Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Tropical anuran communities are very diverse. Nevertheless, much of their ecological and historical processes remain unknown. Bioacoustical studies are important to help to solve these puzzles. In the present study we examined the effect of environmental (air temperature and humidity) and morphological (body size) attributes on the acoustic parameters of two frogs of the Hypsiboas albopunctatus species group (H. albopunctatus and H. paranaiba ) living in sympatry and allopatry in the Brazilian cerrado. We also investigated if the presence of one species influences the spatial distribution or vocal behaviour of the other. We found H. albopunctatus and H. paranaiba males emitting advertisement and aggressive calls in sympatry and allopatry. Although the calling behavior of H. paranaiba did not differ in sympatry and allopatry, differences were noted for H. albopunctatus . Bioacoustics is the main form of communication in anurans, and is one of the best ways to discriminate among species. Variations in the calling behavior of males and what drives these variations in both species is central to better understand the processes of specific recognition and female attraction.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Although ariid catfishe species are known to use coastal systems during some stages of their life cycles, the energetic contribution of estuarine resources and habitat use by many species in this family are still unclear. We used stable isotope analyses to estimate the assimilation of primary carbon sources and to infer the use of estuarine and freshwater habitats by two ariid catfishes Genidens barbus (Lacepède, 1803) and Genidens genidens (Cuvier, 1829). An isotopic mixing model revealed that juveniles of both catfish species consume considerable amounts of estuarine-produced carbon sources (G. barbus: 54-87% and G. genidens: 36-84%). However, G. genidens adults rely more on freshwater-derived carbon sources (31-77%) than on estuarine sources (23-69%). These results support the hypothesis that both species occupy the estuary and assimilate organic carbon produced in this region during their early stages, but G. genidens adults consume carbon sources associated with the freshwater portion of the lagoon.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT The production of hybrids of the 'pintado', Pseudoplatystoma corruscans (Spix & Agassiz, 1829) and 'cachara', Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889) in captivity has generated many concerns about the possibility of introduction of farmed hybrids into natural environments. In the last decade, hybrids between these species, known as 'pintachara' or 'cachapinta', were reported from different regions of the Upper Paraná River basin. Prospection of these hybrids is important in order to orient conservation programs for the species involved. Knowledge of the presence of these hybrids will direct conservation strategies towards prevention and/or mitigation of the effects of cross breeding in natural populations of P. corruscans (the native species of the genus) and farmed hybrids. In this study, surveyed the larval population using molecular tools to detect the presence and assess the origin (natural hybridization or escapes from fish farms) of hybrids in natural water bodies. Nine microsatellite markers were used to detect signals of hybridization and introgression of P. reticulatum in larvae and adults of P. corruscans in Upper Paraná River basin, between Itaipu Dam and Porto Primavera Dam. The specimens were sampled in the Upper Paraná channel and in tributaries where hybrids had been detected in the past, during two reproductive seasons. Despite of that, no sign of hybridization and introgression was found in the 171 larvae and 75 adults sampled, suggesting that the specimens detected in previous studies had originated from escapes of aquaculture farms.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Two new species of Tydeidae are described, Brachytydeus lorenzatus sp. nov. and Quasitydeus feresi sp. nov. Brachytydeus lorenzatus sp. nov. differs from B. aegyptiaca (Rasmy & El Bagoury, 1979) by having a reticulated area on the region of f1 and f2 , dorsal setae smooth, solenidion (I shorter than or equal to the width of tarsus I, most setae on dorsal shield shorter than the length between their bases and setae d forked distally. The new species is distinguished from B. scutatus Silva, Rocha & Ferla, 2013 by having a slightly reticulate area on the aspidosoma, near setae bo , all dorsal setae slender and club-shaped. Quasitydeus feresi sp. nov. differs from the only other species of the genus, Q. ricensis (Baker, 1970), by having all dorsal setae simple and serrated, similar in shape. Eleven tydeoid species are reported also from several plants native to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This is the second species of Brachytydeus Thor, 1931 described from and the second species described for Quasitydeus Kaźmierski, 1996.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Two new genera of short-tailed whip-scorpions are described based on material from Brazilian iron ore and canga caves in the Carajás region, Pará, Brazil. Naderiore gen. nov. with a single species N. carajas sp. nov. and also monotypic Cangazomus gen. nov. (type species C. xikrin sp. nov.). The relationships of the two new genera with previously described genera are discussed. Naderiore most closely resembles Adisomus Cokendolpher & Reddell, 2000, Piaroa Villarreal, Tourinho & Giupponi, 2008 and Calima Moreno-González & Villarreal, 2012, and can be distinguished from them by Dm3 modified as macrosetae in the male flagellum. Cangazomus most closely resembles Naderiore , Adisomus Cokendolpher & Reddell, 2000, and Piaroa Villarreal, Tourinho & Giupponi, 2008. It differs from all of them by the presence of two pairs of ramified spermathecal lobes, each composed of a differentiated stalk and distoterminal ramified bulbs, chitinized arch without anterior branch and notched lateral tip, pedipalps unarmed and not sexually dimorphic, and the male flagellar setae Dm3 as a microsetae.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT We describe a new species of tarantula from the highlands of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Males of the new species can be distinguished from congeners by having palpal bulb keels weakly developed, and metatarsus I strongly curved, touching apex of retrolateral spur when folded. Females can be distinguished by the color pattern, carapace and legs black with conspicuous white rings on distal femora, patellae, tibiae, and metatarsi. The male of Pterinopelma felipeleitei sp. nov. was previously misidentified and described under the name Pterinopelma sazimai Bertani, Nagahama & Fukushima, 2011. The true male of P. sazimai is herein described from a specimen collected near the type locality. Similar to the conspecific female, this male has characteristic blue iridescent setae covering the carapace, chelicerae, legs, and palps. The new species is sympatric with P. sazimai . Both species inhabit a habitat locally known as 'campos rupestres'.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT We described immature stages of Nilio (Nilio ) brunneus Thomson, 1860 and provide a supplementary description for adults, including new data on the anatomy of the female and male terminalia. We observed N. brunneus feeding on the lichen Parmotrema sp., and that immature and adult are gregarious, with sessile pupae and generations overlapping. In laboratory, eggs hatched in 14 days and adults emerged after seven days in the pupal stage, the adults survived only a few days.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT We present a protocol for measuring spatial variables in large (>50 m2) soft-sediment tide pool. Secondarily, we present the fish capture efficiency of a sampling protocol that based on such spatial variables to calculate relative abundances. The area of the pool is estimated by summing areas of basic geometric forms; the depth, by taken representative measurements of the depth variability of each pool's sector, previously determined according to its perimeter; and the volume, by considering the pool as a prism. These procedures were a trade-off between the acquisition of reliable estimates and the minimization of both the cost of operating and the time spent in field. The fish sampling protocol is based on two con secutive stages: 1) two people search for fishes under structures (e.g., rocks and litters) on the pool and capture them with hand seines; 2) these structures are removed and then a beach-seine is hauled over the whole pool. Our method is cheaper than others and fast to operate considering the time in low tides. The method to sample fish is quite efficient resulting in a capture efficiency of 89%.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Accurate estimates of group sizes through line transect sampling methods are important to correctly ascertain the abundance of animals that occur in groups. Since the average observed group size is a component of the distance sampling formula, bias in these data leads to biased abundance estimates. This study aimed to evaluate the potential errors in group size estimation during line transect ship surveys to estimate abundances of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski 1781). In a research cruise along the Brazilian coast, an experiment to collect group size information was conducted from two different sighting platforms on the same vessel. Group sizes were recorded by primary observers at first sighting (PO1) and, in some cases, after some time (PO2). A tracker (T) was located on a higher platform to estimate the sizes of groups detected by the primary observers, but tracked one group at a time until it passed abeam. Thus, the dedicated effort to obtain multiple group counts (i.e. higher platform, more time and no responsibility for detecting new groups) was expected to provide more accurate numbers. PO2 estimates were compared with PO1 estimates, and T estimates were compared with both PO1 and PO2. Additionally, ratios between T and both PO2 (R1) and PO1 (R2), and between PO2 and PO1 (R3) were calculated. To investigate a possible improvement in abundance estimates, a correction factor (CF) was computed from the ratio of T and PO2 means. Primary observer self-correction (= 1.60, CV% = 70.3) was statistically similar to the correction for the tracker (= 1.62, CV% = 84.1). CF resulted in 1 and would not improve abundance estimates. This study supports that observers conducting line transect surveys on large whales have the potential to provide group size information that is as adequate as the correction procedure adopted.