Bacterial diversity of terra preta and pristine forest soil from the Western Amazon

The survey presented here describes the bacterial diversity and community structures of a pristine forest soil and an anthropogenic, terra preta from the Western Amazon forest using molecular methods to identify the predominant phylogenetic groups. Bacterial community similarities and species diversity in the two soils were compared using oligonucleotide fingerprint grouping of 16S rRNA gene sequences for 1500 clones (OFRG) and by DNA sequencing. The results showed that both soils had similar bacterial community compositions over a range of phylogenetic distances, among which Acidobacteria were predominant, but that terra preta supported approximately 25% greater species richness. The survey provides the first detailed analysis of the composition and structure of bacterial communities from terra preta anthrosols using noncultured-based molecular methods. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cryptic hammerhead shark lineage occurrence in the western South Atlantic revealed by DNA analysis

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

Species delimitation in sharpnose sharks (genus Rhizoprionodon) in the western Atlantic Ocean using mitochondrial DNA

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

An old taxonomic dilemma: the identity of the western south Atlantic lebranche mullet (Teleostei: Perciformes: Mugilidae)

The identification of the lebranche mullet in the western south Atlantic has long been problematical. In most recent works either Mugil liza Valenciennes and M. platanus Gunther, 1880 or M. liza and M. cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 were recognized from the region and more rarely the occurrence of only one species has been proposed but without sufficient morphological, biochemical or molecular data to allow the designation of the taxonomically appropriate name. Analysis of meristic and morphometric data taken from samples collected from Venezuela to Argentina, clearly indicates that there is only one species of lebranche mullet in the Caribbean Sea region and the Atlantic coast of South America and that Mugil liza is the appropriate name. The comparison of the combined data from all the samples of M. liza with the data taken from one sample of M. cephalus that originated in the Mediterranean, the possible locality from which type specimens were collected (Eschmeyer and Fricke, 2009), revealed significant differences indicating that they are different species. It is also suggested that individuals from the western north Atlantic identified as M. cephalus might represent a population of M. liza in this region.

Reproductive biology and recruitment of Xiphopenaeus kroyeri in a marine protected area in the Western Atlantic: implications for resource management

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

First record of Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing Paleosuchus palpebrosus Cuvier, 1807 (Reptilia: Crocodylidae), in the western border of Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

This is the first record of Amblyomma rotundatum parasitizing Paleosuchus palpebrosus. This record was made during a herpetofaunal study carried out in high-elevation habitats that are under protection in the mountain range "Serra do Amolar", located in the western border of Brazilian Pantanal, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Occurrence of the bentfin devil ray, Mobula thurstoni (Chondrichthyes : Mobulidae), in the western Atlantic

This paper reports the occurrence of the fifth species of Mobula in the western Atlantic, M. thursloni, based on specimens caught by artisanal and driftnet fisheries in coastal waters off southern Brazil.

A new species of the Dendropsophus parviceps group from the western Amazon Basin (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae)

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

Analysis of tectonic-controlled fluvial morphology and sedimentary processes of the western Amazon Basin: an approach using satellite images and digital elevation model

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Assessing the uncertainties of model estimates of primary productivity in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Depth-integrated primary productivity (PP) estimates obtained from satellite ocean color-based models (SatPPMs) and those generated from biogeochemical ocean general circulation models (BCGCMs) represent a key resource for biogeochemical and ecological studies at global as well as regional scales. Calibration and validation of these PP models are not straightforward, however, and comparative studies show large differences between model estimates. The goal of this paper is to compare PP estimates obtained from 30 different models (21 SatPPMs and 9 BOGCMs) to a tropical Pacific PP database consisting of similar to 1000 C-14 measurements spanning more than a decade (1983-1996). Primary findings include: skill varied significantly between models, but performance was not a function of model complexity or type (i.e. SatPPM vs. BOGCM); nearly all models underestimated the observed variance of PR specifically yielding too few low PP (< 0.2 g Cm-2 d(-1)) values; more than half of the total root-mean-squared model-data differences associated with the satellite-based PP models might be accounted for by uncertainties in the input variables and/or the PP data; and the tropical Pacific database captures a broad scale shift from low biomassnormalized productivity in the 1980s to higher biomass-normalized productivity in the 1990s, which was not successfully captured by any of the models. This latter result suggests that interdecadal and global changes will be a significant challenge for both SatPPMs and BOGCMs. Finally, average root-mean-squared differences between in situ PP data on the equator at 140 degrees W and PP estimates from the satellite-based productivity models were 58% lower than analogous values computed in a previous PP model comparison 6 years ago. The success of these types of comparison exercises is illustrated by the continual modification and improvement of the participating models and the resulting increase in model skill. (C) 2008 Elsevier BY. All rights reserved.

Taxonomic comments and an identification key to species for the Smooth-hound sharks genus Mustelus Link, 1790 (Chondrichthyes: Triakidae) from the Western South Atlantic.

Five species of smooth-hound sharks genus Mustelus (Family Triakidae) are know in the western South Atlantic, as follows: Mustelus canis (Mitchell 1815); Mustelus fasciatus (Garman 1913); Mustelus higmani Springer & Lowe 1963; Mustelus norrisi Springer 1939; and Mustelus schmitti Springer 1939. In the present paper, new data on the anatomy, morphometrics and meristic characters are given. Taxonomic aspects and comparison between the species are discussed. Most general body morphologic measurements and proportions are useless as a tool for species identification, since many of them show remarkable intraspecific variations. Head proportions and structures related seem to be a more adequate procedure to identify the species of Mustelus. The labial folds proportions, internasal distance and orbit diameter were the most useful character to separate the western South Atlantic species. The buccopharingeal pattern of denticles as well as tooth counts not was useful to distinguish the Mustelus species from western South Atlantic adequately, due great intraspecific variation.

A precautionary tale when describing species in a world of invaders: Morphology, coloration and genetics demonstrate that Lysmata rauli is not a new species endemic to Brazil but a junior synonym of the Indo-Pacific L. vittata

The objective of this study was to investigate morphological variation in traits of systematic relevance and the phylogenetic position, ecology, and reproductive biology of the shrimp Lysmata rauli Laubenheimer and Rhyne, 2010 (Caridea: Hippolytidae), described based only on a single specimen collected in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. We analyzed a total of 89 specimens from Camamu Bay, Bahia (n = 88) and from S3o Vicente estuary, São Paulo (n = 1). Considerable morphological variation was detected in the rostral spine series, number of segments on the carpus and merus of pereiopod 2, number of spiniform setae on the ventrolateral margin of merus and on the ventral margin of propodus of pereiopods 3-5. Importantly, L rauli can be distinguished neither using morphology, nor coloration from the Indo-Pacific L. vittata (Stimpson, 1860). Furthermore, molecular phylogenetic analyses (using the 16S mt DNA fragment) did not reveal any considerable genetic dissimilarities between L rauli and L vittata. Thus, our results clearly indicate that L rauli is not a new species but a junior synonym of L vittata. The high density observed within the structures of oyster farming indicates that the invasive L vittata lives in crowds in Brazil. The studied population was composed of males, hermaphrodites, and transitional individuals (having characteristics of males and hermaphrodites). The above information suggests that L rauli is a protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite, as it has been observed in all species of Lysmata that have been investigated. Lysmata vittata has invaded the southwestern Atlantic and is present in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and S3o Paulo, Brazil. © The Crustacean Society, 2013. Published by Brill NV, Leiden.

Ultrastructure of the spermatophores and spermatozoa from the gecarcinid land crab, Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille, 1828, (Crustacea, Brachyura, Gecarcinidae) from the western Atlantic

The ultrastructure of the sperm of the gecarcinid land crab Cardisoma guanhumi is described by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Ultrastructural sperm morphology lends support for the monophyletic origin of the Thoracotremata, and for the placement of C. guanhumi in that clade. Additionally, it further attests the low level of variability within the thoracotreme clade. With regard to ultrastructural morphology, small differences concerning the apical button, the hyaline periopercular rim, the inner acrosome zone, and the outer two lamellations in the outer acrosome zone have been found between the spermatozoa of C. guanhumi and Cardisoma carnifex, the only other species in this genus studied for spermatozoal morphology. Copyright © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Burrow morphology of Uca uruguayensis and Uca leptodactylus (Decapoda: Ocypodidae) from a subtropical mangrove forest in the western Atlantic

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