Interspecific interactions between Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) under laboratory conditions

Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes tenuis are termite pests. Both species have cryptic habits, and are known as subterranean termites. The aim of this study was to verify if food availability and alterations in the proportion of soldiers interfere in the interactions between these termites, since the introduced species C. gestroi occupies the same niche as the native species H. tenuis. Different bioassays were conducted in order to evaluate these interspecific interactions. The results showed that C. gestroi presented advantages in the occupation of territory in all bioassays and suggest a higher efficiency of this species in the search for alternative food sources, especially when the number of soldiers was higher than that of H. tenuis. Additionally, it is possible to conclude that food availability and the different proportion of soldiers involved in the interspecific confrontations interfere in the occupation of territory and in the agonistic behavior between these two species of termites.

Alimentação de Serrasalmus maculatus (Kner, 1858) (characiformes; serrasalmidae) no trecho inferior bacia do rio Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brasil

The aim of this study was to discuss aspects of the diet of Serrasalmus maculatus. Fish were collected using gill nets, whose lengths measured 100 m and mesh diameters varied from 3 to 8 cm. A total of 107 individuals were collected. Their length varied from 62 to 210 mm. They were mainly represented by female and immature individuals. No individual was caught in temperatures below 21°C. Four feeding item categories were observed: fish muscle pieces, parts of fish fins, plant fragments, and insects. Comparisons made among individual length classes revealed some significant differences within stomach consumed contents. Individuals whose length exceeded 165 mm consumed only parts of fish muscles and plants. The food availability in the environment and the class lengths amplitude may, however, have influenced the results, in which ontogenetic differences should not be precisely observed.

Reproductive cycle and fecundity of Potimirim glabra (Kingsley, 1954) (Caridea, Atyidae) from a littoral stream

The reproductive cycle of Potimirim glabra, especially the female size at sexual maturity, reproductive period and fecundity, was studied at two sites of one of the northern littoral streams in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Prawns were collected monthly for one year. The minmum size at sexual maturity was estimated from the smallest ovigerous female (cephalothorax length = CL), and the reproductive period was determined monthly by examining the relative frequency of ovigerous females. Size comparisons between sampling sites was carried out using the Mann-Whitney u test. The relationship between environmental factors and reproductive aspects was verified using the Spearman's rank correlation. At Site 1, the collected ovigerous females had a CL mean size of 4.24±0.36 mm (n=481); at Site 2, ovigerous females (n=391) had a CL mean size of 5.48±0.49 mm. The reproductive pattern in Camburi is seasonal, with the highest frequency of ovigerous females in February. The frequency of ovigerous females was positively correlated to organic matter content in the substratum, rainfall and temperature. Increased percentage organic matter may indicate greater food availability whereas higher rainfall increases the velocity of the current, thereby aiding the larvae, which depend on brackish water to complete their development, to reach the estuarine region. The temperature acts on the speed of larval development. At Site 1, the mean fecundity obtained was 202±72.31 eggs (90 females; CL from 2.7 to 4.7mm PL), whereas at Site 2, it was 433.3±120.7 eggs (46 females; CL from 4.0 to 5.5mm PL). © 2010 Balaban.

Use of space by frugivorous bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a restored Atlantic forest fragment in Brazil

We studied patterns in the use of space for foraging and roosting by two frugivorous bat species in a five-year-old restored Atlantic forest located in a fragmented landscape in southeastern Brazil. Ten individuals of Carollia perspicillata and eleven individuals of Artibeus lituratus were monitored through radio-telemetry in five sampling sessions. Each session lasted 3-8. days for each individual, with an average of 25.4 ± 10 locations for each C. perspicillata individual and 19 ± 4.4 for each A. lituratus individual. We described an average range of 124.4. ha and an average commuting distance of 1158.8. m for A. lituratus and an average range and commuting distance of 32. ha and 489. m, respectively, for C. perspicillata. We demonstrated a consistent pattern in habitat use and movements for both studied species, where they strictly used forests (restored or not) for day roosting, roosting in the foliage of trees located only in secondary forest remnants and restored areas, while restored areas were their main feeding habitat. We demonstrate that newly restored forests can be readily incorporated as foraging and roosting habitats by these species, and that C. perspicillata alters its roosting behavior in relation to preferred food availability. These results, when combined with data on the diet of the studied species, show consistent evidence of the potential that bats have to improve species diversity of anthropogenic plantings with their own natural seed dispersal. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Comparison of the population biology of Epialtus bituberculatus from two rocky shores with distinct hydrodynamic patterns

The population biology of Epialtus bituberculatus was compared between two different intertidal localities with differing levels of wave exposure. Sampling was conducted monthly between January and December, 2001 on seaweed banks of Sargassum cymosum in the intertidal zone of the rocky shores Grande (GR) (23°23′S-45°03′W) and Domingas Dias (DD) (23°29′S-45°08′W). Four hundred and twenty-eight crabs were captured at the GR site: 111 juvenile males, 106 adult males, 57 juvenile females, 17 adult females and 137 ovigerous females; while 455 specimens were obtained at the DD site: 76 juvenile males, 113 adult males, 37 juvenile females, 40 adult females and 189 ovigerous females. The population from GR showed a non-normal distribution and from DD a normal distribution. The sex-ratio (female/male) was 1:0.97 at GR (χ2 = 0.77, P = 0.084), whereas it was 1:1.41 at DD (χ2 = 13.03, P < 0.001). The largest individuals occurred at DD (U = 78249.0, P < 0.001). The estimated size at sexual maturity was 6.3 and 5.0 mm carapace width (CW) for males, and 5.4 and 5.2 mm CW for females, from GR and DD, respectively. The observed differences in E. bituberculatus between the studied localities might be explained by the different degrees of wave exposure between sites. However, other factors that might also explain the observed differences (e.g. temperature, salinity and food availability) cannot be discarded as relevant in influencing the population structure between sites herein studied. © 2012 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Dinâmica populacional do camarão sete-barbas Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) (Crustacea: Decapoda) na Baía da Batitonga, Estado de Santa Catarina

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Uso de cercas-vivas por aves em uma paisagem fragmentada de mata atlântica semidecídua

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

Estudo da dieta do Lutjanus synagris (Linnaeus, 1758) e Ocyrus chrysurus (Bloch, 1791), teleostei :perciformes: lutjanidae, no banco dos abrolhos, Bahia, Brasil e pesca das principais espécies de lutjanídeos e serranídeos na região

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBRC

Diversidade funcional de comunidades de peixes de riachos

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

Rastreabilidade em pescado: influência do grau de domesticação, origem e sazonalidade na diferenciação de peixes

Pós-graduação em Aquicultura - FCAV

Distribuição larval planctônica de Bachyura (Crustacea, Decapoda) na região de Ubatuba, com novas descrições larvais para o gênero Persephona Leach, 1817

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Severe population decline of marsh deer, Blastocerus dichotomus (Cetartiodactyla: Cervidae), a threatened species, caused by flooding related to a hydroelectric power plant

Balancing power production and environmental conservation can be problematic. The objective of this study was to investigate the abundance of marsh deer in the Paraná River Basin, above the Sergio Motta (Porto Primavera) Dam, before and after the impact of the dam closure. A fixed-wing, flat window aircraft was used to survey study transects. Observations were recorded based on the distance sampling line transect method, assuming that the detection probability decreases with increased distance. The abundance of marsh deer in the survey region prior to flooding was estimated to be 974 individuals (CV = 0.23). The overall abundance dropped from 974 to 444 (CV = 0.26) individuals after flooding, an overall reduction of 54%. This reduction can be attributed to the direct impact of the flooding process, but it was likely exacerbated by indirect effects, such as increased disease, hunting, and reduction in food availability. Prior to flooding, the marsh deer was distributed widely throughout the dam's catchment area; however, the marsh deer habitat was almost completely destroyed by the flooding process. This situation highlights the need to implement management strategies that ensure the survival of the remaining fragmented population.

Efeito da desmama precoce na eficiência reprodutiva de vacas Guzerá

The early weaning method is an alternative to increase the body weight of calves, since it is based on the total or temporary interruption of suckling by animals, in an attempt to faster develop the rumen of those receiving milk ad libitum. Thus, this study was conducted in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, in order to evaluate the weight gain of calves subjected to two weaning methods (conventional, i.e., calves were kept with cows, and controlled, where calves had access to suckling for one hour per day), as well as body condition and pregnancy rate of Guzerá primiparous and multiparous cows. Once a month, the animals were weighed, in order to measure their weight gain. At the birth and definite weaning of calves, the cows had their body condition evaluated, as well as their pregnancy rate, at the end of weaning. It was found that the controlled weaning method showed no significant difference, however, it becomes feasible in the beef cattle chain, since it can reduce the delivering intervals, due to the improved body condition of cows, especially in times of drought, when there is low food availability. An increase in the weight of calves at weaning was also observed for primiparous cows.

Short-term effects of fire on small rodents in the Brazilian Cerrado and their relation with feeding habits

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

Drivers of clutch-size in Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana) at temperate and tropical latitudes in South America

Many species of birds exhibit a latitudinal gradient in annual reproductive investment, laying more eggs and producing more nestlings at higher latitudes. However, few studies have evaluated the mechanisms that underlie such patterns and such differences in grassland birds specifically. We monitored nests of Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana) over two breeding seasons at a tropical site in Bolivia (in 2010-11 and 2011-12) and three breeding seasons at a southern temperate site in Argentina (2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13), testing two hypotheses explaining variation in clutch-size among populations: the food-limitation hypothesis and the nest-predation hypothesis. Mean clutch-size and mean brood-size were significantly larger at the temperate study site than at the tropical site. Availability of arthropod food per individual bird was significantly higher at the temperate site. There was no relationship, positive or negative, between rates of nest predation and either clutch- or brood-size, and thus no support for the nest-predation hypothesis. We conclude that food availability explains much of the latitudinal variation in clutch-size in this species. We discuss avenues for future research on the mechanisms underlying geographical variation in the life histories of Neotropical birds.