Ocorrência, morfometria e crescimento relativo da raia treme-treme Narcine brasiliensis (Olfers, 1831) (Elasmobranchii: Narcinidae) no litoral do Estado de São Paulo

Raias da espécie Narcine brasiliensis são frequentemente encontradas em regiões de substrato arenoso e lodoso localizadas entre o sudeste do Brasil e norte da Argentina, entretanto, há poucos estudos sobre seu ciclo de vida, assim como aspectos de sua distribuição e abundância. Verificar suas medidas corporais torna-se crucial para tais estudos, principalmente quando estes estão relacionados ao crescimento, maturação, comprimento máximo e estrutura populacional de elasmobrânquios. O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar a ocorrência, a morfometria e o crescimento relativo da espécie no litoral do estado de São Paulo. Sendo assim, foram tomadas e avaliadas 46 medidas morfométricas corporais. Para verificar se havia diferenças significativas das proporções corpóreas entre machos e fêmeas, foi aplicado o teste “t de Student” e o teste de “Wilcoxon Rank”, conforme a distribuição da normalidade dos dados. Para avaliar a relação entre os caracteres morfométricos durante o crescimento dos indivíduos, foram ajustadas regressões lineares entre o logaritmo do comprimento total e o logaritmo de cada uma das variáveis, estimando-se o coeficiente alométrico (b); sendo b=1 (isometria), b>1 (alometria positiva) e b<1 (alometria negativa). Por último, foi verificado se havia diferença significativa do coeficiente alométrico (b) entre machos e fêmeas por meio de uma análise de covariância. A amostra analisada foi composta por 72 fêmeas de 237 a 470 mm e 33 machos de 236 a 380 mm. Os indivíduos foram capturados em substrato arenoso, sendo que não estiveram presentes indivíduos neonatos provavelmente pelo local de captura e seletividade da rede. Diferenças significativas foram encontradas na comparação das proporções corpóreas de machos e fêmeas, exceto para a região do espiráculo. As regressões lineares das variáveis logaritmizadas mostraram presença de isometria em 39,5%, alometria positiva em ...

Torpedo sinuspersici Olfers, 1831

Electric rays, thought to be the most primitive of the skates and rays, have stout tails but have rather expansive disc. This group is distinguished by the presence of powerful electric organs, derived from branchial muscles in head region. Torpedo sinuspersici found inshore in sandy bottoms, and well offshore from the surf zone down to 200 m. Also on or near coral reefs (like Kish Island in Persian Gulf). Common in shallow sandy areas. Occasionally hooked by anglers, more often seen by divers; can deliver a strong shock. Flesh is edible. T. sinuspersici can survive for hours after being stranded on the beach. Little is known of the life history of the Gulf torpedo. It is a sluggish predator of bony fishes. At night it actively hunts for food, sculling slowly through the water about a meter above the bottom; during the day it usually rests on the bottom and opportunistically ambushes unwary prey. It uses its broad pectoral fins to envelop the target fish before delivering an electric shock to stun it. Usually solitary, they may form groups during the mating season. Reproduction is a placental viviparous, with the developing embryos initially surviving on their yolk sacs, and then on enriched uterine fluid produced by the mother. Litters of 9-22 young are birthed in the summer. Newborns measure about 10 cm wide; males mature at a disc width of 39 cm and females at 45 cm.

Seasonal dynamics and distribution of the digenean Phyllodistomum pawlovskii (Trematoda : Gorgoderidae) in the bullhead catfish, Pseudobagrus fulvidraco, in a lake of China

Seasonal population dynamics of the digenean Phyllodistomum pawlovskii in the urinary bladder of the bullhead catfish, Pseudobagrus fulvidraco, were investigated in Liangzi Lake in the flood plain of the Yangtze River in China from February 2001 to July 2002. The overall prevalence of the parasite was high, 41.5% (n = 1,476), while the mean abundance was relatively low, 1.24 +/- 2.11. The parasite exhibited evident seasonality in changes of prevalence and abundance. In brief, prevalence and abundance were very low in midwinter (January), but increased and remained relatively high in other seasons and months. The distribution pattern of this parasite in the fish was overdispersed, with a variance to mean ratio > 1, but its frequency distribution could not be described by the negative binomial model. There were positive correlations between the number of the parasites per fish and the age and length of the fish; a peaked age-parasite abundance curve was not detected in the parasite-host association. It is suggested that the parasite P. pawlovskii has little effect on the population structure of the bullhead catfish.

Diversidade de morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera) em remanescentes florestais do município de Fênix, noroeste do Paraná, Brasil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Moscas ectoparasitas (Diptera, Streblidae e Nycteribiidae) em morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera) em área de Floresta com Araucária no Estado do Paraná, sul do Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Frugivoria em morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera) no Parque Estadual Intervales, sudeste do Brasil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Evaluation of aspiration method for bat brain collection for rabies diagnosis.

The diagnosis of rabies in bats is usually performed using the brain of suspected animals. The main hypothesis tested by the present study was whether the aspiration method using a plastic pipette (Pasteur type) was effective in the collection of bat brain sample for rabies diagnosis when compared to the skull-opening method. A total of 200 bats of 4 species were studied: Molossus rufus E. Geoffroy, 1805, Molossus molossus (Pallas, 1766), Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818) and Myotis nigricans (Schinz, 1821). The proportion of brain weight compared to body weight was statistically higher when using the traditional method, although the brain mass collected by the aspiration method was enough for rabies diagnosis and did not damage any skull biometric characteristics. The results demonstrate that both collection methods detected positive samples, while the aspiration method has the advantage of skull preservation, permitting the identification of the species.

Phenotypic changes and small mammal impoverishment on a Brazilian Atlantic Forest Island

Faunal impoverishment and distorted species compositions are common phenomena in oceanic islands; however, many land-bridge islands are poorly inventoried, especially in the Neotropics. We sampled a small mammal community on a land-bridge island (Anchieta Island) along the Brazilian coast. We found only one marsupial Didelphis aurita (Wied-Neuwied, 1826) and two rodent species Oligoryzomys nigripes (Olfers, 1818) and Trinomys iheringi (Thomas, 1911) during 12 months of live trapping and 9195 trap-nights. The diversity of rodents and marsupials was not explained by species-area relations, indicating possible past extinctions. The abundance of D. aurita and O. nigripes was approximately three times higher, while the abundance of T. iheringi was approximately four times lower than abundances reported from other Brazilian Atlantic Forest sites. The population of D. aurita exhibited many phenotypic changes; males were on average 8 % smaller and females produced 30 % less litters than those from the mainland and other land-bridge islands. The long history of forest disturbance, habitat loss, reduction in forest productivity, and the recent introduction of mesopredators may be the major drivers that explain the small mammal community composition on this island. © 2013 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

Diversidade de morcegos em dois fragmentos florestais da região noroeste do Estado do Paraná, Brasil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação do método de sucção de encéfalo de morcegos (Chiroptera, Mammalia) para diagnóstico da raiva

Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal - FMVA

Morcegos frugívoros no uso do hábitat fragmentado e seu potencial para recuperação de áreas degradadas: subsídios para uma nova ferramenta voltada à conservação

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Home range, movements and diurnal roosts of the endangered thin-spined porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus (Rodentia: Erethizontidae), in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Chaetomys subspinosus is the sole species within the Chaetomyinae subfamily of Caviomorph rodents. This poorly studied porcupine is restricted to the Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil, where deforestation and habitat fragmentation threaten its survival. Data on the ranging and roosting behavior of C. subspinosus is fairly scarce as it is difficult to observe these behaviors in nature and, consequently, it is very rarely detected during field surveys. We monitored the home ranges of three radio-tagged females over the course of 1 year (2005-2006) and collected data on several aspects of their natural history including movement patterns and the use of diurnal roosts and latrines. The animals were monitored at Parque Estadual Paulo Cesar Vinha, a nature reserve dominated by restinga forests, a subtype of Atlantic Forest occurring on sandy soil. The estimated home range varied little between individuals and was relatively small (mean = 2.14 ha/individual and 1.09 ha/individual using minimum convex polygon and kernel methods, respectively). The animals travelled an average of 147 m/night (range: 21-324 m/night) between two consecutive day roosts. The day roosts were mostly located on vine and liana tangles in the canopy which also aid in connecting the canopy to adjacent trees or the forest floor. Latrines were mostly located near the ground in places heavily protected by spiny bromeliads or by other tangled vegetation. Our data suggests that C. subspinosus has the smallest range among all Neotropical Erethizontids which is likely due to its small size and strictly folivorous diet. Our data also helps explain why C. subspinosus is so difficult to observe in nature: researchers should focus on arboreal masses of tangled vegetation where individuals will normally rest during the day. (C) 2011 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Heinrich Abeken : ein schlichtes Leben in bewegter Zeit, aus Briefen zusammengestellt.

Includes index.

Die überreste vorweltlicher riesenthiere in beziehung zu ostasiatischen sagen und chinesischen schriften ...

"Gelesen in der Akademie der wissenschaften."