Bats from Fazenda Intervales, Southeastern Brazil: species account and comparison between different sampling methods

Assessing the composition of an area's bat fauna is typically accomplished by using captures or by monitoring echolocation calls with bat detectors. The two methods may not provide the same data regarding species composition. Mist nets and harp traps may be biased towards sampling low flying species, and bat detectors biased towards detecting high intensity echolocators. A comparison of the bat fauna of Fazenda Intervales, southeastern Brazil, as revealed by mist nets and harp trap captures, checking roosts and by monitoring echolocation calls of flying bats illustrates this point. A total of 17 species of bats was sampled. Fourteen bat species were captured and the echolocation calls of 12 species were recorded, three of them not revealed by mist nets or harp traps. The different sampling methods provided different pictures of the bat fauna. Phyllostomid bats dominated the catches in mist nets, but in the field their echolocation calls were never detected. No single sampling approach provided a complete assessment of the bat fauna in the study area. In general, bats producing low intensity echolocation calls, such as phyllostomids, are more easily assessed by netting, and bats producing high intensity echolocation calls are better surveyed by bat detectors. The results demonstrate that a combined and varied approach to sampling is required for a complete assessment of the bat fauna of an area.

Evaluation of three sampling methods for the microbiological analysis of broiler carcasses after immersion chilling

Countries have different official programs and implement different sampling methods for the detection of Salmonella on poultry carcasses. In Brazil, a 25-g sample of skin and muscle excision (SME) from the wings, neck, and pericloacal parts is used; in the European Union (EU), a 25-g sample of neck skin (NSE) is used; and, in the United States, the whole carcass is rinsed with 400 ml of diluent (WCR). In the present study, these methods were evaluated to compare Salmonella occurrence and counts of hygiene indicator microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and total viable count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria) using different carcasses from the same flock and also using different analytical units taken from the same carcass. Eighty flocks, with four broiler carcasses from each, were included in this study; three broilers were sampled according to protocols from Brazil, the EU, and the United States, and the last one by all three methods. SME, NSE, and WCR provided equivalent results (P > 0.05) for Salmonella detection on broiler carcasses when using different carcasses from the same flock and when using the same carcass. The predominant serovar was Salmonella Enteritidis. For the enumeration of hygiene indicator microorganisms, WRC provided higher counts than SME or NSE (P < 0.05), when using both the same or different carcasses. Therefore, it is possible to directly compare Salmonella results in poultry carcasses when using the methods recommended by the legislative bodies of Brazil, the United States, and the EU. However, WCR provides the best results for hygiene indicator microorganisms. Copyright © International Association for Food Protection.

Comparative abundance and diversity of Dryininae (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae) in three savannah phytophysiognomies in southeastern Brazil, under three sampling methods

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Analysis of Ant Communities Comparing Two Methods for Sampling Ants in an Urban Park in the City of São Paulo, Brazil

This study aimed to analyze the species composition and functional groups of the ant community and to assess the efficiency of two sampling methods, pitfall and leaf litter sampling, in an urban park. A total of 1,401 ants were collected, which belonged to six subfamilies and 36 species. The predominant species was Wasmannia auropunctata (present in 45.36% of the samples), while the functional group of opportunistic ants were the most frequent (present in 83.75% of the samples) and abundant (95.29% of the total collected specimens) functional group. The Jaccard Similarity Index showed a low similarity between the two sampling methods, as the difference of the number of individuals for each species between these two methods was not significant in only one case (Linepithema sp. 1, p = 0.4561). The fungus-growing and cryptic ants were more collected in leaflitter samples (p<0.0001; p = 0.0348 respectively). Although there was no significant difference (p = 0.6397) between the two sampling methods for the total individuals of opportunistic ants, more species of this group were collected in pitfall traps. This difference was not significant because of the high presence of W. auropunctata, an opportunistic ant, in samples of leaf litter. Due to the predominance of tramp ants in the studied area, this article illustrates the importance of green urban areas in ant control strategies, since these sites could be used as a source of new colonization for these ants. Furthermore, the combination of the two sampling methods seems to be complementary for obtaining a more complete picture of the ant community.

Social Wasp Diversity (Vespidae, Polistinae) in a Forest Fragment in the Northeast of São Paulo State Sampled with Different Methodologies

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The social wasp fauna of a riparian forest in southeastern Brazil (hymenoptera, vespidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Herpetofauna em uma área de Floresta Atlântica na Ilha Anchieta, município de Ubatuba, sudeste do Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Métodos de amostragem e avaliação utilizados em estudos fenológicos de florestas tropicais

Nos últimos 30 anos não foram levadas em consideração questões metodológicas importantes relativas ao estudo da fenologia de plantas. O uso de vários métodos na amostragem e avaliação dos dados fenológicos tem levado a uma grande dificuldade na interpretação e comparação de resultados. Esse estudo tem por objetivos realizar uma revisão da literatura em fenologia de florestas tropicais, compilando informações sobre os métodos de amostragem e avaliação utilizados, e discutir as proporções em que foram utilizados e as aplicações de cada método. Nos 60 estudos avaliados, os métodos de amostragem encontrados distribuem-se da seguinte forma: trilhas (20%), transecções (18%), parcelas (15%), coletores (10%), sendo que 37% dos estudos não definiram o método de amostragem utilizado. Para avaliação fenológica foram levantados dois métodos: qualitativo, presença e ausência das fenofases (20%) e quantitativo com quantificação da intensidade das fenofases (62%), e a combinação entre métodos qualitativos e quantitativos (17%). Ao longo do tempo cresceu a preocupação com a aplicação de métodos de amostragem e de avaliação quantitativa. Entretanto, a falta de padronização no uso desses métodos, mesmo nos dias atuais, ainda se faz presente, resultando na impossibilidade de comparação adequada dos estudos. É imprescindível, portanto, a realização de estudos comparativos de métodos fenológicos com espécies arbóreas em florestas tropicais.

Field methods for the study of ants in sugarcane plantations in Southeastern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Influência de componentes locais e da paisagem na estrutura de uma metacomunidade de anfíbios anuros em uma paisagem fragmentada na Região Neotropical

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

Dados ecológicos da herpetofauna do Parque Estadual da Ilha Anchieta, Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeitos da defaunação na comunidades de pequenos mamíferos na Mata Atlântica

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Estudo comparativo da diversidade de vespas sociais (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) em mata ciliar e cultura de cana-de-açúcar na região de Ipeúna - SP

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Diversidade de mamíferos de médio e grande porte e sua relação com o mosaico vegetacional na fazenda experimental Edgárdia, Unesp, Botucatu/SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo de populações do psilídeo-de-concha Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) e de seu parasitóide Psyllaephagus bliteus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) em floresta de Euclyptus camaldulensis por dois métodos de amostragem

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)