Comunidade de formigas (Hymenoptera: formicidae) em cultivo de videiras no município de São Roque - São Paulo

The cultivation of grapes is one of the most traditional cultures and the world's oldest one. In Brazil, cultivars occupy an area of approximately 90 thousand hectares, covering the south, southeast and northeast, in latitudes ranging from 30 º 56 '15''S up to 5 º 11' 15''S. The culture of the vine may be the target of the attack of some diseases and pests, and currently the main concern for growers is the subterranean mealybug, Eurhizococcus brasiliensis (Hemiptera: Margarodidae), known as pearl-ground. This arthropod infests the roots causing a progressive languish of the vine, even causes its death. In southern Brazil it is known that some species of ants can disperse pearl-ground for short distances, however, there is no information about that in the State of Sao Paulo. Thus, it is extremely important to perform studies with this focus on wine regions in this State. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the species of underground ant community in different grape varieties found in vineyards in the town of São Roque – SP, Brazil. With that purpose, samples were collected within one year. We used underground pitfalls spread across twelve points. In each of the points were placed two traps, one containing honey and the other containing sardine as attractive. The results revealed the presence of three morphospecies of ants in Niágara Rosada and four in other grape varieties, there was no significant difference in the species richness among the cultivars (Kruskal-Wallis - 0.33, p = 0.5). In both trials, the most frequent species was Brachymyrmex sp.4, suggesting that there is no dominance of distinct species of Niágara Rosada and the other grape varieties. There was no dissimilarity in species richness of the ones visiting honey or sardines (Kruskal-Wallis - 0.08, p = 0.7) and the analysis of variance indicated a great similarity in species richness between the rainy and dry seasons (Kruskal-Wallis - 0.09, p = 0.7)

Áreas prioritárias para conservação e restauração da paisagem utilizando multi-caminhos e informações de avifauna

Habitat loss and fragmentation of landscapes endanger the planet’s biodiversity. Strategies for identify priority areas for conservation and restoration of biodiversity rich areas becomes essential for the planning of the management of these landscape become successful. This study aims to propose a novel, transparent and replicable method for choosing priority areas for restoration, and includes the following steps: (a) identification of regional biodiversity hotspots for conservation; (b) identification of priority areas for restoration with the greatest potential to increase the connectivity of the fragments already existing; (c) estimate the potential richness of understory birds before and after restoration, analyzing the gain of species for the future scenario. In order to identify the corridors to be restored in a future scenario we considered the approach of multiple corridors, which aimed to connect the main fragments within the region through analysis of multi-paths. Already existing regression models were applied to estimate the richness of the landscape considering three models: a) species richness as a function of patch area of the fragment selected as hotspots; b) richness as a function of areas connected by structural corridors and c) connected area for species which are able to access nearby fragments within 20m. The gain of species for future scenario which consider the potential restoration of selected areas was estimated. Based on our results we observed that species that use corridors showed the highest increment of species richness of understory birds. As a result it had to restore corridors to model species with the ability to use forest corridors was the highest gain potential species richness of understory birds. The methods proposed method in this study appears provide new ways to ensures a better cost / benefit relationship for restoration projects by increasing the chances of better reach high levels of...

Structure, diversity, and spatial patterns in a permanent plot of a high Restinga forest in Southeastern Brazil

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