Browsing by Autor "Nuria Bernal‐Hoverud"

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COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF REPTILE DIVERSITY IN MADIDI NATIONAL PARK AND NATURAL INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT AREA, ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE PROTECTED AREAS
(National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2025) James Aparicio; Mauricio Ocampo; Nuria Bernal‐Hoverud; Enrique Domic; Robert B. Wallace
The Amazon is the worlds largest tropical rainforest, hosting a myriad of plants, fungi and animals, and encompassing a wide diversity of ecoregions. Bolivia has allocated 17 % of its territory to national protected areas, among which Madidi National Park and Natural Integrated Management Area boasts the largest representation of ecoregions in the country. However, despite its significance, knowledge of Madidis herpetofauna remains limited. This study presents the most comprehensive survey of reptile diversity in and around Madidi, combining an extensive literature review with three years of fieldwork. We computed alpha, beta, gamma, and dark diversity indices to comprehend the composition of reptile species across the ecoregions represented within the protected area. We registered 110 reptile species within the park, with the Sub-Andean Amazon Forest ecoregion displaying the highest diversity. The diversity indices applied indicate the potential for discovering additional species in the area, and as expected for a mountainous area, there is a high turnover of species between ecoregions, each of them exhibiting a distinctive species composition. We recommend continuous monitoring in an area with such high reptile diversity, particularly considering the impacts that climate change will have on these species’ assemblages over time.
First record of Neogale africana (Desmarest, 1818), Amazon Weasel (Carnivora, Mustelidae), in Bolivia
(Pensoft Publishers, 2024) Nuria Bernal‐Hoverud; Daniela Morales-Moreno; Eyner Eugenio Quispe; Jorge Luis Ruíz Rojas; Omar Torrico; Robert B. Wallace; Jorge Salazar‐Bravo
Neogale africana (Desmarest, 1818), Amazon Weasel, is a poorly known South American carnivore, with records from north-central Brazil to Ecuador and south to central Peru and central Brazil. Based on two videographic records, we report the presence of this species in Bolivia and document a new elevational record. Furthermore, our new record extends the species&rsquo; distribution by 900 km from the nearest locality in Peru, and by 1500 km from the nearest Brazilian locality. Current gaps in its distribution are attributable to the low detectability and rarity of this mustelid.
Habitat differences in seed‐dispersing vertebrates indicate dispersal limitation in tropical bracken‐dominated deforested areas
(Wiley, 2024) Silvia C. Gallegos; César Mayta; Mariana Villegas; Guido Ayala; Kazuya Naoki; Josef Rechberger; V. D. Zambrana Rojas; María Viscarra; Nuria Bernal‐Hoverud; Mauricio Espejo
Abstract Shifting agriculture and anthropogenic fires are among the main causes of deforestation in the tropics. After fire and land abandonment, vast deforested areas are commonly dominated by the bracken fern Pteridium for long periods. Although forest regeneration in bracken‐dominated areas is mainly hindered by dispersal limitation, little is known about the role of seed‐disperser communities in slow forest succession. Our objective was to unravel the differences in the properties of the seed‐disperser communities between forests and bracken‐dominated areas to assess their role in dispersal limitation to foster ecological restoration. We compared species richness, diversity, abundance, and composition of seed‐dispersing birds, bats, and medium and large terrestrial mammals between both habitats in a montane forest of Bolivia. The species richness and diversity were similar for bats and higher for birds in bracken‐dominated areas than in the forest, but species composition was different between both habitats and groups. Although species composition was similar between both habitats for terrestrial mammals, the abundance was higher in the forest than in bracken‐dominated areas. Differences in species composition of seed‐dispersing birds and bats could be one of the main causes of dispersal limitation in forest regeneration in tropical bracken‐dominated areas. The few shared species between both habitats could explain the low seed rain of animal‐dispersed forest tree species in bracken‐dominated areas and the consequent hindered forest regeneration. Future studies relevant to natural forest regeneration should focus on analyzing the effects of animal‐attractants such as perches, artificial bat‐roosts, and seedling transplants on disperser communities, seed dispersal effectiveness, and forest regeneration. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.