Project will catalog the whole diversity of life in the Brazilian territory

At the time of writing, Brazil has 125,076 species of animals and 50,279 species of plants and fungi (including native, cultivated and naturalized) known to science. Obtaining such precise figures is only possible because the country has two systems where the information about the species of its flora, fungi and fauna are catalogued, and which make their data available online for the whole society. Now a project will expand this knowledge by also cataloging and making available data on Brazilian microorganisms and fossils - it is the Catalogue of Brazilian Life, which will gather data on all species of living beings in our country.

The project was approved by the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), which will provide funds amounting to R$1,165,000.00, divided into two installments. Two new systems will be developed - for microorganisms and for fossils, in partnership with scientists from several research institutions. The four systems will be integrated and will have a unified interface for online consultation. The coordination of the project will be under the responsibility of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro (JBRJ), where the systems will be hosted and managed.

The Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro was a pioneer in the development of this type of system when it started the Flora of Brazil, in 2008, currently named Flora e Funga do Brazil (FBB) for including fungi in addition to plants. In 2015, this system served as the basis for the development of the Taxonomic Catalog of Fauna of Brazil (CTFB). These platforms are dynamic, fed by about 1,500 researchers working in a network, which ensures the constant updating of data. That is why it is possible to know not only the numbers mentioned in this text, but also the accepted or valid scientific names for each of these species and where they occur, among other information.

Identifying, classifying, and naming species is the work of researchers called taxonomists. The knowledge produced by them is fundamental to guarantee the conservation and the safe, sustainable, and responsible use of these natural resources. The misidentification of a plant or animal can result, for example, in a health problem, or in a wrong conservation strategy. The rapid identification of a microorganism can speed up the process of producing a drug or a vaccine. Knowledge of fossils, in turn, reveals ways in which living beings have adapted to environmental changes over time and indicates the ways in which they may react to current and future environmental challenges.

According to the project's coordinator, researcher Rafaela Forzza, "by gathering, organizing and making available information on all these groups of living beings from the Brazilian territory, the Catalog of Life will be a valuable tool for researchers, managers and society as a whole, in the current global context in which biotechnology advances at a fast pace, and knowledge of biodiversity also becomes fundamental for the country's economic development with environmental sustainability, fair distribution of benefits and respect for all forms of life.

Photo credits of the mosaic:

JBRJ
Cattleya lobata (orquídea): Delfina de Araujo
Parodia shumanniana (cacto): Ricardo Reis
Cyathea microdonta (Samambaia-açu): Olga Camisão
Victoria amazonica (Vitória-régia): Alexandre Machado
Ceiba pentandra (Sumaúma): Alexandre Machado

Museu Nacional/UFRJ
Euryoryzomys russatus (Rato-do-mato): Ana Lazar Gomes e Souza
Atlantorchestoidea brasiliensis (crustáceo): Silvana Gomes L. Siqueira
Amonites sergipensis (fóssil): Antonio Carlos Sequeira Fernandes

USP
Pauxi mitu (Mutum-de-alagoas): Luis Fabio Silveira
Ruffordia goeppertii (fóssil): Paula Sucerquia

UFRGS
Prestosuchus chiniquensis (fóssil):  Murilo Rodolfo de Lima

UFF
Enterobacter spp.: Laura Brandão Martins e Thiago Pavoni Gomes Chagas