Endemic Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis in Northern Peru

Since Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) was isolated in Peru in 1942, >70 isolates have been obtained from mosquitoes, humans, and sylvatic mammals primarily in the Amazon region. To investigate genetic relationships among the Peru VEEV isolates and between the Peru isolates and other VEEV strains, a fragment of the PE2 gene was amplified and analyzed by single-stranded conformation polymorphism. Representatives of seven genotypes underwent sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The results identified four VEE complex lineages that cocirculate in the Amazon region: subtypes ID (Panama and Colombia/Venezuela genotypes), IIIC, and a new, proposed subtype IIID, which was isolated from a febrile human, mosquitoes, and spiny rats. Both ID lineages and the IIID subtype are associated with febrile human illness. Most of the subtype ID isolates belonged to the Panama genotype, but the Colombia/Venezuela genotype, which is phylogenetically related to epizootic strains, also continues to circulate in the Amazon basin

Relative effectiveness of several bait and trap types for assessing terrestrial small mammal communities in neotropical rainforest /

no.316 (2013

The non-volant mammals of the Galveston Bay region, Texas

Volume: 194Start Page: 1End Page: 2

The non-volant mammals of the Reserva Nacional Allpahuayo-Mishana, Loreto, Peru /

no.60 (2012

The non-volant mammals of the Galveston Bay Region, Texas /

no.194 (1999

Phyllostomid Bats of Lowland Amazonia: Effects of Habitat Alteration on Abundance

Habitat fragmentation and conversion are among the human activities that pose the greatest threat to species persistence and conservation of biodiversity. This is particularly true in the Neotropics, where bats represent important components of biodiversity from taxonomic and functional perspectives, and provide critical ecosystem services (e.g., seed dispersal and pollination). We assessed the degree to which conversion of lowland Amazonian rain forest to agriculture, and its subsequent abandonment and secondary succession, affect the abundances of populations of phyllostomid bats in the vicinity of Iquitos, Perú. During 90, 720 net-m-h of sampling, we captured 3789 bats of five families; of these 3764 were phyllostomids representing 44 species, 23 genera, and three feeding guilds. We focus on the 24 most abundant species of phyllostomids. In terms of abundance, frugivores dominated assemblages in all habitat types and seasons. Eight species consistently responded to habitat conversion, two species consistently responded to season, two species responded consistently to both habitat and season, and five species responded to habitat conversion in a season-specific manner. Frugivores and nectarivores were abundant in areas that had been converted to agriculture, which suggests that these bats are resilient to extant levels of disturbance and may be important in promoting secondary succession. However, this result may be scale- or context-dependent. If habitat conversion continues and dramatically reduces the areal extent and increases fragmentation of mature forest, then a complex metacommunity dynamic may characterize the region and source populations of bats may become threatened or extirpated locally