Abstract In August 2019, the Northeast coast of Brazil was impacted by an extensive oil spill, with immediate effects on marine and coastal ecosystems and significant impacts on tourism and food security. The human dimension of those impacts also includes the loss of cultural ecosystem services (CES); the non-material benefits stemming from strongly rooted cultural practices and relationships with nature. CES are of great importance for local residents and visitors that flock to Brazilian iconic beaches, however, they are difficult to measure using traditional assessment methods due to their subjective and non-tangible nature. Here, we use a big data approach to assess and map the loss of CES in the Northeast coast of Brazil caused by the recent oil spill. We analysed 2,880 digital images (published on the image sharing platform Flickr) taken before and during the disaster in affected locations, using a combination of automated techniques. Results showed a sharp decline in the number of users posting photos of locations affected by oil spill, and a decline in photos representing landscape and cultural appreciation. Our big data approach provides a fast and automated way to assess CES at large spatial scales that can be used to monitor the social impacts of environmental disasters.

Abstract Social media data is a rich source of information to assess human activities in catastrophic events. Here, we use social media data to understand how the 2019 Brazilian oil spill influenced social attitudes. Data were collected from the globally popular Instagram platform between August 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020. First, we manually identified the 5 most popular (portuguese language) hashtags related to the oil spill #oleonononordeste; #desastreambiental; #marsemoleo; #sosnordeste; #marsempetroleo. In the sequence, we collected information on captions, post metadata and users associated with posts retrieved using the selected hashtags. We identified a total of 7,413 posts. These posts were grouped in topics: government (47.76%), protest (24.37%), volunteers (24.45%), biodiversity (0.003%), origin (0.006%), tourism (0.008%) and others (0.016%). All topics had the peak of posts in October and November 2019. Nevertheless, interest in the oil spill was temporary, with most posts appearing in the 2-4 months after the beginning of the disaster. Our findings illustrate the enormous potential of using social media data for understanding and monitoring human engagement with environmental disasters, but also suggest that conservationists and environmental groups may only have a limited ‘window of opportunity’ to engage and mobilize public support for remediation and restoration efforts.

Resumo Informações básicas sobre história natural são cruciais para acessar a viabilidade de populações, mas são ausentes para muitas espécies que necessitam de conservação. Uma destas espécies é o rabo-de-palha-de-bico-laranja, Phaethon lepturus Daudin, 1802. Aqui, vamos abordar o déficit de dados para esta espécie, fornecendo informações detalhadas sobre a biologia reprodutiva, tamanho da população, distribuição e ameaças em Fernando de Noronha, Brasil – a maior colônia de P. lepturus no Atlântico Sul. Acompanhamos a reprodução do rabo-de-palha-de-bico-laranja de Agosto de 2010 a Janeiro de 2011 monitorando ninhos e seus conteúdos. A estimativa da população foi obtida através de uma combinação de busca ativa de ninhos e censo no mar entre 2010 e 2012. O sucesso reprodutivo foi avaliado por métodos tradicionais. A curva de crescimento da coorte e a tabela de vida também foram obtidas. Além disso, informações sobre fidelidade ao ninho e parceiro e, a idade de reprodutores foi obtida a partir das aves anilhadas anteriormente. Nossos resultados indicam que a forma incomum de ninho (pináculos de calcário) e a predação por caranguejos podem ser responsáveis pelo sucesso observado de eclosão e recrutamento. A população de Fernando de Noronha parece estar estável entre 100-300 aves. No entanto, um programa de monitoramento a longo prazo seria desejável para avaliar as flutuações desta população globalmente importante. As estratégias de conservação devem se concentrar em controlar a predação por caranguejos e lagartos teiú.

Abstract Basic information on natural history is crucial for assessing the viability of populations, but is often lacking for many species of conservation concern. One such species is the White-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon lepturus (Mathews, 1915). Here, we address this shortfall by providing detailed information on reproductive biology, distribution and threats on the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil – the largest colony of P. lepturus in the South Atlantic. We assessed reproduction from August 2011 to January 2012 by monitoring tropicbird nests and their contents. A population estimate was obtained through a combination of active searches for nests and by census at sea between 2010 and 2012. Breeding success was calculated by traditional methods. The growth curve of chicks and life table were also calculated. Additional information on nest and mate fidelity and on age of breeding birds was obtained from the banded birds. Our results indicate that the unusual nest form (limestone pinnacles) and predation by crabs may be responsible for the observed patterns of hatching and fledging success. Although the Fernando de Noronha population appears to be stable (at between 100-300 birds), a long term monitoring program would be desirable to assess fluctuations in this globally important population. Conservation strategies should focus on controlling predation by land crabs and tegu lizards.