Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research
Current Biology, vol. 33, pp. 3495–3504.e4
Abstract
Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost.
Authors 68
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Raquel L. Carvalho corresponding
Universidade de São Paulo · Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Affiliation as printed
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Amazônia Oriental, Belém 66095-903, Brazil; Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-220, Brazil. Electronic address: raqueluly@gmail.com
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Amazônia Oriental, Belém 66095-903, Brazil
Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-220, Brazil
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Angélica Faria de Resende corresponding
Universidade de São Paulo · Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Affiliation as printed
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Amazônia Oriental, Belém 66095-903, Brazil; Universidade de São Paulo, Esalq, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil. Electronic address: gel.florestal@gmail.com
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Amazônia Oriental, Belém 66095-903, Brazil
Universidade de São Paulo, Esalq, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
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Jos Barlow corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK. Electronic address: jos.barlow@lancaster.ac.uk
Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK
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Affiliation as printed
University of Bristol, BS8 1QU Bristol, UK
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Mario R. Moura corresponding
Universidade Federal da Paraíba · Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas 13083-862, Brazil; Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia 58397-000, Brazil. Electronic address: mariormoura@gmail.com
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas 13083-862, Brazil
Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia 58397-000, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade de Brasília, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade do Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
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Manchester Metropolitan University
Affiliation as printed
Manchester Metropolitan University, M15 6BH Manchester, UK
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Universidade Federal de Lavras
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras 37200-000, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-119, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK
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Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Affiliation as printed
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Amazônia Oriental, Belém 66095-903, Brazil
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Universidade Federal do Amazonas
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 69067-005, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-119, Brazil
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Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia · Universidade Federal do Amazonas
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 69067-005, Brazil; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil
Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus 69067-005, Brazil
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Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil
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University of Oxford · Lancaster University
Affiliation as printed
Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK; University of Oxford, OX1 3QY Oxford, UK
Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK
University of Oxford, OX1 3QY Oxford, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil
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Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém 66077-830, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ Lancaster, UK
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Manchester Metropolitan University
Affiliation as printed
Manchester Metropolitan University, M15 6BH Manchester, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-119, Brazil
Universidade Federal do Para ´, Bel em 66075-119, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-119, Brazil
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University of Leeds · Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém 66077-830, Brazil; University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco 69920-900, Brazil
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Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Utrecht University
Affiliation as printed
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands; Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands
Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso · Universidade Federal do Pará
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá 78060-900, Brazil
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-119, Brazil
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Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Affiliation as printed
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, Brazil
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Affiliation as printed
Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém 66040-170, Brazil
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Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Affiliation as printed
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazo ˆnia, Manaus 69067-375, Brazil
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Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation · Universidade Federal do Pará
Affiliation as printed
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Amazônia Oriental, Belém 66095-903, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-119, Brazil
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecua ´ria, Amazo ˆnia Oriental, Bel em 66095-903, Brazil
Universidade Federal do Para ´, Bel em 66075-119, Brazil
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