Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs) provide a habitat for a diverse number of species and cover significant land areas. Yet, the amount of scientific research they have attracted is minimal. Recently, an international debate on the generality, consequences and forces keeping SDTFs in a position of relative negligence has begun. This paper assesses and compares biodiversity-related knowledge across the major Brazilian ecosystems to verify in which extent the Caatinga vegetation (a mosaic of scrubs and patches of seasonally dry forest) has been scientifically unappreciated. In fact, Caatinga attracted the lowest scores from semi-quantitative indexes describing biodiversity-survey efforts and knowledge status, with a negligible number of papers published internationally. Caatinga also supports fewer research teams and senior researchers as compared to humid tropical forests (Amazonia and Atlantic Forest). Both the knowledge index and number of published papers were explained by a model combining ecosystem area (km²), inventory index plus the current number of research teams or senior researchers assigned to Brazilian ecosystems. These findings reinforce the notion that SDTFs have experienced lower scientific efforts, but also reveal an apparent connection between institutional capacity, production/accumulation of scientific knowledge and conservation efforts. Although the research agenda for reconciling land-use and biodiversity conservation has been launched, current institutional anemia across SDTFs is likely to limit its impacts and achievements.

Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the tropical dry forest (caatinga) of Pernambuco. We report on the richness of galling insects in the vegetation of caatinga of Pernambuco state, Brazil. We recorded 64 different types of galls collected primarily from leaves and stems of 48 species of host plants belonging to 17 families and 31 genera. The most common gall morphological types were spheroid and discoid, glabrous, predominantly green and with one chamber. The main gall inducing taxon was the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera). The results of this study contribute to existing knowledge of galling insect and host-plant diversity in caatinga. Diversidade de insetos indutores de galhas na floresta tropical seca (caatinga) de Pernambuco. Este artigo reporta sobre a riqueza de insetos galhadores na vegetação de caatinga de Pernambuco, Brasil. Foram registrados 64 diferentes tipos de galhas coletadas principalmente em folhas e caules de 48 espécies de plantas hospedeiras pertencentes a 17 famílias e 31 gêneros. Os tipos morfológicos de galhas mais comuns foram esferóide e discóides, glabro, predominantemente verde e com uma câmara. O principal táxon indutor de galhas foi Cecidomyiidae (Diptera). Os resultados deste estudo contribuem para o conhecimento da diversidade de insetos galhadores e planta-hospedeira na caatinga

Despite the historical efforts to list and organize the taxonomic knowledge about the Brazilian ant fauna, the most diverse in the world, several gaps regarding species distribution data and sampling coverage persist. In an attempt to fill some of these gaps, we here apply a scientometric approach to provide an updated overview of the ants of Brazil based on formal publications on ant diversity in the Brazilian territory. In the last 50 years, ant diversity studies in Brazil revealed 1130 species, corresponding to around 70% of the species known to occur in the country. The Brazilian biomes with the highest number of described species recorded were, respectively, the Amazon Forest (716 species), Atlantic Forest (657 species), Cerrado (389 species), Caatinga (185 species), Pantanal (143 species), and Pampa (86 species). Considering the number and frequency of unidentified species, the genera Azteca, Hypoponera, Pheidole, and Solenopsis represent the main knowledge frontiers regarding taxonomic resolution, with more than 80% of their records associated with morphospecies codes in diversity studies in Brazil. Moreover, around 7.5% of the papers presented inconsistences in their species lists regarding the validity of taxonomic names, and we found studies for which some taxa records are geographically implausible. Besides demonstrating the importance of ecological publications to the ant diversity knowledge in Brazil, our findings highlight a strong sampling bias in ant occurrence data in the country, with species records unevenly distributed across Brazilian biomes. In short, our results constitute valuable information for future projects on ant taxonomy and surveying in Brazilian natural areas.