A gap analysis of ornithological research in the brazilian state of Roraima

• Autor(a) principal: Santos,Marcos Pérsio Dantas
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Biota Neotropica
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1676-06032012000200008
• topic: amazonia; birds; conservation; rio branco; sampling gaps

This study analyzes the ornithological data available for the Brazilian state of Roraima, focusing on sampling gaps. All ornithological data collected in Roraima up to the present were collated with the aim of answering the following questions: (a) which sites have been well sampled? (b) Are there are any geographic gaps? (c) What is the current extent of the scientific knowledge of avian diversity in Roraima? (d); Which regions and vegetation types have been well-sampled, and which should be prioritized for future surveys? Ornithological data were obtained from a total of 82 localities, including the Maracá Ecological Station (442 species), Viruá National Park (420 species), Colônia do Apiaú (320 species), Mucajaí (267 species), and Pacaráima (212 species), which were the five sites with the highest species counts. Over the past 20 years, only two localities in Roraima have been added to the list of sites with reliable samples (at least 100 bird species recorded (study skins collected, tape recordings and undocumented field observations) , the Viruá National Park and Fazenda Paraense. Five regions of the state were identified as sampling gaps, and should be prioritized in future ornithological surveys: the northwest, on the border with Venezuela and the Brazilian state of Amazonas, the lower Rio Branco between the town of Caracaraí and the mouth of the river, the terra firme forests of the southeast, the savannas of the northeast, on the border with Guyana, and the northern highlands, including montane forest and tepuis.