{"id":249903,"date":"2017-12-05T17:57:40","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T19:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=249903\/"},"modified":"2017-12-05T17:57:40","modified_gmt":"2017-12-05T19:57:40","slug":"in-the-stone-jungle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/in-the-stone-jungle\/","title":{"rendered":"In the stone jungle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/a> Tracks in Anhanguera Park, in S\u00e3o Paulo…Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

While walking along one of the trails in the Manequinho Lopes Vivarium in Ibirapuera Park in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo, biologist Anelisa Magalh\u00e3es looks for a frequent visitor that had not yet shown up on that rainy April morning. \u201cOh there it is, all curled up,\u201d she exclaims upon glimpsing an owl at the top of a tree. The bird represents one of the 1,113 species of wild creatures that inhabit plazas, parks, and other green space in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo. This contingent was recorded during an effort that Magalh\u00e3es and her team began 26 years ago in the fauna division of the city\u2019s Department of Parks and Green Spaces (DEPAVE), and contributed to the December 2016 publication of the Invent\u00e1rio da biodiversidade do munic\u00edpio de S\u00e3o Paulo<\/em> [Inventory of biodiversity in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo] that appeared in an edition of the city\u2019s official gazette.<\/p>\n

The inventory also lists 4,768 plant species, 3,584 of which are native to the city. They were identified and recorded by teams coordinated by biologist Ricardo Garcia, curator of the Municipal Herbarium, who has been in the field since the mid-1980s. This is the first time that the Municipal Department of Green and the Environment has published a single document containing records of plant and animal species identified in 138 areas of the S\u00e3o Paulo capital. The survey is intended to assist in the development of biodiversity conservation strategies that could be used as a tool for monitoring the environment in the metropolis. \u201cWe hope the data will be used in environmental education programs and research on urban ecology, for example,\u201d Magalh\u00e3es suggests.<\/p>\n

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JairmoreiraFotografia\/Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/a> …made by a nine-banded armadillo…JairmoreiraFotografia\/Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The inventory compiles information collected during surveys conducted in previous years, but also introduces new features. One of the most significant new elements is the report that 92 of the animal species recorded are on the list of endangered species for the state of S\u00e3o Paulo. Although on the one hand there is danger, on the other hand, promising surprises have been observed. The report identified large mammals once thought to have become extinct in the city. This is the case of the jaguar (Panthera onca<\/em>), located in the Curucutu Unit of Serra do Mar State Park in the extreme southern zone of the city. The jaguar was spotted in January 2016 by a team from the Pr\u00f3-Carn\u00edvoros organization. Its presence suggests that biodiversity in the region may be exhibiting a higher degree of conservation than in the past, Magalh\u00e3es comments. A similar discovery was made in 2010 when a city government team visiting the Capivari-Monos preserve identified specimens of the Southern Muriqui, also known as the Wooly Spider Monkey, a primate endemic to the Atlantic Forest.<\/p>\n

The survey of flora also attracted attention. \u201cWe identified 35 species that had never before been documented,\u201d says Garcia. Among them are Hypochaeris albiflora<\/em>, of the family Asteraceae (the same as the sunflower and daisy), Bulbostylis subtilis<\/em>, of the family Cyperaceae, and Marlierea regeliana<\/em>, of the family Myrtaceae. Eighteen plant species in the capital city are exclusive to the Cerrado savannah, five of which were recently recorded as found in natural environments. Mimosa debilis, <\/em>of the family Fabaceae, is one example.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar <\/span><\/a> …and recorded by city biologists who are collecting data on the flora and fauna of the cityEduardo Cesar <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The richness of biodiversity in the state capital is not evident only in sites near the so-called \u201cgreen belt\u201d of S\u00e3o Paulo, where there are areas of dense forest such as the Cantareira and Itapet\u00ed mountains. The inventory shows that in localities with a predominance of urban areas, a wide variety of wild plants and animals can also be seen, surviving amid all those buildings and asphalt. \u201cThis may be the inventory\u2019s main contribution,\u201d says biologist Carlos Joly, a professor at the University of Campinas (Unicamp). \u201cThe survey indicates that even in a big city like S\u00e3o Paulo, one can still have contact with nature. A lot of people think that being exposed to biodiversity means traveling to Amazonia,\u201d Joly adds. He coordinates the Biota-FAPESP research program that describes, preserves, restores, and makes sustainable use of biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Specimens of birds typical of more dense forests, such as the bellbird, fruit crow and red-breasted toucan can be found in the Ibirapuera, Aclima\u00e7\u00e3o, Buenos Aires, Independ\u00eancia, Burle Marx and Villa-Lobos parks. Magalh\u00e3es recalls that when she graduated in 1990, field studies conducted in the city focused on areas that were well protected and preserved. There was, at the time, a bird guide for the campus of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP), compiled by zoologist Elizabeth Hofling, and a survey of the birds of the Cantareira. \u201cThose locales were studied because they were the headquarters of research institutions such as USP and the Forestry Institute. The team from City Hall was the first to tame the forest remnants of the southern zone as well as the municipal urban parks,\u201d says Magalh\u00e3es. \u201cAt first, people thought we only had pigeons, vultures, and rats in the city, in other words, fauna considered to be of less ecological importance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marcos Kawall <\/span><\/a> A bellbird, a typical bird of the Atlantic Forest, can be seen flying over parks in the S\u00e3o Paulo state capital cityMarcos Kawall <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Specimens of wild birds have managed to survive in the city, thanks to its parks. In many of them, heterogenous thickets characterized by groupings of native and exotic trees are the predominant vegetation. \u201cThose green islands serve as natural vivaria for species that need shade,\u201d Garcia explains. Those locales, he says, act as \u201ctrampolines\u201d for birds, insects, and bats that help with pollination and the dispersion of seeds. Pedro Develey, executive director of the NGO BirdLife\/Save Brasil, argues that the arrival of toucans and bellbirds in the city is an indication that it still has environments that can house wild species, despite the advance of urbanization. \u201cThis information ought to serve as a warning to government officials,\u201d suggests Develey. \u201cIt clearly shows the importance of putting into practice more tree-planting projects that connect the remaining fragments of vegetation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the recent past, surveys of flora and fauna were useful in policy development. Between 1999 and 2003, the Atlas ambiental do munic\u00edpio de S\u00e3o Paulo<\/em> [Environmental atlas of the city of S\u00e3o Paulo] was produced as a result of work conducted by the municipal Department of Green and the Environment as well as the Department of Planning, in partnership with researchers from USP and assistance from the Biota-FAPESP program. The findings were considered in formulating the city\u2019s Master Plan and the Municipal Policy on the Environment. Earlier, in 1993, biologists from City Hall had all participated in an initiative that helped expand the FAPESP-funded survey on plant species, the state of S\u00e3o Paulo Phanerogamic Flora Project, which mobilized about 200 researchers and resulted in descriptions of about 2,000 phanerogamic (flower-producing) species observed among native vegetation.<\/p>\n

In recent years, other municipalities\u2014such as Curitiba, Campinas, and Guarulhos\u2014have begun to survey their own species of flora and fauna. \u201cOur inventory was published a few months ago. We are still in the initial phase of presenting the data to academicians and government officials,\u201d Magalh\u00e3es points out. One of the first researchers to use the recently-published data is ecologist Jean-Paul Metzger from the USP Biosciences Institute. \u201cI\u2019m using the inventory in undergraduate courses. Students analyze the data to identify factors that influence biodiversity within the city of S\u00e3o Paulo,\u201d Metzger explains.<\/p>\n

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DEPAVE\/City of S\u00e3o Paulo <\/span><\/a> Rare recording of a puma made in Serra do Mar State Park in the extreme south of the city: threatened with extinction in BrazilDEPAVE\/City of S\u00e3o Paulo <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

When compared with other kinds of animals, birds lead in number of species in the city, totaling 458. For that reason, and because of the ease with which they can be observed and heard, they occupy a prominent position in the analyses of the inventory that Magalh\u00e3es\u2019s team has made. \u201cBirds are good indicators of the quality of the city\u2019s environment,\u201d she says. During the period 1993-2016, for example, experts observed the colonization by some species that previously were rare and had then become quite common, such as the picazuro pigeon (Patagioenas picazuro<\/em>), which is found in the Cerrado, in the Caatinga Scrubland, and in gallery forests\u2014the ones that form along watercourses. That pigeon was recorded in Ibirapuera Park in the city of S\u00e3o Paulo for the first time in 1993, and is now common throughout the city. Another wild pigeon often seen in the Cerrado and the Caatinga, which ultimately came to live in the city, is the eared dove (Zenaida auriculata<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Help from the public<\/strong>
\nThe team led by Magalh\u00e3es took advantage of data collected by bird watchers that had been deposited in WikiAves, a database containing records of more than 1,800 Brazilian species, accompanied by 1.9 million photos taken by more than 26,000 users (see Pesquisa FAPESP <\/em>Issue No. 245<\/a>). \u201cThat was the first time that we supplemented our information with data furnished by amateurs,\u201d the researcher explains. In 2016, the Citizen Scientist monitoring program sponsored by the NGO Save Brasil expanded its activities by forging a partnership with the Butantan Institute and the city government of S\u00e3o Paulo, through DEPAVE, and launched an initiative dubbed Vem Passarinhar (\u201ccome go birding\u201d) (#vempassarinhar), staging bird watching excursions in city parks. Those activities involve a walk, followed by breakfast with all the other participants and a presentation about the species observed.<\/p>\n

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Eduardo Cesar<\/span><\/a> City technical staffer banding a birdEduardo Cesar<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Like DEPAVE, the Butantan Institute has used data collected during that experience in its monthly monitoring of bird species. This monitoring is part of a program started almost three years ago that updates an inventory of flora and fauna of the plant and animal species found in the Institute\u2019s park. \u201cWe perform a task similar to what DEPAVE does in the municipality of S\u00e3o Paulo, except in our case we are looking through a magnifying glass at the biodiversity present on the grounds of the institute, which occupies an 80-hectare tract, 60 hectares of which are dense forest,\u201d explains biologist Erika Hingst-Zaher, a researcher at the Biological Museum of that institution. The purpose, she says, is to collect more accurate data on the wild species found on the property and use it in the park\u2019s vegetation and fauna management initiatives. \u201cWe would like to increase the diversity of fauna at the institute and to do that we need to be completely familiar with what we have here now,\u201d Hingst-Zaher explains.<\/p>\n

Biologist Luciano Lima explains that since the start of the survey at Butantan, more than 150 species of birds have been observed at the site. \u201cMany of those species are on the list but do not live at there all year. So we see the importance of the institute\u2019s park as a refuge for migratory species that come from Amazonia or from Brazil\u2019s Northeast,\u201d says Lima. In addition to birds, the inventory also focuses on other species of animals, like spiders, bats, and butterflies. But, according to Lima, birds are what make the biggest impression on people\u2019s eyes and ears. \u201cJust while we have been talking here, some six species of birds have been singing out there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inventory finds unexpected species diversity in the S\u00e3o Paulo capital ","protected":false},"author":421,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166],"tags":[206,209,224,266],"coauthors":[740],"class_list":["post-249903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-policies-st-en","tag-biodiversity","tag-biology","tag-ecology","tag-zoology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/421"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249903"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=249903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}