Experimental and field record of preferred temperature in the neotropical amphisbaenid Amphisbaena mertensi stauch (reptilia, amphisbaenidae)

1. 1. Temperature preference in experimental thermal gradient in the laboratory was determined and field preferred temperature was recorded, for Amphisbaena mertensi. 2. 2. Mean preferred temperature in 52 experiments averaged 21.4°C which was close to those recorded in 16 specimens measured in the field (21.1°C). 3. 3. Selected temperature varied from 12 to 27°C in the laboratory, and data taken in the field ranged from 18 to 26°C. © 1984.

Simplified periodontal record for pregnant women

The assessment using the PSR (Periodontal Screening and Recording) of the prevalence and severity of and the basic treatment needs for periodontal disease in a group of pregnant women who attended the Preventive Dentistry Clinic at the School of Dentistry of Araraquara--UNESP. Forty-one pregnant women of 16 to 37 years of age, were examined. The PSR index was evaluated with a suitable periodontal probe (Trinity-model 621-WHO) with index codes scores of from 0 to 4, capable of indicating the presence of the following conditions: periodontal health, bleeding on probing, calculus, shallow and deep pockets. These codes were attributed to each sextant and could be marked with an asterisk (*) to indicate the presence of gingival recession, furcation lesions, mobility or any other mucogingival alterations. It is shown that 100% of the pregnant women had some kind of gingival alteration, represented mainly by PSR code 2 (56.1%) and * (19.5%). The women in the youngest age groups, 15-19 and 20-24 years, had code 2 as their highest score with no sextant excluded. In the 25-29 age group, the PSR code 2 still prevailed (54.5%) although codes 3 and 4 were already appearing. The code * and the occurrence of excluded sextants tended to increase in the oldest age group (30-37). In general, the affected sextants showed codes 1 and 2 more frequently, corresponding to 41.6% and 39.8% respectively, which represented a mean of 2.49 and 2.39 sextants affected in each pregnant woman. Regarding the treatment needs, 90.2% of the women needed some treatment beyond the preventive measures begun, including scaling and root planning and/or corrections of defective restorative margins (61%), and more complex treatment (29.2%). The meeting of the treatment needs during pregnancy must include special efforts to increase motivation and promote oral health, minimizing the possibility of vertical transmission of pathogenic microrganisms to the child, and thus contributing to the primary prevention of the main oral diseases.

Two new species and a new record of Anacroneuria (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Central Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A diatom record of late Holocene climate variation in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, USA

The changes in diatom species composition in a sediment core from Crevice Lake, Yellowstone National Park, spanning the past 2550 yr, were used to reconstruct long-term limnological and ecological conditions that may be related to late Holocene climate variability. Planktic forms dominate the fossil diatom assemblages throughout this record, but changes in species dominance indicate varying nutrient levels over time, particularly phosphorus. The changes in the nutrient concentrations in the lake were probably driven by changes in temperature and wind strength that affected the duration of watercolumn mixing and thus the extent of nutrient recycling from deep waters. Prior to 2100 cal before present (BP), Stephanodiscus minutulus and Synedra tenera dominated, suggesting long cool springs with extensive regeneration of phosphorus from the hypolimnion that resulted from isothermal mixing. From 2100 to 800 cal BP, these species were replaced by Cyclotella michiganiana and Cyclotella bodanica. These species are characteristic of lower nutrient concentrations and are interpreted here to reflect warm summers with long periods of thermal stratification. From 800 to 50 cal BP, S. minutulus dominated the diatom assemblage, suggesting a return to lengthy mixing during spring. The most dramatic late Holocene changes in the fossil diatom assemblages occurred during the transition from the Medieval Period to the Little Ice Age, approximately 800 cal BP.

Historical record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) in marine sediment cores from Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica

This paper describes the first results of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) in sediment cores of Admiralty Bay, Antarctica. These markers were used to assess the local input of anthropogenic materials (particulate and organic compounds) as a result of the influence of human occupation in a sub-Antarctic region and a possible long-range atmospheric transport of combustion products from sources in South America. The highest SCPs and PAHs concentrations were observed during the last 30 years, when three research stations were built in the area and industrial activities in South America increased. The concentrations of SCPs and PAHs were much lower than those of other regions in the northern hemisphere and other reported data for the southern hemisphere. The PAH isomer ratios showed that the major sources of PAHs are fossil fuels/petroleum, biomass combustion and sewage contribution generally close to the Brazilian scientific station. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A high-resolution Holocene record on the Southern Brazilian shelf: Paleoenvironmental implications

A high-resolution, multi-proxy record has been used to determine the environmental changes during the Holocene on the southern Brazilian shelf Present oceanographic conditions reveal wind and freshwater input as the determinants of short-term productivity changes in the study area. Magnetic susceptibility and grain-size variations, together with proxies of productivity (organic carbon, carbon accumulation rate, Ba, Sr, and Ca content, Ba/Al, Ba/Ti, and Al/Ti ratios) were analyzed and compared with proxies of redox condition (V/Ti ratio), terrigenous input (Fe/Ca and Ti/Ca ratios), as well as other Element/Ti ratios, to evaluate the paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes over the period. The core covers a time interval of about 7650 years, with sedimentation rates varying from 0.025 to 0.250 cm a(-1), which represent time intervals of between 8 and 80 a per sample. There is a clear change in the sedimentation rate at about 2800 B.P. All grain-size and elemental results indicate the occurrence of conspicuous changes between 5200 and 5000 cal. B.P., as well as between 3000 and 2800 cal. B.P. A comparison of the results with the palynological information available from the adjacent continental areas suggests that the sedimentary changes in this last interval may be correlated with the onset of modern climatic conditions in South America, and especially, with the onset of the Plata Plume Water, a water mass that carries cold, less saline waters towards the north. However, minor changes are observed at ca. 1500 B.P. and are correlated with an increase in the atmospheric humidity. Furthermore, a time-series analysis undertaken using several proxies indicated the occurrence of Sub-Milankovitch cycles, which may be compared with those reported worldwide. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

New taxa and new record of Hemilophini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae).

New species described and illustrated: Adesmus nigrolineatus sp. nov from Mexico (Oaxaca). From Costa Rica: A, moruna sp. nov. (Heredia); Corcovado bezarki sp. nov. (Guanacaste); Alampyris fuscus sp. nov. (Guanacaste), Cariua gen. nov type species C. sulphurea sp. nov. (Guanacaste). From Bolivia: Phoebemima albomaculata sp. nov. (Cochabamba); Ipepo gen. nov type species I. dilatatus sp. nov. (Santa Cruz). From Brazil: Adesmus facetus sp. nov and Canarana arguta sp. nov. (Rondonia). A new record from Costa Rica of Piruanycha pitilla Galileo & Martins, 2005 is added. The three new species of Adesmus are recognized: A. nigrolineatus by the longitudinal black stripes on elytra; A. moruna by the elytra entirely black; A. facetus by the white belts behind the middle of the elytra and white maculae on apical quarter. Phoebemima albomaculata is characterized by the white macula on the elytral suture. Corcovado bezarki sp. nov is distinguished by the black antennal scape and whitish flagelomeres. Canarana arguta sp. nov has prothorax and urosternites I-IV covered by dense yellowish pubescence. Alampyris fusca sp. nov differs from A. cretaria by the antenomere III longer than scape. Cariua sulphurea sp. nov is distinguished by the urosternites covered by compact white pubescence and Ipepo dilatatus is characterized by the elytra with three carinae.

The northernmost record of Bassanago albescens and comments on the occurrence of Rhynchoconger guppyi (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Congridae) along the Brazilian coast

The northernmost occurrence of Bassanago albescens in the western Atlantic Ocean (off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is presented and compared with the available data on this species. Specimens formerly identified as Rhynchoconger guppyi from off the southern Brazilian coast are regarded as B. albescens. (C) 2010 The Authors

An integrated stratigraphic record of the Palaeocene-lower Eocene at Gubbio (Italy): new insights into the early Palaeogene hyperthermals and carbon isotope excursions

Terra Nova, 24, 380386, 2012 Abstract A high-resolution, integrated stratigraphic framework (stable isotope stratigraphy, standard calcareous nannofossil and foraminiferal biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy) together with geochemical and rock magnetic properties analyses of a complete and well-preserved succession at Contessa Valley (Gubbio, central Italy) have offered an excellent opportunity to identify and constrain the Palaeocene to early Eocene hyperthermals and carbon isotope excursions (CIEs). In addition, we provide the first evidence in the Tethys Ocean of CIEs, previously identified in the Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Oceans, highlighting their global significance and of some unknown CIEs. Their characteristics are compared with those reported for deep-sea cores and other land-based sections to test whether the signature associated with CIEs documented in our composite section might give evidence for tracing them over wider areas. The Contessa composite section thus represents a reference succession also for insight into the magnetobiochronostratigraphy and the magnitude of early Palaeogene hyperthermals and CIEs.

A 2400-year record of trace metal loading in lake sediments of Lagoa Vermelha, southeastern Brazil

Sediments of the Lagoa Vermelha (Red Lake), situated in the Ribeira Valley, southeastern Brazil, are made of a homogeneous, organic-rich, black clay with no visible sedimentary structures. The inorganic geochemical record (Al, As, Ba, Br, Co,Cs, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Rb, Sc, Sb, V, Zn, Hg and Pb) of the lake sediments was analyzed in a core spanning 2430 years. The largest temporal changes in trace metal contents occurred approximately within the last 180 years. Recent sediments were found to be enriched in Pb, Zn, Hg, Ni, Mn, Br and Sb (more than 2-fold increase with respect to the "natural background level"). The enhanced accumulation of Br, Sb, and Mn was attributed to biogeochemical processes and diagenesis. On the other hand, the anomalous concentrations of Pb, Zn, Hg and Ni were attributed to pollution. As Lagoa Vermelha is located in a relatively pristine area, far removed from direct contamination sources, the increased metal contents of surface sediments most likely resulted from atmospheric fallout. Stable Pb isotopes provided additional evidence for anthropogenic contamination. The shift of Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios toward decreasing values in the increasingly younger sediments is consistent with an increasing contribution of airborne anthropogenic lead. In the uppermost sediments (0-10 cm), the lowest values of the Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios may reflect the influence of the less radiogenic Pb from the Ribeira Valley District ores (Pb-206/Pb-207 between 1.04 and 1.10), emitted during the last 50 years. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First record of chemical signals from the queen during the oviposition process in stingless bees

In stingless bees, the cell provisioning and oviposition process consists of several integrated behavioral sequences and several stereotyped queen-worker interactions. This study aims to demonstrate that chemical signals originating from the queen may contribute as cues for the sequence of the oviposition process in Melipona marginata. For this, we analyzed the cell before and after queen laying, and compared them with the cuticular hydrocarbons of the queen's abdomen, using a gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry system.

Evolution of Precambrian life in the Brazilian geological record

Precambrian rocks comprise nearly one-quarter of the surface of Brazil and range from Paleoarchean (ca. 3.6 Ga) to the latest Ediacaran (0.542 Ga) in age. Except for controversial phosphatized 'embryo-like' microfossils like those from the lower Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, China and complex rangeomorphs, Brazilian research has revealed all major categories of Precambrian life forms described elsewhere - microbialites, biomarkers, silicified microfossils, palynomorphs, vase-shaped microfossils, macroalgae, metazoans, vendobionts and ichnofossils - but the paleobiological significance of this record has been little explored. At least four occurrences of these fossils offer promise for increased understanding of the following aspects of Precambrian biospheric evolution: (i) the relationship of microbialites in 2.1-2.4 Ga old carbonates of the Minas Supergroup in the Quadrilatero Ferrifero, Minas Gerais (the oldest Brazilian fossils) to the development of the early oxygenic atmosphere and penecontemporaneous global tectonic and climatic events; (ii) the evolutionary and biostratigraphic significance of Mesoproterozoic to Ediacaran organic-walled microfossils in central-western Brazil; (iii) diversity and paleoecological significance of vase-shaped heterotrophic protistan microfossils in the Urucum Formation (Jacadigo Group) and possibly the Bocaina Formation (Corumba Group), of Mato Grosso do Sul; and (iv) insights into the record of skeletogenesis and paleoecology of latest Ediacaran metazoans as represented by the abundant organic carapaces of Corumbella and calcareous shells of the index fossil Cloudina, of the Corumba Group, Mato Grosso do Sul. Analysis of the Brazilian Precambrian fossil record thus holds great potential for augmenting paleobiological knowledge of this crucial period on Earth and for developing more robust hypotheses regarding possible origins and evolutionary pathways of biospheres on other planets. Received 26 February 2012, accepted 17 May 2012, first published online 18 June 2012

A new local variety of Crepidomanes minutum (Hymenophyllaceae) in the Mascarene Archipelago (Indian Ocean) and a new record for Mauritius

Crepidomanes minutum (Hymenophyllaceae) is here identified and recorded from Mauritius for the first time. The Mauritian specimens, in addition to those of La Reunion observed at low to middle elevations, are easily distinguished from populations observed outside the Mascarene Archipelago by their dwarfed size and rarity of the stipe proliferation that usually characterizes this species. We thus describe a new variety in this species for the Mascarene Islands.

The First Occurrence in the Fossil Record of an Aquatic Avian Twig-Nest with Phoenicopteriformes Eggs: Evolutionary Implications

Background: We describe the first occurrence in the fossil record of an aquatic avian twig-nest with five eggs in situ (Early Miocene Tudela Formation, Ebro Basin, Spain). Extensive outcrops of this formation reveal autochthonous avian osteological and oological fossils that represent a single taxon identified as a basal phoenicopterid. Although the eggshell structure is definitively phoenicopterid, the characteristics of both the nest and the eggs are similar to those of modern grebes. These observations allow us to address the origin of the disparities between the sister taxa Podicipedidae and Phoenicopteridae crown clades, and traces the evolution of the nesting and reproductive environments for phoenicopteriforms. Methodology/Principal Findings: Multi-disciplinary analyses performed on fossilized vegetation and eggshells from the eggs in the nest and its embedding sediments indicate that this new phoenicopterid thrived under a semi-arid climate in an oligohaline (seasonally mesohaline) shallow endorheic lacustine environment. High-end microcharacterizations including SEM, TEM, and EBSD techniques were pivotal to identifying these phoenicopterid eggshells. Anatomical comparisons of the fossil bones with those of Phoenicopteriformes and Podicipediformes crown clades and extinct palaelodids confirm that this avian fossil assemblage belongs to a new and basal phoenicopterid. Conclusions/Significance: Although the Podicipediformes-Phoenicopteriformes sister group relationship is now well supported, flamingos and grebes exhibit feeding, reproductive, and nesting strategies that diverge significantly. Our multi-disciplinary study is the first to reveal that the phoenicopteriform reproductive behaviour, nesting ecology and nest characteristics derived from grebe-like type strategies to reach the extremely specialized conditions observed in modern flamingo crown groups. Furthermore, our study enables us to map ecological and reproductive characters on the Phoenicopteriformes evolutionary lineage. Our results demonstrate that the nesting paleoenvironments of flamingos were closely linked to the unique ecology of this locality, which is a direct result of special climatic (high evaporitic regime) and geological (fault system) conditions.