Distribution of the assemblage of phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) along an environmental gradient.

The geographical distribution of leishmaniasis has undoubtedly expanded, and is now being reported to be in areas that were previously non-endemic. This study therefore aimed to investigate whether there is any variation in the structure and in the composition of phlebotomine communities along an environmental gradient - from a mesic to a xeric environment, across different climatic periods (rainy and dry seasons). Furthermore, we test whether there were differences in sex ratio of sand flies between wet and dry environments. A total of 535 specimens of sand flies belonging to 18 species were recorded. Richness, abundance, and composition of species were significatively higher in the xeric environment (semidecidual Forest) compared to the mesic environment (Riparina Forest). We unveiled site specific differences in sand fly collections since the community composition changes with the geographic distance among the sampling points. These results led to the conclusion that for sand flies species, the environmental conditions available for each species could be different within the habitat taking into account the degree of humidity in the forest as well as the climatic season (dry or wet). The present study gives a valuable contribution to the knowledge of sand flies, as a group of insects, from the Atlantic Forest biome

Galling insects of the Brazilian p?ramos : species richness and composition along high-altitude grasslands.

In this work, we investigated the factors that determine the distribution of galling insects in high-altitude grasslands, locally called ?campos de altitude? of Mantiqueira Range and tested whether 1) richness of galling insects decreases with altitude, 2) galling insect richness increases with plant richness, 3) variation in galling insect diversity is predominantly a consequence of its ? component, and 4) turnover is the main mechanism driving the beta diversity of both galling insects and plants. Galling insect richness did not exhibit a negative relationship with altitude, but it did increase with plant richness. The additive partition of regional richness (?) into its local and beta components showed that local diversity (?) of galling insects and plants was relatively low in relation to regional diversity; the ? component incorporated most of the regional diversity. This pattern was also found in the multiscale analysis of the additive partition for galling insects and plants. The beta diversity of galling insects and plants was driven predominantly by the process of turnover and minimally by nesting. The results reported here point out that the spatial distribution of galling insects is best explained by historical factors, such as the distribution of genera and species of key host plants, as well as their relation to habitat, than ecological effects such as hygrothermal stress ? here represented by altitude

Effects of Brazil's political crisis on the science needed for biodiversity conservation

The effects of Brazil’s political crisis on science funding necessary for biodiversity conservation are likely to be global. Brazil is not only the world’s most biodiverse nation, it is responsible for the greater part of the Amazon forest, which regulates the climate and provides rain to much of southern South America. Brazil was a world leader in satellite monitoring of land-use change, in-situ biodiversity monitoring, reduction in tropical-forest deforestation, protection of indigenous lands, and a model for other developing nations. Coordinated public responses will be necessary to prevent special-interest groups from using the political crisis to weaken science funding, environmental legislation and law enforcement. Keywords: Brazil, biodiversity, climate change, governance, fundin

Gall-inducing insect species richness as indicators of forest age and health.

The changes in the plant community that occur during the process of succession affect the availability of resources for the community of herbivores. In this study, the richness of galling insects was evaluated in restored stands of Amazonian tropical rain forest of several ages (0?21 yr), as well as in areas of primary forest in Brazil. The richness of gallers increased with the age of the restored stands. Fifty-eight percent of the variation in the richness of galling insects was explained by forest stand age, but an increase in richness was observed at intermediate stages of succession. The greatest similarity among groups was found between the initial successional stages and intermediate ones. The results indicate a recovery of both host plants and insect community and that succession directly affects the richness and composition of these herbivores

Free-feeding insect herbivores along environmental gradients in Serra do Cip? : basis for a management plan.

The distribution of free-feeding insect herbivores in Brazilian savanna was studied in the National Park of Serra do Cip?. Insect samples were obtained with sweep nets across cerrado (savanna), rupestrian field and altitudinal grassland vegetation from 800 to 1500 m above sea level. We found a low species richness in xeric and mesic habitats during both wet and dry seasons. Sapsucking insects were the most abundant guild (53.4%) with Cicadellidae the most abundant family (27.2%). The hypothesis that taxon richness of free-feeding insects decreases with increasing altitude was supported in xeric habitats during the wet season only, mainly as a function of mountain summit effect. There was a decrease of 65% in the number of families occurring at 1400 and 1500 m compared with lower elevations. The exclusion of sites of rupestrian vegetation at mid-elevations from the analysis increased significantly the proportion of variance explained by the model. An examination of taxon distribution using canonical variate analysis supported this result. The hypothesis that mesic habitats are richer in species of free-feeding insect herbivores than are xeric habitats was not supported. The data indicate that plant sclerophylly may exert a strong negative influence on insect species richness, and that variation due to particular characteristics of each site strongly affected the studied guilds. The present results should inform conservation strategies for the National Park Management Plan, which is currently being developed

Floristic and characterization of the rupestrian ferruginous field area in the alegria complex mining, serra de Antônio Pereira, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Este estudo apresenta o inventário florístico de uma área de campo ferruginoso localizada na Serra de Antônio Pereira, na região Sul-Sudeste do Quadrilátero Ferrífero, no município de Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais. Para a coleta de dados foram demarcadas 15 unidades amostrais de 10 x 10 m em cada tipologia física de substrato estudado: a canga couraçada e o afloramento de Itabirito. Todas as unidades amostrais ocupavam um mesmo perfil de inclinação com azimute NE. As campanhas de campo estenderam-se de março de 2007 a outubro de 2008 e foram realizadas, em média, semanalmente. Nas coletas, restringiram-se apenas as espécies fanerógamas encontradas dentro das unidades amostrais e nas áreas de entorno. Foram inventariadas 182 espécies reunidas em 47 famílias, sendo 102 espécies dentro das unidades amostrais e 80 nas áreas de entorno. As famílias com maior riqueza de espécies nas unidades amostrais foram: Asteraceae (14 spp), Poaceae e Orchidaceae (8 spp cada), Fabaceae e Melastomataceae (7 spp cada), Myrtaceae e Verbenaceae (6 spp cada) e Cyperaceae, Lauraceae, Rubiaceae e Euphorbiaceae (4 spp cada). Os ambientes estudados - canga couraçada e afloramento de Itabirito - apresentaram-se similares.This study presents the floristic inventory of the rupestrian ferruginous field areas located inSerra de Antônio Pereira, in the south-southeast of Quadrilátero Ferrífero region in Ouro Preto, MG. There, two different substratcts were surveyed: the canga couraçada, a hard ferruginous laterite, and itabirite rock outcrop. In each substract, 15 sample units (10mx10m) were studied. All the samples units were made with the same slope. The data collected were only restricted to the phanerogam species found in the samples units and surrounding areas. The floristic inventory done at Serra de Antônio Pereira found 182 species united in 47 families, of which 102 species occur inside the sample units and other 80 species in surrounding areas. The richest species families in the samples units were: Asteraceae (14 spp), Poaceae and Orchidaceae (8 spp each), Fabaceae and Melastomataceae (7 spp each), Myrtaceae and Verbenaceae (6 spp each), Cyperaceae, Lauraceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae (4 spp each). Both the studied units, canga couraçada and itabirite outcrop, showed similarities

Convergência na variação local e regional da riqueza de espécies de insetos galhadores.

Foram investigados os determinantes locais e regionais da riqueza de insetos indutores de galhas sobre o arbusto dióico Baccharis concinna Barroso (Asteraceae) na porção sudeste da Cadeia do Espinhaço, MG. O número total de espécies de insetos indutores de galhas e a riqueza de Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) foram influenciados pelo sexo da planta. Plantas masculinas apresentaram maior riqueza de insetos indutores de galhas do que plantas femininas, corroborando a hipótese da herbivoria mediada pelo sexo na comunidade. O número total de espécies de insetos galhadores e a riqueza de Cecidomyiídeos mostraram um pico em altitudes intermediárias. A riqueza de todas as espécies de insetos galhadores e de cecidomiideos foi fortemente influenciada pelo habitat. Plantas no habitat xérico apresentaram mais espécies de insetos galhadores do que plantas no habitat mésico, corroborando a hipótese do estresse higrotérmico/nutricional. Os resultados indicam que os fatores locais podem ser importantes estruturadores da comundade de insetos galhadores em B. concinna.We investigate the local and regional determinants of galling insect richness on the dioecious shrub Baccharis concinna Barroso (Asteraceae) in the southeastern portion of the Espinhaço Mountains in Brazil. The total number of galling species and the richness of galling Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) were influenced by plant gender. Male plants supported a higher richness of galling insects than female plants, supporting the hypothesis of sex-biased herbivory at the community level. The total number of galling species and the richness of galling cecidomyiids showed a peak at intermediate altitudes. The richness of all galling species and galling cecidomyiids were strongly influenced by habitat. Plants in xeric habitats supported more galling species than plants in mesic habitats, corroborating the hypothesis of hygrothermal/nutritional stress. Our results indicate that local factors may be the most important factors structuring the galling insect community on B. concinna

Insetos indutores de galhas da porção sul da Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais, Brasil.

Insetos indutores de galhas na porção sul da Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais, Brasil. A riqueza de insetos galhadores é maior nas latitudes intermediárias em hábitats quentes e com vegetação esclerófila sob estresse hídrico e de nutrientes. Em regiões tropicais, os campos rupestres são indicados como hábitats ricos em espécies de insetos galhadores. Neste trabalho, foram descritas as galhas induzidas por insetos e suas plantas hospedeiras na porção sul da Cadeia do Espinhaço, sudeste do Brasil. Foram selecionados 60 sítios em seis regiões ao longo na porção sul da Cadeia do Espinhaço no estado de Minas Gerais. Em cada sítio 100 plantas foram amostradas totalizando 6.000 plantas censuradas ao longo de um gradiente altitudinal de 668 a 1860m. Foram encontrados 241 morfotipos de galhas em 142 espécies de plantas distribuídas em 29 famílias e de um total de 384 espécies de plantas amostradas. As famílias mais ricas em espécies de insetos galhadores foram Asteraceae (42%), principalmente espécies do gênero Baccharis. A maior parte das galhas (85%) foi induzida por insetos da família Cecidomyiidae seguidos por Lepidoptera (4%) e Homoptera (3%). Os ramos foram os órgãos mais freqüentemente atacados (72%) enquanto que os morfotipos mais comuns foram o elíptico (37%) e o globóide (36%). A espécie de planta hospedeira que apresentou mais morfotipos de galhas foi Baccharis pseudomyriocephala com 10 galhas distintas. Este estudo sustenta a afirmativa que campos rupestres apresentam uma elevada riqueza em espécies de insetos galhadores.Gall inducing insects from southern portion of the Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Galling species richness is higher at intermediate latitudes on warm habitats and sclerophyllous vegetation under water and nutrient stress. In the tropical region, galling species richness is higher in rupestrian fields. Here the gall-inducing insects and their host plants of the southern portion of the Espinhaço range, southeastern Brazil are described. 60 study sites from six distinct regions along the Espinhaço range, at Minas Gerais state were selected. In each study site 100 plants were sampled summing up to 6,000 plants censused along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 668m to 1860m a.s.l. A total of 241 distinct galls morphotypes were found on 142 host plant species belonging to 29 families from a total 384 species censused. The richest galling fauna was found in the Asteraceae (42%), mainly the genus Baccharis. The largest proportion of galls (85%) was induced by Cecidomyiidae followed by Lepidoptera (4%) and Homoptera (3%). Stems were the most frequently galled plant organ (72%) while the most common shapes were elliptical (37%) and globoid (36%). The host plant species presenting the highest number of gall morphotypes types was Baccharis pseudomyriocephala with 10 galls. This study supported the assertion that rupestrian fields present the highest galling species richness