Resumo em Inglês:

Life history parameters such as diet, reproduction, and sexual dimorphism are crucial to understand ecological and evolutionary forces shaping species traits. Nevertheless, such information is scant in the literature for most Neotropical squamates. Gymnophthalmidae contains over 242 species in 46 genera and includes small-size, mostly terrestrial species, although psamophilic, semi-aquatic, and low vegetation dwellers also occur. Dryadosaura is a monospecific genus - Dryadosaura nordestina Rodrigues et al., 2005 - , occurring in Atlantic Forest areas from Rio Grande do Norte to Northern Bahia, and little is known about its ecology and natural history. We analyzed the species' diet, reproduction, and sexual dimorphism based on 170 specimens deposited in museum collections. Dryadosaura nordestina is considered generalist and active forager, based on dietary items. Arthropods, especially ants and insect larvae, dominate the diet. The reproductive period shows a peak during the rainy season (May through June), while recruitment occurs from July through November. Males are significantly larger than females, and sexes can also be distinguished based on shape variables: males have higher heads and longer bodies, while body height and width are larger in females.

Resumo em Inglês:

Interactions between terrestrial and aquatic systems influence the structure of river habitats and, consequently, affect their benthic macroinvertebrate composition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of spatial and environmental variables (local physical and chemical variables of water and regional landscape characteristics) on the benthic macroinvertebrate community of the Pandeiros River Basin. Biotic and abiotic variables were evaluated at 20 sampling sites distributed across the primary sub-basins of the Pandeiros River Basin. We found that the macroinvertebrates were primarily affected by environmental variables. The most important environmental variables were pebble proportion and water conductivity at the local scale (7.2% of explained variation) and elevation and nonforest areas at the regional scale (6.9% of explained variation). The spatial variables were representative only in shared explained variation with the environmental matrices (local-spatial = 0.2% and regional-spatial = 2%; all matrices combined = 4.4%). Sampling sites with higher non-forest areas, lower elevations, and steeper slopes presented low pebble fractions and higher electrical conductivities. Habitat diversity was lower when the percentage of pebbles decreased, resulting in decreased taxonomic richness and diversity in macroinvertebrate communities. High electrical conductivities and non-forest areas also had negative effects on macroinvertebrate density due to the loss of habitat diversity. We conclude that higher proportions of pebbles in the substrate and higher altitudes were likely the primary variables for positive effects on the taxonomic richness and density of macroinvertebrate communities.

Resumo em Inglês:

Spatial and temporal variations in food supply play a crucial role in the determination of the patterns of food use by fish species. This study evaluated spatial and temporal variations in food utilization by small fish species of the Verde River, Upper Paraná River Basin, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Samplings were conducted in the rainy and dry periods, from November 2010 to August 2012, using trawls, cast nets and gillnets, in nine sampling sites grouped into three biotopes: upstream and downstream of the Branca Waterfall, and tributary. The stomach contents of 3,263 individuals of 12 small species were examined according to the volumetric method. Altogether, 31 food items were identified. Overall seed consumption was greater in the rainy period, and the consumption of terrestrial plants was greater in the dry period. Hymenoptera was an important item in the diet, but the proportions in the consumption of this item was different between biotopes and periods. The consumption of Coleoptera and Isoptera was expressive only downstream of the Branca Waterfall in the rainy period, and aquatic plant was mostly consumed in the tributary in the dry period. Significant differences were detected in the diet composition between biotopes, hydrological periods and also the interaction between these two factors. Allochthonous resources were clearly the most consumed by the species in all biotopes, especially during the rainy period. The dietary overlap between species, although showing significant spatial and temporal differences, was low (0.4) for about 60% of species pairs. Thus, it is concluded that spatial and temporal changes in the utilization of food resources by small fish were related to physiographic differences of the channel and the surroundings, which contributed to the significance of seasonal changes in the diet, also reflecting the low dietary overlap between species.

Resumo em Inglês:

We describe the species richness, distribution and composition of mesozooplankton over the continental shelf and slope, and in the water masses in the Campos Basin, southwest Atlantic Ocean. We analyzed the mesozooplankton from two oceanographic cruises (rainy and dry seasons, 2009) with samples taken in five different water masses from the surface to 2,300 m depth. In the Subsurface Water (SS), in both sampling periods, more species were recorded over the slope (rainy: 100; dry: 128) than the continental shelf (rainy: 97; dry: 104). Over the slope, species richness decreased with increasing depth: the highest values were observed in the South Atlantic Central Water (SACW), and the lowest values in the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), in both sampling periods. We recorded 262 species in 10 groups (Hydrozoa, Siphonophora, Ctenophora, Branchiopoda, Copepoda, Euphausiacea, Decapoda, Chaetognatha, Appendicularia e Thaliacea), with 13 new occurrences for the southwest Atlantic. Copepoda was the group with the highest species richness, containing 138 species. In both periods, the samples from SS, SACW and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW)/Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) were clustered in different faunistic zones, based on species composition. This study confirmed that zooplankton richness in the southwest Atlantic Ocean is underestimated, and suggests that additional efforts must be directed toward a better understanding of this fairly unknown region.

Resumo em Inglês:

We add three new species to the formerly monotypic Amazonian Hutamaia, Hutamaia maceta sp. nov. , Hutamaia plei sp. nov. and Hutamaia trompsonica sp. nov. and compare them with the type species, Hutamaia caramaschii Soares & Soares, 1977. Hutamaia was known only from two localities: Humaitá, Amazonas, Brazil (type locality of the type species), and Madre de Dios, Peru. Herein we record species from the following additional localities, all in Brazil: Coari, Codajás, Juruá, Jutaí, Manacapuru, Tefé (state of Amazonas) and Gurupá (state of Pará), indicating that the genus has a widespread distribution in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon. Hutamaia is newly diagnosed by having yellowish granules on dorsal scutum, armature of coxa IV of males, metatarsi with yellow rings, ventral plate of penis trapezoid with V-shaped cleft, bearing two pairs of longitudinal rows of setae, and glans without dorsal or ventral processes. The genus is likely closely related to Licornus Roewer, 1932, from which it differs by the shape of the ventral plate of the penis and lack of dorsal process of glans.

Resumo em Inglês:

Bunodactis Verril, 1899 comprises at present 19 nominal species of sea anemones. The validity of the genus is under discussion. The description of the species, Bunodactis octoradiata Carlgren, 1899, is insufficient for reliable identification, and although subsequent works have provided additional information on the species, its description still needs to be complemented. Herein we describe B. octoradiata based on histological sections of the internal anatomy, and give a complete and detailed description of the external anatomy. The cnidom is composed of spirocysts, basitrichs and microbasic p-mastigophores; their distribution in the organism, sizes and relative abundances are provided. The presence of zooxanthellae is reported for the first time. Bunodactis octoradiata is distributed in groups that vary from 5.6 to 45 ind./m² in the field. Additionally, our data extends the distribution of the species along the coast of southern Patagonia (47°44'36"-49°15'13"S and 65°50'26"-67°39'45"W).

Resumo em Inglês:

Ceracis Mellié, 1849 is the second most speciose genus of Ciidae, with 51 described species. Here we describe Ceracis zarathustrai sp. nov. based on adult individuals collected in three remnants of the Atlantic Forest biome (states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo). We provide information on its host fungi and briefly discuss the morphological affinities with other species of the genus.

Resumo em Inglês:

Seira caerucinerea sp. nov. , a new species of springtail from the Cerrado domain, state of Tocantins, Brazil, is described and illustrated. The new species is mainly characterized by bluish-gray coloration and dorsal chaetotaxy presenting macrochaeta S7 on head, three macrochaetae (a6, m6 and p6) on margin of metathorax and 4+4 macrochaetae (a1, m2, m3 and m4i) on abdomen I. Characteristics of maxillary and labial papillae, chaetotaxy of subcoxae, collophore, ventral region of head, ventral and lateral region of abdomen IV and V, which are usually omitted in species descriptions within the genus, are also provided. This is the first species of Seira described from the Cerrado domain, as well as the first record of the genus from the state of Tocantins.

Resumo em Inglês:

Quinquelaophonte aestuarii sp. nov. (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) from Bahía Blanca estuary is the first record of Quinquelaophonte Wells, Hicks & Coull, 1982 in Argentina and its southernmost location in the world. The setal formula (P2: exopod 1.2.3-endopod 1.2.0; P3: exopod 1.2.3-endopod 2.2.1; P4: exopod 1.2.3-endopod 1.2.0) of the last segment of P2-P4, in both the exopod and the endopod, distinguishes this species from all known species in Quinquelaophonte, except for Quinquelaophonte varians Bjornberg, 2010. The new species differs from the latter in the setal formula of the antennule, the mouth parts and maxillipeds, the absence of an inner seta on the second exopod segment of P2, the length of the second exopod segment of P4 and in the shape of baseoendopod setae of P5.

Resumo em Inglês:

Parasarus Ruz, 1993 comprises small black bees (3-5 mm long) endemic to xeric regions of South America, mainly along of the Andean Cordillera. Prior to this study, the genus included only the type-species P. atacamensis Ruz, 1993 (from northern Chile) which has mesoscutum strongly reticulated and inner hind tibial spur curved apically. In this paper, a taxonomic revision of Parasarus is presented and two new species are described: P. specularis sp. nov. (from central to northwest Argentina) diagnosed mainly by pygidial plate of female extremely acute apically and labral plate yellow in male; and P. spiniventris sp. nov. (only recorded from central portion of Chile) diagnosed by antennal socket below middle of face, subantennal area as long as broad, metapostnotum smooth, and sternum 3 of male with a tuft of stiff hairs. The morphological variation related to the type-species was studied and not considered sufficiently to recognized distinct species into P. atacamensis. Distribution maps, floral associations, key to species of the genus, and illustrations of general external morphology and genitalia are also provided.

Resumo em Inglês:

Capuchin monkeys, Sapajus Kerr, 1792, are known for their flexible behavior, including tool use, and their ability to survive in urban forests. We observed capuchin juveniles using wood as hammer and anvil and different materials as sponges (four tool-use events) in two geographically distinct urban populations in Brazil, in 2012: two in Goiânia, Central Brazil and two in Foz do Iguaçu, Southern Brazil. In Goiânia, a male used a detached tree branch as a hammer and a buttress root as an anvil to pound a seed of Terminalia Linnaeus. Another male used a small branch with leaves as a dipping tool to access water inside a tree trunk hole. In Foz do Iguaçu, the capuchins used a small branch and a piece of bread to obtain water by dipping them into tree trunk holes. This latter event might be interpreted as a case of self-control, with a familiar food item used as a tool to reach a resource that is difficult to access otherwise. Our observations contribute to the knowledge on the tool-kit of capuchins and we propose that these urban populations should be conserved for scientific evaluations of behavioral flexibility in non-human primates.