Use of forest fragments by blue-winged macaws (Primolius maracana) within a fragmented landscape

Parrots are the most threatened group of birds in the world, mainly because of the reduction and fragmentation of their natural habitats. However, few studies have investigated the dynamics of parrot populations in disturbed landscapes on a broad scale. In this paper, we studied the ecological interactions of the vulnerable blue-winged macaw (Primolius maracana) in a fragmented landscape surrounding a large protected park in southeastern Brazil. We sampled 36 forest fragments that varied in size, characteristics, degree of isolation and type of surrounding matrix in order to assess the importance of habitat features on the maintenance of these birds. Blue-winged macaws were recorded in 70% of the satellite remnants that were sampled, which included large and small blocks of forest. These areas were used as sites for feeding, nesting or overnight rests, and also provided connectivity for birds' displacements. However, the frequency of macaw visits varied among the remnants, and this was related to habitat features such as patch size, human use of surrounding land, and the proximity to the protected park, to urban areas and to the birds' roosting areas. In general, landscape-scale parameters explained more of the variation in the frequency of visits by macaws than did patch-scale parameters. These results demonstrate the importance of landscape mosaics for the survival of blue-winged macaws.

Karyotypic Data on 28 Species of Scinax (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae): Diversity and Informative Variation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Temporal variation in the abundance of two species of thrushes in relation to fruiting phenology in the Atlantic rainforest

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

Geographical variation in genetic structure of an Atlantic Coastal Forest frog reveals regional differences in habitat stability

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

Geographic variation in cranial shape in the Pumpkin Toadlet (Brachycephalus ephippium): A geometric analysis

The description of patterns of variation in any character system within well-defined species is fundamental for understanding lineage diversification and the identification of geographic units that represent opportunities for sustained evolutionary divergence. In this paper, we analyze intraspecific variation in cranial shape in the Pumpkin Toadlet, Brachycephalus ephippium-a miniaturized species composed of isolated populations on the slopes of the mountain ranges of southeastern Brazil. Shape variables were derived using geometric-statistical methods that describe shape change as localized deformations in a spatial framework defined by anatomical landmarks in the cranium of B. ephippium. By statistically weighting differences between landmarks that are not close together (changes at larger geometric scale), cranial variation among geographic samples of B. ephippium appears continuous with no obvious gaps. This pattern of variation is caused by a confounding effect between within-sample allometry and among-sample shape differences. In contrast, by statistically weighting differences between landmarks that are at close spacing (changes at smaller geometric scale), differences in shape within- and among-sample variation are not confounded, and a marked geographic differentiation among population samples of B. ephippium emerges. The observed pattern of geographic differentiation in cranial shape apparently cannot be explained as isolation-by-distance. This study provides the first evidence that the detection of morphological variation or lack thereof, that is, morphological conservatism, may be conditional on the scale of measurement of variation in shape within the methodological formalism of geometric morphometrics.

Geographic Distribution and Morphological Variation of Striped and Nonstriped Populations of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Treefrog Hypsiboas bischoffi (Anura: Hylidae)

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

Orthogonal projections and bootstrap resampling procedures in the study of infraspecific variation

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

Mitochondrial DNA variation in wild populations of Leporinus elongatus from the Paraná River basin

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

RFLP analysis of genetic variation in species of section Arachis, genus Arachis (Leguminosae)

Four A-genome species of the genus Arachis ( A. cardenasii, A. correntina, A. duranensis, A. kempff-mercadoi), three B genomes species ( A. batizocoi, A. ipaensis and A. magna), the AABB allotetraploid A. hypogaea (cultivated peanut) and introgression lines resulting from a cross between A. hypogaea and A. cardenasii were analyzed by RFLP. The A genome species (cytologically characterized by the presence of a small chromosome pair 'A') were closely similar to each other and shared a large number of restriction fragments. In contrast, the B genome species differed more from one another and shared few fragments. The results of this study indicate that the absence of the small chromosome pair is not a good criterion for grouping species of section Arachis as B genome species, since their genome might be quite distinct from the B genome of A. hypogaea. The lowest genetic variation was detected within accessions of A. duranensis (17 accessions), followed by A. batizocoi (4 accessions) and A. cardenasii (9 plants of accession GKP 10017). The high level of genetic variation found in A. cardenasii might indicate that not all accessions of wild species of Arachis are autogamous, as reported for A. hypogaea.

Oviposition of a leaf-miner on Erythroxylum tortuosum (Erythroxylaceae) leaves: hierarchical variation of physical leaf traits

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estimating coancestry within open-pollinated progenies of a dioecious species: the case study of Myracrodruon urundeuva

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Contrasting intra versus interspecies DNA sequence variation for representatives of the Batrachospermales (Rhodophyta): Insights from a DNA barcoding approach

Sixty-five accessions of the species-rich freshwater red algal order Batrachospermales were characterized through DNA sequencing of two regions: the mitochondrial cox1 gene (664 bp), which is proposed as the DNA barcode for red algae, and the UPA (universal plastid amplicon) marker (370 bp), which has been recently identified as a universally amplifying region of the plastid genome. upgma phenograms of both markers were consistent in their species-level relationships, although levels of sequence divergence were very different. Intraspecific variation of morphologically identified accessions for the cox1 gene ranged from 0 to 67 bp (divergences were highest for the two taxa with the greatest number of accessions; Batrachospermum helminthosum and Batrachospermum macrosporum); while in contrast, the more conserved universal plastid amplicon exhibited much lower intraspecific variation (generally 0-3 bp). Comparisons to previously published mitochondrial cox2-3 spacer sequences for B. helminthosum indicated that the cox1 gene and cox2-3 spacer were characterized by similar levels of sequence divergence, and phylogeographic patterns based on these two markers were consistent. The two taxa represented by the largest numbers of specimens (B. helminthosum and B. macrosporum) have cox1 intraspecific divergence values that are substantially higher than previously reported, but no morphological differences can be discerned at this time among the intraspecific groups revealed in the analyses. DNA barcode data, which are based on a short fragment of an organellar genome, need to be interpreted in conjunction with other taxonomic characters, and additional batrachospermalean taxa need to be analyzed in detail to be able to draw generalities regarding intraspecific variation in this order. Nevertheless, these analyses reveal a number of batrachospermalean taxa worthy of more detailed DNA barcode study, and it is predicted that such research will have a substantial effect on the taxonomy of species within the Batrachospermales in the future.

Genetic Variation in an International Provenance-Progeny Test of Pinus caribaea Mor. var. bahamensis Bar. et Gol., in São Paulo, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

High-speed video observations of positive ground flashes produced by intracloud lightning

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Copy number variation of individual cattle genomes using next-generation sequencing

Copy number variations (CNVs) affect a wide range of phenotypic traits; however, CNVs in or near segmental duplication regions are often intractable. Using a read depth approach based on next-generation sequencing, we examined genome-wide copy number differences among five taurine (three Angus, one Holstein, and one Hereford) and one indicine (Nelore) cattle. Within mapped chromosomal sequence, we identified 1265 CNV regions comprising similar to 55.6-Mbp sequence-476 of which (similar to 38%) have not previously been reported. We validated this sequence-based CNV call set with array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), quantitative PCR (qPCR), and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), achieving a validation rate of 82% and a false positive rate of 8%. We further estimated absolute copy numbers for genomic segments and annotated genes in each individual. Surveys of the top 25 most variable genes revealed that the Nelore individual had the lowest copy numbers in 13 cases (similar to 52%, chi(2) test; P-value <0.05). In contrast, genes related to pathogen- and parasite-resistance, such as CATHL4 and ULBP17, were highly duplicated in the Nelore individual relative to the taurine cattle, while genes involved in lipid transport and metabolism, including APOL3 and FABP2, were highly duplicated in the beef breeds. These CNV regions also harbor genes like BPIFA2A (BSP30A) and WC1, suggesting that some CNVs may be associated with breed-specific differences in adaptation, health, and production traits. By providing the first individualized cattle CNV and segmental duplication maps and genome-wide gene copy number estimates, we enable future CNV studies into highly duplicated regions in the cattle genome.