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Conservación de Invertebrados Terrestres y Sus Hábitats en Brasil
Author(s) -
LEWINSOHN THOMAS M.,
FREITAS ANDRÉ VICTOR LUCCI,
PRADO PAULO INÁCIO
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00682.x
Subject(s) - invertebrate , biome , habitat , ecology , geography , endemism , biota , taxon , fauna , biodiversity , ecosystem , biology
As one of the world's prime megadiverse countries, Brazil holds an immense number of terrestrial invertebrates. Current knowledge of this biota is very heterogeneous. Several taxa are sufficiently well known to be used as indicators of ecological integrity or of endemism. The current Brazilian national and regional red lists include 130 terrestrial invertebrate species, of which 42% are butterflies. These lists are contingent on available knowledge, and many taxa that are omitted certainly include species at risk. Knowledge of various biomes and habitats is also quite irregular, with the Caatinga and Pantanal in need of more study, compared with the Atlantic Forest, the Amazon, and Cerrado. Canopy, host‐associated, and soil faunas also need further intensive study. Invertebrate conservation will be promoted more effectively by habitat preservation and management rather than single‐species initiatives. To this end, better geographic surveys of entire taxonomic or functional assemblages are needed. An improved understanding of the invertebrate role in ecosystem processes will strengthen enormously the case for their conservation.