Mirmecofauna em um fragmento de floresta atlântica urbana no município de Marília, Brasil

The aim of this study was to verify the influence of the habitat fragmentation on the Ant Fauna in an urban fragment of Semideciduous Seasonal Atlantic Forest located in the municipality of Marilia, São Paulo, Brazil. The studied fragment was divided into three environments in relation to edge: "Edge" (2m), "Transition" (30m) and "Interior" (90m). By using pitfalls traps and attractive baits there were done nine samples between November 2007 and February 2008. There were collected 3.873 individuals distributed into five subfamilies, 19 genera and 33 species. Five species were abundant on three studied environments: Ectatomma sp1, Mycocepurus goeldii, Paratrechina sp1, Pheidole sp2, Trachymyrmex sp1, Wasmannia auropunctata. The edge and transition environments presented the lower Simpsons diversity index and higher species dominance. However, it was observed little variation between these parameters between environments. Faunistic similarity between environments, expressed by Jaccard's similarity index showed high similarity between all studied environments. Because the studied site is an urban fragment, the similarity found between these areas can be related to habitat fragmentation process, an historical of constant anthropic perturbation and low local colonization rates. However, we suggest that a posteriori evaluation should be done with other arthropods groups like spiders and beetles in due to understand the changes that occur in urban fragments and support the choice of conservation and management actions in favor of this important forest remnant localized in urban area of Marilia, São Paulo, Brazil.

Levantamento fitossociológico em pastagens degradadas sob condições de várzea

objective of this study was to identify the weed community in areas of pasture. The phyto-sociological survey was conducted during November and December, 2009 in three regions: two located in Tangara da Serra-MT (region A = areas surrounding the town; and region B = areas in the Antonio Conselheiro Settlement and one area in Barra of the Bugres-MT (region C). Five properties were analyzed in each region, each containing 10 plots of 25 m(2). The weed species were counted and identified in the plots. Data were analyzed by calculating density, frequency, abundance, relative density, relative frequency, relative abundance, importance value index (IVI), and similarity index. Thirty-eight weed species were identified, distributed among 18 families, with Asteraceae (7), Fabaceae (6), Arecaceae (3), Euforbiaceae (3) and Poaceae (3) being the most representative in number of species. The species most frequently found were: region A - Sida spp. (IVI: 127.93) and Eragrostis plana (IVI: 42.18); region B - Eragrostis plana (IVI: 54.78), Mimosa wedelliana (IVI: 52.39), and Sida spp. (IVI: 50.30); and region C - Sida spp. (IVI: 73.92), and Mimosa wedelliana (IVI: 26.55). A significant similarity was found between regions A and B (52.63%) and between regions B and C (50.98%).

Dinâmica espaço-temporal de taxocenoses de crisopídeos (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) em ecossistemas naturais

In order to study the interactions of green lacewings toxocenosis on natural ecossystems, samplings were carried out in the Parque Ecologic Quedas do Rio Bonito, located in Lavras, Alto Rio Grande region, South of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The species inventory was accomplished in two vegetation types: semi-evergreen forest and open field formations, including areas of montane grassland, rocky montane grassland and "cerrado". Insects were captured with a butterfly net during 2h, walking through each vegetation formation. Sampling resulted in 1,948 specimens belonging to 30 species, of which 14 were Chrysopini and 16 Leucochrysini. Representatives of these tribes were observed both in forest and in open field formations. Species of the genera Ceraeochrysa, Chrysoperla, Chrysopodes, Plesiochrysa and Leucochrysa were found in forests and in open field formations, except for Plesiochrysa. The highest richness and diversity of species were observed in the forest. The similarity index among the communities of green lacewings in the studied areas was 27%.

RAPD analysis in the Neotropical fish Brycon lundii: Genetic diversity and its implications for the conservation of the species

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to examine the genetic variability on an endangered Neotropical fish species, Brycon lundii, collected on two regions with distinct environmental conditions in the São Francisco River (Brazil), downstream from a hydroelectric station. Using decamer oligonucleotides as single primers in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), genetic similarity index, mean allele frequency and mean heterozigosity were estimated, revealing variations between samples from the two regions. Moreover, a fragment of about 1200 base pairs was found in 100% of the examined animals collected at the region closer to the hydroelectric dam, while its frequency was much lower (27.3%) within the sample from the second collecting site, 30 km downstream from the dam, indicating a possible correlation between genetic variation and geographical area. A dendogram representing the relationships among genotypes was obtained, demonstrating at least two major clusters of animals. Based on the data, a model of population structuring in Brycon lundii is suggested. The described approach holds great promise for further analyses and gives support to biodiversity maintenance and recovery efforts of B. lundii.

Comparative study of the zooplankton composition of two lacustrine ecosystems in Southwestern Amazonia

The zooplankton communities of two lacustrine ecosystems in southwestern Amazonia (Lago Amapá and Lago Pirapora) were studied based on samples collected over an 11-month period. The general aim of the present work was to contribute to the knowledge of the zooplankton fauna in southwestern Amazonia, by studying the occurrence of certain species; and to improve the knowledge of the Rio Acre tributaries. The total number of taxa included 38 species of rotifers, 6 cladocerans and 7 copepods. Most of the species were from the rotifer family Brachionidae. Jaccard's similarity index was similar for the two lakes at 0.6964 The constancy index defined the species Keratella cochlearis, Filinia cf. terminate, Filinia opoliensis, Hexarthra intermedia braziliensis, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, Moina minuta, Diaphanosoma spinulosnm, and immature forms (nauplii and copepodites) as the constant in these lakes. The presence of zooplankton with higher number of species occupying the middle depths, during morning and night periods.

Cellular automata-based spatial dynamic modeling for analyzing urban land use change

This paper analyzes land use change in Rio Claro City and its surroundings, located in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo, in the period from 1988 to 1995, using air-borne digital imagery and a cellular automata model. The simulation experiment was carried out in the Dinamica EGO platform and the results revealed a constrained urban sprawl, resulting from both the densification of residential areas implemented in previous years and the economic recession that led to an internal financial crisis in Brazil during the early 1990s. The simulation outputs were validated using a multi-resolution procedure based on a fuzzy similarity index and showed a satisfactory fitness in relation to the historical reference data. © 2013 IEEE.

Estrutura de comunidades e influência da heterogeneidade ambiente na diversidade de anuros em área de pastagem no sudeste do Brasil

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

Estudos genéticos e morfológicos de biótipos resistentes e susceptíveis de Euphorbia heterophylla L. (amendoim-bravo)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Abordagens multivariadas no estudo da dinâmica de comunidades de macrófitas aquáticas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Variabilidade genética e fitoquímica de Casearia sylvestris em populações do cerrado e Mata Atlântica do Estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Horticultura) - FCA

Caracterização da vegetação arbórea e atributos do solo da Reserva Biológica de Pindorama, SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ciclo de vida e estrutura de uma assembléia de peixes teleósteos em um manguezal da Raposa, Maranhão, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBRC

Intraspecific, interspecific, and seasonal differences in the diet of three mid-sized carnivores in a large neotropical wetland

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Regeneração natural de mata ciliar em ecossistema de floresta estacional semidecidual: chuva de sementes e banco de sementes do solo

The knowledge of the dynamics of soil seed bank and seed rain is fundamental to understand the forest succession process, as well as for its conservation and restoration. This paper aimed at studying the role of the soil seed bank and seed rain in the dynamics of a riparian tropical seasonal forest fragment located on the hinterland of São Paulo State. The seed rain was studied by 30 litter traps installed at 50 cm from the floor, with an area of 50 cm x 50 cm. Between November of 2008 and October of 2009, 11364 seeds of 82 species belonging to 33 different families were collected. The deposition density of seeds was 126.27 individuals.m². With the data obtained from this research, the two seasons couldn’t be differed from each other hence 2009 was an atypical year considering the precipitation, which was constantly elevated. For the soil seed bank, fifty superficial soil samples will be taken at the end of both the rainy and dry seasons. The germination method was applied for the data analysis. It was observed a predominance of herbaceous habit species, with an average of 71% of the germinations in both seasons. The Sφrensen similarity index between the seasons was low (0,27). The density and species diversity were higher after the rainy season, unlike other published researches

Homogamy preferences for cognitive sex-typicality in women

Homogamy has been suggested as crucial for human mate preferences and mate choice. People are attracted to and choose romantic partners that are similar to them in socio-demographic, physical, and psychological traits. However, only a few studies have shown homogamy in preferences for evolved sex-typical traits. Here, we have investigated male and female preferences for the level of cognitive masculinity-femininity (MF). We tested whether self-reported MF positively correlates with preferences for MF. One hundred men and one hundred women from Brazil filled in questionnaires on their own level of cognitive MF and preferred level of cognitive MF in their ideal partner. Half of the respondents were asked to indicate their preferences for long-term, and the other half for short-term relationships. We found a positive correlation between self-ascribed and preferred level of cognitive MF in women (P = 0.002), but no significant correlation in men (P = 0.309). There was no significant effect of the temporal context of the relationship, but there was a positive correlation between self-ascribed and preferred level of cognitive MF only in women answering about long-term partner. By subtracting the preferred from the selfascribed level of cognitive MF, we created a self-similarity index. We found that women desire potential mates more self-similar and more masculine than men (P < 0.001) and that in men there is greater variation in the self-similarity index than in women. Our results thus add to previous evidence on the role of homogamy in human mating, by showing preferences for self-similarity also in cognitive MF for women, especially for long-term partner preferences. Future studies should cross-culturally test whether the higher self-similar preference found in women is universal.