Brazil opens highly protected caves to mining, risking fauna

Oliveira, Hernani F. M.; Silva, Daiana Cardoso; Zangrandi, Priscilla L.; Domingos, Fabrícius Maia Chaves Bicalho

doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00406-x

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Until recently, Brazilian caves could be partially protected if they satisfied certain prerequisites, such as the presence of obligatory cave-dwelling taxa, assuring that the cave would not be exploited, especially by mining projects (BRAZIL 2008). Recently, the Brazilian Decree n° 10.935 published on January 12th, 2022 allowed the destruction of caves, seriously threating all subterranean biodiversity, and leading to the probable loss of the already known but also the unknown subterranean biodiversity of the country (Oliveira et al 2022). Moreover, most of the Brazilian caves are outside of conservation units (SNIF 2018), and face critical threats, such as deforestation of surrounding areas for cattle grazing and establishment of monocultures, mining, and urban expansion (Trajano 2000; Gallão & Bichuette 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding light into Brazilian subterranean isopods (Isopoda, Oniscidea): expanding distribution data and describing new taxa

Campos-Filho,

Sfenthourakis,

Gallo

et al. 2023

Zoosystema

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Fourteen species of terrestrial isopods (Oniscidea) from Brazilian karstic regions are described as new, i.e., Novamundoniscus mandacaru Campos-Filho, Araujo & Bichuette, n. sp. (Dubioniscidae), Diploexochus exu Campos-Filho, Sfenthourakis & Bichuette, n. sp., Gabunillo enfurnado Campos-Filho, Sfenthourakis & Bichuette, n. sp., Venezillo moreirai Campos-Filho, Carpio-Díaz & Bichuette, n. sp., V. garimpeiro Campos-Filho, Borja-Arrieta & Bichuette, n. sp., V. dioi Campos-Filho, Araujo & Taiti, n. sp., V. limai Campos-Filho, Carpio-Díaz & López-Orozco, n. sp., and V. muriloi Campos-Filho, Sfenthourakis & Taiti, n. sp. (Armadillidae) from the state of Bahia; N. canopus Campos-Filho, Gallo & Gallão, n. sp. from the state of Goiás, Caraiboscia jabutiensis Campos-Filho, Taiti & Bichuette, n. sp. (Philosciidae), Circoniscus caeruleus Campos-Filho, Sfenthourakis & Bichuette, n. sp. (Scleropactidae), Trichorhina amplitelson Campos-Filho, Carpio-Díaz & Borja-Arrieta, n. sp. (Platyarthridae), and N. kayabi Campos-Filho, Sfenthourakis & Araujo, n. sp. from the state of Mato Grosso; and Diploexochus carrapicho Campos-Filho, López-Orozco & Taiti, n. sp. from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. In addition, knowledge on the distribution of Benthana olfersii (Brandt, 1833), B. taeniata Araujo & Buckup, 1994 (Philosciidae), Ctenorillo ferrarai Campos-Filho, Araujo & Taiti, 2014, Cubaris murina Brandt, 1833 (Armadillidae), and Porcellionides pruinosus Brandt, 1833 (Porcellionidae) is expanded. Distribution maps, characterization of the caves where the species were collected, and subterranean remarks are given.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding light into Brazilian subterranean isopods (Isopoda, Oniscidea): expanding distribution data and describing new taxa

Campos-Filho,

Sfenthourakis,

Gallo

et al. 2023

Zoosystema

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“…More than a third of all bat species are considered threatened or data deficient today 22 . Habitat fragmentation, guano mining, bushmeat hunting, and culling in the case of human-bat conflicts are common causes for the decline of bat species [21][22][23][24][25] . This loss of bat species diversity diminishes essential ecological services provided by these animals, such as seed dispersal, pollination, nutrient distribution or insect control 26,27 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Bat species assemblage predicts coronavirus prevalence

Meyer,

Melville,

Baldwin

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

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Anthropogenic disturbances and the subsequent loss of biodiversity are altering species abundances and communities. Since species vary in their pathogen competence, spatio-temporal changes in host assemblages may lead to changes in disease dynamics. We explore how longitudinal changes in bat species assemblages affect the disease dynamics of coronaviruses (CoVs) in more than 2300 cave-dwelling bats captured over two years from five caves in Ghana. This reveals uneven CoV infection patterns between closely related species, with the alpha-CoV 229E-like and SARS-related beta-CoV 2b emerging as multi-host pathogens. Prevalence and infection likelihood for both phylogenetically distinct CoVs is influenced by the abundance of competent species and naïve subadults. Broadly, bat species vary in CoV competence, and highly competent species are more common in less diverse communities, leading to increased CoV prevalence in less diverse bat assemblages. In line with the One Health framework, our work supports the notion that biodiversity conservation may be the most proactive measure to prevent the spread of pathogens with zoonotic potential.

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A Global Perspective on Sustainable Show Cave Tourism

Chiarini

Duckeck²,

Waele

2022

Geoheritage

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Caves are among the most visited geological features in the world, attracting over 70 million people every year in more than 1,200 caves worldwide, and amounting up to 800 million Euros in entrance fees alone. The global business of show caves employs roughly 25,000 people directly (management, guides), and at least 100 times more people if we consider the connected tourist activities (souvenir shops, local transport, travel agencies, restaurants, and bars). It is estimated that the whole show cave business has a global commercial value of roughly 2 billion Euros, a number that is increasing constantly. Show caves are generally fragile ecosystems, and care should be taken in their management to safeguard their value for future generations. The international scientific (speleological) community has issued international guidelines for the sustainable development and management of show caves eight years ago, but their application is still far from being applied globally, especially in developing and least developed countries. Cave tourism is expected to increase, especially in countries where caves are abundant but not yet considered as tourist attractions, and where economic and political instability slow down the development of tourism. There are still a lot of possibilities for the opening of new show caves, especially in countries with low Gross Domestic Income (GDI), but their management needs to be sustainable, so that caves become a means of sustaining local economies, educating people on these fragile geo- and ecosystems, and protecting contemporarily their scientific and cultural heritage for future generations.

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Brazil opens highly protected caves to mining, risking fauna

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Shedding light into Brazilian subterranean isopods (Isopoda, Oniscidea): expanding distribution data and describing new taxa

Shedding light into Brazilian subterranean isopods (Isopoda, Oniscidea): expanding distribution data and describing new taxa

Bat species assemblage predicts coronavirus prevalence

A Global Perspective on Sustainable Show Cave Tourism

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