Low-density koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in the mulgalands of south-west Queensland. II. Distribution and diet

This study used faecal pellets to investigate the broadscale distribution and diet of koalas in the mulgalands biogeographic region of south-west Queensland. Koala distribution was determined by conducting faecal pellet searches within a 30-cm radius of the base of eucalypts on 149 belt transects, located using a multi-scaled stratified sampling design. Cuticular analysis of pellets collected from 22 of these sites was conducted to identify the dietary composition of koalas within the region. Our data suggest that koala distribution is concentrated in the northern and more easterly regions of the study area, and appears to be strongly linked with annual rainfall. Over 50% of our koala records were obtained from non-riverine communities, indicating that koalas in the study area are not primarily restricted to riverine communities, as has frequently been suggested. Cuticular analysis indicates that more than 90% of koala diet within the region consists of five eucalypt species. Our data highlights the importance of residual Tertiary landforms to koala conservation in the region.

Trichostome ciliates from Australian marsupials. IV. Distribution of the ciliate fauna

Trichostome ciliates are associated with many different lineages of herbivorous mammals but there are few comparative studies of these associations in each lineage of herbivores. Here the occurrence of the ciliate fauna in a range of herbivorous marsupials (diprotodonts) is investigated and compared with that of ruminants. A total of 371 potential host animals, representing 33 species and 7 families, were examined for the presence of ciliates. The prevalence of endocommensal ciliates within individual host species varied between 0 and 100%. Of the different dietary groups of marsupials examined, only foregut (macropodids) and hindgut (vombatids) fermentative herbivores were found to harbour ciliates; carnivorous (dasyurids), omnivorous (peramelids) and midgut fermenting herbivores (phalangeroids) all lacked ciliates. The majority of ciliate species were oioxenic, several occurred in closely related hosts and some were able to colonise unnatural hosts in captive populations. Ciliate prevalences were found to vary at all levels: between hosts of different species, between conspecific hosts collected at different localities or seasons and between conspecific hosts at one collecting locality. The faunal composition of the 2 marsupial families which harboured ciliates differed greatly: the vombatid fauna was composed exclusively of amylovoracids whereas the macropodids harboured amylovoracids, polycostids and macropodiniids. In comparison to the ciliate fauna of ruminants, the fauna of macropodids is both depauperate and much more host specific. Low species richness in each host may be due to the large numbers of stomach nematodes in macropodids which compete with and may prey upon the ciliates within the stomach. The high levels of host specificity are probably due to different patterns of ciliate transmission in macropodids as they do not ruminate, eructate or feed indiscriminantly on pasture contaminated with saliva containing ciliates.

Impact of commercial fishing on Trindade Island and Martin Vaz Archipelago, Brazil : characteristics, conservation status of the species involved and prospects for preservation

Reportamos atividades de pesca comerciais no complexo insular mais afastado da costa brasileira: Ilha da Trindade e Arquipélago Martin Vaz. As atividades foram estudadas através de embarques e entrevistas com os mestres e pescadores das embarcações durante uma expedição cientifica realizada entre fevereiro e abril de 2007. Quatro modalidades de atividades de pesca são realizadas na região, capturando ao menos sete espécies que possuem algum risco de extinção. O estabelecimento de normas específicas de restrição para atividades que pescam sobre os recifes das ilhas é uma alternativa para a conservação das espécies ameaçadas. O monitoramento das embarcações pode ocorrer via satélite através do programa nacional de rastreamento de embarcações pesqueiras (PREPS).

Species richness of anthophilous butterflies of an Atlantic Forest fragment in Southeastern Brazil

The objectives of this study were to identify anthophilous butterflies on psychophilous flowers of four Asteraceae species in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, Southeastern Brazil, and to determine whether there are species in common with other lepidopteran inventories of the Southeastern and Midwestern regions of Brazil. It is the first inventory of anthophilous butterflies of a semideciduous forest fragment in Zona da Mata, State of Minas Gerais. A total of 108 species were recorded, representing the fourth largest lepidopteran survey in this State. The results demonstrated that Asteraceae species may be important tools for monitoring anthophilous butterflies. The similarity with other inventories ranged from 1 to 92.55%. Fifteen species were reported for the first time in the State of Minas Gerais, and among them, Melanis alena and Thisbe irenea were observed in this study only.

A new species of Culex (Melanoconion) from Southern Brazil (Diptera: Culicidae)

A new species from Southern Brazil, named Culex (Melanoconion) ribeirensis is described. The description includes adults, pupal and larval stages, illustrating the morphological aspects and a picture of a breeding place. Some data about known distribution and bionomics are presented.

Studies on some species of Culex (Melanoconion), with the description of a new one from Southern Brazil (Diptera: Culicidae)

Redescription of Culex (Melanoconion) oedipus Root and of Cx. (Mel.) plectoporpe Root, as well as the description of a new one, named Cx. (Mel.) rabelloi, are made. The material was collected in S.Paulo State, Southern Brazil. The descriptions include adults, pupal and larval stages, illustrating the morphological aspects and with pictures of breeding places. Some data about known distribution and bionomics are presented, remarking that all the three species seem to be closely associated with artificial manmade enviroments.

Evaluation of organophosphorus and synthetic pyrethroid insecticides against six vector mosquitoe species

Three organophosphorus compounds- malathion, folithion and temephos- and two synthetic pyrethroids- alphamethrin and deltamethrin- were used for monitoring the susceptibility status of larvae and adults of six vector mosquitoe species: Culex quinquefasciatus (Filariasis) and Aedes albopictus (Dengue) (both laboratory and field strains); laboratory strains of Aedes aegypti (Dengue), Anopheles slephensi and Anopheles culicifacies (Malaria), and Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Japanese encephalitis) in India. From the LC50 values obtained for these insecticides, it was found that all mosquito species including the field strains of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ae. albopictus were highly susceptible Except for Cx. quinquefasciatus (field strain) against malathion, 100% mortality was observed at the discriminating dosages recommended by World Health Organization. The residual effect of alphamethrin, deltamethrin, malathion and folithion at 25 mg (ai)/m² on different surfaces against six species of vector mosquitoes showed that alphamethrin was the most effective on all four treated surfaces (mud, plywood, cement and thatch). Nevertheless, residual efficacy lasted longer on thatch than on the other surfaces. Therefore, synthetic pyrethroids such as alphamethrin can be effectively employed in integrated vector control operations.

Modelling the distribution of cetaceans using opportunistic presence-only data in S. Miguel Island (Azores)

25th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Cadiz, Spain 21-23 March 2011.

Multimodal species abundance distributions: a deconstruction approach reveals the processes behind the pattern

Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Oikos © 2014 Nordic Society Oikos.

Bryophytes distribution along an altitudinal gradient of native forest in Pico island (Azores): preliminary results of epiphytic genera

MOVECLIM, Mid Course Meeting, 2-6 September 2013, Réunion (Mascarenes).

Geographical, temporal and environmental determinants of bryophyte species richness in the Macaronesian Islands

Copyright: © 2014 Aranda et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

The gambin model provides a superior fit to species abundance distributions with a single free parameter : evidence, implementation and interpretation

The species abundance distribution (SAD) has been a central focus of community ecology for over fifty years, and is currently the subject of widespread renewed interest. The gambin model has recently been proposed as a model that provides a superior fit to commonly preferred SAD models. It has also been argued that the model's single parameter (α) presents a potentially informative ecological diversity metric, because it summarises the shape of the SAD in a single number. Despite this potential, few empirical tests of the model have been undertaken, perhaps because the necessary methods and software for fitting the model have not existed. Here, we derive a maximum likelihood method to fit the model, and use it to undertake a comprehensive comparative analysis of the fit of the gambin model. The functions and computational code to fit the model are incorporated in a newly developed free-to-download R package (gambin). We test the gambin model using a variety of datasets and compare the fit of the gambin model to fits obtained using the Poisson lognormal, logseries and zero-sum multinomial distributions. We found that gambin almost universally provided a better fit to the data and that the fit was consistent for a variety of sample grain sizes. We demonstrate how α can be used to differentiate intelligibly between community structures of Azorean arthropods sampled in different land use types. We conclude that gambin presents a flexible model capable of fitting a wide variety of observed SAD data, while providing a useful index of SAD form in its single fitted parameter. As such, gambin has wide potential applicability in the study of SADs, and ecology more generally.

Assessing the conservation status of the strict endemic Desertas wolf spider, Hogna ingens (Araneae, Lycosidae)

The Desertas Islands (Madeira, Portugal) are the sole home of one of the largest and rarest wolf spiderspecies, Hogna ingens (Blackwall 1857) (Araneae, Lycosidae). Despite its size, it inhabits a single valleyin the North of the Deserta Grande Island, Vale da Castanheira, currently invaded by the herb Phalarisaquatica. This invasive species competes with the native flora and was subject to several eradicationexperiments, namely through fire and chemicals. The objectives of this work were to: (1) estimate thecurrent distribution and abundance of H. ingens and respective trends; (2) evaluate the impact of theinvasive plant and eradication methods on the spider population; (3) suggest future measures for therecovery of the species; and (4) evaluate its conservation status according to the IUCN criteria. The current distribution of H. ingens covers 23 ha, a recent reduction from its original 83 ha, correspond-ing to the entire Vale da Castanheira. A total of 4447 and 4086 adults and 71,832 and 24,635 juvenileswere estimated to live in the valley during 2011 and 2012, respectively. We found a significant negativeimpact of P. aquatica cover on the presence and abundance of H. ingens and that chemical treatmentspecifically directed towards the invasive plant species may be the only way to effectively recover thespider's habitat. We suggest (1) regular monitoring; (2) extend chemical treatments; (3) ex-situ conserva-tion with future reintroduction of adults. Based on the current area of occupancy (AOO) of H. ingens and itsrecent decline in both AOO and number of individuals, it was recently classified as Critically Endangeredby IUCN and we suggest its urgent inclusion in the Habitats Directive species lists.

Long-term monitoring across elevational gradients to assess ecological hypothesis : a description of standardized sampling methods in oceanic islands and first results

We are launching a long-term study to characterize the biodiversity at different elevations in several Azorean Islands. Our aim is to use the Azores as a model archipelago to answer the fundamental question of what generates and maintains the global spatial heterogeneity of diversity in islands and to be able to understand the dynamics of change across time. An extensive, standardized sampling protocol was applied in most of the remnant forest fragments of five Azorean Islands. Fieldwork followed BRYOLAT methodology for the collection of bryophytes, ferns and other vascular plant species. A modified version of the BALA protocol was used for arthropods. A total of 70 plots (10 m x 10 m) are already established in five islands (Flores, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira and São Miguel), all respecting an elevation step of 200 m, resulting in 24 stations examined in Pico, 12 in Terceira, 10 in Flores, 12 in São Miguel and 12 in São Jorge. The first results regarding the vascular plants inventory include 138 vascular species including taxa from Lycopodiophyta (N=2), Pteridophyta (N=27), Pinophyta (N=2) and Magnoliophyta (N=107). In this contribution we also present the main research question for the next six years within the 2020 Horizon.

First report of ciguatoxins in two starfish species : Ophidiaster ophidianus and Marthasterias glacialis

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a syndrome caused by the ingestion of fish contaminated with Ciguatoxins (CTXs). These phycotoxins are produced mainly by dinoflagellates that belong to the genus Gambierdiscus that are transformed in more toxic forms in predatory fish guts, and are more present in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean areas. It is estimated that CFP causes per year more than 10,000 intoxications worldwide. With the rise of water temperature and anthropogenic intervention, it is important to study the prevalence of CFP in more temperate waters. Through inter- and subtidal sampling, 22 species of organisms were collected, in Madeira and Azores archipelagos and in the northwestern Moroccan coast, during September of 2012 and June and July of 2013. A total of 94 samples of 22 different species of bivalves, gastropods, echinoderms and crustaceans where analyzed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectometry-Ion Trap-Time of Flight (UPLC-MS-IT-TOF) and Ultra Performance Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Our main aim was to detect new vectors and ascertain if there were some geographical differences. We detected for the first time putative CTXs in echinoderms, in two starfish species—M. glacialis and O. ophidianus. We detected differences regarding uptake values by organisms and geographical location. Toxin amounts were significant, showing the importance and the need for continuity of these studies to gain more knowledge about the prevalence of these toxins, in order to better access human health risk. In addition, we suggest monitoring of these toxins should be extended to other vectors, starfish being a good alternative for protecting and accessing human health risk.