ABOUT & LOCATION
The 2018 International Gracillariidae Symposium will take place at Serra Bonita Reserve (SBR), in Brazil’s famous Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered and species-rich biomes on earth. The SBR and its research station are located in the municipality of Camacan, 130 km from the tourist town of Ilhéus on the Atlantic Coast and 526 km from the State capital of Salvador.
Covering an area of approximately 7,500 hectares, 40 km west of the Atlantic coast and 16 kilometers from the small town of Camacan, with a population of 23,892, the Serra Bonita Mountain range (39º 33´ 53,6” W.G. e 15º 23´ 35,7 lat) is located in the transition zone between tropical evergreen forest and semi-deciduous forest. Bordered on the north and south by the rivers das Pratas and Panelão, and separated by deep valleys from a larger hill complex, known as Serras do Baixão, it is comprised of important altitudinal gradients of native Atlantic Forest at altitudes of between 200 and 950 meters above sea level. Influenced by humid air from the coast, variations in altitude lead to abrupt humidity and temperature gradients from the foot of the mountain range to its peaks. These differences can be detected in the vegetation that changes from evergreen forest, with elements of moist lowland semi-deciduous forest, to moist submontane forest near the summits.
The Serra Bonita Reserve, located within the Serra Bonita Mountain Range, encompasses altitudinal gradients of native Atlantic Forest ranging from 200 to 950 meters above sea level. It includes elements of moist lowland semi-deciduous forest, as well as moist submontane forest near the summits, some of the last remnants of such forest in the region. SBR covers an area of 7,500 hectares (18,525 acres), roughly 50% of which is pristine habitat. The remaining area is a mosaic of forests in different successional stages, with secondary forests in advanced stages of recuperation interspersed with cabruca and small areas of pasture.
The diversity of animal and plant species at SBR is extraordinary. Four primates occur there: the southern Bahian masked titi monkey (Callicebus melanochir); Wied’s black-tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix kuhlii); the yellow-breasted capuchin (Cebus xanthosternos); and the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas). Birdlife/SAVE Brazil has designated SBR as an Important Bird Area. A preliminary study estimated that some 400 species of birds inhabit the mountain range, of which 9 are threatened and 59 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. Approximately 5,000 species of Lepidoptera have been identified at SBR, including a number of endangered species such as Heliconius nattereri, one of the most rare butterflies on earth. It is estimated that some 11,000 Lepidoptera species exist at the station (the same number found in the US and Canada combined).