Disentangling the veil line for Brazilian biodiversity: An overview from two long-term research programs reveals huge gaps in ecological data reporting

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 950; p. 174880
• Main Authors: de Alagao Querido, Luciano Carramaschi, Rocha, Taina, de Godoy Bergallo, Helena, Overbeck, Gerhard Ernst, da Rosa, Clarissa Alves, Lopes, Alessandra Monteiro, de Paula, Alexandre Souza, Andriolo, Aline, dos Santos Dias, Aline, Bernardes, Amanda Araujo, da Silva Oliveira, Amanda Batista, de Barros, Ana Angelica Monteiro, Bueno, Anderson Saldanha, Nunes-Freitas, Andre Felippe, Yves, Andre, Scabin, Andressa Barbara, Banhos, Aureo, Siqueira, Carla Costa, Fontana, Carla Suertegaray, da Rocha, Carlos Frederico Duarte, da Costa Doria, Carolina Rodrigues, Barros, Claudia Franca, de Oliveira Cavalcante, Claymir, de Sales Dambros, Cristian, Tassinari, Diego, Chiaraniv, Eduardo, de Farias Geisler, Eduardo, Carvalho-Junior, Elildo Alves Ribeiro, Higashikawa, Emilio Manabu, Pezzini, Flavia, Cabeceira, Fernando Goncalvez, do Prado Florencio, Fernando, Ferreira, Guilherme Braga, Mourao, Guilherme, Rousseau, Guillaume Xavier, de Lima, Haroldo Cavalcante, Kaefer, Igor Luis, da Costa de Noronha, Janaina, de Melo-Junior, Joao Carlos Ferreira, Baumgratz, Jose Fernando Andrade, de Morais, Jose Wellinton, de Melo Silva, Joyce, de Gois Silva, Julia, Wingert, Juliana M., Menger, Juliana, Dayrell, Jussara Santos, da Silva-Goncalves, Kelly Cristina, da Silva Sylvestre, Lana, de Andrade Ribas, Leonor, Battirola, Leandro Dênis, Ramos, Leticia, Stegmann, Lis Fernandes, Carvalho, Lucelia Nobre, Costa, Luciana Moraes, Silveira, Luis Fabio, Malabarba, Luiz Roberto, Frangipani, Marcelo Araujo, Tabarelli, Marcelo, Nascimento, Marcelo Trindade, de Oliveira dos Santos, Marco Antonio, Vital, Marcos Jose Salgado, Vieira, Marcus Vinicius, de Moura Araujo, Maria Aparecida, Iguatemy, Mariana, da Silva Murakami, Mariana Moreira, Martins, Marlucia Bonifacio, Camana, Mateus, Fonseca, Nathan Castro, Prieto-Benavides, Oscar Oswaldo, de Andrade, Paloma Leal, Pequeno, Pedro Aurelio Costa Lima, Gananca, Pedro Henrique Salomao, de Andrade, Poliana Cristina Rodrigues, Azarak, Priscila Alencar, de Lima Santos, Raylanne, Dala-Corte, Renato Bolson, de Oliveira Perdiz, Ricardo, da Cunha Araujo, Rodrigo Paulo, de Andrade, Ricardo Teixeira Gregorio, Fadini, Rodrigo, Cerqueira, Rui, Santorelli, Sergio, dos Santos, Sonia Barbosa, Avilla, Stefano Spiteri, Pansini, Susamar, Aragon, Susan, Sobroza, Tainara Venturini, de Fatima Ramos Guimaraes, Tais, dos Santos, Talitha Ferreira, Emilio, Thaise, de Azevedo Amorim, Thiago, Izzo, Thiago, Sogral, Thadeu, Vincent, Timothy Lee, de Lima Rocha, Tomas, Borges-Junior, Vitor Nelson Teixeira, Layme, Viviane Maria Guedes, Santos, Wenderson Nunes, Silva, Williamar Rodrigues, Magnusson, William E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 10-11-2024
• Subjects: Biodiversity monitoring; Brazilian biodiversity; Data-deficiency in Brazil; Research gaps; Tropical forests; Wallacean shortfall; Wallacean shortfall; Tropical forests; Brazilian biodiversity; Research gaps; Data-deficiency in Brazil; Biodiversity monitoring
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174880

The lack of synthesized information regarding biodiversity is a major problem among researchers, leading to a pervasive cycle where ecologists make field campaigns to collect information that already exists and yet has not been made available for a broader audience. This problem leads to long-lasting effects in public policies such as spending money multiple times to conduct similar studies in the same area. We aim to identify this knowledge gap by synthesizing information available regarding two Brazilian long-term biodiversity programs and the metadata generated by them. Using a unique dataset containing 1904 metadata, we identified patterns of metadata distribution and intensity of research conducted in Brazil, as well as where we should concentrate research efforts in the next decades. We found that the majority of metadata were about vertebrates, followed by plants, invertebrates, and fungi. Caatinga was the biome with least metadata, and that there's still a lack of information regarding all biomes in Brazil, with none of them being sufficiently sampled. We hope that these results will have implications for broader conservation and management guiding, as well as to funding allocation programs.
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•We synthesized metadata regarding field campaigns carried out in a timeline of 20 years.•Brazilian biodiversity metadata is poorly documented.•Most field data are undiscoverable by a broader audience.•There are pervasive gaps regarding data documentation in the country.•Improving data documentation will increase the number of biodiversity synthesis.