In the week we celebrate the international day of biodiversity, or specifically on May 22nd, a group of scientists announced the discovery of 15 new species of birds in the Brazilian Amazon. This means, statiscally one percent addition to biodiversity of birds of Brazil. For this reason, the novelty is being considered the greatest achievement of Brazilian ornithology in 140 years
Eleven of the new species are endemic of Brazil and four can be found also in Peru and Bolivia. The presence of the birds always occurs near rivers such as the river Madeira, in Western Amazonia, and the river Tapajós, Pará, in the eastern portion.
This shows that the numerous watercourses that meander through the forest are an abundant source of biodiversity not only within, but also outside its waters.
Among the birds they discovered, the largest is a species of Crow, with about 35 cm long, that lives in the forest between the rivers Madeira and Purus, in Amazonas state. "This Crow is threatened with extinction," says Mario Cohn-Haft, curator of the Ornithology section of Inpa (National Institute of Amazon Research). "Their habitat is in danger and we can lose the species before we could have time to study it in depth." Its main area of occurrence is an area close to 'rodovia' [=highway] BR-319, which connects Manaus (state of Amazonas) to Porto Velho (state of Rondônia), and one of the main causes of deforestation in the region.
Altamira national forest, another region where one of the species was found, scientists needed including the support of armed protection. Habitat of one species of 'arapaçu-de-bico-torto', black-billed scythebill (see photo below), the Flona ['Floresta Nacional' = National Forest, a category of reserves in Brazil] located next to highway BR-163, in southern Pará, it is a region of land conflicts and of intense forest degradation. The tension in a place like this is great. There was an illegal mining operation in the unit. In order to be able to work safely in the reserve, we had to be escorted by soldiers of the army ", said Dr Aleixo (of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi).
"There is still much for the Amazon be considered sufficiently well known and thus allow the planning and sustainability of existing biodiversity reserves and also of the future," says the ornithologist Bret Whitney, a researcher at the Museum of Natural Science at the State University of Louisiania. The other institutions involved in the study: Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (MZ-USP), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Inpa), Manaus, and Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in Belém (MPEG).
Among the birds they discovered, the largest is a species of Crow, with about 35 cm long, that lives in the forest between the rivers Madeira and Purus, in Amazonas state. "This Crow is threatened with extinction," says Mario Cohn-Haft, curator of the Ornithology section of Inpa (National Institute of Amazon Research). "Their habitat is in danger and we can lose the species before we could have time to study it in depth." Its main area of occurrence is an area close to 'rodovia' [=highway] BR-319, which connects Manaus (state of Amazonas) to Porto Velho (state of Rondônia), and one of the main causes of deforestation in the region.
Altamira national forest, another region where one of the species was found, scientists needed including the support of armed protection. Habitat of one species of 'arapaçu-de-bico-torto', black-billed scythebill (see photo below), the Flona ['Floresta Nacional' = National Forest, a category of reserves in Brazil] located next to highway BR-163, in southern Pará, it is a region of land conflicts and of intense forest degradation. The tension in a place like this is great. There was an illegal mining operation in the unit. In order to be able to work safely in the reserve, we had to be escorted by soldiers of the army ", said Dr Aleixo (of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi).
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| New species of 'arapaçu-de-bico-torto' black-billed scythebill, discovered in the National Forest of Altamira, Pará |
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