Browsing by Author "Mathias, Maria da Luz"
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- Behavioral responses of rural and urban greater white-toothed shrews (Crocidura russula) to sound disturbancePublication . Oliveira, Flávio G.; Tapisso, Joaquim T.; von Merten, Sophie; Rychlik, Leszek; Fonseca, Paulo; Mathias, Maria da LuzThe development of urban areas imposes challenges that wildlife must adapt to in order to persist in these new habitats. One of the greatest changes brought by urbanization has been an increase in anthropogenic noise, with negative consequences for the natural behavior of animals. Small mammals are particularly vulnerable to urbanization and noise, despite some species having successfully occupied urban environments. To understand some of the traits that have enabled small mammals to deal with the consequences of urbanization, we compared the behavioral responses of urban and rural greater white-toothed shrews, Crocidura russula, to different sound stimuli. A total of 32 shrews, 16 from each habitat, were exposed in captivity to four sound treatments: silence, tawny owl calls, traffic noise, and white noise. Urban and rural shrews showed different behaviors, with urban animals being more active, feeding more frequently, and using less torpor than rural individuals. However, responses to sound treatments were similar in both populations: urban and rural shrews exhibited a slight decrease in activity and feeding behavior, as well as more fleeing responses, when exposed to traffic noise or white noise, but not to owl calls. These results suggest urbanization induces long-term changes in the general activity of C. russula, but the short-term behavioral response to sound disturbance remains similar in rural and urban populations.
- How to map potential mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) habitats? A case study in colluvial MSSPublication . Eusébio, Rita P.; Fonseca, Paulo E.; Sampaio e rebelo, Rui; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Sofia Reboleira, AnaUnderstanding habitat extension that limits species distribution is a crucial tool for management and conservation, in which habitat mapping plays a pivotal role. The mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) is a type of shallow subterranean habitat with an important conservation value for invertebrate communities, functioning as climatic/reproductive refuge, biogeographic corridor and/or permanent habitat. Methodologies to map the mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) are currently lacking. We propose a novel method for colluvial MSS habitat mapping, combining geographic information systems, geological maps, and geological knowledge on the habitat genesis. We tested and validated the efficiency of the method using the Arrábida karst area (Portugal) as a model. The method allowed the remote detection of MSS habitats suitable for invertebrate communities ex situ within the study area, and enabled the estimation of habitat extent. The faunal communities sampled in the selected location were dominated by arthropods, especially insects, showcasing the efficacy of this mapping method to detect suitable MSS habitats. The use of this method considerably reduces the in situ scouting area, providing a more efficient way of locating these habitats. The MSS is protected under EU legislation concerning floral communities and geological features, completely neglecting its faunal communities. This method also allows to estimate potential MSS habitat extension in several lithologies, facilitating the implementation of invertebrate prospections, and the establishment of more effective conservation measures.
- Mapping Knowledge Gaps of Mozambique’s Terrestrial MammalsPublication . Neves, Isabel Queirós; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Bastos-Silveira, CristianeA valuable strategy to support conservation planning is to assess knowledge gaps regarding primary species occurrence data to identify and select areas for future biodiversity surveys. Currently, increasing accessibility to these data allows a cost-effective method for boosting knowledge about a country's biodiversity. For understudied countries where the lack of resources for conservation is more pronounced to resort to primary biodiversity data can be especially beneficial. Here, using a primary species occurrence dataset, we assessed and mapped Mozambique's knowledge gaps regarding terrestrial mammal species by identifying areas that are geographically distant and environmentally different from well-known sites. By comparing gaps from old and recent primary species occurrence data, we identified: (i) gaps of knowledge over time, (ii) the lesser-known taxa, and (iii) areas with potential for spatiotemporal studies. Our results show that the inventory of Mozambique's mammal fauna is near-complete in less than 5% of the territory, with broad areas of the country poorly sampled or not sampled at all. The knowledge gap areas are mostly associated with two ecoregions. The provinces lacking documentation coincide with areas over-explored for natural resources, and many such sites may never be documented. It is our understanding that by prioritising the survey of the knowledge-gap areas will likely produce new records for the country and, continuing the study of the well-known regions will guarantee their potential use for spatiotemporal studies. The implemented approach to assess the knowledge gaps from primary species occurrence data proved to be a powerful strategy to generate information that is essential to species conservation and management plan. However, we are aware that the impact of digital and openly available data depends mostly on its completeness and accuracy, and thus we encourage action from the scientific community and government authorities to support and promote data mobilisation.
- Mapping the Impact of Digitisation for Poorly Documented Countries: Mozambique as a case studyPublication . Neves, Isabel; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Bastos-Silveira, Cristiane
- Sharing the Decision Process Framework to Identify Well-supported Records of Mammal Species-occurrence in MozambiquePublication . Neves, Isabel; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Bastos-Silveira, Cristiane
- The importance of including spatial autocorrelation when modelling species richness in Archipelagos: A Bayesian approachPublication . Barros, Diogo Duarte; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Borda-de-Água, LuísOne of the aims of island biogeography theory is to explain the number of species in an archipelago. Traditionally, the variables used to explain the species richness on an island are its area and distance to the mainland. However, increasing evidence suggests that accounting for other variables is essential for better estimates. In particular, the distance between islands should play a role in determining species richness. This work uses a Bayesian framework using Gaussian processes to assess whether distance to neighbouring islands (spatial autocorrelation) can better explain arthropod species richness patterns in the Azores Archipelago and in the Canary Islands. This method is flexible and allows the inclusion of other variables, such as maximum altitude above sea level (elevation). The results show that accounting for spatial autocorrelation provides the best results for both archipelagos, but overall, spatial autocorrelation seems to be more important in the Canary archipelago. Similarly, elevation plays a more important role in determining species richness in the Canary Islands. We recommend that spatial autocorrelation should always be considered when modelling an archipelago’s species richness.
- The Influence of the Interaction between Climate and Competition on the Distributional Limits of European ShrewsPublication . Neves, Tomé; Borda-de-Água, Luís; Mathias, Maria da Luz; Tapisso, Joaquim T.It is known that species’ distributions are influenced by several ecological factors. Nonetheless, the geographical scale upon which the influence of these factors is perceived is largely undefined. We assessed the importance of competition in regulating the distributional limits of species at large geographical scales. We focus on species with similar diets, the European Soricidae shrews, and how interspecific competition changes along climatic gradients. We used presence data for the seven most widespread terrestrial species of Soricidae in Europe, gathered from GBIF, European museums, and climate data from WorldClim. We made use of two Joint Species Distribution Models to analyse the correlations between species’ presences, aiming to understand the distinct roles of climate and competition in shaping species’ distributions. Our results support three key conclusions: (i) climate alone does not explain all species’ distributions at large scales; (ii) negative interactions, such as competition, seem to play a strong role in defining species’ range limits, even at large scales; and (iii) the impact of competition on a species’ distribution varies along a climatic gradient, becoming stronger at the climatic extremes. Our conclusions support previous research, highlighting the importance of considering biotic interactions when studying species’ distributions, regardless of geographical scale