Differential Fruit Consumption Of Two Melastomataceae By Birds In Serra Da Mantiqueira, Southeastern Brazil

In this study we report on the consumption of two syntopic Melastomataceae species by birds in a lower montane forest in Monte Verde, southeastern Brazil. The species of frugivores were identified and characterized by their methods of capture and consumption of fruits. We also provide information on abundance, phenology of plants and fruit characteristics of the two Melastomataceae species. The 13 observed species of birds formed two statistically distinct frugivorous groups with taxonomic and behavioral differences. Five of seven bird species that fed on L. aff. sublanata fruits belong to the subfamily Thraupinae and most fruits were mashed before swallowed. Four of the eight bird species that visited M. cinerascens belong to the subfamily Turdinae and all fruits were swallowed whole. Only two bird species were common visitors of both Melastomataceae species. 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Tonal calls as a bioacoustic novelty in two Atlantic Forest species of Physalaemus (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

The frog genus Physalaemus has almost 50 species with vocalizations that are mostly composed of a single note. This note tends to have a broad harmonic structure or a pulsed structure. The sister species P. lateristriga and P. olfersii have pulsed advertisement calls that have been described as a noisy and long-lasting warbling sound. We provide the first account of inclusion of tonal sounds as part of the vocal repertoire of these species. Pure tones can (1) be long and form the entire call; (2) form prefixes of variable length separated by silence from the advertisement call; (3) be brief and form the onset or the offset of the regular advertisement call. Tonal calls may be an evolutionary novelty and they are not known from other populations of P. olfersii and P. lateristriga. Identification of the mechanism of sound production and of the behavioural role of these unique calls may help elucidate the evolution of call complexity in frogs

Eficiência de barreiras vegetais no isolamento de parcelas de algodoeiro

The effectiveness of plant barriers in reducing cross pollinization between adjacent plots of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was studied at the Sete Lagoas Experiment Station, Minas Gerais, during the growing seasons of 1973/74 and 1974/75. The barriers had 4 m of with, and the glandless cotton (gl2gl3) was used to determine the amount of natural crossings. All plant barriers used were effective in reducing the frequency of natural crossings, but corn was significantly better than sorghum, cotton and crotalaria. These did not differ among themselves although they ranked in the presented order. The corn reduced the contamination from 15,1 to 5,2%, approximately. When samples were taken from the first, second, third, fourth and fifth border lines of adjacent cotton plots, a linear decrease for natural crossing values was observed. The amount of natural cross fertilization for a given plant in the population was estimated to be about 32%.Este trabalho foi realizado em Sete Lagoas, MG, nos anos de 1973/74 e 1974/75, como objetivo de se verificar o comportamento de diferentes barreiras vegetais no controle de contaminações entre campos por polinização cruzada natural em algodoeiro (Gossypium hirsutum L.). As barreiras foram de 4 m de largura e o caráter "glandless plant". gl2gl3 , foi utilizado como marcador para as determinações das taxas de cruzamento natural. Todas as barreiras vegetais utilizadas foram eficientes em reduzir a taxa de cruzamento natural, destacando-se, significativamente, a de milho sobre as de sorgo, algodoeiro e crotalária, que não diferiram estatisticamente entre si. No entanto, nenhuma delas evitou completamente as contaminações entre campos, sendo que a de milho reduziu de 15,1% para 5,2%. Quando foram tomadas amostras até a quinta fileira sucessiva a partir do ponto de adjacência entre dois campos, encontrou-se um decréscimo linear para os valores obtidos da taxa de cruzamento natural. A taxa de cruzamento natural para uma planta qualquer de uma população foi estimada em 32%