant temperatures of 20, 25, 30 and alternated between 20-30°C, provide greater seed germination and vigor while 35°C reduces seed physiological quality.

This study presents a qualitative analysis of endangered species occurrences in conservation units of Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest Brazilian municipalities in population size. Increasing human activities trigger changes in biodiversity, promote fragmentation, and reduce species distribution ranges, which can ultimately lead to declines in population sizes. One of the main goals of protected areas (PAs), such as conservation units, is to protect and conserve biodiversity. Here, we compiled all vascular plant species recorded within Rio de Janeiro PAs by consulting the Reference Center for Environmental Information (SpeciesLink), Flora do Brasil (2020), and primary data records contained in management plans. We compared this compilation with the list of Brazilian endangered plant species, verifying whether the management plans presented specific programs for these species. Of the 60 surveyed PAs, 24 had records of endangered species and only 17 had management plans, 14 of which had a specific program that contemplated the monitoring and/or conservation of endangered species. A total of 70 endangered species were recorded. The highest numbers of endangered species were found in the Tijuca National Park (41) and the Pedra Branca State Park (17), the two largest PAs with the two largest forest fragments. Despite the high number of endangered species and the number of protected areas that harbor them, few internal programs address endangered species conservation and management. Thus, efforts to maintain endangered species in protected areas can be aided by field data collections that confirm their occurrence and maintenance in these PAs.