Neotropical Biology and Conservation

100 articles every ecologist can actually read?

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Reading scientific articles is fundamental for researchers, not only to keep pace with advances in their field, but also to know those giants on whose shoulders they are standing. In this sense, Courchamp and Bradshaw (2018) recently proposed a list of 100 seminal papers deemed to be of major importance in ecology, thus providing a general ‘must-read’ list for any new ecologist. The authors metaphorically speak of ecology as an ever-growing brick wall of published evidence. In order to quantify the degree of interference of the paywall over the wall of science, we took the opportunity given by the 100 seminal papers list and registered how many articles have been made universally and freely available by the publisher. Of the 100 scientific papers proposed as foundations of the wall of ecological knowledge, 66 are behind the paywall, with a total cost of US$1,560. This paywall exacerbates the existing asymmetries in ecological research between researchers from developed countries and the Global South. Diversity in research, as in ecological systems, is a source of robustness. Publishing high-quality articles in regional open peer-reviewed scientific journals is a suitable way to valorize Global South ecology, helping minimize the existing asymmetries.

Keywords: ecology, information access, paywall, inequity.

What constitutes the menu of Trachops cirrhosus (Chiroptera)? A review of the species’ diet

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Few data are available on the predation of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals by the fringe-lipped bat Trachops cirrhosus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Phyllostominae), in particular in Brazil, where ecological studies of this species are still incipient. This study presents an overview of the data available in the literature on the composition of the diet of T. cirrhosus, including data from a semiarid region. The first records of the predation of the anurans Corythomanthis greeningi (Hylidae), Pleurodema diplolister (Leiuperidae), Proceratophrys cristiceps (Cycloramphidae), Dermatonotus muelleri (Microhylidae), Pipa carvalhoi (Pipidae), Leptodactylus sp. (Leptodactylidae), the lizards Vanzosaura rubricauda (Gymnophytalmidae), Hemidactylus mabouia (Gekknonidae), and a rodent of the family Cricetidae are reported. Insects (33%) constitute the principal component of the diet of T. cirrhosus, while anuran amphibians contributed 23% of the items recorded, followed by birds (14%), mammals (10%), lizards (8%), and invertebrates (8%). This diversity of prey is typical of a generalist predator, which is relatively unaffected by seasonal fluctuations in the availability of prey. This is especially important in the semi-arid Caatinga biome, which is subject to prolonged periods of drought that result in a shortage of feeding resources.

Keywords: fringe-lipped bat, herpetofauna, prey-predator relationship, rodents, seasonally dry tropical forest.

Cases of induced alloparental care in Seba’s short-tailed fruit bat

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Alloparental care has been reported in over 120 mammalian species. Here, we describe the first observed cases of induced alloparental care in Seba’s short-tailed fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) at Macaregua cave (Santander, Colombia). As a part of a reproductive study, specimens of C. perspicillata were sampled between June and August 2015. During two separate occasions, we observed the willingness of lactating females to accept and carry abandoned pups, after we put a female and a non-parental pup together. Additional data is needed to confirm adoption capacity of Seba’s short-tailed fruit bat. This is the first observation of potentially cooperative behavior in this species.

Keywords: alloparenting, Chiroptera, cooperative behavior, Colombia, lactating females.

Is the presence of eggs a relevant cue for predators of freshwater chelonian nests?

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Predation is considered a game between two players – predator and prey – where such pressure might affect the interactions, acting on prey and predator distribution and abundance. We evaluate whether the predation level in chelonian nests varies according to the presence of eggs in nests. Our hypothesis is that owing to the clues (visual and olfactory) of upturned soil left in newly constructed nests, predators attack nests regardless of the presence of eggs on nests. We constructed artificial nests organized in two treatments (15 with eggs, and 15 without eggs) in ESEC Taim, southern Brazil, and checked the nests during two consecutive days. We identified the possible predators through photographic traps installed near the nests, associated with the identification of footprints on disturbed nests. We verified high predation rates in both nests, which corroborate our hypothesis. We identified two canids (Cerdocyon thous and Lycalopex gymnocercus) as predators around the nests. Our results suggest that turtle nests are highly detectable by predators, and the location cues used by pampa fox to find newly constructed nests are related to soil disturbance and not to egg presence on nests.

Keywords: foraging, interspecific interactions, predation rate.

Biological invasion by Thespesia populnea in sites under fluviomarine influence

João Paulo Bispo Santos, Juliano Ricardo Fabricante — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

The present study aimed to report the biological invasion by Thespesia populnea of sites under fluviomarine influence and adjacent environments of the Sergipe River, in Aracaju, Sergipe, Northeastern Brazil, by Thespesia populnea, as well as to evaluate the susceptibility of the occurrence of the species in other Brazilian regions. The study site comprises a mangrove area and adjacent sites of the Sergipe river. The focuses of the invasion by T. populnea were obtained by means of walks throughout the extension of the site (active search). To evaluate the susceptibility of occurrence of the species in Brazil, an ecological niche modeling analysis was performed. The invasion of the species was registered at several points in the study area, with the highest concentrations in the most degraded sites. The results of the model analysis demonstrate high to extremely high susceptibility to the occurrence (biological invasion) of the species in several parts of the country. The attributes of the species, observations in situ and results of the modeling analysis suggest the need to control T. populnea in the study area and prohibition of its planting in the Brazilian territory.

Keywords: exotic invasive, modeling analysis, mangrove.

Dendrochronology and climate in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Which species, where and how

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

As dendrochronology noticeably increased in tropical regions during the last three decades, some general patterns could emerge from comprehensive analyses of case studies. Here, we investigated the state of dendrochronology’s contributions to the bioclimatology of wood species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF). We asked: Which species and sites had cross-datable growth-ring series suitable for bioclimatic inference? What were the sampling and analytical methods applied? What do these studies tell us about plant-growth sensitivity to climate conditions? Which knowledge gaps may be identified? For this, we searched for articles addressing climate-growth relationships by means of cross-dated growth-ring chronologies within the AF. We found 11 articles, covering 16 chronologies from 10 species. The average number of trees in chronologies was 16 individuals. 87% of chronologies suggested a positive precipitation signal, and some positive temperature signal was identified in all chronologies that were compared to monthly or seasonal temperature series. The findings are supported by the specialized literature, which points out the influence of precipitation in the tropics. However, making stronger conclusions about the role of climate on the growth of AF tree species will require greater efforts in surveying the diverse tree flora and developing rigorous cross-dated chronologies.

Keywords: climate-growth relationship, dendrochronological parameters, tropical forest, subtropical forest.

Temporal trends of scientific literature about zooplankton community

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Zooplankton plays a key role in aquatic food chains. In the present study we aimed to evaluate the trends of zooplankton studies in the scientific literature published between 1991 and 2015 and also to answer the following questions: (i) Has the number of studies increased? (ii) Which are the main countries and journals that publish papers about zooplankton? (iii) Is it possible to identify temporal trends? We used the ISI Web of Science database to find articles that had the word “zooplankton” or its groups (“copepods”, “cladocerans”, “rotifers”, “testate amoebae”) in their title, abstract or keywords. The number of zooplankton publications increased over the years, but, when we removed the effect of total publications, the number of publications on copepods decreased, while publications on testate amoebae increased. The country with the most published studies was the USA and the journal was the Hydrobiologia. The keywords formed four groups, evidencing a temporal change in the main interest of the studies on zooplankton community. The oldest articles showed the interest of researches in zooplankton species description. In subsequent years, the main concern was still species description, but also ecology and other aspects. Recently, studies concerned to environmental issues, preservation and sustainability became more frequent.

Keywords: systematic review, scientific interest, limnology, water, food chain.

Determination of the effects of two feed supplements on Drosophila melanogaster

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Pleurotus spp. are considered extremely rich mushroom species from the nutritional pointof view, providing immune-enhancement effects when consumed. However, few mushroomshave been tested for their phenotypic and genotypic responses in animal modelsto ensure the proper dosage for their use. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of twomushroom species on the reproductive capacity of Drosophila melanogaster. Pleurotuscitrinopileatus Singer and Lentinus sajor-caju (Fr.) Fr. were provided separately, in specificconcentrations, as feed supplements to the fruit flies. The total numbers of developedlarvae, pupae, and adults were then measured for each treatment. Inter simple sequencerepeats marker analysis was carried out to infer genotypic changes in the mushroom-fedflies. Our results suggest that Pleurotus spp. can cause positive changes to the flies’ reproductivecapacity, since Pleurotus citrinopileatus in particular accelerated the life cycle andrevealed a higher genetic dissimilarity of the diet-supplemented flies.

Keywords: fruitflies, reproductive fitness, edible mushrooms.

Population structure and effects by the invasive exotic indian-almond over autochthonous vegetation from a sandbank

João Paulo Bispo Santos, Juliano Ricardo Fabricante — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

In the face of the severe effects caused by biological invasions, this study aimed at evaluating the population structure and impacts caused by the invasive exotic species T. catappa L. over native plant composition, richness and diversity. The study area is located at Atalaia Beach, Aracaju, Sergipe, Northeastern Brazil, and comprises sandbank sites. In order to evaluate the population structure of this invasive exotic species and its impacts on the biota, pertinent statistics were carried out. The results demonstrated that T. catappa shows density of 9,480 ind.ha-1, being 8,430 ind.ha-1 for non-adults and 1,050 ind.ha-1 for adults, and self-regenerating population. The average species richness for invaded (I) areas and non-invaded (NI) were 6.1 ± 2.42 and 9.7 ± 2.45, respectively. The average abundance of individuals in NI was 1,057.6 ± 432.85 and 184.9 ± 126.66 for I. The diversity and the equability were 2.38 and 0.66 in I and 2.86 and 0.75 in NI, respectively. Thus, T. catappa causes significant impacts on species composition and richness, abundance and autochthonous diversity.

Keywords: biological invasion, ecology, environmental impacts.

Seasonal variation in the composition of ground-dwelling anuran (Amphibia) assemblages in southern Brazil

André Luís Luza, Fernanda Anziliero Gonçalves, Noeli Zanella — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Climate seasonality may differently influence habitat quality and heterogeneity depending on habitat type. We examined whether the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic composition of ground-dwelling anuran assemblages from grassland and forest habitats vary seasonally. We tested the hypothesis that the forest anuran assemblage varies less seasonally than the grassland assemblage. We monitored anurans using pitfall trap arrays in two areas, sampled across four seasons over a two-year period. For the functional composition, we acquired information on species morphology, reproduction, and habitat use to represent the anuran niche. For the phylogenetic composition, we used the most comprehensive anuran phylogeny. We used Principal Coordinate Analysis and Analysis of Variance to evaluate seasonal variations in assemblage composition along the study period. Our data revealed significant seasonal variation in the taxonomic and phylogenetic composition of anuran assemblages. Variation in taxonomic composition was higher in the grassland than in the forest assemblage, while variation in phylogenetic composition was higher in the spring-summer than in the autumn-winter seasons. We did not identify seasonal variation in functional composition. Seasonal variations in taxonomic and phylogenetic composition, but not in functional composition, indicate that the species with a fluctuating seasonal abundance have similar life-history traits, but belong to different lineages.

Keywords: anuran traits, Brazilian highland grasslands, habitat variability, temporal beta diversity, temporal turnover.

Diet and morphological aspects of a population of Pseudopaludicola pocoto (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Northeast Brazil

Sun, 30 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0200

Food resources represent an important part of the trophic niche, being an important determinant in the structuring of communities in any phylogenetic group. Thus, we aim to contribute with ecological information about diet composition, trophic niche width and body size of Pseudopaludicola pocoto in a Caatinga area from the Brazilian northeast. The collections were made during the dry season (September 2015) and rainy season (February 2016), where 120 specimens of P. pocoto were collected and analyzed. We recorded the diet of the dry period, composed of thirteen categories of prey, Coleoptera and Hemiptera being the categories of major relative importance. The trophic niche width (Bsta = 0.18) indicates P. pocoto as a specialist consumer. All individuals collected during the rainy season had no stomach contents. In addition, no significant differences were observed between male and female body sizes. Future works addressing the reproduction of this species are stimulated, therefore, they can contribute to the understanding of phenomena such as the absence of stomach contents during the reproductive period and, finally, to prove or not the hypothesis of stochastic in this species.

Keywords: amphibians, seasonality, neotropical, body size, diet.