New aerophytic morphospecies of Nostoc (Cyanobacteria) from São Paulo State, Brazil

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

New aerophytic morphospecies of Cyanobacteria from tropical forest fragments in northwestern São Paulo state, Brazil

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

Composição da fauna de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de serapilheira em florestas semidecídua e de Eucalyptus spp., na região sudeste do Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fauna de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) atraídas a armadilhas subterrâneas em áreas de Mata Atlântica

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Diet of the maned wolf, Chrysocyon brachyurus (Mammalia : Canidae), during wet and dry seasons at Ibitipoca State Park, Brazil

Analysis of 141 seats of maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus collected in a region of upland forest and meadows of south-eastern Brazil yielded 351 food items in the wet season (60 seats) and 407 in the dry season (81 seats). Scarabaeidae and rodents were the most frequent animal food in both seasons, complemented by birds in the wet season and unidentified mammals in the dry season. Seeds revealed Solanum lycocarpum to be the most frequent plant food in the dry season and an Annonaceae and a Cactaceae the most frequent in the wet season. A total of 33 seed morphospecies were retrieved. Although our results reveal some shared and some divergent trends from dietary studies undertaken in savanna ('cerrado') areas, we found a very high frequency of potentially harmful tourists' garbage. This highlights the necessity for better environmental education and confirms that the maned wolf is a generalist and opportunist omnivore.

Gene and species trees of a Neotropical group of treefrogs: Genetic diversification in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and the origin of a polyploid species

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

Ácaros (Arachnida, Acari) de plantas ornamentais na região noroeste do estado de São Paulo, Brasil: inventário e descrição dos sintomas causados pelos fitófagos

No presente trabalho foram estudados os ácaros associados a plantas ornamentais de praças, ruas e jardins residenciais, no município de Ilha Solteira, SP. Foram amostradas folhas de 20 espécies de plantas e alguns representantes das morfoespécies de ácaros encontrados foram montados em lâminas de microscopia com o meio de Hoyer, para posterior identificação sob microscópio óptico com contraste de fases. Foram registradas 23 espécies pertencentes a 15 gêneros de oito famílias. Dessas espécies, 13 são fitófagas, nove predadoras e uma de hábito alimentar não determinado. A família com maior riqueza de ácaros foi Tetranychidae, com nove espécies, sendo uma delas registrada pela primeira vez após a descrição original e outra pela primeira vez no Brasil. Lorryia formosa Cooremann, 1958 (Tydeidae) foi a que ocorreu em maior número de hospedeiros. As plantas com as maiores riquezas de ácaros foram Lagerstroemia indica L., Mussaenda alicia Hort. e Tabebuia sp., com seis espécies registradas em cada uma.

True branched nostocalean cyanobacteria from tropical aerophytic habitats and molecular assessment of two species from field samples

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

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.

Filogenia molecular de cianobactérias baseada em sequências do 16S-23S-ITS rDNA e PC-IGS: investigação de transferência lateral do PC

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

Ácaros (Arthropoda: Acari) edáficos do estado de Alagoas, com ênfase nos mesostigmata

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Entomologia Agrícola) - FCAV

Fauna de Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) em um agroecossistema cafeeiro no Estado de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Diversidade e riqueza de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em remanescentes de Mata Atlantica na Bacia Hidrografica do Alto Tiete, SP

O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a diversidade, composição e a similaridade da fauna de formigas entre sete remanescentes de Floresta Ombrófila Densa da Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Tietê. Dois desses remanescentes pertencem à Unidades de Conservação, quatro estão sob proteção e um fragmento pertence à propriedade particular. Em cada área foram coletadas 50 m2 de serapilheira, que foram submetidas à extratores do tipo mini-Winkler, onde permaneceram por 48 h. Todas as coletas ocorreram no período chuvoso. No total foram registradas 11 subfamílias, 44 gêneros e 158 morfoespécies/espécies de formigas. As espécies mais frequentes em todas as áreas foram Pheidole sp.7, Solenopsis sp.1, Hypoponera sp.1 e Strumigenys denticulate. O maior valor de diversidade α foi registrado na unidade de conservação com composição florística de Mata Atlântica; o menor valor em florestas com influência antrópica. A variação na composição de espécies entre as áreas indica a substituição de espécies entre os remanescentes de Floresta Ombrófila Densa da Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Tietê, o que sugere a importância da preservação dessas áreas para a conservação da diversidade regional da fauna de formigas.

Pseudoplatystoma metaense and P. orinocoense (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) from the Orinoco basin, Venezuela: cytogenetic and molecular analyses

The genus Pseudoplatystoma includes catfish species distributed throughout the fresh waters of South America. These species are important fisheries resources and play a significant ecological role due to their piscivorous and migratory habits. The taxonomy of this genus is still debated: traditionally, only three species have been recognised, but recently, this number was raised to eight. The validity of these eight morphospecies, however, was not confirmed by two subsequent molecular phylogenetic studies, which identified either five or four main clades. In this study, we focused on the two morphospecies restricted to the Orinoco basin, P. metaense and P. orinocoense, which have been assigned to either the same or different clades in previous studies. We carried out cytogenetic analyses to describe their unknown karyotypes and to look for cytotaxonomic markers. We also analysed their mitochondrial sequences in order to assign the sampled specimens to the previously identified molecular clades. The two presumptive species show similar karyotypes (2n=56, 42 biarmed and 14 uniarmed chromosomes) and cytogenetic features in terms of the constitutive heterochromatin distribution and the number and location of minor and major ribosomal genes. Thus, no species-specific chromosome markers could be identified. The analysis of cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase I mitochondrial genes (carried out by retrieving all the mtDNA Pseudoplatystoma sequences available in GenBank) distributed the sampled specimens into two distinct molecular clades and confirmed the need to re-evaluate, by parallel morphological and molecular analyses, the monophyly of some lineages.

Chironomidae (Diptera) associado à Eichhornia azurea em seis lagoas marginais ao rio Paranapanema, SP

The family Chironomidae is one of the most important groups within the macroinvertebrate communities, both in density and in richness, and because of its high adaptive value, has a wide distribution on the planet. These and other more specific features of each genus allow the use of this group of biomonitoring studies in the aquatic ecosystem, however, primarily, it is necessary to inventory the aquatic fauna. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the taxonomic composition of Chironomidae associated with Eichhornia azurea in six lateral lagoons of Paranapanema River, where only five of them have very little information about the aquatic fauna associated with floating macrophytes. Furthermore, we analyzed the influence of environmental conditions on the richness and density of this community. Samples (biotic and abiotic) were held in March and August 2009 on the Ivo, Carmo, Sete Ilhas, Barbosa, Poço da Pedra and Coqueiral lagoons, which are upstream of the Jurumirim Reservoir. Samples with an area of 0.1976 m2 were collected at three banks of E. azurea of each lagoon. Then, they were washed in formaldehyde and water and fixed in 70% alcohol. The identification of morphospecies recorded 38 taxa (32 in March and 37 in August), where the Ivo lagoon is the richest (27 taxa). The density of each group varied according to each pond and is generally Asheum sp., Chironomus sp., Beardius sp., Parachironomus sp., Labrundinia sp., Tanytarsus sp., Ablabesmyia sp. and Polypedilum sp. the most representative. Limnophyes sp., Denopelopia sp., Paratanytarsus sp. and Parametriocnemus sp. were genders in lower density. The Dominance index ranged between 0.1490 (Barbosa Lagoon in March) and 0.4114 (Poço da Pedra Lagoon in March), and the Diversity Index ranged from 2.08 (Coqueiral Lagoon in March) and 3.58 (Barbosa Lagoon in August). The concentration of dissolved oxygen and pH were the environmental variables most correlated with the groups ...