Andre Cabette Fabio Giant anteater sticks its snout through chain linked fence in rural Aquidauana Thomson Reuters Foundation/Henrique Kawaminami Drought-driven Pantanal wildfires and other climate change pressures the team of wildlife rehab experts approach a cluster of trees and spot their quarry: A young giant anteater sleeping on a hot morning with her luxuriant tail shading her head She is a survivor of a fire holocaust that swept through Brazil's vast southern Pantanal in 2020, killing an estimated 17 million animals and burning nearly a quarter of the drought-parched wetlands and grasslands region at an age when she should have been still clinging to her mother's back the young anteater has since been cared for by Orphans of Fires a project in Mato Grosso do Sul state that hopes to help her return permanently to the wild Started in Aquidauana by conservationists in the wake of the fires it now cares for 15 rescued giant anteaters notes veterinarian Maria Helena Mazzoni Baldini approvingly - a sign the sleeping young orphan is fending for herself though she was too young to learn foraging skills from her mother more than 50 giant anteaters injured or displaced by the Pantanal fires were taken in by state rescue projects - a leap from 13 the previous year according to Mato Grosso do Sul's Wild Animals Rehabilitation Center (CRAS) As fires grow larger and more frequent and as global warming brings hotter and drier conditions the already endangered anteaters - which also live in the Amazon rainforest - are coming under growing pressure have led to their habitat shrinking in the Amazon and the Brazilian savanna research coordinator for the Anteater Institute believes the highly specialized animals are particularly imperiled not least because they can struggle with temperatures extremes The number of giant anteaters in Brazil has already fallen 30% between 1989 and 2015 the latest official population estimate shows Giant anteaters from the Orphans of Fire project eating feed made out of soy eggs and cow plasma protein in rural Aquidauana Dead giant anteater by road near Campo Grande Burned landscape by the road near Campo Grande Global temperatures have risen more than 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times and are now swiftly approaching a 1.5C degrees of warming mark that scientists fear could herald a transition to far costlier and deadlier climate change impacts set a goal of limiting global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) while "pursuing efforts" for 1.5C But with fossil fuel use still rising globally 1.5C of warming could be passed within a decade They fear that could trigger irreversible ecological tipping points from surging sea levels as polar ice melts to spiking temperatures as methane - a potent driver of warming - escapes thawing permafrost A hotter planet is also expected to spark more extreme weather migration and soaring personal and financial losses for many people around the planet Brazil's forests, savannas and wetlands contain the richest mix of plants and animals in the world. But many of those species are at growing risk of extinction as their habitat vanishes and climate impacts worsen Such potential losses present a danger not just for the species and ecosystems themselves but for millions of people who depend on them for everything from food to reliable rainfall and innovative medicines "Most people are completely oblivious to how biology supports their lives They are completely oblivious to the biological origins of a medication when they go to get a refill at the pharmacy," biologist Thomas Lovejoy who coined the term "biological diversity" "Biodiversity is a living library of 4 billion years of evolution with each organism and species daily working on biological challenges and solutions in their own existence It's a pretty powerful way to generate a lot of knowledge," said the scientist who worked much of his life in the Brazilian Amazon Graphic showing the percentage of species exposed to potentially dangerous temperatures At the Orphans of Fire rescue center in rural Aquidauana young giant anteaters being rehabbed press against a chainlink fence at feeding time eggs and cow plasma protein until they can dig out ants and termites on their own Their probing tongues - up to 60 centimetres (23 inches) long - leave long lines of thick saliva on their carers' clothes and skin "It has to be gluey so the ants stick to it" With a limited high-protein diet of insects in the wild the animals' metabolism has evolved to be relatively slow with their average body temperature around 34 degrees Celsius Anteaters in the Pantanal forage mainly in open fields and hotter days there mean many are on the move fewer daylight hours and need more often to seek trees for shade and rest something increasingly difficult as more trees are burned or cut The Pantanal's average temperature has risen 2 degrees Celsius since 1980 according to Brazilian research institutions and data from the U.S National Centers for Environmental Information A 2020 study in the journal Nature estimates it is one of the areas in South America with the highest percentage of species at risk from climate change a Brazilian biodiversity researcher at the University of Cape Town said more frequent and severe weather extremes are leaving many stressed species with little time to recover between crises are also affecting the Pantanal's supply of water water vapor rises from the moist Amazon forest and is blown toward southern South America According to data from the nonprofit MapBiomas the area of the Pantanal covered by water during the height of seasonal floods has shrunk by 29% between 1988 and 2018 ranching has been the most common agricultural activity in the vast wetland from the Pantanal branch of the state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) said cattle ranching also is becoming more destructive as once-vast farms are divided between heirs or sold in smaller plots tree areas are converted to pasture and native grass are replaced by exotic varieties 95% of the biome’s areas in Mato Grosso do Sul state is on private land The Orphans of Fire is located on one of those private farms owned by João Ildefonso Pinheiro Murano who runs 2,400 head of cattle there and operates a hotel even he concedes that "I have never seen a drought like this one" tourists would be visiting a pond called Poção on his property photographing caiman - cousins of alligators - and birds and watching animals stop by for a drink But this year water that was once shoulder-high in the pond has vanished said Orphans of Fire biologist Manoela Pinho pointing to the putrefying corpse of a caiman near a remaining pool of thick green water At the center of the pond one last starving caiman lingers its vertebrae easily visible through its back It is almost completely still except for the occasional blinking of its eyes (Reporting by Andre Cabette Fabio; Editing by Laurie Goering.) 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The Workforce Disclosure Initiative is an investor-backed project to improve the quantity & quality of corporate workforce data via an annual survey & engagement process Trust Conference is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s flagship annual event taking place in the heart of London each year TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service facilitating free legal assistance to NGOs and social enterprises around the world Researchers find a 1000 km2 lake hidden under aquatic plants on the plains of the Rio Negro geologists and geographers from Brazil and abroad have studied the landscapes that form the Rio Negro’s plain in the south of the Pantanal without realizing that it was home to a large lake hidden beneath a huge mat of aquatic flora In a paper published in the scientific journal Earth Surface Processes and Landforms in October researchers described the discovery of a lake that is just over two-thirds of the size of the city of São Paulo “It was almost impossible to identify it at first sight,” says geographer Eder Renato Merino a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Energy and Environment at the University of São Paulo (IEE-USP) and one of the authors of the study “The accumulation of floating mats and meadows on its surface makes it appear from afar like an area of land covered by grass.” Merino was one of the researchers who identified the lake The finding was made thanks to satellite image analyses that he conducted during his PhD which he completed in 2016 under the guidance of geologist Mario Luis Assine from the Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences at São Paulo State University (UNESP) Assine has been studying the transformations that affect the landscapes of the Pantanal one of the largest floodplains in the world he and Merino were looking at how the plains of the Rio Negro were formed and how water and sediments were captured and distributed in the region during the flood season between October and May Eder Renato Merino An accumulation of floating aquatic plants forms a mat that covers the surface of the lakeEder Renato Merino The lake is thought to be 3 to 4 meters deep with the water level varying across the dry and wet seasons Its bed is composed of a thick layer of fine sand and mud enriched with organic matter formed of decomposing plants it is supplied by the waters of the Negro and Aquidauana rivers the Aquidauana is primarily responsible for carrying sediment into the lake much of the Rio Negro’s sediments remain trapped on the higher grounds through which the river passes before it reaches the plain The researchers also examined the plants that cover much of the lake’s surface and found that they have long roots that spread below the waterline. Transported by the rivers, these plants accumulate on the surface and in many cases form islands of vegetation in the flooded area. Some of these islands are being colonized by pioneer plant species, capable of establishing themselves and multiplying rapidly in harsh environments. Eder Renato Merino Channel through which the Aquidauana River flows is made of the sediment that accumulates on its banksEder Renato Merino the study also makes it even more evident that the lake systems in the Pantanal are not all formed by the same processes “This ‘hidden lake’ on the plain of the Rio Negro was created by completely different geological and climatic processes than those that gave rise to the lakes in Nhecolândia near the municipality of Corumbá in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul even though these two regions are very close to each other,” says the researcher the Nhecolândia lakes are the result of depressions shaped by the accumulation of fine sand carried by the wind in dry periods of the late Pleistocene “Those of us studying the Pantanal are constantly surprised by new discoveries,” says Assine Scientific article Merino, E. R. & Assine, M. L. Hidden in plain sight: How finding a lake in the Brazilian Pantanal improves understanding of wetland hydrogeomorphology © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved Background: A tribe of Indians near Aquidauana was examined applying the DMFT and DMFS indexes Methods: Data was recorded utilizing the DMFT (decayed Observations were made through visual means utilizing natural sunlight and a small flashlight 100% had caries with a mean DMFT score of 11.7 and a mean DMFS score of 23.6 The percent of teeth affected by decay ranged from 10% to 85% The percent of surfaces affected by decay ranged from 2% to 63% Forty-three (52%) students had ≥25% decayed surfaces and 48 (58%) students had ≥50% of total (counted) teeth with decay present Conclusions: Dental caries are incredibly prevalent in this population of young tribal Indians or regular preventive checkups with dental professionals the condition of these tribal members is not likely to improve in the future Introduction: What would you do if every student in your child's class had untreated dental decay What if access to toothpaste and fluoridated water was out of the question ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the reality tribes face every day in many parts of the world A local church in Michigan took a group of college-aged students down to Aquidauana and Bible lessons with the children of a tribe that live about an hour outside the city I embodied the tooth fairy giving presentations before hundreds of students in classrooms My interest continued when I decided to survey in what condition I might find their dentitions With a small sample of 83 children and interviewing teachers about life in the tribe I gained valuable insight into dental life in third-world conditions Objectives: To calculate and present the prevalence of dental caries in a group of 83 children to determine what condition the average dentition of a child would be with no exposure to fluoride or preventive treatment Methods: Data was recorded utilizing the DMFT and the DMFS indexes Due to children possessing mixed dentition only the primary teeth were evaluated.1 The figures conveyed in the primary dentition are five surfaces for a posterior tooth (buccal and occlusal) and four surfaces for anterior teeth (facial utlizing natural sunlight and a small flashlight The smallest percent of teeth affected by decay was 10% means there were two decayed teeth in this child which was the saddening minimum quantity for a community The highest percent of surfaces affected by decay was 63% on a six-year-old boy Fifty-five surfaces and 13 (of the 20 counted) teeth in his mouth were rotting Discussion: This study discloses a high caries involvement in children of this tribe I sat down with a translator and a few teachers from the schools to find insight into habits that affect the dental health of the tribal children Mixed answers came to the inquiry: "Do the children ever complain of toothaches?" One teacher never encountered the situation Others stated the students do not complain specifically to the teachers because they know the teachers do not have the materials to help and another stated the teachers do not care the instructors tire of hearing a problem they have no means to solve the children stated they brush their teeth on multiple occasions throughout the day why do these children still have so many cavities One felt it was the lack of incentives and education one thought it was the lack of other home aids (such as toothpaste) but once a month a dentist comes to do fillings is only for the children who have employed parents The teachers indicated that the children eat sweets which in combination with inferior or absent preventative methods Conclusion: Results reveal that dental caries are incredibly prevalent in this young population The Egyptians as early as 5000 BC created a powder to clean teeth that consisted of powdered ashes of ox hooves and pumice.3 These were natural ingredients found in their immediate surroundings a natural knowledge to clean the oral cavity and demonstrates how modern marvels have humble beginnings Perhaps given the knowledge of what their natural resources can provide dental health can make small advances in this and other tribes over time with the correct resources we should strive for more outreach programs and sponsorship to various countries to make fighting dental decay a global effort graduated in 2012 from Ferris State University with a bachelor's in dental hygiene where she concluded the program with a trip to New Zealand to complete her capstone project Courtney is a member of the ADHA and serves as the public relations chair of the Michigan DHA's Macomb component She will be joining the United States Air Force and leaves for training in 2014 Courtney currently works in private practice in Pleasant Ridge The History of Toothpaste and Toothbrushes Por um futuro em que as pessoas vivam em harmonia com a natureza Photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons licence You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Volunteer firefighter members of the Alto Pantanal Brigade works to extinguish a fire rising in the Pantanal in Corumba Climate change makes wildfires in the Pantanal - between Brazil Bolivia and Paraguay - more likely and worse RIO DE JANEIRO - More than 1.3 million hectares of natural vegetation have burned in South America's Pantanal this year already, with images of incinerated jaguars The burnt area amounts to nearly 9% of the Pantanal according to data released last week by the Laboratory for Environmental Satellite Applications from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.  The peak of this year's fire season is yet to come, with environmentalists fearful that 2024 might see record levels of destruction, only four years after the last record season, which killed half the area's jaguar population Volunteer firefighter members of the Alto Pantanal Brigade are seen on a tractor as they work to extinguish a fire rising in the Pantanal A fisherman sails through the Paraguay River as smoke rises into the air from the fire in the Pantanal Spanning 179,300 square km (44.3 million acres) - about the size of Uruguay - the Pantanal is formed by a mosaic of wetland and other ecosystems including forests most of which are located within Brazil (78%) followed by Bolivia (18%) and Paraguay (4%).    Although most of the Pantanal is covered by private farms, with cattle ranching its main economic activity, part of the territory is still controlled by Indigenous and other traditional riverside populations It is a biodiversity hot spot, with many of its species also found in other South American biomes, such as the Amazon forest and the Cerrado tropical savannah With more than 600 different species of birds, more than 100 species of mammals and 170 species of reptiles, the Pantanal is known for its abundance of wildlife, making it a common ecotourism destination However, much of its fauna is on the red list of threatened species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, including the giant anteater Brazil's National Institute for Space Research detected 4,756 fire episodes in the Pantanal in the first seven months of this year Although the Pantanal's dry season typically occurs from July to October, this year's fires started to gain strength as early as May Bolivia has also registered a record number of fires for the same period while Paraguay had its fourth highest record Up until now, figures are even worse than those from 2020's historical fires, when about a third of the Pantanal's area suffered blazes, killing an estimated 17 million vertebrates Peak fires are expected in the coming months The Pantanal has been warming at a faster pace than the global average with a 2ºC increase in its average temperature since the 1980s In addition to global warming, this year's extreme drought has been made more intense by the El Niño climate pattern, climatologists say, but the Pantanal has been losing water for years, without a major flood since 2018 According to data released in June by MapBiomas, a collaboration between Brazilian universities, nonprofits and tech firms, the Pantanal has lost about 81% of its surface water since 1985 told reporters the biome had previously experienced extreme dryness in the 20th century but said now less than 40% of its river springs were protected by natural vegetation Only 4.7% of Brazil's Pantanal is protected by reserves with environmentalists warning that grain farming is expanding Although fires are a part of Pantanal's natural cycles, with many of its plants resistant to low intensity flames, only about 5% of the fires are thought to have natural causes Most of the fires are started by farmers to renovate pastures or finish converting natural areas into farmland after the trees have been felled This year's fires are concentrated in Corumbá municipality in Brazil, which also has the highest deforestation rates in the Pantanal.  exacerbating the global warming process and driving ever more fires and carbon release Authorities in Brazil have banned the use of fires in the Pantanal until the end of this year army and police officers equipped with aircraft and boats Brazil's government also pays Indigenous people to carry out controlled fires to head off bigger blazes much of the that activity had to be put on hold as vegetation became dangerously dry earlier than usual (Reporting by Andre Cabette Fabio; Editing by Jon Hemming.) From Greek holiday islands to Canada's temperate forests wildfires are intensifying as climate change fuels rising temperatures Is it possible to conciliate jaguar conservation with cattle ranching activity To involve cattle ranchers in this conservation goals WWF-Brazil and the NGO Pró-Carnívoros organized a meeting by the end of May The event was attended by Pantanal’s traditional cattle ranchers as well as by federal and state patrolling/inspection organizations such as the environmental police and The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) The technology can recognize individual cattle with 99.8% accuracy Efforts by researchers from Mato Grosso do Sul to save an endangered breed of cattle in the Pantanal could result in a technology capable of making life easier for cattle breeders in general Having created a system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to individually recognize Pantaneiro cattle based solely on images with an accuracy of up to 99.8% incubated at the Dom Bosco Catholic University (UCDB) in Campo Grande is now working on adapting the algorithm to other more common breeds The aim is to provide an alternative to traditional identification methods saving livestock farmers time and money and reducing animal suffering The technology was initially created by computer scientist Fabrício de Lima Weber during his master’s degree at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS) He used a set of computational techniques specifically for image processing and analysis inspired by biological processes that occur in the human visual cortex known as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) A study involving Pantaneiro cattle found that the architectural model of a CNN can be used in a computer vision system designed to automatically recognize the animals. The process is similar to human facial recognition systems already used in several countries on public transport and in stadiums and airports (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue nº 274) where people are identified by comparing images to an existing database but also characteristics of the animal’s back carried out under the supervision of veterinarian Urbano Gomes Pinto de Abreu from EMBRAPA Pantanal and the collaboration between researchers from the UEMS Pantaneiro Cattle Conservation Center in Aquidauana (NUBOPAN) and the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS) was published in the journal Computers and Electronics in Agriculture in 2020 “The system went through a maturation process We adopted new technologies that are faster and require less processing power,” says Weber To populate the database for the Pantaneiro cattle the researchers used four cameras placed at different locations in a corral The cameras took thousands of pictures of a herd of 51 cattle a camera equipped with special software was able to individually identify each animal in the group within just a few seconds (see infographic below) Rodrigo CunhaAutomatic visual recognition of the cattle facilitates herd management allowing the history of each animal to be tracked and ensuring traceability Information such as an animal’s location of origin and feed type are all available to potential buyers and suppliers reducing the risk of irregularities in the production and sales processes Various computational architectures using CNNs and deep learning have already been used in studies to identify diseases in plants classify marine organisms and objects found in the ocean little research into identifying cattle using this technology “Studies on visual identification of cattle are being conducted around the world The ones we know of use technology supported by more advanced cameras while some aim only to identify the faces of the animals which makes the process more difficult,” says Weber especially with zebu cattle like the Nelore breed the animals rarely stand still for long enough to obtain a facial image This is the biggest challenge: achieving not just facial recognition but identifying cattle based on other characteristics while they’re in the pasture or corral,” explains Abreu The team from Mato Grosso do Sul intends to make the technology accessible to everyone from the largest companies to the smallest ranchers and for it to work in the field even without an internet signal Data could be accessed via an intranet or using a system based on wireless communication protocols such as bluetooth “We want to reach not just major producers The unique aspect of our system is the cameras which are much more accessible and cheaper,” says Weber EmbrapaThere are only about 500 purebred animals left in the country a veterinarian and livestock breeder from Rio Verde in Mato Grosso do Sul is eagerly anticipating the results of the research especially by saving time spent identifying animals.” animals have to be held in a cattle chute to be branded with a hot iron or have a tag or collar fitted which requires significant time and manpower “Identifying animals by image would be great because then they wouldn’t need to be contained and marked individually The camera alone would do the job while the cattle are in the pasture,” he says Bezerra claims the technology could also offer economic and health advantages Although the products conventionally used for animal identification have a low unit value Remote visual recognition would also eliminate some common problems The KeroW team does not yet know when the new technology will be launched on the market “We’re relying on investments to complete the product,” says systems analyst Vanessa Aparecida de Moraes Weber one of the startup’s founders and a technician at UEMS “The company recently won funding to develop a solution for Girolando cattle through a public call for proposals issued by the CNPq [Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development] We are submitting the project to other programs in search of further funding to purchase the equipment needed to continue our research.” “What makes my PhD research different is that we use 2D cameras with RGB sensors [which capture color images and easier to maintain,” Venessa Weber says we want to utilize the mass estimation functionality to make certain decisions including the right time to slaughter an animal It will also be possible to categorize animals and automatically classify them according to their weight gain.” The Pantaneiro breed was first created from the crossbreeding of 11 Portuguese and Spanish breeds brought to South America by colonizers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the breed adapted to the local environment and climate conditions such as seasonal floods and prolonged droughts and 14 other potentially distinct features uncontrolled crossbreeding with other breeds has led to near extinction of the Pantaneiro cattle Falta de chuva potencializa queimadas no bioma - © Rogerio Florentino / AFP recorded over 2,300 fire outbreaks during the first days of November a scenario that worsened due to drought and intense hot weather The states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso declared state of emergency in many cities.  According to data collected by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe the figures are five times the average for November The decrees the two state governments published include the cities of Aquidauana and all the area of Mato Grosso state.  The fires started in October and surpassed 35,000 hectares Over 70% of this area is part of the Negro River State Park The fires also reached Pantanal National Park the Dorochê Private Natural Heritage Reserve and the Meeting of Waters State Park the local governments mention the lack of rain and the extreme hot weather as boosters to the current situation The emergency scenario made it possible to transfer resources to the states and call for the support of federal civil defense.  The work to put out the fires is being affected by strong winds in the region and difficulties accessing the areas the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama in Portuguese) announced efforts to extinguish the fires and support the states.  Almost 300 wildland firefighters (known in Brazil as “brigadistas”) and federal employees are working on the site The operation uses four airplanes and another two may be sent to support the actions Ibama and the Chico Mendes Institute informed they will deploy more brigadistas to the area.   All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced provided it is not altered and proper credit is given All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced provided it is not altered and proper credit is given.