Fractal analysis of leaf-texture properties as a tool for taxonomic and identification purposes: a case study with species from Neotropical Melastomataceae (Miconieae tribe)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Paleodistributions and Comparative Molecular Phylogeography of Leafcutter Ants (Atta spp.) Provide New Insight into the Origins of Amazonian Diversity

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

From Amazonia to the Atlantic forest: Molecular phylogeny of Phyzelaphryninae frogs reveals unexpected diversity and a striking biogeographic pattern emphasizing conservation challenges

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Taxonomic diversity, niche width and similarity in the use of plant resources by bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) in a cerrado area

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

Effects of eating disorders on oral fungal diversity

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

Composition and diversity of bees (Hymenoptera) attracted by Moericke traps in an agricultural area in Rio Claro, state of São Paulo, Brasil

Foram estudadas a composição e diversidade de abelhas em uma área agrícola no município de Rio Claro, Estado de São Paulo, de maio de 2003 a junho de 2004, utilizando armadilha de Moericke. O local de coleta, uma área com 58,08 hectares, caracteriza-se pela produção de grãos e a prática de plantio direto, sendo que 70% da área de entorno é utilizada para o plantio de cana-de-açúcar. Foram coletadas 456 abelhas distribuídas em 20 gêneros, pertencentes às famílias Andrenidae (4,8%), Apidae (40,8%) e Halictidae (54,4%). Espécimes dos gêneros Dialictus (38%) e Diadasia (30%) foram predominantes nesta área. A diversidade de espécies avaliadas pelos índices de Shannon e Simpson foram H =1,88 e 1/D= 4.15, respectivamente, e o índice de Equitatibilidade de 0,61.

Bird species of black water inundation forests in the Jau National Park (Amazonas state, Brazil): their contribution to regional species richness

We compared the relative contribution of blackwater inundation forest (igapo) and unflooded (terra firme) forest for regional bird species diversity in the lower Rio Negro region. For analyses of habitat preference we used mist-net samples and an unpublished bird species check-list. The igapo forest had lower bird species diversity than the terra firme forest. However, some 14% of the forest bird species in the region are restricted to igapo forest. Species composition was found to be distinct between the understories of the two forest types. Common forest bird guilds in the Neotropics such as ant-following birds avoid igapo forest. The differential habitat selection among birds in the inundated and unflooded forest is likely to result from vegetation structure and biological interactions such as aggressive behaviour. Since the inundated forest has a typical biota, conservation efforts needs to be directed to protect these habitats. Unfortunately, inundation forests are threatened by several human actions, especially dam construction. The extent of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon is insufficient for the adequate protection of the inundated habitats, because it includes only 3% of the total area.

Bird diversity and abundance in forest fragments and Eucalyptus plantations around an Atlantic forest reserve, Brazil

Little of Brazil's remaining Atlantic forest is protected, so it is important to assess how well the region's wildlife can persist in areas/habitats outside reserves. We studied bird diversity and abundance during 546 point counts in the Sooretama/Linhares reserve, 200 point counts in 31 forest fragments (10-150 h), and 50 point counts in < 30-year-old Eucalyptus plantations, within 7 km of the reserve. Only eight bird species were recorded in Eucalyptus, and this impoverishment, as compared to some Eucalyptus plantations elsewhere in Brazil may be a result of intensive clearance of understory vegetation. Species diversity in forest fragments was significantly lower than in the reserve. Twelve, mostly non-forest or edge species, were significantly commoner in the fragments, but nineteen species were frequent in the reserve but rare or absent in forest fragments. These included two Pyrrhura parakeets, a Brotogeris parakeet, a trogon Trogon, a jacamar Galbula, woodpeckers Piculus and Campephilus, Myrmotherula antwrens, and Hemithraupus and Tachyphonus tanagers. Bird species richness at points in forest fragments did not decline with fragment size, distance from the reserve, or forest quality. However, forest in fragments was more heavily degraded than forest within the reserve and poor forest quality may be the cause of declines in some species. Whilst protection of forest within reserves is a priority, management of forest fragments may aid conservation of some threatened species.

Factors affecting fish diversity and abundance in drying ponds and lagoons in the upper Paraná River basin, Brazil

Monthly samples were taken from April 1992 to March 1993 of fish assemblages present in six permanent lagoons and four ponds, fragmented from them during the drought period and during the terminal phases of desiccation, to evaluate changes in their diversity, abundance and dominance. Their relationships with hydrological and environment conditions were examined. A total of 63 fish species were identified. Species composition and abiotic factors were heterogeneous among the different water bodies. The proportion of piscivores and oxygen concentration were the determining factors for structuring the assemblages. The impact of piscivory upon fish diversity was neutral at the beginning and negative at the end of the dry season. In the terminal phase of desiccation, diversity was higher in ponds that contained a moderate proportion of piscivores than in these containing a higher proportion.

Diversidade florística de plantas vasculares no município de Januária, Minas Gerais, Brasil

The vegetation in north Minas Gerais State is poorly known, and for some authors it is the southern limit of natural occurrence for 'carrasco' and 'caatinga' species. Floristic sampling was made in different areas of Januária municipality, Minas Gerais, including physiognomies of 'carrasco' (tree-shrub 'caatinga'), deciduous forest, 'cerrado', floodable field and riparian vegetation ('vereda'), besides calcicolous vegetation. Six-hundred-eight species in 114 families were found, the five most diverse families were Fabaceae (87 species), Asteraceae (35 species), Euphorbiaceae (28 species), Bignoniaceae (25 species), and Malpighiaceae (21 species). The sampled vegetation included a diversity of vegetation forms. The most diverse areas were the 'carrasco' and the deciduous forest (274 species), secondary vegetation along roads and trails, and pastures (160 species), 'cerrado' (105 species), 'vereda' (98 species), and calcicolous vegetation and riparian vegetation (78 species each). Compared to other floristic surveys performed in northeastern Brazil, even considering only the woody component (tree and shrubs with 323 species), these results highlight the floristic and physiognomic diversity of the studied area. © 2005 Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - UFMG.

Diversity of the ichthyofauna in the Serra do Mar State Park- Núcleo Santa Virgínia, Sáo Paulo State, Brazil

The aim of this work was to assess and compare the diversity of the ichthyofauna in three headwater rivers of Paraíba-do-Sul basin in the Serra do Mar State Park, Núcleo Santa Virgínia. A total of 1,774 specimens of 16 species of fishes belonging to 6 families were caught. Characiforms were the most abundant fish at all three sites, followed by Cyprinodontiformes, Siluriformes, and Perciformes. The Shannon index (H′), evenness (E), and the Jaccard and Morisita-Horn similarity indexes were low, indicating both low diversity and low similarity of species among the three streams. The values of these indexes should be evaluated according to the biotic and abiotic conditions in each environment. It is clear that in mountain streams of the Atlantic Forest, these low values occur because of the presence of a few abundant and many rare species.

Tree species composition and environmental relationships in a Neotropical swamp forest in Southeastern Brazil

We examined the relationships between topography, soil properties and tree species composition in a Neotropical swamp forest in southeastern Brazil. Plots were sampled in the forest, encompassing three different soil ground water regimes along the topographical declivity. All non-climbing plant individuals with trunk height >1.3 m were sampled. A canonical correspondence analysis-CCA-of the species-environmental relationships grouped tree species according to drainage and chemical soil conditions. A total of 86 species were found, being 77 species in the inferior, 40 species in the intermediate and 35 species in the superior topographic section. Some species were among the 10 most abundant ones, both in the overall sampled area and in each topographical section, with alternation events occurring only with their abundance position. However, substantial differences in floristic composition between sections were detected in a fine spatial scale, due to higher number of species, diversity index (H′) and species unique (exclusives) in the inferior topographic section. These higher values can be attributed to its higher spatial heterogeneity that included better drained and seasonally waterlogged soils, higher soil fertility and lower acidity. The increase of the soil water saturation and the uniform conditions derived from the superficial water layer has led to a lower number of species and an increase on the palm trees abundance in the intermediate and superior sections. Our results showed that at a small spatial scale niche differentiation must be an important factor related to the increase of the local diversity. The wide distribution of the most abundant species in the studied area and the increase of local diversity corroborate the pattern of distribution of species in larger scales of swamp forests, in which the most abundant species repeat themselves in high densities in different remnants. However, the floristic composition of each remnant is strongly variable, contributing to the increase of regional diversity. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Assessing genetic variability in bat species of Emballonuridae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae and Molossidae families (Chiroptera) by RFLP-PCR

A PCR-RFLP analysis of the restriction pattern in nuclear (RAG2) and mitochondrial (12S/16S) gene sequences of bat species from the Molossidae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae, and Emballonuridae families produced a large number of fragments: 107 for RAG2 and 155 for 12S/16S combined in 139 and 402 haplotypes, respectively. The values detected for gene variation were low for both sequences (0.13 for RAG2 and 0.15 for 12S/16S) and reflected their conservative feature, reinforced by high values of inter- and intraspecies genetic identity (70-100%). The species with a high gene divergence were variable in the analyses of RAG2 (Eumops perotis, Artibeus lituratus, and Carollia perspicillata) and of 12S/16S (Nyctinomops laticaudatus, C. perspicillata, and Cynomops abrasus), and furthermore, one of them, C. perspicillata, also showed the highest intraspecific variation. The species that exhibited the lowest variation for both genes was Molossus rufus. In the families, the highest variation was observed in the Molossidae and this can be attributed to variation exhibited by Eumops and Nyctinomops species. The variations observed were interpreted as a natural variability within the species and genus that exhibited a conserved pattern in the two gene sequences in different species and family analyzed. Our data reinforce the idea that the analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear genes contribute to our knowledge of the diversity of New World bats. The genetic variability found in different taxa suggests that an additional diversity, unnoticed by other methods, can be revealed with the use of different molecular strategies. ©FUNPEC-RP.

Ant diversity in a sugarcane culture without the use of straw burning in southeast, são paulo, Brazil

Problem statement: One of the current requirements of agroecosystem management is the maintenance of biodiversity. Manual sugarcane harvesting with the previous burning of straw has been gradually replaced by mechanical harvesting in Brazil. However, the diversity of Formicidae, which can be a natural pest controller, has not been studied in this new system yet. Approach: This study was carried out to assess the diversity of ants in an exclusively mechanically harvested sugarcane culture based on the hypothesis that species richness and abundance will increase with the deposition of straw in this culture system. Ants were sampled using pitfall traps in six sugarcane cultivars during three consecutive harvest cycles. Results: A total of 8,139 ants, distributed in 39 species, were collected. Richness, abundance and diversity differed between harvest cycles, especially in the first cycle, when the soil did not have any straw and in the two last cycles and the straw layer was about 10-15 cm thick. The communities found in the second and third cycles were similar and the maintenance of straw in the culture contributed to a greater species diversity, particularly of generalist predaceous taxa, which may contribute to the natural control of pests. Conclusion: The diversity of ants increased with straw deposition, including of taxa that may be beneficial to the sugarcane culture. However, new studies of the predatory and competition relations in this agroecosystem are necessary. © 2010 Science Publications.

Responses of aquatic insect functional diversity to landscape changes in Atlantic forest

The Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 25 world's hotspots for biodiversity, has experienced dramatic changes in its landscape. While the loss of species diversity is well documented, functional diversity has not received the same amount of attention. In this study, we evaluated functional diversity of insects in streams utilizing three indices: functional diversity (FD), functional dispersion (FDis), and functional divergence (FDiv), seeking to understand the roles of three predictor sets in explaining functional patterns: (1) bioclimatic and landscape variables; (2) spatial variables; and (3) local environmental variables. We determined the amount of variation in different measures of functional diversity that was explained by each predictor set and their interplays using variation partitioning. Our study showed that variation in functional diversity is better explained by a set of variables linked to different scales dependent on spatial structures, indicating the importance of landscape and mainly environmental variables in the functional organization of aquatic insect communities, and that the relative importance of predictor sets depends on the indices considered. Variation in FD was better explained by the interplay among the three predictor sets and by local environmental variables, whereas variation in FDis was better explained by spatial variables and by the interplay between environmental and spatial variables. Variation in FDiv was not significantly explained by any predictors. Our study adds more evidence on the harmful effects caused by landscape changes on biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest, suggesting that these effects also influence the functional organization of stream insect communities. © 2013 The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2013 by The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.