Efeitos de mudanças taxonômicas sobre projetos de levantamento botânico na Amazônia

Abstract

Taxonomy is an essential foundation in many areas of biology, as it allows for the identification and description of species within a coherent classification system. Taxonomy is not a static science, so the scientific names assigned to a species can be dynamic and changed over time due to new taxonomic discoveries or rearrangements in biological classifications. Nomenclatural and identification changes naturally occur in specimens deposited in herbaria. This project selected a series of studies conducted in the Amazon, with material deposited in the INPA herbarium, to calculate the average rate of changes due to synonymy and identification, as well as estimate the impact of these changes on the species composition lists of these studies. One of the analyzed studies was the guide to the Flora of the Ducke Reserve. To calculate the average rate of taxonomic and identification changes in the scientific names of deposited specimens, records from the herbarium's database, managed by the BRAHMS program, were used, which stores the entire history of specimen determinations since their deposition. When analyzing the taxonomic changes in the 10 selected studies, a previously expected factor was observed: the older the survey, the greater the number of taxonomic changes that occurred. With the observations made on taxonomic changes in specimens collected in the Ducke Reserve, the initial number of 1,966 species of angiosperms and gymnosperms was increased to 2,140, representing an increase of 174 species, or 8.9% more than the initial number. When analyzing specimens deposited in the INPA Herbarium, collected in different locations, it is possible to observe that changes due to synonymy and identification occur progressively. The longer the material from a floristic survey has been deposited, the higher the probability of taxonomic changes. These changes can vary depending on the size of the sampled area, the number of families researched, and the natural richness of each one. Additionally, it is noted that not all families are affected equally. Taxonomic changes occur naturally and, for the most part, are inevitable. However, they should be analyzed and studied to understand how they happen and what impacts they may generate, especially regarding knowledge of species richness and composition in a given area.