Floristic composition of the riparian forest in the lower Gramame river, Paraíba, Brazil

Riparian forest has a key ecological and economic significance to productive chains associated with it. This study aimed to conduct a floristic survey of riparian forest stretches in the Gramame river, state of Paraíba, Brazilian Northeast region, and analyze the floristic similarity with Brazilian riparian vegetation fragments. We found 136 species belonging to 106 genera and 43 families. The most representative families were: Fabaceae (19 spp.), Cyperaceae (16 spp.), and Rubiaceae (11 spp.). The predominant habit was herbaceous and the best represented biological spectrum was camephyte. Regarding the geographic distribution, there was a predominance of widely distributed species associated with the Neotropical province. The distribution patterns have shown a low similarity between areas, and largely distributed species stand out. Similarity analysis pointed out that the area was floristically related to other two coastal areas in the Brazilian Northeast and Southeast regions. Only species typically related to estuarine environments might explain the floristic connections detected

Diversidade de Euglossinae (Hymenoptera, Apidae) em dois fragmentos de Mata Atlântica localizados na região urbana de João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil Diversity of Euglossinac (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in two Atlantic Forest fragments located in the urban area of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil

<abstract language="eng">The use of fragrances to attract males of Euglossinae bees has been an important tool to increase the knowledge of the group. In the Northeastern of Brazil, studies on euglossine bees are still uncommon, mainly in urban areas. The goals of this study are to identify the Euglossinae species composition, to know the diversity and the community structure of Euglossinae species, verify their preferences for different fragrances and evaluate the phenology of these species, in two Atlantic Forest fragments of the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba state, Brazil. Bees were sampled at 15 days intervals, over the course of one year, from 8:00 to 17:00 hours, through the use of traps baited with seven types of fragrances. In both areas, 1082 individuals belonging to nine species were sampled. None significant difference of diversity and relative abundance of bees between fragments were observed. Eucalyptol was the most attractive fragrance. Bees were more abundant between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. Visits to the fragrances were more frequent from the middle of dry season to the beginning of the rainy season and positively correlated with the monthly mean temperature. Most species of bees visited all the baits over the year, but the number of attracted males was highest in April