Open AccessPlant invasion: Another threat to the São Paulo Marsh Antwren (Formicivora paludicola), a species on the verge of extinction
Author(s) -
Glaucia DelRio,
Marco Antonio Rêgo,
Luís Fábio Silveira,
Akira Itoh
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0189465
Subject(s) - wetland , ecology , critically endangered , habitat , marsh , endangered species , iucn red list , biology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , biological dispersal , overexploitation , population , geography , habitat destruction , conservation plan , paleontology , demography , sociology
During the past 100 years in densely populated south-eastern Brazil, wetlands have been severely transformed due to urbanization, agriculture and mining. The recently discovered São Paulo Marsh Antwren ( Formicivora paludicola ) is endemic to these wetlands, and is listed as “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN. The species is only found in an area of 1.42 km 2 , it has a sparse and fragmented distribution, low dispersal capacity, and has probably lost around 300 km 2 of habitat in the past 100 years. Furthermore, very little is known about F . paludicola natural history, and so it is difficult to construct a robust conservation plan. Using Kernel home range estimations and the Adjusted-SD/Torus Shift test (a novel tool for animal-habitat association studies), we showed that the species avoids patches of the alien invasive ginger lily ( Hedychium coronarium ). Given the high density of their population (3.6 mature individuals/ha), F . paludicola could thrive in relatively small areas of suitable wetlands protected from human occupation and water contamination, however special attention should be paid to biological invasions, which may represent a serious threat to the remaining populations. Protecting a few small wetlands used by F . paludicola would be an important step towards general conservation and restoration of Atlantic Forest wetlands and its endemic endangered species.