Atlantic Forest news from mongabay.com

Working to save the 'living dead' in the Atlantic Forest, an interview with Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes

2009-09-23T15:10:00Z

The Atlantic Forest may very well be the most imperiled tropical ecosystem in the world: it is estimated that seven percent (or less) of the original forest remains. Lining the coast of Brazil, what is left of the forest is largely patches and fragments that are hemmed in by metropolises and monocultures. Yet, some areas are worse than others, such as the Pernambuco Endemism Centre, a region in the northeast that has largely been ignored by scientists and conservation efforts. Here, 98 percent of the forest is gone, and 70 percent of what remains are patches measuring less than 10 hectares. Due to this fragmentation all large mammals have gone regionally extinct and the small mammals are described by Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes, a professor and researcher at the Federal University of Pernambuco, as the 'living dead'.

Brazil may ban sugarcane plantations from the Amazon, Pantanal

2009-09-18T11:04:00Z

Brazil will restrict sugarcane plantations for ethanol production from the Amazon, the Pantanal, and other ecologically-sensitive areas under a plan announced Thursday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration, reports the Associated Press.

Golden lion tamarins play key role in seed dispersal in Brazil's Mata Atlantica

2009-08-10T15:29:00Z

Golden lion tamarins play an important role in seed dispersal in Brazil's Mata Atlantica, report researchers writing in the the journal Tropical Conservation Science.

REDD shouldn't neglect biodiversity say scientists

2009-07-30T16:38:00Z

Schemes to mitigate climate change by protecting tropical forests must take into account biodiversity conservation, said two leading scientific organizations at the conclusion of a four day meeting in Marburg, Germany.

Destruction of Brazil's most imperiled rainforest continues

2009-05-31T20:48:00Z

More than 100,000 hectares of Brazil's most threatened ecosystem was cleared between 2005 and 2008, reports a study by the Fundação SOS Mata Atlãntica and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The "Atlas of Mata Atlântica Remnants", released May 26, assessed the extent of the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) across 10 of the 17 states where the coastal rainforest occurs. It found that an 102,938 hectares were destroyed during the three year period. The annual loss of 34,121 hectares per year was 2.4 percent lower than the 34,965 ha recorded from the 2000-2005 period.

Frogs can be used to predict biodiversity hotspots

2009-02-05T21:27:00Z

Tree frogs may help scientists inexpensively predict biodiversity hotspots for conservation, report researchers writing in the journal Science.

Brazil moves to protect and restore endangered Atlantic rainforest

2008-11-22T14:30:39Z

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed a decree to protect and restore critically endangered rainforest along the country's Atlantic coast, reports the Associated Press.

Brazil triples endangered species list

2008-11-05T14:30:39Z

Brazil has nearly tripled the number of species on its endangered list due to development, overfishing, pollution, wildlife trafficking and deforestation, reports the Associated Press.

Rare golden primates help speed recovery of endangered Brazilian forest

2008-06-09T14:30:39Z

The endangered golden lion tamarin — a flagship species for conservation efforts in Brazil's highly threatened Atlantic Forest or Mata Atlantica — plays an important role in seed dispersal, thereby helping forest regeneration, according to research published in the June issue of the open access e-journal Tropical conservation Science.

No sacrifices to ending deforestation in the Amazon, only gains

2008-04-29T14:30:39Z

Regular columnist and co-creator of Brazil's environmental news website, O Eco, Sergio Abranches has great credibility in Brazil's eco-awakening. A professor of political science, Abranches uses his unique talents to reach a widening audience in Brazil for environmental, energy, and climate change news and discussion. He speaks expertly on any number of topics: from Amazonian deforestation to the current food crises to economic and political transformations for a warming world.

A billion trees to be planted in Brazil's Atlantic Forest over the next 7 years

2008-04-22T14:30:39Z

A billion trees to be planted in the Atlantic Forest over the next seven years. The Nature Conservancy has begun a program to plant a billion trees in Brazil's dwindled Atlantic Forest. The Atlantic Forest used to cover Brazil's long coast, but today only seven percent of the forest remains. Both the megacities of Sao Paulo (the world's fifth largest city) and Rio de Janeiro have emerged and grown in what used to be tropical forest. Yet, the forest remaining retains an incredible bio-diversity much of it endemic.

An interview with primate researcher Dr. Karen Strier: America's largest monkey recovering after brush with extinction

2008-01-10T14:30:39Z

The Atlantic forest of Brazil boasts South America's largest primates, the Southern and Northern Muriqui. The muriqui are unique among all primates, because they are not territorial and do not display aggressive behvaior. The IUCN has classified the Southern Muriqui as endangered, while the Nothern Muriqui is critically endangered. Dr. Karen Strier has studied the Northern Muriqui in the field for twenty-five years. A professor of zoology and anthropology at the University of Madison Wisconsin, she is the author of Faces in the Forest: the Endangered Muriqui Monkeys of Brazil and a new textbook entitled Primate behvaioral Ecology.

Migrating frogs fare poorly when habitat altered

2007-12-19T14:30:39Z

Habitat loss and fragmentation are putting amphibians already threatened by climate change, pesticides, alien invasive species, and the outbreak of a deadly fungal infection at greater risk of extinction, reported a study published in Science last week.

Brazil's threatened Atlantic forest may be more resilient than thought

2007-09-06T14:30:39Z

The Atlantic forest of Brazil, one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots, may have served as a critical refuge for biodiversity during the ice ages. The findings suggest that despite being reduced to just 8 percent of its original extent due to agriculture and urban expansion, the Atlantic forest may be capable of recovery. In other words, the Atlantic forest may be more resilient to change than previously believed.

Birds follow racoon-like coati to find food

2007-03-08T14:30:39Z

A number of rainforest bird species are known to follow columns of army ants eating insects and other animals as they try to escape the marauding ants. Now the behvaior has been documented in birds that follow the coatimundi, a racoon-like mammal, as it forages in the rainforest.