ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8119-9960
Current Organisations
University of Lisbon
,
University of Helsinki
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2021.12.002
Abstract: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is central in bio ersity conservation, but insufficient resources h er its long-term growth, updating, and consistency. Models or automated calculations can alleviate those challenges by providing standardised estimates required for assessments, or prioritising species for (re-)assessments. However, while numerous scientific papers have proposed such methods, few have been integrated into assessment practice, highlighting a critical research-implementation gap. We believe this gap can be bridged by fostering communication and collaboration between academic researchers and Red List practitioners, and by developing and maintaining user-friendly platforms to automate application of the methods. We propose that developing methods better encompassing Red List criteria, systems, and drivers is the next priority to support the Red List.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-07-2023
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.14157
Abstract: Bats frequently inhabit caves and other subterranean habitats and play a critical role in subterranean food webs. With escalating threats to subterranean ecosystems, identifying the most effective measures to protect subterranean‐roosting bats is critical. We conducted a meta‐analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation and management interventions for subterranean‐roosting bats. We used network analyses to determine to what extent interventions for bats overlap those used for other subterranean taxa. We conducted our analyses with data extracted from 345 papers recommending a total of 910 conservation interventions. Gating of roost entrances was applied to preserve bat populations in 21 studies, but its effectiveness was unclear. Habitat restoration and disturbance reduction positively affected bat populations and bat behavior, respectively, in ≤4 studies. Decontamination was assessed in 2 studies and positively affected bat populations, particularly in studies focused on reducing fungal spores associated with white‐nose syndrome in North America. Monitoring of bat populations as an effective conservation strategy was unclear and infrequently tested. Only 4% of bat studies simultaneously considered other subterranean organisms. However, effective interventions for bat conservation had similarities with all other organisms. If other subterranean organisms are considered when applying interventions to conserve bats, they might also benefit.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-07-2021
Abstract: The use of functional ersity analyses in ecology has grown exponentially over the past two decades, broadening our understanding of biological ersity and its change across space and time. Virtually all ecological sub‐disciplines recognise the critical value of looking at species and communities from a functional perspective, and this has led to a proliferation of methods for estimating contrasting dimensions of functional ersity. Differences between these methods and their development generated terminological inconsistencies and confusion about the selection of the most appropriate approach for addressing any particular ecological question, h ering the potential for comparative studies, simulation exercises and meta‐analyses. Two general mathematical frameworks for estimating functional ersity are prevailing: those based on dissimilarity matrices (e.g. Rao entropy, functional dendrograms) and those relying on multidimensional spaces, constructed as either convex hulls or probabilistic hypervolumes. We review these frameworks, discuss their strengths and weaknesses and provide an overview of the main R packages performing these calculations. In parallel, we propose a way for organising functional ersity metrics in a unified scheme to quantify the richness, ergence and regularity of species or in iduals under each framework. This overview offers a roadmap for confidently approaching functional ersity analyses both theoretically and practically. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-08-2016
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.12824
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-03-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.17.435827
Abstract: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances, i.e., β- ersity, is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β- ersity is to evaluate directional turnover in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distances. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 149 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments. We modelled an exponential distance decay for each dataset using generalized linear models and extracted r 2 and slope to analyse the strength and the rate of the decay. We studied whether taxonomic or functional similarity has stronger decay across the spatial and environmental distances. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm, and organismal features. Taxonomic distance decay was stronger along spatial and environmental distances compared with functional distance decay. The rate of taxonomic spatial distance decay was the fastest in the datasets from mid-latitudes while the rate of functional decay increased with latitude. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distances but a higher rate of decay along environmental distances. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay. This synthesis is an important step towards a more holistic understanding of patterns and drivers of taxonomic and functional β- ersity.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-07-2023
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PCBI.1011268
Abstract: Permafrost thawing and the potential ‘lab leak’ of ancient microorganisms generate risks of biological invasions for today’s ecological communities, including threats to human health via exposure to emergent pathogens. Whether and how such ‘time-travelling’ invaders could establish in modern communities is unclear, and existing data are too scarce to test hypotheses. To quantify the risks of time-travelling invasions, we isolated digital virus-like pathogens from the past records of coevolved artificial life communities and studied their simulated invasion into future states of the community. We then investigated how invasions affected ersity of the free-living bacteria-like organisms (i.e., hosts) in recipient communities compared to controls where no invasion occurred (and control invasions of contemporary pathogens). Invading pathogens could often survive and continue evolving, and in a few cases (3.1%) became exceptionally dominant in the invaded community. Even so, invaders often had negligible effects on the invaded community composition however, in a few, highly unpredictable cases (1.1%), invaders precipitated either substantial losses (up to -32%) or gains (up to +12%) in the total richness of free-living species compared to controls. Given the sheer abundance of ancient microorganisms regularly released into modern communities, such a low probability of outbreak events still presents substantial risks. Our findings therefore suggest that unpredictable threats so far confined to science fiction and conjecture could in fact be powerful drivers of ecological change.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-11-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECM.1553
Abstract: Climate warming is considered to be among the most serious of anthropogenic stresses to the environment, because it not only has direct effects on bio ersity, but it also exacerbates the harmful effects of other human‐mediated threats. The associated consequences are potentially severe, particularly in terms of threats to species preservation, as well as in the preservation of an array of ecosystem services provided by bio ersity. Among the most affected groups of animals are insects—central components of many ecosystems—for which climate change has pervasive effects from in iduals to communities. In this contribution to the scientists' warning series, we summarize the effect of the gradual global surface temperature increase on insects, in terms of physiology, behavior, phenology, distribution, and species interactions, as well as the effect of increased frequency and duration of extreme events such as hot and cold spells, fires, droughts, and floods on these parameters. We warn that, if no action is taken to better understand and reduce the action of climate change on insects, we will drastically reduce our ability to build a sustainable future based on healthy, functional ecosystems. We discuss perspectives on relevant ways to conserve insects in the face of climate change, and we offer several key recommendations on management approaches that can be adopted, on policies that should be pursued, and on the involvement of the general public in the protection effort.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-05-2022
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.13513
Abstract: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β‐ ersity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β‐ ersity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 148 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments. Global. 1990 to present. From diatoms to mammals. We measured the strength of the decay using ranked Mantel tests (Mantel r ) and the rate of distance decay as the slope of an exponential fit using generalized linear models. We used null models to test whether functional similarity decays faster or slower than expected given the taxonomic decay along the spatial and environmental distance. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm and organismal features. Taxonomic distance decay was stronger than functional distance decay along both spatial and environmental distance. Functional distance decay was random given the taxonomic distance decay. The rate of taxonomic and functional spatial distance decay was fastest in the datasets from mid‐latitudes. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distance but a higher rate of decay along environmental distance. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay along environmental distances. In general, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research because it reflects dispersal‐related factors in addition to species responses to climatic and environmental variables. Moreover, functional distance decay might be a cost‐effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2022.07.026
Abstract: In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also lify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-01-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-03-2023
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.14203
Abstract: Research on island species–area relationships (ISAR) has expanded to incorporate functional (IFDAR) and phylogenetic (IPDAR) ersity. However, relative to the ISAR, we know little about IFDARs and IPDARs, and lack synthetic global analyses of variation in form of these three categories of island ersity–area relationship (IDAR). Here, we undertake the first comparative evaluation of IDARs at the global scale using 51 avian archipelagic data sets representing true and habitat islands. Using null models, we explore how richness‐corrected functional and phylogenetic ersity scale with island area. We also provide the largest global assessment of the impacts of species introductions and extinctions on the IDAR. Results show that increasing richness with area is the primary driver of the (non‐richness corrected) IPDAR and IFDAR for many data sets. However, for several archipelagos, richness‐corrected functional and phylogenetic ersity changes linearly with island area, suggesting that the dominant community assembly processes shift along the island area gradient. We also find that archipelagos with the steepest ISARs exhibit the biggest differences in slope between IDARs, indicating increased functional and phylogenetic redundancy on larger islands in these archipelagos. In several cases introduced species seem to have ‘re‐calibrated’ the IDARs such that they resemble the historic period prior to recent extinctions.
Publisher: Utah State University
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.26077/SECN-2A27
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 27-10-2021
Publisher: American Arachnological Society
Date: 30-09-2020
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-08-2023
DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.28.550999
Abstract: Species traits significantly influence pet trade dynamics, affecting demand, exploitation, and extinction risk. We examined the effect of species- and advertisement-level attributes on tarantula abundance and price in online markets, exploring rarely-considered fine-scale traits. Data from 977 ads showing 217 species and 81 ‘trade names’’ were collected from eight e-commerce websites located in six countries and analyzed using Structural Equation Models. Hairy, aggressive, and popular tarantulas were more abundant in commerce. Big, recently described species with ontogenetic changes in color and urticating hairs, with no evidence of captive breeding, had higher average price. Variability of prices in the ads were mainly explained by differences in website, lifestage and sex of the in idual advertised. After accounting for these drivers of market abundance and price, we found only weak evidence of direct price-rarity relationships, implying they are largely independently determined. This can have important implications for the future management and regulation of the international tarantula trade. Understanding consumer behavior in the pet trade is crucial for effective conservation efforts and we recommend using online ad data to track and understand supply and demand in tarantula trade. Leveraging marketing insights can enhance conservationists’ influence on consumers, promoting sustainable practices and benefit sharing for wildlife-dependent communities. Hobbyist communities may be the most strategic messenger for conservation messaging trying to reach consumers in the tarantula pet trade. Tarantula price and abundance in pet trade are shaped by species traits and advertisement attributes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-08-2022
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.06287
Abstract: The widespread use of species traits in basic and applied ecology, conservation and biogeography has led to an exponential increase in functional ersity analyses, with 10 000 papers published in 2010–2020, and 1800 papers only in 2021. This interest is reflected in the development of a multitude of theoretical and methodological frameworks for calculating functional ersity, making it challenging to navigate the myriads of options and to report detailed accounts of trait‐based analyses. Therefore, the discipline of trait‐based ecology would benefit from the existence of a general guideline for standard reporting and good practices for analyses. We devise an eight‐step protocol to guide researchers in conducting and reporting functional ersity analyses, with the overarching goal of increasing reproducibility, transparency and comparability across studies. The protocol is based on: 1) identification of a research question 2) a s ling scheme and a study design 3–4) assemblage of data matrices 5) data exploration and preprocessing 6) functional ersity computation 7) model fitting, evaluation and interpretation and 8) data, metadata and code provision. Throughout the protocol, we provide information on how to best select research questions, study designs, trait data, compute functional ersity, interpret results and discuss ways to ensure reproducibility in reporting results. To facilitate the implementation of this template, we further develop an interactive web‐based application ( stepFD ) in the form of a checklist workflow, detailing all the steps of the protocol and allowing the user to produce a final ‘reproducibility report' to upload alongside the published paper. A thorough and transparent reporting of functional ersity analyses ensures that ecologists can incorporate others' findings into meta‐analyses, the shared data can be integrated into larger databases for consensus analyses, and available code can be reused by other researchers. All these elements are key to pushing forward this vibrant and fast‐growing field of research.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 27-11-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.27.518065
Abstract: The study of functional ersity (FD) provides ways to understand phenomena as complex as community assembly or the dynamics of bio ersity change under multiple pressures. Different frameworks are used to quantify FD, either based on dissimilarity matrices (e.g., Rao entropy, functional dendrograms) or multidimensional spaces (e.g. convex hulls, kernel-density hypervolumes). While the first does not enable the measurement of FD within a richness/ ergence/regularity framework, or results in the distortion of the functional space, the latter does not allow for comparisons with phylogenetic ersity (PD) measures and can be extremely sensitive to outliers. We propose the use of neighbor-joining trees (NJ) to represent and quantify functional ersity in a way that combines the strengths of current FD frameworks without many of their weaknesses. Our proposal is also uniquely suited for studies that compare FD with PD, as both share the use of trees (NJ or others) and the same mathematical principles. We test the ability of this novel framework to represent the initial functional distances between species with minimal functional space distortion and sensitivity to outliers. The results using NJ are compared with conventional functional dendrograms, convex hulls, and kernel-density hypervolumes using both simulated and empirical datasets. Using NJ we demonstrate that it is possible to combine much of the flexibility provided by multidimensional spaces with the simplicity of tree-based representations. Moreover, the method is directly comparable with PD measures, and enables quantification of the richness, ergence and regularity of the functional space.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 19-06-2019
Abstract: In light of recent alarming trends in human population growth, climate change, and other environmental modifications, a “Warning to humanity” manifesto was published in BioScience in 2017. This call reiterated most of the ideas originally expressed by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 1992, including the fear that we are “pushing Earth's ecosystems beyond their capacities to support the web of life.” As subterranean biologists, we take this opportunity to emphasize the global importance and the conservation challenges associated with subterranean ecosystems. They likely represent the most widespread nonmarine environments on Earth, but specialized subterranean organisms remain among the least documented and studied. Largely overlooked in conservation policies, subterranean habitats play a critical role in the function of the web of life and provide important ecosystem services. We highlight the main threats to subterranean ecosystems and propose a set of effective actions to protect this globally important natural heritage.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-03-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-022-01197-6
Abstract: Mass media plays an important role in the construction and circulation of risk perception associated with animals. Widely feared groups such as spiders frequently end up in the spotlight of traditional and social media. We compiled an expert-curated global database on the online newspaper coverage of human-spider encounters over the past ten years (2010–2020). This database includes information about the location of each human-spider encounter reported in the news article and a quantitative characterisation of the content—location, presence of photographs of spiders and bites, number and type of errors, consultation of experts, and a subjective assessment of sensationalism. In total, we collected 5348 unique news articles from 81 countries in 40 languages. The database refers to 211 identified and unidentified spider species and 2644 unique human-spider encounters (1121 bites and 147 as deadly bites). To facilitate data reuse, we explain the main caveats that need to be made when analysing this database and discuss research ideas and questions that can be explored with it.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2021
Abstract: Spiders are a highly ersified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a erse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in erse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at in idual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology. Database URL: spidertraits.sci.muni.cz/
No related grants have been discovered for Pedro Cardoso.