Uso e conservação de Piper cernuum Vell. (Piperaceae) na Mata Atlântica: I. Fenologia reprodutiva e dispersão de sementes

The pariparoba (Piper cernuum Vell.), a native plant from the Atlantic Tropical Forest (ATF), has been commonly used in folk medicine. Works seeking the exploitation of P. cernuum natural populations need to be accomplished, seeking compatibility in obtaining income rates and preservation of ATF. The present work aimed to study the reproductive phenology and seed dispersal in P. cernuum natural population in the counties of Sete Barras/SP (Parque Estadual Intervales - PEI). The population of P. cernuum studied in PEI presented continuously bud-inflorescences, green-infrutescences and bud-inflorescence emission, with variation among individuals. Fruit-set average was of 9.1%, varying among individuals. Shading and foliar damage presented negative effect on the fruit-set. Three species of bats were identified as potential dispersors of the P. cernuum seeds: Carollia perspicillata, Anoura geoffroyi and Artibeus sp. The foragement strategy observed was the withdrawal of some seeds per infrutescence per flight. This strategy increases the potential in establishing new plants as well as in increase the potential of gene flow in comparison with the entire infrutescence plant eaten at the night perches. In consequence, the results of reproductive phenology and seed dispersal ecology presented in this work can help to establish management and conservation strategies of P. cernuum natural populations in the ATF.

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.

Estudo da mcrobiota fúngica gastrintestinal de morcegos (Mammalia, Chiroptera) da região noroeste do estado de São Paulo: Potencial zoonótico

Bats are hosts of a rich diversity of microorganisms. Many studies indicate a close link between bats and fungi with pathogenic potential, especially for living in environments such as caves, caverns and hollow trees, favorable to the maintenance and spread of fungi. The objective was to study the gastrointestinal mycoflora of bats. Of the 98 samples belonging to 11 species of bats coming from 15 studied cities, 20% of the species were Carollia perspicillata, 19% Artibeus lituratus, 17% Molossus rufus, 13% Glossophaga soricina, 9% Nyctinomops macrotis, 8% Molossus molossus, 7% Desmodus rotundus, 2% Lasiurus ega and 1% Eptesicus furinalis, Myotis nigricans and Tadarida brasiliensis. The genus Aspergillus sp. was isolated from 29% of the samples, followed by 6% Microsporum sp. and Penicillium sp. 4% Trichophyton sp. and zygomycetes and 2% Fusarium sp. Of yeast species, 14% were from Rhodotorula sp., 10% Candida sp. and 2% Cryptococcus sp., 22% of isolates remained unidentified. All 82 cultures of organs were negative for Histoplasma capsulatum. There was a statistically significant association between the results of microbiological culture and bat species (p < 0.05). We conclude that the bats can act as disperser agents of fungi with pathogenic potential, although other studies should be performed to establish strategies to identify the main factors correlated with the growth and spread of microorganisms in nature and implication of bats in the epidemiological cycle.

Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Guarulhos, state of São Paulo, Brazil

The present study provides a record of the bat fauna captured in Guarulhos, state of São Paulo, Brazil, between February and November 2011. The capture sessions were carried out using mist nets set on trails, around and above streams and lakes, near built areas and around livestock. After a total effort of 26,208 m2.h, we recorded 17 bat species belonging to Phyllostomidae (13 species), Vespertilionidae (3) and Molossidae (1). Sturnira lilium (73 captures), Artibeus fimbriatus (69), and A. lituratus (59) were the most abundant species, corresponding to 57.8% of all captures. Some information about shelters was also commented. This paper is the first to report Molossops neglectus for Guarulhos. © 2012 Check List and Authors.

Use of space by frugivorous bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a restored Atlantic forest fragment in Brazil

We studied patterns in the use of space for foraging and roosting by two frugivorous bat species in a five-year-old restored Atlantic forest located in a fragmented landscape in southeastern Brazil. Ten individuals of Carollia perspicillata and eleven individuals of Artibeus lituratus were monitored through radio-telemetry in five sampling sessions. Each session lasted 3-8. days for each individual, with an average of 25.4 ± 10 locations for each C. perspicillata individual and 19 ± 4.4 for each A. lituratus individual. We described an average range of 124.4. ha and an average commuting distance of 1158.8. m for A. lituratus and an average range and commuting distance of 32. ha and 489. m, respectively, for C. perspicillata. We demonstrated a consistent pattern in habitat use and movements for both studied species, where they strictly used forests (restored or not) for day roosting, roosting in the foliage of trees located only in secondary forest remnants and restored areas, while restored areas were their main feeding habitat. We demonstrate that newly restored forests can be readily incorporated as foraging and roosting habitats by these species, and that C. perspicillata alters its roosting behavior in relation to preferred food availability. These results, when combined with data on the diet of the studied species, show consistent evidence of the potential that bats have to improve species diversity of anthropogenic plantings with their own natural seed dispersal. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in urban fragments of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

Bat assemblages in two urban fragments of Maringá city, north of the state of Paraná, southern Brazil, were inventoried. These fragments, Parque do Ingá (48 ha) and Parque Florestal dos Pioneiros (59 ha), are located in a subtropical region covered by semideciduous Atlantic forest. Bats were sampled with mist-nets from August 2006 to July 2007, over 24 nights (12 hours a night), adding up to a total of 30,240 h.m2 of net effort. A total of 839 individuals were captured belonging to 10 species and four families. Artibeus lituratus was the most abundant species (66% of the sample). The observed richness represents 22% of the bat species recorded for the state, 24% of the bat species occurring in the seasonal semideciduous forest of Paraná, 26% of the species previously recorded in urban environments in Brazil, and 83.4% of the estimated richness by Jackknife 1 (n= 12 species). Studies that provide data on richness and abundance of bat species in urban fragments are becoming increasingly important, but are still poorly available in Brazil. This habitat is especially interesting because anthropogenic pressure can be harmful to bat assemblages, reducing their diversity. © 2013 Check List and Authors.

Diversidade de morcegos em dois fragmentos florestais da região noroeste do Estado do Paraná, Brasil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A importância de fatores fenológicos e químicos na escolha de frutos por filostomídeos frugívoros

Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal - IBILCE

Estudo da espermatogênese e nucleogênese de morcegos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo da microbiota fúngica gastritestinal de morcegos (Mammala, Chiroptera) da região noroeste do estado de São Paulo: potencial zoonótico

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação do método de sucção de encéfalo de morcegos (Chiroptera, Mammalia) para diagnóstico da raiva

Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal - FMVA

Influência da irrigação na atividade e sazonalidade de besouros coprófagos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) em pastagem

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Análise ultraestrutural e imunocitoquímica da espermatogênese e nucleologênese de morcegos

Pós-graduação em Genética - IBILCE

Comparative cytogenetic analysis in the species Uroderma magnirostrum and U. bilobatum (cytotype 2n = 42) (Phyllostomidae, Stenodermatinae) in the Brazilian Amazon

The genus Uroderma includes two species: U. magnirostrum and U. bilobatum. These species are characterized by their high degree of karyotypic evolution, diverging from most other species of the subfamily Stenodermatinae, which have a lower degree of chromosomic evolution. The present study reports the first banding patterns of U. magnirostrum (G-, C-banding and Ag-NOR) and U. bilobatum (C-banding and Ag-NOR). The chromosomic data in conventional staining of U. magnirostrum (2n = 36, NF = 62) and U. bilobatum (cytotype 2n = 42, NF = 50) are equivalent to that described in the literature. When compared, chromosomal homeologies are found in both karyotypes, as well as differences, confirming that karyotypic evolution in the Uroderma genus is intense. Fission, fusion, inversion or translocation events are required to explain the karyotypic evolution of this genus. The comparison of karyotype, described here, to one of the species of the genus Artibeus (2n = 30/31), suggests that some chromosomic forms are apomorphic and shared between the two species of Uroderma. This confirms the monophyly of the enus, and that U. magnirostrum presents a more primitive karyotype when compared to U. bilobatum

Levantamento da quiropterofauna (Mammalia : Chiroptera) da Ilha de Cotijuba - PA, com observações sobre sua ecologia

Investigações sobre a quiropterofauna da Amazônia revelam a ocorrência de no mínimo 135 espécies regionais, de hábitos alimentares variados- insetívoras, frugívoras, polinívoras, carnívoras e hematófagas. Os morcegos contribuem ao equilíbrio da biota amazônica por diferentes meios, por exemplo, controle populacional de insetos, dispersão de sementes e polinização. Potencialmente perigosos à saúde humana são os hematófagos portadores do vírus rábico. Os objetivos do estudo foram assim definidos: (a) levantamento das espécies da ordem Chiroptera presentes na Ilha de Cotijuba-PA; (b) descrições do período de atividade, alimentação, reprodução e abrigos das diferentes espécies; (c) análise de diagnóstico de raiva dos quirópteros hematófagos coletados. Foram encontradas 31 espécies, duas delas necessitando ainda de estudos mais detalhados para a confirmação taxonômica. A maioria é de espécies frugívoras, isto é, dispersaras potenciais da flora local (por exemplo, Carollia spp, Artibeus spp, Uroderma spp). Duas espécies hematófagas foram observadas: Desmodus rotundus (cerca de 8% da amostra) e Diaemus youngi (menos de 1% da amostra). A pesquisa do vírus rábico foi negativa, mas ainda há registros de agressões de morcegos a ribeirinhos e animais domésticos, exigindo análises laboratoriais de novas amostras, com finalidade de monitoramento sanitário.