Recria de Rã touro (Rana catesbeiana) em tanques-rede alojados em viveiros de tilápia

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

Influência da escala espacial na diversidade beta de anuros considerando diferentes ecoregiões da Mata Atlântica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Come-See-Me Festival Records - Accession 815

The Come-See-Me Festival Records consist of records and memorabilia from the Come-See-Me Festivals since its founding in 1962. The collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, financial reports and papers, promotional materials, and other records and material chronicling the development of the Come-See-Me Festival in Rock Hill, SC.

Come-See-Me Festival Records - Accession 1408

The Come-See-Me Festival Records consist of papers, photographs, meeting minutes, scrapbooks, media kits, publicity kits, awards, applications, invitations, bylaws, guidelines, histories, correspondence, promotions and advertisements, posters, and memorabilia from the Come-See-Me Festivals from the 1980s to 2013.

Come-See-Me Festival Interview

In this April 21, 1978 interview, the origins and history of the Come-See-Me Festival are discussed. Included is an overview of the events for the 1978 event. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program

SCWDS Briefs: Volume 24, Number 3 (October 2008)

Table of Contents: Piroplasmosis in Florida Horses Bovine TB Update Newcastle Disease in Cormorants Frog Virus in a Box Turtle SCWDS Vesicular Stomatitis Research Update Faculty and Staff Changes at SCWDS Lead Study Results Reported Lead Ammo and Tackle Review Our Energizer Bunny

Invasive Litter, Not an Invasive Insectivore, Determines Invertebrate Communities in Hawaiian Forests

In Hawaii, invasive plants have the ability to alter litter-based food chains because they often have litter traits that differ from native species. Additionally, abundant invasive predators, especially those representing new trophic levels, can reduce prey. The relative importance of these two processes on the litter invertebrate community in Hawaii is important, because they could affect the large number of endemic and endangered invertebrates. We determined the relative importance of litter resources, represented by leaf litter of two trees, an invasive nitrogen-fixer, Falcataria moluccana, and a native tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, and predation of an invasive terrestrial frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, on leaf litter invertebrate abundance and composition. Principle component analysis revealed that F. moluccana litter creates an invertebrate community that greatly differs from that found in M. polymorpha litter. We found that F. moluccana increased the abundance of non-native fragmenters (Amphipoda and Isopoda) by 400% and non-native predaceous ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) by 200%. E. coqui had less effect on the litter invertebrate community; it reduced microbivores by 40% in F. moluccana and non-native ants by 30% across litter types. E. coqui stomach contents were similar in abundance and composition in both litter treatments, despite dramatic differences in the invertebrate community. Additionally, our results suggest that invertebrate community differences between litter types did not cascade to influence E. coqui growth or survivorship. In conclusion, it appears that an invasive nitrogen-fixing tree species has a greater influence on litter invertebrate community abundance and composition than the invasive predator, E. coqui.

Challenges of Invasive Reptiles and Amphibians

Although worldwide distributions of many amphibians and reptiles are declining, a handful of species are spreading rapidly throughout tropical regions of the world. The species that have the greatest effect tend to be generalist feeders, have high reproductive rates, attain large population sizes, and often due to their behavior and or small size, are easily transported or are difficult to detect. The most notable of these species include the coqui frog, cane toad, bullfrog, brown tree snake, and Burmese pythons. The effect of a few individuals typically is small but the combined effect of large populations can be devastating to ecological communities and agriculture. Currently, there are few methods available to effectively remove established populations. However, invasive species management capabilities are developing, with more effective methods in detecting incipient populations, improved control methods, more stringent restrictions on movement of nonnative animals, and increased public support.

A new dwarf species of Proceratophrys Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 (Anura, Cycloramphidae) from the highlands of Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil

A new species of Proceratophrys is described from the highlands of northeastern Brazil. Molecular and morphological data suggests that Proceratophrys redacta sp. nov. is sister to P. minuta, and related to P. schirchi and P. cristiceps. The new species is diagnosed by its small size, absence of rostral and palpebral appendages, sagittal ridges interrupted, absence of postocular swellings, snout vertical in profile and dorsal coloration lacking distinct ocelli. The new species represents another example of endemism for the genus Proceratophrys in Chapada Diamantina region, and of another appendageless small-sized species associated with highlands. The phylogenetic results indicate that current morphological groupings in Proceratophrys may not represent natural groups.

Climatic oscillations shape the phylogeographical structure of Atlantic Forest fire-eye antbirds (Aves: Thamnophilidae)

In the present study, mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequence data were used to examine the genetic structure of fire-eye antbirds (genus Pyriglena) along the Atlantic Forest and the predictions derived from the river hypothesis and from a Last Glacial Maximum Pleistocene refuge paleomodel were compared to explain the patterns of genetic variation observed in these populations. A total of 266 individuals from 45 populations were sampled over a latitudinal transect and a number of phylogeographical and population genetics analytical approaches were employed to address these questions. The pattern of mtDNA variation observed in fire-eye antbirds provides little support for the view that populations were isolated by the modern course of major Atlantic Forest rivers. Instead, the data provide stronger support for the predictions of the refuge model. These results add to the mounting evidence that climatic oscillations appear to have played a substantial role in shaping the phylogeographical structure and possibly the diversification of many taxa in this region. However, the results also illustrate the potential for more complex climatic history and historical changes in the geographical distribution of Atlantic Forest than envisioned by the refuge model. (c) 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105, 900824.

Water balance and spatial distribution of an anuran community from Brazil

Terrestrial amphibians may dehydrate when exposed to low humidity, representing an important factor affecting spatial distribution and community composition. In this study we investigated whether rates of dehydration and rehydration are able to explain the spatial distribution of an anuran community in a Restinga environment at the northern coast of the State of Bahia, Brazil, represented by 11 species distributed in 27 sample units. The environmental data set containing 20 variables was reduced to a few synthetic axes by principal component analysis (PCA). Physiological variables measured were rates of dehydration, rehydration from water, and rehydration from a neutral substrate. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the null hypothesis of no association between the environmental data set (synthetic axes of PCA) and each axis representative of a physiological variable, which was rejected (P < 0.001). Of 15 possible partial regressions only rehydration rate from neutral substrate vs. PC1. and PC2, rehydration rate from water vs. PC1, and dehydration rate vs. PC2 were significant. Our analysis was influenced by a gradient between two different groups of sample units: a beach area with high density of bromeliads and an environment without bodies of water with low density of bromeliads. Species of very specific natural history and morphological characters occur in these environments: Phyllodytes melanomystax and Scinax auratus, species frequently occurring in terrestrial bromeliads, and Ischnocnema paulodutrai, common along the northern coast of Bahia and usually found in forest remnants within environments with low number of bodies of water. In dry environments species with lower rates of dehydration were dominant, whereas species showing greater rates of dehydration were found predominantly in microhabitats with greater moisture or abundance of bodies of water.

Embryonic development of the fossorial gymnophthalmid lizards Nothobachia ablephara and Calyptommatus sinebrachiatus

The evolutionary history of the lizard family Gymnophthalmidae is characterized by several independent events of morphological modifications to a snake-like body plan, such as limb reduction, body elongation, loss of external ear openings, and modifications in skull bones, as adaptive responses to a burrowing and fossorial lifestyle. The origins of such morphological modifications from an ancestral lizard-like condition can be traced back to evolutionary changes in the developmental processes that coordinate the building of the organism. Thus, the characterization of the embryonic development of gymnophthalmid lizards is an essential step because it lays the foundation for future studies aiming to understand the exact nature of these changes and the developmental mechanisms that could have been responsible for the evolution of a serpentiform (snake-like) from a lacertiform (lizard-like) body form. Here we describe the post-ovipositional embryonic development of the fossorial species Nothobachia ablephara and Calyptommatus sinebrachiatus, presenting a detailed staging system for each one, with special focus on the development of the reduced limbs, and comparing their development to that of other lizard species. The data provided by the staging series are essential for future experimental studies addressing the genetic basis of the evolutionary and developmental variation of the Gymnophthalmidae. (C) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Six species of Amazonian Woodcreepers (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae) preying upon lizards and frogs

Dietary data from a large sample of woodcreepers (16 spp., n?=?139), revealed that six species of dendrocolaptids occasionally feed upon lizards and frogs. These birds, which are mainly insectivorous, encounter and feed on lizards while perching on tree trunks, probably in association with army-ant swarm feeding behaviour. Frog intake may be related to declines in the abundance of invertebrate prey. The bones recovered were identified as one small species of gecko, Gonatodes humeralis, and at least one anuran. We estimate that in the entire sample, about eight lizards and two frogs were ingested. The partially digested gecko material allows determination of which bones are more resistant to digestion, although it is possible that these elements were differentially retained in the stomach. These elements correspond to the more frequently preserved bones in the fossil record of geckos, indicating that the same portions of the skeleton persist under the processes of both digestion and fossilization.

Effects of intravenous furosemide on mucociliary transport and rheological properties of patients under mechanical ventilation

The use of intravenous (IV) furosemide is common practice in patients under mechanical ventilation (MV), but its effects on respiratory mucus are largely unknown. Furosemide can affect respiratory mucus either directly through inhibition of the NaK(Cl)2 co-transporter on the basolateral surface of airway epithelium or indirectly through increased diuresis and dehydration. We investigated the physical properties and transportability of respiratory mucus obtained from 26 patients under MV distributed in two groups, furosemide (n = 12) and control (n = 14). Mucus collection was done at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours. The rheological properties of mucus were studied with a microrheometer, and in vitro mucociliary transport (MCT) (frog palate), contact angle (CA) and cough clearance (CC) (simulated cough machine) were measured. After the administration of furosemide, MCT decreased by 17 ± 19%, 24 ± 11%, 18 ± 16% and 18 ± 13% at 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours respectively, P < 0.001 compared with control. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in the control group. The remaining parameters did not change significantly in either group. Our results support the hypothesis that IV furosemide might acutely impair MCT in patients under MV.

Screening bacterial metabolites for inhibitory effects against Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis using a spectrophotometric assay

Certain bacteria present on frog skin can prevent infection by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), conferring disease resistance. Previous studies have used agar-based in vitro challenge assays to screen bacteria for Bd-inhibitory activity and to identify candidates for bacterial supplementation trials. However, agar-based assays can be difficult to set up and to replicate reliably. To overcome these difficulties, we developed a semi-quantitative spectrophotometric challenge assay technique. Cell-free supernatants were prepared from filtered bacterial cultures and added to 96-well plates in replicated wells containing Bd zoospores suspended in tryptone-gelatin hydrolysate-lactose (TGhL) broth medium. Plates were then read daily on a spectrophotometer until positive controls reached maximum growth in order to determine growth curves for Bd. We tested the technique by screening skin bacteria from the Australian green-eyed tree frog Litoria serrata. Of bacteria tested, 31% showed some degree of Bd inhibition, while some may have promoted Bd growth, a previously unknown effect. Our cell-free supernatant challenge assay technique is an effective in vitro method for screening bacterial isolates for strong Bd-inhibitory activity. It contributes to the expanding field of bioaugmentation research, which could play a significant role in mitigating the effects of chytridiomycosis on amphibians around the world.