Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Associated with Pig Carcasses in an Urban Area

The study of cadaver fauna is the most important aspect of forensic entomology, and it is based on successional patterns of insects that feed on decaying carcasses. Many ant species have scavenger lifestyles, and thus have the potential for use in forensic entomology studies. There are no previous studies of ant fauna as forensic entomology tools in state of Maranhão. Here we characterize ants found on domestic swine carcasses at different stages of decomposition, with the goal of initiating a forensic entomology database in the state. We collected ants between November and December 2012 on two pig carcasses. A third carcass with no ant collection was used as a control to assess the influence of ant removal on decomposition rate. We captured 1,692 Formicidae in total, distributed among 10 genera and including 17 species. The most abundant species was Solenopsis saevissima, with 55.6% of relative abundance. Solenopsis was present at various stages of decomposition either feeding on carcass tissues or exudates, or preying on larval, pupal and newly emerged adult flies. Ants associated with this environment had high species richness and abundance in all stages of decomposition. We suggest that these insects influence the decomposition process either as facilitators (i.e., by laceration and fragmentation of tissue) or as hindering agents (i.e., due to predation upon other scavenging organisms)

Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae) na Província Espeleológica do Vale do Ribeira - 1. Parque Estadual Intervales (PEI), estado de São Paulo, Brasil

The identification of the sandfly fauna and investigation of some ecological aspects of its populations in areas frequented by tourists of the PEI, an Atlantic forest reserve with many caves, were the objective of this study. Captures were undertaken monthly from January 2001 to December 2002, with automatic light traps installed in 13 ecotopes, including caves, forests, domiciliary and peridomiciliary environments, and by aspiration in armadillo burrows. Additionally, although not at regular intervals, Shannon traps were installed in forests and anthropic environments, aspirations were made on cave walls, among roots and fallen leaves, and some insects were captured while biting researchers. A total of 891 sandflies belonging to 21 species were captured. Six hundred specimens representing 19 species were captured with light traps, 215 in anthropic (2.24 insects/trap) and 385 in extra-domiciliary (1.46 insects/trap) environments. Brumptomyia troglodytes was the most abundant species (the Standardised Index of Species Abundance = 0.705). Pintomyia monticola predominated in the Shannon traps and showed anthropophilic and diurnal activity. Psathyromyia pascalei predominated in the aspirations; the largest number being in armadillo burrows. Eleven species were captured in caves; although some might be troglophiles, the majority used these ecotopes as resting places. Nyssomyia intermedia, Nyssomyia neivai and Migonemyia migonei, implicated in the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Southeastern Brazilian region, were all found, though in such low densities as to suggest minimal risk of the disease in the PEI.A identificação da fauna flebotomínea e de alguns aspectos ecológicos de suas populações em áreas freqüentadas por turistas no PEI, situado em reserva de mata Atlântica, constituem-se nos objetivos deste estudo. As capturas foram mensais de janeiro/2001 a dezembro/2002, com armadilhas automáticas luminosas em 13 ecótopos, incluindo cavernas, matas e peridomicílio e aspiração em tocas de tatus. Sem intervalos regulares, foram realizadas capturas com armadilhas de Shannon na mata e ambientes antrópicos, aspiração em paredes de cavernas e entre raízes e folhedo e em membros da equipe quando picados por flebotomíneos. No total foram capturados 891 flebotomíneos pertencentes a 21 espécies. Com as armadilhas automáticas luminosas capturou-se 19 espécies e 600 espécimes, 215 em ambiente antrópico (2,24 insetos/armadilha) e 385 em ambiente natural (1,46 insetos/armadilha). Brumptomyia troglodytes foi a mais abundante, com o índice de abundância das espécies padronizado = 0,705. Pintomyia monticola predominou nas armadilhas de Shannon, mostrando-se antropofílica e com atividade hematofágica diurna e noturna. Psathyromyia pascalei predominou nas aspirações, com a maioria dos espécimes aspirados de tocas de tatu. Das 11 espécies capturadas em cavernas, embora algumas possam ser consideradas troglófilas, a maioria usa este ecótopo como local de abrigo. Nyssomyia intermedia, Nyssomyia neivai e Migonemyia migonei, implicados na transmissão da leishmaniose tegumentar na Região Sudeste do Brasil foram capturados, todavia em tão baixa densidade que sugere risco mínimo da doença no PEI.FAPESPIBAMA-S

Índice de sustentabilidade agroambiental para o perímetro irrigado Ayres de Souza.

Uma análise integrada do atual uso dos recursos naturais do Perímetro Irrigado de Ayres de Souza, localizado no Vale do Acaraú, Ceará, foi realizada através do desenvolvimento de um índice de sustentabilidade agroecológica. Os dados dessa pesquisa foram oriundos de questionários aplicados a 33 produtores agrícolas beneficiados pelo projeto de irrigação. Os indicadores de sustentabilidade foram estimados pelo emprego de análise fatorial, método da análise fatorial/análise de componentes principais. O índice de sustentabilidade estimado a partir dos indicadores selecionados registrou uma situação de sustentabilidade fragilizada ou de insustentabilidade reversível. As unidades produtivas apresentaram um porcentual de 60,6% com alguma sustentabilidade; e os demais 39,4% estão em condições de insustentabilidade. Os resultados também mostraram que os fatores dominantes do índice de sustentabilidade foram: nível da atividade agrícola praticada, agricultura familiar, condições atuais do sistema água-solo e infraestrutura,fontes alternativas de renda e experiência em tratos culturais

Environmental gradients and the evolution of successional habitat specialization: A test case with 14 Neotropical forest sites

© 2015 British Ecological Society. Successional gradients are ubiquitous in nature, yet few studies have systematically examined the evolutionary origins of taxa that specialize at different successional stages. Here we quantify successional habitat specialization in Neotropical forest trees and evaluate its evolutionary lability along a precipitation gradient. Theoretically, successional habitat specialization should be more evolutionarily conserved in wet forests than in dry forests due to more extreme microenvironmental differentiation between early and late-successional stages in wet forest. We applied a robust multinomial classification model to samples of primary and secondary forest trees from 14 Neotropical lowland forest sites spanning a precipitation gradient from 788 to 4000 mm annual rainfall, identifying species that are old-growth specialists and secondary forest specialists in each site. We constructed phylogenies for the classified taxa at each site and for the entire set of classified taxa and tested whether successional habitat specialization is phylogenetically conserved. We further investigated differences in the functional traits of species specializing in secondary vs. old-growth forest along the precipitation gradient, expecting different trait associations with secondary forest specialists in wet vs. dry forests since water availability is more limiting in dry forests and light availability more limiting in wet forests. Successional habitat specialization is non-randomly distributed in the angiosperm phylogeny, with a tendency towards phylogenetic conservatism overall and a trend towards stronger conservatism in wet forests than in dry forests. However, the specialists come from all the major branches of the angiosperm phylogeny, and very few functional traits showed any consistent relationships with successional habitat specialization in either wet or dry forests. Synthesis. The niche conservatism evident in the habitat specialization of Neotropical trees suggests a role for radiation into different successional habitats in the evolution of species-rich genera, though the diversity of functional traits that lead to success in different successional habitats complicates analyses at the community scale. Examining the distribution of particular lineages with respect to successional gradients may provide more insight into the role of successional habitat specialization in the evolution of species-rich taxa

CARACTERÍSTICAS DE UMA FAVELA DA REGIÃO DA GRANDE SÃO PAULO

Os autores descrevem os resultados de um levantamento de condições sócio-sanitárias jeito em uma favela da Região da Grande São Paulo, área industrializada do sudeste brasileiro.The authors describe results of a survey on social-economical conditions of a slum area of Greater São Paulo, wich is an industrial region of south-eastern Brazil