
Publications
- Books
- Papers
- Books from Field Courses
- Field Guide
- Biological Data Base
Books

Caatinga: The largest Tropical Dry Forest Region in South America
Jose Maria Cardoso da Silva, Inara R. Leal e Marcelo Tabarelli (Eds.)
Editor: Springer
Year: 2017
- The first English-language book focused exclusively on South America’s largest tropical dry forest.
- One of the few books on regional sustainable development that examines an entire, large ecological (rather than political) tropical region.
- One of the few books on regional sustainable development that proposes a roadmap for the conservation of natural resources and human development by synthesizing information on biodiversity, key ecosystem services and socioeconomic systems. (Springer)
To buy a copy, visit:
- Springer
- Amazon
Book chapters

Ecology of Leaf- Cutting Ants in Human- Modified Landscapes
Marcelo Tabarelli, Felipe F. S. Siqueira, Julia Backé, Rainer Wirth and Inara R. Leal
Effects of Human Disturbance and Climate Change on Myrmecochory in Brazilian Caatinga
Inara R. Leal, Laura C. Leal, Fernanda M. P. de Oliveira, Gabriela B. Arcoverde and Alan N. Andersen
Book: Ant-Plant Interactions: Impacts of Humans on Terrestrial Ecosystems
Paulo S. Oliveira and Suzanne Koptur (Eds.)
Editora: Cambridge University Press
Ano: 2017
To buy a copy, visit:
- Amazon
Papers at Scientific Journals
2020
Carvalho et al 2020 - Ants as providers of ecosystem services in Caatinga: How to inform society about ecological research. Journal of Environmental Analysis and Progress
Oliveira et al 2020 - Plant protection services mediated by extrafloral nectaries decline with aridity but are not influenced by chronic anthropogenic disturbance in Brazilian Caatinga. Journal of Ecology
Menezes et al 2020 - Introduced goats reduce diversity and biomass of herbs in Caatinga dry forest. Land Degradation & Development
Gonçalves et al 2020 - The palm Syagrus coronata proliferates and structures vascular epiphyte assemblages in a human-modified landscape of the Caatinga. Journal of Tropical Ecology
Alves et al 2020 - Landscape-scale patterns and drivers of novel mammal communities in a human-modified protected area. Landscape Ecol
Andrade et al 2020 - Rainfall reduction increases insect herbivory in tropical herb communities. Journal of Vegetation Scencie
Trindade et al 2020 - Water availability mediates functional shifts across ontogenetic stages in a regenerating seasonally dry tropical forest. Journal of Vegetation Scencie
Knoechelmann et al 2020 - Leaf-cutting ants negatively impact the regeneration of the Caatinga dry forest across abandoned pastures. Biotropica
Silva et al 2020 - Land use, soil properties and climate variables influence the nematode communities in the Caatinga dry forest. Applied Soil Ecology
2019
Silva et al 2019 - Divergent responses of plant reproductive strategies to chronic anthropogenic disturbance and aridity in the Caatinga dry forest. Science of the Total Environment
Otálora-Ardila et al 2019 - Thermally-assisted monitoring of bat abundance in an exceptional cave in Brazil’s Caatinga drylands. Acta Chiropterologica
Zorger et al 2019 - Functional organization of woody plant assemblages along precipitation and human disturbance gradients in a seasonally dry tropical forest. Biotropica
Silva et al 2019 - Spatiotemporal responses of ant communities across a disturbance gradient: the role of behavioral traits. Insectes Sociaux
Camara et al 2019 - Anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall variation threaten the stability of plant–ant interactions in the Brazilian Caatinga. Ecography
Oliveira et al 2019 - Effects of increasing aridity and chronic anthropogenic disturbance on seed dispersal by ants in Brazilian Caatinga. Journal of Animal Ecology
Santos et al 2019 - Frugivory by birds in four species of Cactaceae in the Caatinga, a dry forest in Brazil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia
Las-casas et al 2019 - The avifauna of the Catimbau National Park, an important protected area in the Brazilian semiarid. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia.
Silva et al 2019 - Extrafloral nectar as a driver of ant community spatial structure along disturbance and rainfall gradients in Brazilian dry forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology
Pinho et al 2019 - Plant functional assembly is mediated by rainfall and soil conditions in a seasonally dry tropical forest. Basic and Applied Ecology
Neri et al 2019 - Green versus green? Adverting potential conflicts between windpower generation and biodiversity conservation in Brazil. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation
Ribeiro et al 2019 - Functional diversity and composition of Caatinga woody flora are negatively impacted by chronic anthropogenic disturbance. Journal of Ecology
Silva et al 2019 - Climate change will reduce suitable Caatinga dry forest habitat for endemic plants with disproportionate impacts on specialized reproductive strategies. PLOS ONE
Souza et al 2019 - Multiple drivers of aboveground biomass in a human-modified landscape of the Caatinga dry forest. Forest Ecology and Management.
Specht et al 2019 - Socioeconomic differences among resident, users and neighbour populations of a protected area in the Brazilian dry forest. Journal of Environmental Management.
2018
Ciência & Cultura: Caatinga Special Edition ( In Portuguese)
- Tabarelli, M. & Leal, I - Apresentação
- Albuquerque, U.P; Melo, F.P.L. - Socioecologia da Caatinga
- Fernandes, M.F; Queiroz, L.P. - Vegetação e flora da Caatinga
Arnan et al. 2018 - Increased anthropogenic disturbance and aridity reduce phylogenetic and functional diversity of ant communities in Caatinga dry forest.
Siqueira et al. 2018 - Human disturbance promotes herbivory by leaf-cutting ants in the Caatinga dry forest.
2017
Camara et al 2017. Effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall on the specialization of antplant mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a Brazilian dry forest. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Rito et al. 2017 - Euphorbiaceae responses to chronic anthropogenic disturbances in Caatinga vegetation: from species proliferation to biotic homogenization. Plant Ecology.
Rito et al 2017 - Precipitation mediates the effect of human disturbance on the Brazilian Caatinga vegetation. Journal of Ecology.
2016
Oliveira et al. 2016 - Chronic anthropogenic disturbance as a secondary driver of ant community structure: interactions with soil type in Brazilian Caatinga. Environmental Conservation
Ito et al. 2016 - What is for dinner? First report of human blood in the diet of the hairy-legged vampire bat Diphylla ecaudata
Ribeiro-Neto et al. 2016 - Chronic anthropogenic disturbance causes homogenization of plant and ant communities in the Brazilian Caatinga. Biodiversity and Conservation
Ribeiro et al. 2016 - Phylogenetic impoverishment of plantcommunities following chronic humandisturbances in the Brazilian Caatinga. Ecology
2015
Leal et al. 2015a - The Benefits of Myrmecochory: A Matter of Stature. Biotropica
Leal et al. 2015b - Disturbance Winners or Losers? Plants Bearing Extrafloral Nectaries in Brazilian Caatinga. Biotropica
Ribeiro et al. 2015 - Chronic anthropogenic disturbance drives thebiological impoverishment of
the Brazilian Caatingavegetation. Journal of Applied Ecology
Books from Ecology and Conservation of Caatinga Field Courses
De Paula 2019 - PARNA Catimbau Seeds Field Guide (in portuguese)
De Paula 2019 - Illustrated Seed Guide of PARNA Catimbau (in portuguese)
De Paula 2018 - PARNA Catimbau Woody Field Guide (in portuguese)
De Paula 2018 - Guia ilustrado de Plantas Lenhosas do PARNA Catimbau (in portuguese)
Santos et al 2012 - Rare Species at Catimbau National Park (in portuguese)
Santos et al 2012 - Endemic Species at Catimbau National Park (in portuguese)
Santos et al 2012 - Invasive Species at Catimbau National Park (in portuguese)
BIOLOGICAL DATA BASE
Woody plants
Another data bases from the other biological groups are registred at SiBBr Plataform. However, theese data are preliminary (see the topic "Tipos de dados - Data types" at the data policy file below) and will become public within the timeframe stipulated by the policy.
SiBBr and the Data Policy
Species Identification Booklet