A new species of hylodes (Anura, Hylodidae) and its secretive underwater breeding behavior

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

Diet Seasonality and Feeding Preferences of Brachycephalus pitanga (Anura: Brachycephalidae)

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

Differentiation and species status of the Neotropical yellow-eared bats Vampyressa pusilla and V. thyone (Phyllostomidae) with a molecular phylogeny and review of the genus

A systematic re-evaluation of Vampyressa pusilla warrants the elevation of V. p. thyone from subspecies to species rank based on its distinction from the allopatric V. p. pusilla. Morphological, mensural, chromosomal, and mitochondrial differences define each of these two taxa as divergent lineages. Vampyressa pusilla is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern South America and V. thyone is found allopatrically in northwestern South America, Central America, and southern Mexico. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the mtDNA ND3-4 gene region using restriction endonuclease cut sites resulted in a monophyletic, although weakly supported Vampyressa ingroup with Chiroderma, and a clade of Mesophylla and Ectophylla as successive basal outgroup lineages. The phylogeny within Vampyressa, with the exception of V. melissa which is most similar to V. thyone based on karyotypes and morphology, had a topology of ((pusilla + thyone) + ((brocki + nymphaea) + bidens))).

Desempenho e bem estar de bovinos Nelore na fase de recria mantidos em sistemas integrados de produção agropecuária

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracterização espectral de espécies de Mata Atlântica de Interior em nível foliar e de copa

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeito da topografia e da precipitação na florística e na produção de liteira em Caxiuanã, Pará

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da topografia e da precipitação pluviométrica na composição arbórea e na produção de liteira em uma floresta ombrófila densa na Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã. Foram demarcadas três parcelas de 1.000 m² em cada nível topográfico, caracterizado como baixio, intermediário e platô, bem como identificados os indivíduos arbóreos e coletadas amostras da liteira. Nos três níveis, foram registradas 124 espécies em 33 famílias, sendo estas Sapotaceae, Lecythidaceae e Chrysobalanaceae, que apresentaram o maior índice de valor de importância. Lecythis idatimon Aubl., Rinorea guianensis Aubl. e Eschweilera coriacea (DC.) S.A. Mori. A sazonalidade interferiu expressivamente na produção da liteira, revelando a maior produção no final da estação chuvosa e no início da estação seca. O estímulo ambiental para a queda das folhas é, principalmente, devido à diminuição da umidade relativa do ar, justificada pela necessidade das plantas em aumentar a eficiência fotossintética. A diferença na estrutura da população revela estratégias distintas para a produção de flores e, consequentemente, na dispersão de frutos e sementes.

Species richness and abundance of low-trunk herb epiphytes in relation to host tree size and bark type, Eastern Amazonia

A composição e estrutura da comunidade epifítica herbácea de fuste baixo, assim como sua distribuição vertical, foram estudadas. O DAP de hospedeiros arbóreos e o tipo de casca influenciam a riqueza e abundância dessas espécies em um trecho de floresta de terra firme na Amazônia Oriental (1º57’36"S 51º36’55"W). Foram identificadas, no total, 37 espécies herbáceas epifíticas, sendo 60% delas Araceae. A riqueza de espécies e a abundância de herbáceas epifíticas mostraram tendência de correlação positiva com o tamanho de hospedeiros arbóreos e nenhuma relação com o tipo de casca. Correlação positiva baixa pode ser um subproduto da predominância de árvores de menor diâmetro na amostragem em vez de refletir relação neutra. A ausência de relações com o tipo de casca deve ser parcialmente explicada pelo grande número de hemiepífitas secundárias, generalistas, e também refletir a ausência de substratos adequados em árvores de menor diâmetro.

Book Review of Birds of the Great Plains by Bob Jennings, Ted T. Cable, and Roger Burrows

Though intended as a field guide to the birds of the Great Plains, this book seems to serve best as a general introduction to Great Plains birds and will mostly benefit those casually interested in birds. The definition of Great Plains the book uses is rather broad, and some species are included that, in my opinion, aren't really birds of the Great Plains. For example, several warblers are included as breeding species although they nest within the book's definition of the region only in the conifer or mixed forest of north-central to northwestern Minnesota, which isn't really a part of the Great Plains proper.

Eight anonymous nuclear loci for the squamate antbird (Myrmeciza squamosa), cross-amplifiable in other species of typical antbirds (Aves, Thamnophilidae)

Typical antbirds (similar to 209 species) represent a diverse radiation of Neotropical birds that includes many species of conservation concern. Here we present eight anonymous nuclear loci designed for the squamate antbird Myrmeciza squamosa, a species endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. We also show that those anonymous nuclear loci are amplifiable in a number of other typical antbird species from related genera (Myrmeciza, Percnostola, Gymnocichla, Myrmoborus, Pyriglena and Formicivora), including three threatened species (Myrmeciza ruficauda, Formicivora littoralis, and Pyriglena atra). Those markers will be useful not only to help management of threatened species of typical antbirds, but also to explore their evolutionary histories, both at intra and interspecific levels.

INTERSPECIFIC VARIATION OF THE BACTERIAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN THE PHYLLOSPHERE OF THE THREE MAJOR PLANT COMPONENTS OF MANGROVE FORESTS

Mangrove forests encompass a group of trees species that inhabit the intertidal zones, where soil is characterized by the high salinity and low availability of oxygen. The phyllosphere of these trees represent the habitat provided on the aboveground parts of plants, supporting in a global scale, a large and complex microbial community. The structure of phyllosphere communities reflects immigration, survival and growth of microbial colonizers, which is influenced by numerous environmental factors in addition to leaf physical and chemical properties. Here, a combination of culture-base methods with PCR-DGGE was applied to test whether local or plant specific factors shape the bacterial community of the phyllosphere from three plant species (Avicenia shaueriana, Laguncularia racemosa and Rhizophora mangle), found in two mangroves. The number of bacteria in the phyllosphere of these plants varied between 3.62 x 10(4) in A. schaeriana and 6.26 x 10(3) in R. mangle. The results obtained by PCR-DGGE and isolation approaches were congruent and demonstrated that each plant species harbor specific bacterial communities in their leaves surfaces. Moreover, the ordination of environmental factors (mangrove and plant species), by redundancy analysis (RDA), also indicated that the selection exerted by plant species is higher than mangrove location on bacterial communities at phyllosphere.

Matayba obovata, a new species of Matayba sect. Matayba (Sapindaceae) from Brazil

The new species, Matayba obovata (Sapindaceae), from southern and southeastern Brazil is described, illustrated, and contrasted to its putatively closest relatives. Palynological characters are also described. The new species belongs to sect. Matayba. A key to identify M. obovata and related species in the Atlantic Forest is included.

Unraveling the drivers of community dissimilarity and species extinction in fragmented landscapes

Communities in fragmented landscapes are often assumed to be structured by species extinction due to habitat loss, which has led to extensive use of the species-area relationship (SAR) in fragmentation studies. However, the use of the SAR presupposes that habitat loss leads species to extinction but does not allow for extinction to be offset by colonization of disturbed-habitat specialists. Moreover, the use of SAR assumes that species richness is a good proxy of community changes in fragmented landscapes. Here, we assessed how communities dwelling in fragmented landscapes are influenced by habitat loss at multiple scales; then we estimated the ability of models ruled by SAR and by species turnover in successfully predicting changes in community composition, and asked whether species richness is indeed an informative community metric. To address these issues, we used a data set consisting of 140 bird species sampled in 65 patches, from six landscapes with different proportions of forest cover in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. We compared empirical patterns against simulations of over 8 million communities structured by different magnitudes of the power-law SAR and with species-specific rules to assign species to sites. Empirical results showed that, while bird community composition was strongly influenced by habitat loss at the patch and landscape scale, species richness remained largely unaffected. Modeling results revealed that the compositional changes observed in the Atlantic Forest bird metacommunity were only matched by models with either unrealistic magnitudes of the SAR or by models ruled by species turnover, akin to what would be observed along natural gradients. We show that, in the presence of such compositional turnover, species richness is poorly correlated with species extinction, and z values of the SAR strongly underestimate the effects of habitat loss. We suggest that the observed compositional changes are driven by each species reaching its individual extinction threshold: either a threshold of forest cover for species that disappear with habitat loss, or of matrix cover for species that benefit from habitat loss.

GENETIC VARIABILITY FOR JUVENILE CHARACTERS OF Cedrela fissilis VELL. PROGENIES: A SUBSIDY FOR DEFINITION OF SEED COLLECTION ZONE

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic differences among three matrix groups of Cedrela fissilis based on quantitative juvenile variables on a progeny test to define seed collecting zones and use of seeds of this species in the study region as well as to evaluate genetic variability of the sampled material. A progeny test was established in a nursery with seeds from 48 seed trees collected in the municipalities of Rio Negrinho, Mafra and Sao Bento do Sul, state of Santa Catarina, and in the municipalities of Lapa, Rio Negro, Campo do Tenente and Antonio Olinto, state of Parana. Of the collected seed trees, 33 sampled trees were distributed in three sites and 15 trees were dispersed in the studied region. It was used a complete random block design, with 8 replicates and 20 plants per plot. Evaluated data included: emergency rate; seedling base diameter and height (61, 102 and 145 days after the seeds were sowed); seedling survival; number of leaves per seedling; aerial section dry mass and root dry mass; and the foliar area of the third fully expanded leaf measured from the apical meristem. The Maximum Restricted Likelihood Method (REML) was used, using the software SELEGEN for analysis. It was found that the juvenile characters are strongly genetically controlled and they can be used to estimate genetic variability of population samples of Cedrela fissilis. The three groups of trees spatially limited did not significantly differ among each other, allowing to conclude that the three areas are part of the same tree seed transfer zone.

MICROSATELLITE MARKERS FOR PLATHYMENIA RETICULATA (LEGUMINOSAE)

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed and characterized to investigate genetic diversity and gene flow and to help in conservation efforts for the endangered timber species Plathymenia reticulata. Methods and Results: Eleven microsatellite loci were characterized using 60 adult trees of two populations of P. reticulata from the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil. Of these, nine loci were polymorphic, with an average of 4.39 alleles per locus. The average expected heterozygosity per population ranged from 0.47 to 0.55. The combined exclusion probability was 0.99996. Conclusions: Our results reveal that the microsatellite markers developed in this study are an effective tool for paternity and genetic structure analysis that may be useful for conservation strategies.

Disproportionate single-species contribution to canopy-soil nutrient flux in an Amazonian rainforest

Rainfall, throughfall and stemflow were monitored on an event basis in an undisturbed open tropical rainforest with a large number of palm trees located in the southwestern Amazon basin of Brazil. Stemflow samples were collected from 24 trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) > 5 cm, as well as eight young and four full-grown babassu palms (Attalea speciosa Mart.) for 5 weeks during the peak of the wet season. We calculated rainfall, throughfall and stemflow concentrations and fluxes of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+,, Cl-, SO42-, NO3- and H+ and stemflow volume-weighted mean concentrations and fluxes for three size classes of broadleaf trees and three size classes of palms. The concentrations of most solutes were higher in stemflow than in rainfall and increased with increasing tree and palm size. Concentration enrichments from rainfall to stemflow and throughfall were particularly high (81-fold) for NO3-. Stemflow fluxes of NO3- and H+ exceeded throughfall fluxes but stemflow fluxes of other solutes were less than throughfall fluxes. Stemflow solute fluxes to the forest soil were dominated by fluxes on babassu palms, which represented only 4% of total stem number and 10% of total basal area. For NO3-, stemflow contributed 51% of the total mass of nitrogen delivered to the forest floor (stemflow + throughfall) and represented more than a 2000-fold increase in NO3- flux compared what would have been delivered by rainfall alone on the equivalent area. Because these highly localized fluxes of both water and NO3- persist in time and space, they have the potential to affect patterns of soil moisture, microbial populations and other features of soil biogeochemistry conducive to the creation of hotspots for nitrogen leaching and denitrification, which could amount to an important fraction of total ecosystem fluxes. Because these hotspots occur over very small areas, they have likely gone undetected in previous studies and need to be considered as an important feature of the biogeochemistry of palm-rich tropical forest. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.