Biodiversity at REGUA
The Atlantic Forest is one of the main five hotspots Earth's Biodiversity [5]🇧🇷 Paleoenvironmental studies indicate that the Atlantic Forest was once contiguous with the Amazon, having separated during the Tertiary period, when a progressively more arid climate allowed the Caatinga, Cerrado and Pantanal - dominated by open herbaceous vegetation, drier and bushy – formed a formidable barrier between the two great forests [two]🇧🇷 Although the occurrence of wetter periods in the late Pleistocene and Holocene allowed the establishment of forest corridors between the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon [1] [two], for tens of thousands of years, the
Atlântica largely evolved with complete geographic isolation.
Along with a wide latitudinal distribution and a wide altitudinal range due to the mountainous topography of the region, the geographic isolation has produced a rich biodiversity, with an exceptionally high level of endemism [6]🇧🇷 The degree of Endemism of the Flora and Fauna of the Atlantic Forest is around 50%, but reaches 90% for some types of organisms [3]🇧🇷
Bio-inventories at REGUA have shown that, with its continuous forest cover, ranging from the lowland rainforest to the mountain mists at 2,000 meters above sea level, wetlands, rivers, pastures and agricultural fields, REGUA is a important area of the Atlantic Forest for biodiversity and an area of high conservation priority.
References
1. Buso Junior, A. A. et al. (2013) Late Pleistocene and Holocene Vegetation, Climate Dynamics, and Amazonian Taxa in the Atlantic Forest, Linhares, SE Brazil. Radiocarbon. 55, 2013. pp. 1747-1762.
2. Costa, L. P. (2003) The historical bridge between the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil: a study of molecular phylogeography with small mammals. Journal of Biogeography. 30. pp. 71–86.
3. de Mello Martins, F. (2011) Historical biogeography of the Brazilian Atlantic forest and the Carnaval Moritz model of Pleistocene refugia: what do phylogeographical studies tell us? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 104. pp. 499-509.
4. Iracambi. (2009) The Atlantic Forest. [Online]. Available from: http://en.iracambi.com/about-us/where-we-are/the-atlantic-rainforest [Accessed 7 April 2015].
5. Myers, N. et al. (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature. 403. pp. 853–858.
6. Ribeiro, M. C. et al. (2011) The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: A Shrinking Biodiversity Hotspot. In: Zachos, F. E. & Habel, J. C. (eds.) Biodiversity Hotspots: Distribution and Protection of Conservation Priority Areas. Berlin. Springer.
7. Stotz, D. F. et al. (1996) Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
8. Wildscreen Arkive. (2015) Atlantic forest. [Online]. Disponível em: http://www.arkive.org/eco-regions/atlantic-forest/ [Acessado em 7 Abril 2015].
9. Almeida-Gomes, M.; Siqueira, C. C.; Borges-Júnior, V. N. T.; Vrcibradic, D.; Fusinatto, L. A.; Rocha, C. F. D. (2014) Herpetofauna of the Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA) and its surrounding areas, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Biota Neotropica, v. 14, n. 3, p: e20130078.10
10. Rossa-Feres, D. de C.; Garey, M. V.; Caramaschi, U.; Napoli, M. F.; Nomura, F.; Bispo, A. A.; Brasileiro, C. A.; Thomé, M. T. C.; Sawaya, R. J.; Conte, C. E.; Cruz, C. A. G.; Nascimento, L. B.; Gasparini, J. L.; Almeida, A. De P.; Haddad, C. F. B. Anfíbios da Mata Atlântica: lista de espécies, histórico dos estudos, biologia e conservação. In: Revisões em Zoologia: Mata Atlântica. Editora UFPR, 2018. p. 237-314.11.
11. Tozetti, A. M.; Sawaya, R. J.; Molina, F. B.; Bérnils, R. S.; Barbo, F. E.; Leite, J. C. De M.; Borges-Martins, M.; Recoder, R.; Junior, M. T.; Argôlo, A. J. S.; Morato, S. A. A.; Rodrigues, M. T. Répteis. In: Revisões em Zoologia: Mata Atlântica. Editora UFPR, 2018. p. 315-364.