Barred Forest Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis) predation on relatively large prey

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

Leishmania spp. in Didelphis albiventris and Micoureus paraguayanus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) of Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Passive and active dispersers respond similarly to environmental and spatial processes: an example from metacommunity dynamics of tree hole invertebrates

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The Atlantic granulite belt, Brazil.

The low- to medium-P Atlantic granulite belt was largely formed at 2700 m.y., but 3100 m.y. ages have been obtained from the granulite belt and adjacent craton. -J.A.H.

Frogs of the genus Paratelmatobius (Anura: Leptodactylidae) with descriptions of two new species

Two new species of Paratelmatobius are described from the Atlantic Forest of Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. The vocalization, tadpole, and natural history of one new species are described. Natural history observations of P. poecilogaster are reported, including the description of a specialized reproductive mode. Diagnoses, measurements, figures, color in life, and distributional data for the species of Paratelmatobius are provided.

Termite pests in eucalyptus forests of brazil

The termite problem in eucalyptus forest plantations in Brazil has been registered since 1908. The main termite pests can be separated in four groups: a) seedling/sapling termites; b) heartwood termites; c) bark termites and d) wood termites. The termites in the first group attack root and stalk bases of young eucalyptus plants. The most common species are Syntermes spp. and Cornitermes spp. and they are a serious obstacle to early eucalyptus developing. The heartwood termites attack formed trees destroying eucalyptus heartwood. Coptotermes testaceus is the most cited species in reports, but more species probably occur. Plant mortality caused by seedling/sapling termites vary of 10-70 %. There are not effective control methods to heartwood termites. The main seedling/sapling termite control strategy is the chemical barrier around root systems of plants. Nowadays, studies are being carried out to determine monitoring systems to termite infestations. Early results indicate that proportionally, few areas really need insecticide application, due to spatial distribution of termites to be aggregated. Therefore, it is necessary to develope techniques rationalizing insecticide utilization in eucalyptus plantations, to keep production systems feasible and to be suitable for environmental exigencies.

First cytogenetic information for Drymoreomys albimaculatus (Rodentia, Cricetidae), a recently described genus from Brazilian Atlantic forest

The recently described taxon Drymoreomys albimaculatus is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and its biology and genetics are still poorly known. Herein, we present, for the first time, the karyotype of the species using classical and molecular cytogenetics, which showed 2n=62, FN=62, and interstitial telomeric signals at the sex chromosomes. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from the two karyotyped individuals verify the taxonomic identity as the recently described D. albimaculatus and confirm the relationship of the species with other Oryzomyini. Additionally, external morphological information is provided. © Elkin Y. Suárez-Villota et al.

No changes in seedling recruitment when terrestrial mammals are excluded in a partially defaunated Atlantic rainforest

One of the most intriguing questions in ecology is how to identify which and how many species will be able to inhabit human-modified landscapes. Large-bodied mammals structure plant communities by trampling, herbivory, seed dispersal and predation, and their local extinction may have pervasive consequences in plant communities due to the breakdown of key interactions. Although much attention has been given to understanding the effects of defaunation on plant communities, information on the potential impacts on plant functional groups (seed dispersal, seed size and seedling leaves defense) inhabiting continuous forests after defaunation is scarce. We conducted mammal surveys (line transects and camera trapping) to determine the defaunation status of a continuous Atlantic forest in Brazil. Then, we evaluated the effects of defaunation on seedling diversity, richness and abundance of functional groups using 15 plot-pairs (each pair with one open and one exclusion plot) monitored over 36. months. We found that the studied area is partially defaunated because it exhibits high abundance of primates, while terrestrial mammals, such as large rodents and ungulates, are rare. We found no significant changes in either seedling richness and diversity or in the seedling composition of plant functional groups in response to mammal exclosure. Seedling mortality and recruitment were similar between plot types. Our findings suggest that at semi-defaunated areas, where arboreal species are still present, terrestrial mammals have low impacts on the plant community reassembly. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Study of the thermal behavior of bicuíba oil (Virola bicuhyba)

Bicuíba belongs to the Virola bicuhyba (Schott ex Spreng.) Warb species, Miristicaceas (Myristicaceae) family, which is frequently found in the Atlantic Forest of South and Southeast Brazil. Extraction of the Bicuíba oil was carried out and characterized by gas chromatography. The composition of in nature of this oil indicates that there is a predominance of saturated fatty acids with ~35 % lauric acid and ~40 % myristic acid. Details concerning the thermal behavior were evaluated by thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry under oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres, showing thermal stability between 208 and 210 °C, respectively. Additionally, the kinetic studies were evaluated from several heating rates with a sample mass of 5 and 20 mg in open crucibles. The obtained data were evaluated with the isoconversional method kinetic, where the values of activation energy (Ea/kJ mol-1) were plotted in function of the conversion degree (α). © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.

Seed dispersal by the lek-forming white-bearded manakin (Manacus manacus, Pipridae) in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

The movement patterns of males, females and juveniles of lekking species often differ due to differences in the commitment to lek activities, which may lead to differences in the spatial distribution and dispersal distances of seeds they eat. By sampling seeds in three lek and non-lek areas of the white-bearded manakin (Manacus manacus), we tested whether this lekking species increased the abundance and species richness of seeds in lek areas and, at a finer scale, in 21 displaying courts within lek areas. Combining data on seed defecation or regurgitation rates by free-ranging individuals, the number of seeds in droppings or regurgitations of mist-netted birds, and the distances travelled by birds equipped with radio-transmitters, we estimated the potential spatial distribution of seeds generated by six resident males and six females or juveniles during the morning peak of lek activity and when lek activity decreased in the afternoon. There was no difference in the species richness (46 and 44 morphospecies, respectively) and abundance of seeds (15.4 ± 7.3 seeds and 14.0 ± 1.1 seeds, respectively) between lek and non-lek areas. Within leks both parameters increased in courts (45 spp., 17.6 ± 14 seeds) compared with non-court sites (22 spp., 1.9 ± 1.8 seeds), likely as a consequence of the longer time spent by resident males in perches in or near display courts. Distances moved by juveniles and females per 60-min period (183 ± 272 m) were greater than resident males (42.6 ± 22.0 m) in the mornings, while the opposite happened in the afternoons (55.2 ± 40.7 m and 157 ± 105 m, respectively). We conclude that the spatial aggregation of seeds in lek areas of M. manacus occurs at the court level, and the spatial distribution of deposited seeds varies with manakin lekking status and the daily period of foraging. © Cambridge University Press 2013.

Context-dependence in seed removal by lekking and non-lekking frugivorous birds in Brazilian Atlantic forest

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Reproductive phenology and fruit production on a land bridge island in the brazilian atlantic forest

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Alpha and beta diversity of lepidoptera in eucalyptus plantations in the amazonian region of Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Rarity as an indicator of endangerment in neotropical frogs

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

Ecological aspects and sexual maturity of a southwestern Atlantic population of the planktonic shrimp Lucifer faxoni (Decapoda: Sergestoidea)

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