A new spot-thoraxed species of Drosophila from the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil (Diptera, Drosophilidae)

Drosophila boraceia sp. nov. is described from a single male specimen collected at the Estação Biológica de Boracéia, Salesópolis, state of São Paulo, Brazil. At first inspection it looks like a species of Drosophila belonging to the fasciola subgroup of the repleta group, mainly because of the fasciola-like pattern of fused spots on the thorax. However, mostly due to the quite distinct structures of the male terminalia, it seems to be more similar to one ungrouped and also spot-thoraxed South American species, Drosophila atalaia Vilela & Sene, 1982. Illustrations of the terminalia are also provided.

Activities of tabanids (Diptera, Tabanidae) attacking domestic duck-Cairina moschata (Linnaeus) (Aves, Anatidae), introduced in a forest area in the Central Amazon, Manaus, Brazil

Presented here are the feeding habits, attack behavior, daily and annual activity of adult of Phorcotabanus cinereus (Wiedeman, 1821), Chrysops laetus (Fabricius, 1805) and Phaeotabanus cajennensis (Fabricius, 1787), while biting a domestic duck, Cairina moschata (Linnaeus, 1758). The last two species were recorded for the first time attacking birds. This study comprehended monthly observations of two consecutive days from April/97 to March/98 between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Army Instructional Base ((BI-2/CIGS) near Manaus. Annual occurrence of P. cinereus was from July to September, with a daily occurrence between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and highest activity at 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. C. laetus ocurred from June to October; with a daily occurrence between 8:00 a.m. and 3 p.m. and highest activity at 11:00 and 12:00 a.m. Occurrence of P. cajennensis with one specimen only, was in July between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.

Eotaxin-1 (CCL11) up-regulation in tears during seasonal allergic conjunctivitis.

PURPOSE: To compare in-season eotaxin-1 levels in tears of patients suffering from seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) with (1) tears of normal subjects and (2) tears of SAC patients out of season. METHODS: Tears of 11 SAC patients and six control volunteers were collected during the pollen season. Tears of five SAC patients showing a strong sensitivity to grass pollen (skin-prick tests and specific serum IgE) were collected both in season and out of season. ELISA measured eotaxin-1 level. RESULTS: Eotaxin-1 concentration in tears of SAC patients [2,100+/-503 (SEM) pg/ml] and normal subjects (1,193+/-176 pg/ml) were significantly different (P=0.0049). Regarding allergic patients, the clinical score (sum of five allergic criteria) was significantly different in season and out of season (P=0.0043) as was also the case with eotaxin-1 concentration (P=0.024). CONCLUSIONS: The eotaxin-1 concentration in tears of patients showing hay fever could confirm a diagnosis of seasonal ocular allergy.

The housing boom and forest fires

This paper provides evidence that the combination of land-use restrictions and anincreasing demand for housing can create incentives to induce forest fires as a means tocircumvent regulation and increase the supply of land available for residential construction.I estimate the effect of the price of housing on the incidence of forest fires using Spanishdata by region for 1991-2005. The results suggest that higher house prices led to asignificant increase in the incidence of forest fires in a region. I also find that the increasedincidence of forest fires led to a subsequent reduction in forest area and an increase in urbanland area. This evidence supports the claims often found in the media that propertyspeculators trying to build in forest land may be behind the recent increases in the incidenceof forest fires in Mediterranean countries.

Species of Euglossa (Glossura) in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, with taxonomic notes on Euglossa stellfeldi Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Euglossina)

The species of Euglossa (Glossura) occuring in the Brazilian Atlantic forest were revised and an identification key to males and females is provided. The status of Euglossa annectans Dressler and E. stellfeldi Moure is reevaluated and the latter species is transferred from E. (Glossura) to E. (Glossurella). Here we also synonymize E. carinilabris Dressler under E. stellfeldi. Taxonomic notes are provided and relevant morphological features are illustred. Latitudinal color variation along the Brazilian Atlantic forest, found in two of the species studied here, is also presented and discussed.

A 15-year post evaluation of the fire effects on ant community in an area of Amazonian forest

Fire represents an important disturbance to ant communities in areas of fire regime. Otherwise, little is known about the effects of fire on ant communities in areas of non-fire regimes, such as in the Amazonian region. We evaluated the long-term effect of fire on ant species richness in a rain forest (Bacaba Plateau) burned 15-years ago and compare our data with the data of primary unburned forest. A total of 85 ant species distributed in 21 genera and 14 tribes were collected; among them, 72 and 44 species were found on the litter and vegetation, respectively. The fire damaged forest studied supports an intermediate richness of ants when compared to a primary unburned rain forest in the same region. A comparative analysis of ant species richness showed that the Bacaba Plateau presented a different ant fauna when compared with the primary unburned forests, suggesting that fire can alter ant species composition. Although, our results cannot be conclusive on the effects of fire on ant community, they represent a pioneer data on human induced fire in tropical rain forests.

Improving generalized regression analysis for the spatial prediction of forest communities

Aim This study used data from temperate forest communities to assess: (1) five different stepwise selection methods with generalized additive models, (2) the effect of weighting absences to ensure a prevalence of 0.5, (3) the effect of limiting absences beyond the environmental envelope defined by presences, (4) four different methods for incorporating spatial autocorrelation, and (5) the effect of integrating an interaction factor defined by a regression tree on the residuals of an initial environmental model. Location State of Vaud, western Switzerland. Methods Generalized additive models (GAMs) were fitted using the grasp package (generalized regression analysis and spatial predictions, http://www.cscf.ch/grasp). Results Model selection based on cross-validation appeared to be the best compromise between model stability and performance (parsimony) among the five methods tested. Weighting absences returned models that perform better than models fitted with the original sample prevalence. This appeared to be mainly due to the impact of very low prevalence values on evaluation statistics. Removing zeroes beyond the range of presences on main environmental gradients changed the set of selected predictors, and potentially their response curve shape. Moreover, removing zeroes slightly improved model performance and stability when compared with the baseline model on the same data set. Incorporating a spatial trend predictor improved model performance and stability significantly. Even better models were obtained when including local spatial autocorrelation. A novel approach to include interactions proved to be an efficient way to account for interactions between all predictors at once. Main conclusions Models and spatial predictions of 18 forest communities were significantly improved by using either: (1) cross-validation as a model selection method, (2) weighted absences, (3) limited absences, (4) predictors accounting for spatial autocorrelation, or (5) a factor variable accounting for interactions between all predictors. The final choice of model strategy should depend on the nature of the available data and the specific study aims. Statistical evaluation is useful in searching for the best modelling practice. However, one should not neglect to consider the shapes and interpretability of response curves, as well as the resulting spatial predictions in the final assessment.

Drosophilids (Diptera) from an Atlantic Forest Area in Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil

The present work aims at knowing the faunal composition of drosophilids in forest areas of southern Brazil. Besides, estimation of species richness for this fauna is briefly discussed. The sampling were carried out in three well-preserved areas of the Atlantic Rain Forest in the State of Santa Catarina. In this study, 136,931 specimens were captured and 96.6% of them were identified in the specific level. The observed species richness (153 species) is the largest that has been registered in faunal inventories conducted in Brazil. Sixty-three of the captured species did not fit to the available descriptions, and we believe that most of them are non-described species. The incidence-based estimators tended to give rise to the largest richness estimates while the abundance based give rise to the smallest ones. Such estimators suggest the presence from 172.28 to 220.65 species in the studied area. Based on these values, from 69.35 to 88.81% of the expected species richness were sampled. We suggest that the large richness recorded in this study is a consequence of the large sampling effort, the capture method, recent advances in the taxonomy of drosophilids, the high preservation level and the large extension of the sampled fragment and the high complexity of the Atlantic Rain forest. Finally, our data set suggest that the employment of estimators of richness for drosophilid assemblages is useful but it requires caution.

New species of Hymenoepimecis Viereck (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) from Brazilian Atlantic forest

In this study three new Brazilian species of Hymenoepimecis are described and illustrated. The specimens were collected using sweeping the vegetation and Malaise traps in areas of Atlantic forest in southeastern Brazil. The material described is figured with digital images.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of Alticini (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in a fragment of Araucaria Forest in the state of Parana, Brazil

Alticini fauna from five areas, two with different types of management (Borda and Araucaria) and three with different levels of conservation (Fase 1, Fase 2 and Fase 3), in the Araucaria Forest of the Parana was captured with malaise traps. The material was collected weekly, from September/1999 to August/2001, in the Parque Estadual of Vila Velha, Ponta Grossa. 1,891 individuals of 106 Alticini species were collected with only seven species common to all areas. Despite the proximity between sampling areas, the number of species shared between pairs of areas was low, not reaching 40%, with the Araucaria and Fase 1 areas being the most similar. The community structure of the areas Fase 1 and Fase 2 were most related. Fase 1, in initial stage of succession, showed the largert variation in the abundance and richness from one year to another.

Gall inducing arthropods from a seasonally dry tropical forest in Serra do Cipó, Brazil

Highly diverse forms of galling arthropods can be identified in much of southeastern Brazil's vegetation. Three fragments of a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) located in the southern range of the Espinhaço Mountains were selected for study in the first survey of galling organisms in such tropical vegetation. Investigators found 92 distinct gall morphotypes on several organs of 51 host plant species of 19 families. Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) was the most prolific gall-inducing species, responsible for the largest proportion of galls (77%) observed. Leaves were the most frequently galled plant organ (63%), while the most common gall morphotype was of a spherical shape (30%). The two plant species, Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae) and Celtis brasiliensis (Cannabaceae), presented the highest number of gall morphtypes, displaying an average of 5 gall morphotypes each. This is the first study of gall-inducing arthropods and their host plant species ever undertaken in a Brazilian SDTF ecosystem. Given the intense human pressure on SDTFs, the high richness of galling arthropods, and implied floral host diversity found in this study indicates the need for an increased effort to catalogue the corresponding flora and fauna, observe their intricate associations and further understand the implications of such rich diversity in these stressed and vulnerable ecosystems.

Forest fires: Evaluation of government intervention measures

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between government measures, volunteer participation, climate variables and forest fires. A number of studies have related forest fires to causes of ignition, to fire history in one area, to the type of vegetation and weathercharacteristics or to community institutions, but there is little research on the relation between fire production and government prevention and extinction measures from a policy evaluation perspective.An observational approach is first applied to select forest fires in the north east of Spain. Taking a selection of fires with a certain size, a multiple regression analysis is conducted to find significant relations between policy instruments under the control of the government and the number of hectares burn in each case, controlling at the same time the effect of weather conditions and other context variables. The paper brings evidence on the effects of simultaneity and the relevance of recurring to army soldiers in specific days with extraordinary high simultaneity. The analysis also brings light on the effectiveness of twopreventive policies and of helicopters for extinction tasks.

Developmental time of immature forms of Sabethes aurescens Lutz (Diptera, Culicidae) from artificially perforated bamboo in the rain forest of southern Brazil

The development time of the immature forms of Sabethes aurescens Lutz, 1905, from perforated bamboo in the southern Brazil rain forest was studied under laboratory conditions. Mean development periods were 5±2.23, 10±5.20, 14±8.26, 36±13.90 and 9±2.43 days, respectively, for the four larval instars and pupae. The 4th instar of females was longer than that of males. Implications of the long development time of the immature forms of Sa. aurescens are discussed.

Timing of seasonal sales

We present a model of timing of seasonal sales where stores chooseseveral designs at the beginning of the season without knowingwich one, if any, will be fashionable. Fashionable designs have achance to fetch high prices in fashion markets while non-fashionableones must be sold in a discount market. In the beginning of theseason, stores charge high prices in the hope of capturing theirfashion market. As the end of the season approaches with goods stillon the shelves, stores adjust downward their expectations that theyare carrying a fashionable design, and may have sales to capture thediscount market. Having a greater number of designs induces a storeto put one of them on sales earlier to test the market. Moreover,price competition in the discount market induces stores to startsales earlier because of a greater perceived first-mover advantage incapturing the discount market. More competition, perhaps due todecreases in the cost of product innovation, makes sales occur evenearlier. These results are consistent with the observation that thetrend toward earlier sales since mid-1970's coincides with increasingproduct varieties in fashion good markets and increasing storecompetition.