In this study alpha and beta diversity patterns of five leaf litter arthropod groups (ants, predatory ants, oribatid mites, spiders and other arachnids) were described and compared in 39 sampling patches of a transformed landscape in southwestern Colombia, that represented five vegetation types: secondary forest, riparian forest, giant bamboo forest, pasture and sugarcane crop. It was also assessed whether some taxa could be used as diversity surrogates. A total of 6,765 individuals grouped in 290 morphospecies were collected. Species richness in all groups was lower in highly transformed vegetation types (pasture, sugarcane crop) than in native ones (forests). In contrast, there were no clear tendencies of beta diversity among vegetation types. Considering sampling patches, 0.1-42% of the variation in alpha diversity of one taxonomic group could be explained from the alpha diversity of another, and 0.2-33% of the variation of beta diversity of a given taxon was explained by that in other groups. Contrary to recent findings, we concluded that patterns of alpha diversity are more congruent than patterns of beta diversity. This fact could be attributed to a sampling effect that promotes congruence in alpha diversity and to a lack of a clear regional ecological gradient that could promote congruent patterns of beta diversity. We did not find evidence for an ideal diversity surrogate although diversity patterns of predatory ants had the greatest congruencies. These results support earlier multi-taxon evaluations in that conservation planning should not be based on only one leaf litter arthropod group.; Colciencias; Colciencias; Universidad del Valle; Universidad del Valle; Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH); Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH) [05-01-24843-054CE]

Modelos de distribuição de abundâncias relativas das espécies (DAE) representam um dos mais gerais padrões em ecologia de comunidades, denominado de curva côncava. Este padrão, mostra que independente do grupo taxonômico ou ambiente, as espécies comuns e mais abundantes são poucas e a maioria das espécies é rara. Estes modelos são úteispara descrever a diversidade em comunidades naturais por que mostram como o número de indivíduos é distribuído entre as espécies e portanto, representam o grau de dominância nas comunidades. Um dos principais objetivos da ecologia de comunidades é entender como fatores ambientais em escalas globais, regionais e locais podem determinar a riqueza e abundância de espécies dentro das comunidades. Apesar do conhecimento acerca destes padrões, a ocorrência de processos em escalas diferentes dificulta a escolha de um ou mais deles como determinantes da diversidade nas comunidades. Assim, nosso objetivo foi avaliar qual a importância relativa do aumento da produtividade, biogeografia, destruição e fragmentação de habitats sobre a determinação da diversidade em comunidades de aves de sub bosque. Para isto, nós utilizamos dados compilados de uma das maiores bases de dados sobre estudos deste grupo para a região sudeste do Brasil e selecionamos 104 localidades amostradas por meio do método de rede de neblina nesta região. Porém...

A discriminação no trabalho e a gestão da diversidade nas organizações têm sido um tema para a Psicologia Organizacional e do Trabalho no Brasil desde 1995, sendo que, ora os estudos caracterizam a discriminação, ora apontam as medidas e os efeitos da gestão da diversidade nas organizações. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo descrever e analisar a atuação de consultores nas ações de gestão da diversidade em organizações. Com base em entrevistas realizadas com seis consultores, foi possível formular cinco categorias. A primeira, denominada os consultores, evidenciou as diversas formações deles, o compromisso ético assumido, as sugestões que fazem para os procedimentos de gestão de pessoas com vistas à promoção da igualdade e seu papel de facilitador da mudança cultural na organização. A segunda categoria significados da gestão da diversidade, descreveu as diferenças que os consultores percebem entre realizar promoção da igualdade para pessoas com deficiência e realizar promoção da igualdade para negros, bem como o horizonte positivo que envolve a mudança de práticas de discriminação para as de valorização da diversidade nas organizações, e as práticas que são denominadas de gestão da diversidade. Na terceira categoria...

A partição aditiva da diversidade tem recebido cada vez mais atenção dos ecólogos, sendo utilizada como uma abordagem para fracionar a diversidade ao longo de múltiplas escalas. A abordagem permite ainda testar se a diversidade em cada uma das escalas é maior ou menor do que o esperado segundo uma distribuição de indivíduos ao acaso nas unidades amostrais. Este trabalho avalia a diversidade alfa e beta de nematódeos em cinco escalas espaciais (de cm a km). A importância de componentes ambientais e geográficos (dentro de lagoas e entre lagoas) na diversidade desses organismos também é estimada. Como medida de diversidade utilizou-se a riqueza de morfotipos. Através de dados da literatura, comparou-se a diversidade de Nematoda com os padrões de diversidade descritos para organismos unicelulares de mesmo tamanho (menores de 2 mm). A expectativa era que a assembléia de nematódeos apresentasse uma alta diversidade alfa nas escalas espaciais inferiores, como ocorre para protistas, e valores baixos para diversidade beta, uma vez que a variação na composição da nematofauna refletiria principalmente mudanças nas características ambientais. Foram registrados 13.358 indivíduos e 59 morfoespécies de nematódeos. A partição aditiva da diversidade revelou que a importância da diversidade beta nas escalas maiores (dentro e entre ambientes e entre lagoas) foi maior que o esperado. Através da Análise de Correspondência Canônica Parcial (pCCA)...

The Iberá Marshlands RAMSAR reserve, in the northeast of Argentina, is one of the largest and most important wetlands of America. In this study we assess orb-weaving spider (Araneae: Orbiculariae) diversity in this reserve, analyzing different facets of local diversity (species richness, diversity, evenness and taxonomic distinctness), and the contribution of species differentiation (beta diversity) among localities and habitat types to the composition of regional diversity. We found 1657 individuals of 59 orb-weaving spider species/morphospecies. Local diversity differs among the three sampled localities. At the habitat level, the different facets of biodiversity followed a clear pattern, where woodlands have higher species richness, diversity, evenness and taxonomic distinctness than savannas. Savanna sites shared a common spider species composition, while woodland communities have high values of complementarity. Thus, beta diversity has a very high contribution to the regional diversity of the orb-weaving spiders in the Iberá Marshlands. We suggest that conservation management in the reserve should be directed towards promoting natural spatial heterogeneity, giving special protection to habitat mosaics in different localities.

Nonseparable household models outline the links between agricultural production and household consumption, yet empirical extensions to investigate the effect of production on dietary diversity and diet composition are limited. Although a significant literature has investigated the calorie-income elasticity abstracting from production, this paper provides an empirical application of the nonseparable household model linking the effect of exogenous variation in planting season production decisions via climate variability on household dietary diversity. Using exogenous variation in degree days, rainfall, and agricultural capital stocks as instruments, the effect of production on household dietary diversity at harvest is estimated. The empirical specifications estimate production effects on dietary diversity using both agricultural revenue and crop production diversity. Significant effects of agricultural revenue and crop production diversity on dietary diversity are estimated. The dietary diversity-production elasticities imply that a 10 percent increase in agricultural revenue or crop diversity results in a 1.8 percent or 2.4 percent increase in dietary diversity...

Measures of species diversity are valuable tools for assessing ecosystem health. However, most assessments have addressed individual sites or regional taxon pools, with few comparisons of differences in assemblage composition within or among regions. We examined the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on local richness (α diversity) and species turnover (β diversity) of benthic macroinvertebrates in small streams within and between 2 ecoregions (Northern Piedmont vs Southeastern Plains ecoregions) of the Patuxent River basin (Maryland, USA). Regional species pools did not differ between ecoregions (Piedmont  =  166 taxa, Plains  =  162 taxa); however, local richness was lower in the Plains (mean  =  17.4 taxa/stream) compared to the Piedmont (mean  =  22.2 taxa/stream). When streams were categorized into disturbance classes (low, medium, high), local richness did not differ among categories for either region. However, at the entire Patuxent scale, local richness tended to decrease with % impervious cover in a watershed. Variation in species composition, analyzed with nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS), differed significantly between Piedmont and Plains streams, and Plains streams had higher β diversity than Piedmont streams. When partitioned by disturbance category and region...

This study was intended as an initial investigation to shed light on how faculty members are implementing multicultural course transformation in their classrooms to prepare students to live and work in a diverse world. The authors investigated faculty practice as they integrated diversity into the curriculum on a small, regional college campus by conducting a content analysis of faculty annual reports over a 5-year period. The vast majority (90%) of faculty included comments about adding diversity course content, just under half (49%) included descriptions of different teaching strategies, and a minority talked about better understanding their students (18%) or themselves (16%). This article concludes with a discussion of the findings’ implications and outlines recommendations for change.

v. 55, p. 424-435, 2010; 1. Lotic ecosystems can be studied on several spatial scales, and usually show high heterogeneity at all of them in terms of biological and environmental characteristics. Understanding and predicting the taxonomic composition of biological communities is challenging and compounded by the problem of scale. Additive diversity partitioning is a tool that can show the diversity that occurs at different scales. 2. We evaluated the spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in a tropical headwater catchment (S.E. Brazil) during the dry season and compared alpha and beta diversities at the scales of stream segments, reaches, riffles and microhabitats (substratum types: gravels, stones and leaf litter). We used family richness as our estimate of diversity. Sampling was hierarchical, and included three stream segments, two stream reaches per segment, three riffles per reach, three microhabitats per riffle and three Surber sample units per microhabitat. 3. Classification analysis of the 53 families found revealed groups formed in terms of stream segment and microhabitat, but not in terms of stream reaches and riffles. Separate partition analyses for each microhabitat showed that litter supported lower alpha diversity (28%) than did stones (36%) or gravel (42%). In all cases...

Em termos gerais, comunidades biológicas podem ser estruturadas por elementos que ocorrem em escalas espaciais diversas, que incluem fatores bióticos (e.g., competição e predação); fatores abióticos (e.g., heterogeneidade ambiental), históricos (e.g., eventos de extinção e colonização; e dinâmicas neutras (e.g., dispersões e extinções locais e aleatórias). Uma das formas mais interessantes de se estudar a estrutura de comunidades é a partir da investigação de como diferentes processos e mecanismos influenciam diferentes escalas ou componentes da biodiversidade. Por exemplo, o componente da diversidadebeta, uma medida de dissimilaridade entre comunidades, primariamente avaliada através da presença e ausência das espécies em cada comunidade. Outra forma utilizada por ecólogos para compreender a estrutura de comunidades é avaliar a estrutura filogenética das comunidades. Através da avaliação dessas propriedades e quais possíveis fatores a influenciam, se torna possível compreender as regras de montagem e manutenção de comunidades. Nesse contexto, nossos objetivos gerais nessa dissertação foram: estimar a diversidade beta de anuros das planícies costeiras paulistas em seus diferentes componentes: funcional...

Padrões de diversidade de espécies existem e são estudados em uma variedade de sistemas e escalas espaciais. Diferentes fatores geográficos e ambientais têm sido associados à variação na de diversidade em áreas florestadas, entretanto, ainda não existe um consenso na comunidade científica quanto à importância e à influência destes fatores em relação ao aumento ou diminuição da diversidade. Estudos pontuais de florística e fitossociologia no Brasil têm possibilitado o estabelecimento de alguns padrões e inferências sobre os fatores que afetam diretamente a diversidade dos sítios. A Floresta Ombrófila Densa ou Floresta Pluvial Atlântica (FPA) distribui-se ao longo de toda a costa brasileira. Apresenta elevada riqueza de espécies e um grande número de espécies endêmicas. Suas fitofisionomias são classificadas de acordo com a latitude e altitude em que ocorrem. Propomos neste estudo investigar os padrões de distribuição da diversidade alfa em sítios localizados em toda área de ocorrência da Floresta Pluvial Atlântica, procurando identificar centros de diversidade, a relação entre a distribuição da diversidade alfa e variáveis ambientais e a padrões de distribuição dos táxons (família, gêneros e espécies) ao longo da FPA. Utilizamos como medida de diversidade o índice de Shannon (H') e separamos as tabelas fitossociológicas por região geográfica. Os resultados apontaram para uma maior diversidade alfa na região sudeste brasileira...

Population demographics in the United States are rapidly changing, and increasing workplace diversity will become crucial for the survival of many environmental organizations. Although The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global organization and employs many people in different countries, it is also interested in increasing ethnic diversity in its offices in the United States. The purpose of this study is to look at ethnic diversity in TNC offices in the U.S., examine diversity challenges and successes at other environmental organizations, and provide suggestions for increasing the ethnic diversity in TNC. My specific research objectives are to determine (1) why people of color are underrepresented in the environmental field, (2) what makes TNC attractive or unattractive to people of color, (3) what the current relationship is between employees at TNC who represent communities of color and those who do not, (4) how TNC can engage more people of color, and (5) what TNC can do to improve retention of employees representing communities of color. I reviewed the literature on the demographics of the conservation movement, the history of people of color and the environment, and the challenges and successes other fields have had in trying to increase workplace diversity. I interviewed TNC employees...

Diversity and Inclusion Report (PPt) presented to the AS 11/01/2012

DIVERSITY PERSPECTIVES is published quarterly by the chief diversity officer, in conjunction with RIT’s President’s Commission on Pluralism and Inclusion.

Diversity Perspectives is published quarterly by the Chief Diversity Officer in conjunction with the President’s Commission on Pluralism and Inclusion.

DIVERSITY PERSPECTIVES is published quarterly by the chief diversity officer, in conjunction with RIT’s President’s Commission on Pluralism and Inclusion.

Diversity and Inclusion Ad Hoc Taskforce Report and PPt Presentation 12/12/2013

Diversity Perspectives is published quarterly by the Chief Diversity Officer in conjunction with the President’s Commission on Pluralism & Inclusion.

Additive partitioning of species diversity is a promising approach for analyzing patterns of diversity in mollusk communities, especially their spatial distribution. Our aims were to assess the distribution of mollusk communities in Southern Brazilian streams, and to evaluate the partitioning of community diversity at different spatial scales. The study was carried out in the lower course of the Toropi River, one of the main tributaries of the Ibicuí River Basin, in Southern Brazil. Four microbasins were considered: Sertão da Mata, Ribeirão, Tororaipi and Chiniquá, and sampling were undertaken in autumn, April and May 2009. Six sites were sampled in each stream: two in 1st-order segments, two in 2nd-order segments, and two in 3rd-order segments. All species found and the community as a whole, exhibited a clumped distribution. However, the variance-to-mean ratios for the Drepanotrema kermatoides and Heleobia bertoniana were higher than those of other species, suggesting a higher degree of aggregation. The additive partitioning of the species richness showed that the observed richness at smallest scale (α=within streams) represented 20.7%, and among-streams (β1) represented 10.5% of the total richness. The richness and Shannon diversity index observed at the alpha scale...

Functional diversity is important to ecological processes and íunctioning oí plant communities. The interaction oí functional diversity with environmental variables in Phellodendron amurense (an endangered species) communities in the Dongling Mountain was analyzed. Twenty-five 10 m x 20 m-plots were established in P. amurense communities and species composition, traits and environmental variables were measured and recorded. A new index based on Self-Organized Feature Map theory (SOFM index) for measuring functional diversity was introduced, and other six common indices were used in the analysis of functional diversity. The results showed that Self-Organized Feature Map index was an effective method in functional diversity studies. Functional diversity in P. amurense communities varied greatly; functional diversity increased linearly with elevation; it was negatively correlated with aspect, litter and slope position, and positively correlated with species richness. Functional diversity showed significant, negative effects on the importance values of P. amurense, which suggested that functional diversity should be maintained in a suitable extent for conservation purpose.