Browsing by Author "Cardoso, Pedro"
Now showing 1 - 10 of 35
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Accelerating and standardising IUCN Red List assessments with sRedListPublication . Cazalis, Victor; Di Marco, Moreno; Zizka, Alexander; Butchart, Stuart H.M.; González-Suárez, Manuela; Böhm, Monika; Bachman, Steven P.; Hoffmann, Michael; Rosati, Ilaria; De Leo, Francesco; Jung, Martin; Benítez-López, Ana; Clausnitzer, Viola; Cardoso, Pedro; Brooks, Thomas M.; Mancini, Giordano; Lucas, Pablo M.; Young, Bruce E.; Akçakaya, H. Reşit; Schipper, Aafke M.; Hilton-Taylor, Craig; Pacifici, Michela; Meyer, Carsten; Santini, LucaThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species underpins much decision-making in conservation and plays a key role in monitoring the status and trends of biodiversity. However, the shortage of funds and assessor capacity slows the uptake of novel data and techniques, hampering its currency, applicability, consistency and long-term viability. To help address this, we developed sRedList, a user-friendly online platform that assists Red List assessors through a step-by-step process to estimate key parameters in a standardised and reproducible fashion. Through the platform, assessors can swiftly generate outputs including species' range maps, lists of countries of occurrence, lower and upper bounds of area of occupancy, habitat preferences, trends in area of habitat, and levels of fragmentation. sRedList is compliant with the IUCN Red List guidelines and outputs are interoperable with the Species Information Service (SIS; the IUCN Red List database) in support of global, regional and national assessments and reassessments. sRedList can also help assessors prioritise species for reassessment. sRedList was released in October 2023, with a complete documentation package (including text documentation, ‘cheatsheets’, and 15 video tutorials), and will soon be highlighted in the official Red List online training course. sRedList will help to bridge the gap between extinction risk research and Red List assessment practice, increase the taxonomic coverage and consistency of assessments, and ensure the IUCN Red List is up-to-date to best support conservation policy and practice across the world.
- Arthropod traits as proxies for abundance trends in the Azorean IslandsPublication . Oyarzabal, Guilherme; Cardoso, Pedro; Rigal, François; Boieiro, Mário; Santos, Ana M. C.; Amorim, Isabel R.; Malumbres‐Olarte, Jagoba; Costa, Ricardo; Lhoumeau, Sébastien; Pozsgai, Gabor; Gabriel, Rosalina; Borges, P.A.V.Human activities drive ecological transformation, impacting island ecosystems from species diversity to ecological traits, mainly through habitat degradation and invasive species. Using two unique long-term datasets we aim to evaluate whether species traits (body size, trophic level, dispersal capacity and habitat occupancy) can predict temporal variations in the abundance of endemic, indigenous (endemic and native non-endemic) and exotic arthropods in the Azores Islands. We found that body size is crucial to predict arthropod abundance trends. Small-bodied herbivorous arthropods showed a decrease in abundance, while large-bodied indigenous arthropods increased in abundance, mainly in well-preserved areas. Also, large-bodied exotic arthropods increased in abundance across the entire archipelago. Moreover, endemic canopy dwellers increased in abundance, while endemic ground-dwellers decreased in abundance. Simultaneously, exotic arthropods showed the opposite result, increasing in abundance in the ground while decreasing in abundance in the canopy. Finally, habitat influenced both endemic and exotic spider abundance trends. Endemic spiders that occupy solely natural habitats experienced a decline in abundance, while exotic spiders in the same habitats increased in abundance. Our study underscores the significance of arthropod species traits in predicting abundance changes in island ecosystems over time, as well as the importance of monitoring species communities. Conservation efforts must extend beyond endangered species to protect non-threatened ones, given the increased extinction risk faced by even common species on islands. Monitoring and restoration programs are essential for preserving island ecosystems and safeguarding endemic arthropod populations.
- Bird extinctions and introductions are causing taxonomic and functional homogenization in oceanic islandsPublication . Ferreira Soares, Filipa; M. Palmeirim, Jorge; Rodrigues, Ana S. L.; Cardoso, Pedro; F. De Lima, RicardoHumans are quickly reshaping species assemblages through the loss and gain of species at multiple scales. Extinctions and introductions are non-random events known to be contributing to taxonomic homogenization. However, it is not yet clear if they also promote functional homogenization. Here, we assess whether extinctions and introductions are leading to taxonomic and functional homogenization of 64 oceanic island bird assemblages, belonging to 11 archipelagos. Based on island lists of extinct and extant, native and introduced species and on species traits, we use probabilistic hypervolumes in trait space to calculate functional beta-diversity before and after extinctions and introductions. Bird extinctions and introductions promoted taxonomic and functional homogenization on most oceanic islands. These results follow our expectations, considering previous studies on taxonomic homogenization, the predictable link between taxonomic and functional diversity, and the trait similarity of many introduced species, often adapted to anthropogenic habitats, linked to the non-randomness of bird introductions on islands. Taxonomic homogenization was more common across than within archipelagos, also corroborating previous studies describing stronger homogenization on islands that are further apart and thus had distinctive native assemblages. Surprisingly, the widespread loss of species with similar traits, namely large flightless birds, often led to functional differentiation across archipelagos. However, this differentiation effect tended to be offset by the homogenizing effect of introductions. Functional homogenization increases the vulnerability to global changes, by reducing the variability of responses to disturbance and thus the resilience of ecosystem services, posing a threat to human societies on islands. Our results highlight subtle variations in taxonomic and functional beta-diversity of bird assemblages in oceanic islands, providing important insights to allow a better assessment of how anthropogenic changes might alter ecosystem functioning, which is vital to develop effective long-term conservation strategies.
- Building a Robust, Densely-Sampled Spider Tree of Life for Ecosystem ResearchPublication . Macías-Hernández, Nuria; Domènech, Marc; Cardoso, Pedro; Emerson, Brent C.; Borges, Paulo Alexandre Vieira; Lozano-Fernandez, Jesús; Paulo, Octávio S.; Vieira, Ana; Enguídanos, Alba; Rigal, François; Amorim, Isabel R.; Arnedo, Miquel A.Phylogenetic relatedness is a key diversity measure for the analysis and understanding of how species and communities evolve across time and space. Understanding the nonrandom loss of species with respect to phylogeny is also essential for better-informed conservation decisions. However, several factors are known to influence phylogenetic reconstruction and, ultimately, phylogenetic diversity metrics. In this study, we empirically tested how some of these factors (topological constraint, taxon sampling, genetic markers and calibration) affect phylogenetic resolution and uncertainty. We built a densely sampled, species-level phylogenetic tree for spiders, combining Sanger sequencing of species from local communities of two biogeographical regions (Iberian Peninsula and Macaronesia) with a taxon-rich backbone matrix of Genbank sequences and a topological constraint derived from recent phylogenomic studies. The resulting tree constitutes the most complete spider phylogeny to date, both in terms of terminals and background information, and may serve as a standard reference for the analysis of phylogenetic diversity patterns at the community level. We then used this tree to investigate how partial data affect phylogenetic reconstruction, phylogenetic diversity estimates and their rankings, and, ultimately, the ecological processes inferred for each community. We found that the incorporation of a single slowly evolving marker (28S) to the DNA barcode sequences from local communities, had the highest impact on tree topology, closely followed by the use of a backbone matrix. The increase in missing data resulting from combining partial sequences from local communities only had a moderate impact on the resulting trees, similar to the difference observed when using topological constraints. Our study further revealed substantial differences in both the phylogenetic structure and diversity rankings of the analyzed communities estimated from the different phylogenetic treatments, especially when using non-ultrametric trees (phylograms) instead of time-stamped trees (chronograms). Finally, we provide some recommendations on reconstructing phylogenetic trees to infer phylogenetic diversity within ecological studies.
- Calculating functional diversity metrics using neighbor‐joining treesPublication . Cardoso, Pedro; Guillerme, Thomas; Mammola, Stefano; Matthews, Thomas J.; Rigal, Francois; Graco‐Roza, Caio; Stahls, Gunilla; Carlos Carvalho, JoseThe study of functional diversity (FD) provides ways to understand phenomena as complex as community assembly or the dynamics of biodiversity change under multiple pressures. Different frameworks are used to quantify FD, either based on dissimilarity matrices (e.g. Rao entropy, functional dendrograms) or multidimensional spaces (e.g. convex hulls, kernel-density hypervolumes), each with their own strengths and limits. Frameworks based on dissimilarity matrices either do not enable the measurement of all components of FD (i.e. richness, divergence, and regularity), or result in the distortion of the functional space. Frameworks based on multidimensional spaces do not allow for comparisons with phylogenetic diversity (PD) measures and can be sensitive to outliers. We propose the use of neighbor-joining trees (NJ) to represent and quantify FD in a way that combines the strengths of current frameworks without many of their weaknesses. Importantly, our approach is uniquely suited for studies that compare FD with PD, as both share the use of trees (NJ or others) and the same mathematical principles. We test the ability of this novel framework to represent the initial functional distances between species with minimal functional space distortion and sensitivity to outliers. The results using NJ are compared with conventional functional dendrograms, convex hulls, and kernel-density hypervolumes using both simulated and empirical datasets. Using NJ, we demonstrate that it is possible to combine much of the flexibility provided by multidimensional spaces with the simplicity of tree-based representations. Moreover, the method is directly comparable with taxonomic diversity (TD) and PD measures, and enables quantification of the richness, divergence and regularity of the functional space.
- Cardiovascular imaging of a giant left ventricular aneurysmPublication . Silva, Gustavo Lima da; Carvalheiro, Catarina; Cardoso, Pedro; Arruda, Ricardo; Nobre, Ângelo; Almeida, Ana G.
- Combined effects of bird extinctions and introductions in oceanic islands: Decreased functional diversity despite increased species richnessPublication . Soares, Filipa Coutinho; F. De Lima, Ricardo; M. Palmeirim, Jorge; Cardoso, Pedro; Rodrigues, Ana S. L.; Pigot, Alex L.Aim We analyse the consequences of species extinctions and introductions on the functional diversity and composition of island bird assemblages. Specifically, we ask if introduced species have compensated the functional loss resulting from species extinctions. Location Seventy-four oceanic islands (> 100 km2) in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Time period Late Holocene. Major taxa studied Terrestrial and freshwater bird species. Methods We compiled a species list per island (extinct and extant, native and introduced), and then compiled traits per species. We used single-trait analyses to assess the effects of past species extinctions and introductions on functional composition. Then, we used probabilistic hypervolumes in trait space to calculate functional richness and evenness of original versus present avifaunas of each island (and net change), and to estimate how functionally unique are extinct and introduced species on each island. Results The net effects of extinctions and introductions were: an increase in average species richness per island (alpha diversity), yet a decline in diversity across all islands (gamma diversity); an average increase in the prevalence of most functional traits, yet an average decline in functional richness and evenness, associated with the fact that extinct species were functionally more unique (when compared to extant natives) than introduced species. Main conclusions Introduced species are on average offsetting (and even surpassing) the losses of extinct species per island in terms of species richness, and they are increasing the prevalence of most functional traits. However, they are not compensating for the loss of functional richness due to extinctions. Current island bird assemblages are becoming functionally poorer, having lost unique species and being composed of functionally more redundant species. This is likely to have cascading repercussions on the functioning of island ecosystems. We highlight that taxonomic and functional biodiversity should be assessed simultaneously to understand the global impacts of human activities.
- Comparative analysis of fractional flow reserve and instantaneous wave-free ratio : results of a five-year registryPublication . Menezes, Miguel Nobre; Francisco, Ana Rita G.; Carrilho-Ferreira, Pedro; Jorge, Cláudia; Torres, Diogo; Cardoso, Pedro; Duarte, José António; Costa, José Marques da; Oliveira, Eduardo Infante de; Pinto, Fausto J.; Silva, Pedro Canas daIntroduction and Objective: Assessment of coronary lesions by the instantaneous wave free ratio (iFR) has generated significant debate. We aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of iFR and its impact on the decision to use fractional flow reserve (FFR) and on procedural characteristics. Methods: In this single-center registry of patients undergoing functional assessment of coronary lesions, FFR was used as a reference for assessing the diagnostic performance of iFR. An iFR value <0.86 was considered positive and a value >0.93 was considered negative. Results: Functional testing was undertaken of 402 lesions, of which 154 were assessed with both techniques, 222 with FFR only, and 26 with iFR only. Using a cut-off of ≤0.80 for iFR, the area underthe curve was 0.73 (95% CI 0.65-0.81), with an optimal value of ≤0.91. FFR was undertaken in 93 out of 94 lesions with an inconclusive iFR and was performed in 69.1% of the remaining iFR-tested lesions. Concordance between iFR and FFR was 87% (chi-square=22.43; p<0.001). Notwithstanding, there were four out of 13 cases (30.7%) of positive iFR with negative FFR and three out of 42 (7.1%) cases of negative iFR and positive FFR. This difference was significant (p=0.026). iFR had no impact on procedure time, fluoroscopy time or radiation dose. Conclusion: iFR had a reasonable diagnostic performance. Operators often chose to perform FFR despite conclusive iFR results. iFR and FFR were highly concordant, but a non-negligible proportion of lesions classified as ischemic by iFR were classified as non-ischemic by FFR. iFR had no impact on procedural characteristics.
- A comparative analysis of terrestrial arthropod assemblages from a relict forest unveils historical extinctions and colonization differences between two oceanic islandsPublication . Boieiro, Mário; Matthews, Thomas J.; Rego, Carla; Crespo, Luis; Aguiar, Carlos A. S.; Cardoso, Pedro; Rigal, François; Silva, Isamberto; Pereira, Fernando; Borges, P.A.V.; Serrano, ArturDuring the last few centuries oceanic island biodiversity has been drastically modified by human-mediated activities. These changes have led to the increased homogenization of island biota and to a high number of extinctions lending support to the recognition of oceanic islands as major threatspots worldwide. Here, we investigate the impact of habitat changes on the spider and ground beetle assemblages of the native forests of Madeira (Madeira archipelago) and Terceira (Azores archipelago) and evaluate its effects on the relative contribution of rare endemics and introduced species to island biodiversity patterns. We found that the native laurel forest of Madeira supported higher species richness of spiders and ground beetles compared with Terceira, including a much larger proportion of indigenous species, particularly endemics. In Terceira, introduced species are well-represented in both terrestrial arthropod taxa and seem to thrive in native forests as shown by the analysis of species abundance distributions (SAD) and occupancy frequency distributions (OFD). Low abundance range-restricted species in Terceira are mostly introduced species dispersing from neighbouring man-made habitats while in Madeira a large number of true rare endemic species can still be found in the native laurel forest. Further, our comparative analysis shows striking differences in species richness and composition that are due to the geographical and geological particularities of the two islands, but also seem to reflect the differences in the severity of human-mediated impacts between them. The high proportion of introduced species, the virtual absence of rare native species and the finding that the SADs and OFDs of introduced species match the pattern of native species in Terceira suggest the role of man as an important driver of species diversity in oceanic islands and add evidence for an extensive and severe human-induced species loss in the native forests of Terceira.
- Dispersal ability determines the scaling properties of species abundance distributions: a case study using arthropods from the AzoresPublication . Borda-de-Água, Luís; Whittaker, Robert J.; Cardoso, Pedro; Rigal, François; Santos, Ana M.C.; Amorim, Isabel R.; Parmakelis, Aristeidis; Triantis, Kostas A.; Pereira, Henrique M.; Borges, Paulo A.Species abundance distributions (SAD) are central to the description of diversity and have played a major role in the development of theories of biodiversity and biogeography. However, most work on species abundance distributions has focused on one single spatial scale. Here we used data on arthropods to test predictions obtained with computer simulations on whether dispersal ability influences the rate of change of SADs as a function of sample size. To characterize the change of the shape of the SADs we use the moments of the distributions: the skewness and the raw moments. In agreement with computer simulations, low dispersal ability species generate a hump for intermediate abundance classes earlier than the distributions of high dispersal ability species. Importantly, when plotted as function of sample size, the raw moments of the SADs of arthropods have a power law pattern similar to that observed for the SAD of tropical tree species, thus we conjecture that this might be a general pattern in ecology. The existence of this pattern allows us to extrapolate the moments and thus reconstruct the SAD for larger sample sizes using a procedure borrowed from the field of image analysis based on scaled discrete Tchebichef moments and polynomials