Differences in richness and composition of gastrointestinal parasites of small rodents (Cricetidae, Rodentia) in a continental and insular area of the Atlantic Forest in Santa Catarina state, Brazil

The first and only study on gastrointestinal parasites of wild rodents in the Island of Santa Catarina was done in 1987. The aim of this study was to identify intestinal parasites from wild rodents in Santo Amaro da Imperatriz and Santa Catariana Island, and to compare the richness and composition of the gastrointestinal parasite community of both areas. Rodents were captured with live traps, and feces were screened using the sedimentation method and optical microscopy. The following species of rodents were captured in the two areas: Akodon montensis, Euryoryzomys russatus, Oligoryzomys nigripes and Nectomys squamipes. In Santo Amaro da Impetratriz, prevalent parasites were: A. montensis (51%), E. russatus (62%), O. nigripes (53%) and N. squamipes (20%). From the Island of Santa Catarina the rodent prevalence rates were: A. montensis (43%), E. russatus (59%), O. nigripes (30%) and N. squamipes (33%) and the collected parasites were: Hymenolepis sp., Longistriata sp., Strongyloides sp., Hassalstrongylus sp., Syphacia sp., Trichomonas sp., Ancylostomidae, Trichuridae, Oxyuridae and Eucoccidiorida. The species richness (10.6 ± 0.7) of the endoparasite comunity in the area located on the continent was higher (p < 0.01) and different (p = 0.001) from that of the area located on the island (6.9 ± 0.5)

Evaluation of abundance indexes in open population studies: a comparison in populations of small mammals in southern Brazil

Many manuscripts comparing populations and/or analysing the structure of animal communities use indexes of captures as synonymous of abundance. However, the basic methods more suitable to this assumption - probabilistic estimates based on equal capture probability - have not been considered. In this study, the deviations caused by different types of capture indexes are compared with a common probabilistic population estimator (Cormack-Jolly-Seber). The analyses showed that Minimum Number Known Alive (MNKA) and the number of individuals showed greater association with the population estimator than with non-probabilistic indexes based on recaptures. Therefore, none of the indexes presented the same performance to estimate population size estimation which can lead to ecological misinterpretation. Some recommendations were also described

The role of melanism in oncillas on the temporal segregation of nocturnal activity

The occurrence of coat colour polymorphisms in populations may promote the ecological success of species by permitting a wider spectrum of use of different subsets of available resources. We conducted an analysis of temporal segregation by comparing night brightness with nocturnal activity of spotted and melanistic oncillas (Leopardus tigrinus). Melanistic oncillas were more active during bright nights and spotted oncillas and other species were more active during dark nights. Each colour morph occupied a temporal niche outside the confidence interval of the other colour morph, demonstrating the ecological significance of polymorphic colour patterns in this felid species

Diversity and Impacts of Mining on the Non-Volant Small Mammal Communities of Two Vegetation Types in the Brazilian Amazon

The CarajaÂs National Forest contains some of the largest iron ore deposits in the world. The majority of the minerals are found below a plant community known as Savana Metalo fila, or ªCangaº, which represents only 3% of the landscape within the CarajaÂs National Forest (CNF). The aim of our study was to understand the diversity of community of non-volant small mammals in the two predominant vegetation types: Ombrophilous Forest and Canga, and to examine how mining impacts these communities. Sampling was conducted from January 2010 to August 2011 in 11 sampling sites divided by the total area of Canga and 12 sampling sites in the forest, totalizing 23 sites. Of these, 12 sites (Canga and Forest) were considered impacted areas located close to the mine (\u3c\u3c 900 meters) and 11 sites (Canga and Forest), serving as controls, which were at least 7,000 meters from the mine. We recorded 28 species, 11 from the Order Didelphimorphia and 17 from the Order Rodentia. The two forest types shared 68.42% of the species found in the CNF. A gradient analysis (Non-metric multidimensional scaling) revealed that the first axis clearly separated the nonflying small mammal communities by vegetation type. Occupancy models showed that the detectability of species was affected by the distance from the mining activities. Of all the small mammals analyzed, 10 species were positively affected by the distance from mining in areas impacted (e.g. more likely to be detected farther from mining areas) and detectability was lower in impacted areas. However, three species were negatively affected by the distance from mining, with higher detectability in the impacted areas, and seven species showed no effect of their proximity to mining operations. To date, there are no studies in Brazil about the impact of mining on mammals or other vertebrates. This study reveals that the effect of mining may go beyond the forest destruction caused by the opening of the mining pits, but also may negatively affect sensitive wildlife species. Supplemental File 01 is attached below, in pdf and original docx file formats