Assessment Notes

Justification

Morganella austromontana is a saprotrophic gasteroid species found growing on soil in montane and submontane forest ecosystems of Araucaria and seasonal semideciduous forests, including cloud forests, in southern Brazil. It is expected that the species is restricted to these formations, where its habitat conditions are met. It also could be found across other areas with suitable habitat in southern Brazil, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná. The species occurs in fragmented, historically affected forests that have lost 97% of their original cover over the past 100 years, a decline that continues today. An extensive amount of this loss took place in over the past 50 years due to land conversion for housing, farming and plantations as well as logging activities. M. austromontana is threatened with the loss of its habitat from the impacts of climate change, as well other anthropogenic factors, such as deforestation and introduction of invasive species. Even with intensive sampling effort, the species is known from few collections from only four sites and the species is considered as likely rare. The total population is expected to be approximately 4,000 mature individuals, distributed in ca. 200 sites throughout the Araucaria forests and seasonal semideciduous forests of southern Brazil, with each site supporting an average of up to 20 mature individuals. A population decline of 20-25% is suspected for the next 20 years (three generations length) due to deforestation and impacts of introduced species (mainly cattle) and climate driven changes. The species is assessed as Vulnerable - C2a(ii).

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Geographic range

Morganella austromontana is known from the montane (including cloud forests) and submontane ecosystems of the Araucaria forests and seasonal semideciduous forests of southern Brazil (Alvez et al. 2017). It also could be found across other areas with suitable habitat in southern Brazil, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná.

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Population and Trends

Morganella austromontana is likely to be a rare species known from only a few collections from four sites in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, within cloud forests and Araucaria forest areas, where the species is expected to be restricted. Taking into account potential unreported sites, the total population is estimated at up to 4,000 mature individuals, distributed in ca. 200 sites throughout the Araucaria forests are seasonal semideciduous forests in southern Brazil, with each site supporting an average of approximately 20 mature individuals. A population decline of 20-25% is suspected in the next 20 years (3 generations length) due to deforestation and impacts of introduced species (mainly cattle) and climate changes (Mulligan 2011, Carlucci et al. 2016, Castro et al. 2020).

Population Trend: decreasing

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Habitat and Ecology

Morganella austromontana is a saprotrophic gasteroid species found growing on soil in montane and submontane forest ecosystems of Araucaria and seasonal semideciduous forests, including cloud forests, in southern Brazil. It is expected that the species is restricted to these formations, where its habitat conditions are met.

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Threats

The species occurs in fragmented, historically affected forests that have lost 97% of their original cover over the past 100 years, a decline that continues today. An extensive amount of this loss took place in the last 50 years due to land conversion for housing, farming and plantations as well as logging activities. Morganella austromontana is threatened with the loss of its habitat from the impacts of climate change, as well other anthropogenic factors, such as deforestation and introduction of invasive species (mainly cattle) (Brooks and Balmford 1996, Pinto et al. 2006, Mulligan 2011, Carlucci et al. 2016, Castro et al. 2020).

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Conservation Actions

Conservation of Morganella austromontana will involve the preservation of its habitat in preserved areas, and the effective enforcement of conservation policies. More surveys aimed at finding the species are needed in its region of appropriate habitat to understand its population size, dynamics, and distribution. Analyses of specimens housed in herbaria identified as Morganella from southern Brazil may also turn out to be new records and help to understand the species' distribution and ecology. Additionally, systematic studies with molecular phylogenetic data can help understand the evolutionary history and relationships of the species, but no sequences are available online at this time.

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Use and Trade

No use/trade is known.

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Source and Citation

Kossmann, T., Zabin, D., Menolli Jr, N. & de Andrade Borges, M. 2024. Morganella austromontana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T265909632A265910802. .Accessed on 31 October 2024

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• Country occurrence