Toucans.

Se pretende enseñar a los niños el ciclo de vida de los tucanes y la forma en que interactúan con su entorno, sus hábitos, su estilo de vida y las amenazas a los que se enfrenta por la actuación de los hombres al modificar las condiciones ambientales. La obra contiene un mapa de distribución del hábitat del tucán, glosario y bibliografía.

Evolutionary history of Ramphastos toucans: Molecular phylogenetics, temporal diversification, and biogeography

The toucan genus Ramphastos (Piciformes: Ramphastidae) has been a model in the formulation of Neotropical paleobiogeographic hypotheses. Weckstein (2005) reported on the phylogenetic history of this genus based on three mitochondrial genes, but some relationships were weakly supported and one of the subspecies of R. vitellinus (citreolaemus) was unsampled. This study expands on Weckstein (2005) by adding more DNA sequence data (including a nuclear marker) and more samples, including R v. citreolaemus. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods recovered similar trees, with nodes showing high support. A monophyletic R. vitellinus complex was strongly supported as the sister-group to R. brevis. The results also confirmed that the southeastern and northern populations of R. vitellinus ariel are paraphyletic. X v. citreolaemus is sister to the Amazonian subspecies of the vitellinus complex. Using three protein-coding genes (COI, cytochrome-b and ND2) and interval-calibrated nodes under a Bayesian relaxed-clock framework, we infer that ramphastid genera originated in the middle Miocene to early Pliocene, Ramphastos species originated between late Miocene and early Pleistocene, and intra-specific divergences took place throughout the Pleistocene. Parsimony-based reconstruction of ancestral areas indicated that evolution of the four trans-Andean Ramphastos taxa (R. v. citreolaemus, R. a. swainsonii, R. brevis and R. sulfuratus) was associated with four independent dispersals from the cis-Andean region. The last pulse of Andean uplift may have been important for the evolution of R. sulfuratus, whereas the origin of the other trans-Andean Ramphastos taxa is consistent with vicariance due to drying events in the lowland forests north of the Andes. Estimated rates of molecular evolution were higher than the ""standard"" bird rate of 2% substitutions/site/million years for two of the three genes analyzed (cytochrome-b and ND2). (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toucans ( Ramphastidae) and hornbills ( Bucerotidae) as ant followers.

Toucans, especially species of the group Ramphastos vitellinus, occasionally follow armies of ants in tropical forests, on the look out for prey disturbed by the ants. Two methods of searching are used: examining the ground or the lianas and trunks. In contrasts, forest hornbills, (white crested hornbill Tropicranus albocristatus), frequently follow ant armies in Africa. After waiting poised in an erect position, they leap forward towards the ground or at the trunk, sometimes reaching up into the leaves.-translated by C.Wilson

Frugivory by toucans (Ramphastidae) at two altitudes in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil

Toucans are prominent components of the tropical American avifauna. Although these birds are very conspicuous, there are few ecological studies focusing on them. In this study, the diets of four sympatric toucans (Ramphastos vitellinus, R. dicolorus, Selenidera maculirostris, and Baillonius bailloni) were assessed by recording feeding bouts at two altitudes in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil. Our results show that toucans are predominantly frugivorous birds (96.5% of the 289 feeding bouts were on fruits). In the lowlands (70 m elev.), only fruits (48 species, 27 families) were recorded, while in the highlands (700 m elev.), toucans were observed feeding on fruits (25 species, 22 families), flowers, leaves, and insects. Non-fruit items were recorded only in the highlands, most of them eaten by B. bailloni. Cecropia glaziovii and Euterpe edulis, two abundant plants in the highland and lowland sites, respectively, and Virola oleifera, a plant that produces lipid-rich arillate fruits, were eaten heavily by the toucans. The number of feeding bouts recorded for R. vitellinus in the lowlands was positively correlated with lipid content of the fruits eaten. The diameters of fruits eaten by toucans varied greatly (range = 0.4-25.0 mm). While the large Ramphastos species not only ate tiny fruits (e.g., Hyeronima alchorneoides) but also large ones (e.g., Virola gardneri), the toucanets ate piecemeal the large fruits that exceeded their gape width, suggesting that gape size did not limit the use of any fruit by the toucans at our study sites.

Survey on Chlamydophila psittaci in captive ramphastids in São Paulo State, Brazil

Chlamydophila psittaci (C. psittaci) has been detected in 460 avian species, among them the most frequent are the Psittaciformes, Columbiformes, Anseriformes and raptors. In Brazil, the main avian species recognized as healthy carriers belong to the order Psittaciformes and Columbiformes, but very few studies have been done in other bird families. Reports of the occurrence of this disease in the clinical form are rare in the Ramphastids; consequently, they are not commonly evaluated for this agent. The present study reports the investigation of C. psittaci in 25 captive ramphastids from a zoological park in São Paulo State, Brazil. Swabs samples from the cloaca were submitted to semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (semi-nested PCR) for direct detection of the microorganism. Additionally, blood samples obtained from these birds were submitted to the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) for detection of antibodies anti-C. psittaci. The presence of C. psittaci was not detected in the cloacal swab samples tested by the PCR. Nevertheless, 16% (4/25) of the bird's sera were positive by the CFT. Among the species with positive results, there are the saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) and black-necked-aracari (Pteroglossus aracari), two species with no descriptions of the survey of C. psittaci published in the literature. Intermittent elimination of C. psittaci is a feature of chronically infected birds; however the absence of a positive-antigen sample did not guarantee that the bird is Chlamydophila-free. The serological results obtained show that the ramphastids tested were previously exposed to the pathogen and developed immune response, but showed no clinical signs of the disease and didn't eliminate regularly the organism in their feces in the moment of the sample collection.

Frugivory on Margaritaria nobilis L.f. (Euphorbiaceae): poor investment and mimetism.

Dehiscent fruits of Euphorbiaceae usually have two stages of seed dispersal, autochory followed by myrmecochory. Two stages of Margaritaria nobilis seed dispersal were described, the first stage autochoric followed by ornithocoric. Their dehiscent fruits are green and after they detached from the tree crown and fall on the ground, they open and expose blue metallic cocas. We studied the seed dispersal system of Margaritaria nobilis in a semi-deciduous forest in Brazil. In 80 h of focal observations, we recorded only 12 visits of frugivores, however the thrush Turdus leucomelas was the only frugivore that swallowed the fruits on the tree crown. Pitylus fuliginosus (Fringilidae) and Pionus maximiliani (Psittacidae) were mainly pulp eaters, dropping the seeds below the tree. on the forest floor, after fruits dehiscence, jays (Cyanocorax chrysops), guans (Penelope superciliaris), doves (Geotrygon montana) and collared-peccaries (Pecari tajacu) were observed eating the blue diaspores of M. nobilis. Experiments in captivity showed that scaly-headed parrots (Pionus maximiliani), toco toucans (Ramphastos toco), jays (Cyanochorax chrysops), and guans (Penelope superciliaris) consumed the fruits and did not prey on the seeds before consumption. The seeds collected from the feces did not germinate in spite of the high viability. The two stages of seed dispersal in M. nobilis resembles the dispersal strategies of some mimetic species. However M. nobilis seeds are associated with an endocarp, it showed low investment in nutrients, and consistent with this hypothesis, M. nobilis shared important characteristics with mimetic fruits, such as bright color display, long seed dormancy and protection by secondary compounds.

Seed deposition patterns and the survival of seeds and seedlings of the palm Euterpe edulis

The seed deposition pattern created by a seed disperser is one of the components of the efficiency of a species as seed disperser, and ultimately may influence the recruitment of a plant species. In this study, we used the seeds of a bird-dispersed forest palm, Euterpe edulis, to investigate the effects of two distinct seed deposition patterns created by birds that defecate (clumped pattern) and regurgitate seeds (loose-clumped pattern) on the survival of seeds experimentally set in an E. edulis-rich site, and of seedlings grown under shade-house conditions. The study was conducted in the lowland forest of Parque Estadual Intervales, SE Brazil. Clumped and loose-clumped seeds were equally preyed upon by rodents and insects. Although clumped and isolated seedlings had the same root weight after 1 year, the isolated seedlings survived better and presented more developed shoots, suggesting intraspecific competition among clumped seedlings. Our results indicate that animals that deposit E. edulis seeds in faecal clumps (e.g. cracids, tapirs) are less efficient seed dispersers than those that regurgitate seeds individually (e.g. trogons, toucans). Intraspecific competition among seedlings growing from faecal clumps is a likely process preventing the occurrence of clumps of adult palms. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.

Karyotypic characterization of Ramphastidae (Piciformes, Aves)

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

Survey on Chlamydophila psittaci in captive ramphastids in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Chlamydophila psittaci (C. psittaci) has been detected in 460 avian species, among them the most frequent are the Psittaciformes, Columbiformes, Anseriformes and raptors. In Brazil, the main avian species recognized as healthy carriers belong to the order Psittaciformes and Columbiformes, but very few studies have been done in other bird families. Reports of the occurrence of this disease in the clinical form are rare in the Ramphastids; consequently, they are not commonly evaluated for this agent. The present study reports the investigation of C. psittaci in 25 captive ramphastids from a zoological park in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Swabs samples from the cloaca were submitted to semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (semi-nested PCR) for direct detection of the microorganism. Additionally, blood samples obtained from these birds were submitted to the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) for detection of antibodies anti-C. psittaci. The presence of C. psittaci was not detected in the cloacal swab samples tested by the PCR. Nevertheless, 16% (4/25) of the bird's sera were positive by the CFT. Among the species with positive results, there are the saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) and black-necked-aracari (Pteroglossus aracari), two species with no descriptions of the survey of C. psittaci published in the literature. Intermittent elimination of C. psittaci is a feature of chronically infected birds; however the absence of a positive-antigen sample did not guarantee that the bird is Chlamydophila-free. The serological results obtained show that the ramphastids tested were previously exposed to the pathogen and developed immune response, but showed no clinical signs of the disease and didn't eliminate regularly the organism in their feces in the moment of the sample collection.

Survey on Chlamydophila psittaci in captive ramphastids in São Paulo State, Brazil

Chlamydophila psittaci (C. psittaci) has been detected in 460 avian species, among them the most frequent are the Psittaciformes, Columbiformes, Anseriformes and raptors. In Brazil, the main avian species recognized as healthy carriers belong to the order Psittaciformes and Columbiformes, but very few studies have been done in other bird families. Reports of the occurrence of this disease in the clinical form are rare in the Ramphastids; consequently, they are not commonly evaluated for this agent. The present study reports the investigation of C. psittaci in 25 captive ramphastids from a zoological park in São Paulo State, Brazil. Swabs samples from the cloaca were submitted to semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (semi-nested PCR) for direct detection of the microorganism. Additionally, blood samples obtained from these birds were submitted to the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) for detection of antibodies anti-C. psittaci. The presence of C. psittaci was not detected in the cloacal swab samples tested by the PCR. Nevertheless, 16% (4/25) of the bird's sera were positive by the CFT. Among the species with positive results, there are the saffron toucanet (Pteroglossus bailloni) and black-necked-aracari (Pteroglossus aracari), two species with no descriptions of the survey of C. psittaci published in the literature. Intermittent elimination of C. psittaci is a feature of chronically infected birds; however the absence of a positive-antigen sample did not guarantee that the bird is Chlamydophila-free. The serological results obtained show that the ramphastids tested were previously exposed to the pathogen and developed immune response, but showed no clinical signs of the disease and didn't eliminate regularly the organism in their feces in the moment of the sample collection.