Aliens in the backyard: Did the American bullfrog conquer the habitat of native frogs in the semi-deciduous atlantic forest?

The American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus has a natural distribution in North America, but was spread by human activities in different regions around the world. It is listed as the most invasive amphibian species, affecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the community of native species. In addition, the American bullfrog is extensively associated with lethal pathogens, with high correlation of the presence of this species with population declines and extinctions. Here we test if this alien species has spread through the landscape, establishing populations at new locations. We used diverse methods including georeferencing of satellite images, ethnobiological interviews and field data to evaluate the dispersion and effects of L. catesbeianus introduction on amphibian composition, species number, and density of individuals in forest fragments in an Atlantic Forest landscape. We did not find any relationship between density of individuals, number of species or composition of the native anuran assemblages in forest fragments in relation to the presence or proximity of American bullfrog introduction points. Additionally, we found that the dispersion potential of this species in the studied landscape is zero, as it was only found in those fragments where it was specifically introduced 15 years ago. The species has not established new populations in the landscape. Although exotic, L. catesbeianus thrives in lentic habitats and has no apparent effect on the structural metrics of the native anuran assemblage. Despite this alien species exhibiting a capacity to adapt and survive at the point of introduction, its potential for propagation is limited probably by the fragmented terrestrial landscape and regional stream network. © 2020, British Herpetological Society. All rights reserved

Atriadops macula (Wiedemann) inhabiting the canopy: The first record of Nemestrinidae (Diptera) in the Amazon Basin

This is the first record of the family Nemestrinidae in the Amazon Basin, based on three females identified as Atriadops macula (Wiedemann, 1824). The specimens were collected in the canopy using flight interception traps. This species was previously known to inhabit understory open areas. The canopy, the new habitat record, is an open area stratum with higher insolation, higher temperature and less humidity. As the adults of A. macula have the mouthparts greatly reduced, they probably do not feed and their occurrence in the canopy probably is more likely related to the distribution of their hosts as well as the environmental factors. Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Pres

Effect of Structural Variation of Dead Trunks on Passalid (Coleoptera: Passalidae) Assemblages in Central Amazonian Campinaranas

The present study investigated the occurrence of passalids in dead trunks with structural variations. Trunks were found in areas of white sand forests, locally known as Campinarana, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The collections were extended from May to December 2009. The mean diameter of the trunks and their stage of decomposition were classified, and the species of Passalidae were classified according to the location of their galleries. We used multiple generalized models to investigate the relationship between abundance and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) to investigate the relationships between predictors and passalid composition. A total of 361 passalids belonging to 13 species were collected from 11 tree species, of which Aldina heterophylla represented the highest proportion of logs (55%). Only the diameter of the trunk was related to the abundance of species, with trunks of larger diameters presented more individuals. The passalid composition was correlated with the diameter and decomposition of the trunks of all species of trees and only with the diameter of the trunks of A. heterophylla. Most of the species collected in Campinaranas construct their galleries in two or more regions of the trunk. The region that supported a greater number of colonies was the sapwood, followed by the inner bark and the soil-stem interface. The general habit of passalids found may be advantageous, probably to compensate for the low dispersion and isolation in areas with low availability of resources, such as Campinaranas forests in the Amazon. © 2020, Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil

A new species of Rheotanytarsus Thienemann & Bause (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Peruvian Andes, with updated key to South American species

Rheotanytarsus is a speciose genus, currently composed by more than 100 nominal species distributed worldwide, 19 are known from the Neotropical region, four from South America and only one is registered for Peru. In the present study, a new species is described and illustrated based on males collected in the Peruvian Andes. In addition, the key to the South American species is updated and a distribution map of them is provided. Rheotanytarsus amaru sp. n. is easily distinguished from the congeneric species by the dark general coloration and the hypopygial morphology. Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Pres

Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus and its coinfection with epstein-barr virus in adult residents from manaus: A population-based study

Introduction: This study assessed the seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus, associated factors, and Epstein-Barr virus coinfection among adult residents of Manaus. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we collected blood samples from 136 individuals in a household survey in 2016. Prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson regression. Results: Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus seroprevalences were 67.6% (95% CI: 9.7-75.6%) and 97.8% (95% CI: 95.3-100.0%), respectively. Coinfection was observed in 66.2% (95% CI: 58.1-74.2%) of participants. Bivariate analysis showed no statistical association. Conclusions: Seroprevalences were high among participants and approximately 7 out of 10 individuals had cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus coinfection. © 2020, Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical. All rights reserved

Quaternary climate changes as speciation drivers in the Amazon floodplains

The role of climate as a speciation driver in the Amazon has long been discussed. Phylogeographic studies have failed to recover synchronous demographic responses across taxa, although recent evidence supports the interaction between rivers and climate in promoting speciation. Most studies, however, are biased toward upland forest organisms, while other habitats are poorly explored and could hold valuable information about major historical processes. We conducted a comparative phylogenomic analysis of floodplain forest birds to explore the effects of historical environmental changes and current connectivity on population differentiation. Our findings support a similar demographic history among species complexes, indicating that the central portion of the Amazon River basin is a suture zone for taxa isolated across the main Amazonian sub-basins. Our results also suggest that changes in the fluvial landscape induced by climate variation during the Mid- and Late Pleistocene drove population isolation, leading to diversification with subsequent secondary contact. Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC)

Levantamento da qualidade ambiental do córrego capim puba no município de Goiânia - GO

Water is an essential natural resource for the maintenance and life of humans, however, anthropogenic actions have disrupted aquatic ecosystems and threatened freshwater sources. The objective of this work was to verify the environmental quality of the Capim Puba stream, located in the city of Goiânia, state of Goiás, during the rainy season of 2016. The samples were collected in three sampling points distributed along the course of the creek: 01 located at the source, point 02 at the site of greater anthropic occupation of the stream banks and point 03 at the confluence with the Botafogo Stream. Environmental quality was investigated through the identification of domestic and industrial effluent release points, level of silting, presence of erosion, debris, flora, solid residues and liquid residues, as well as analysis of physical and chemical variables of the aquatic environment. It was possible to notice greater environmental degradation in point 02 due to anthropic occupation. In addition, the adverse impacts were less intense when compared to previous years, revealing a capacity of the autodepuration stream. © 2020 Centro Universitario de Anapolis. All rights reserved