Metacommunity patterns of Amazonian Odonata: The role of environmental gradients and major rivers

Background. We identified and classified damselfly (Zygoptera) and dragonfly (Anisoptera) metacommunities in Brazilian Amazonia, relating species distribution patterns to known biological gradients and biogeographical history. We expected a random distribution of both Zygoptera and Anisoptera within interfluves. At the Amazonian scale, we expected Anisoptera metacommunities to be randomly distributed due to their higher dispersal ability and large environmental tolerance. In contrast, we expected Zygoptera communities to exhibit a Clementsian pattern, limited by the large Amazonia rivers due to their low dispersal ability. Methods. We used a dataset of 58 first-to-third order well-sampled streamlets in four Amazonian interfluves and applied an extension of the Elements of Metacommunity Structure (EMS) framework, in which we order Zygoptera and Anisoptera metacommunities by known spatial and biogeographic predictors. Results. At the Amazonian scale, both Zygoptera and Anisoptera presented a Clementsian pattern, driven by the same environmental and biogeographical predictors, namely biogeographic region (interfluve), annual mean temperature, habitat integrity and annual precipitation. At the interfluve scale, results were less consistent and only partially support our hypothesis. Zygoptera metacommunities at Guiana and Anisoptera metacommunities at Tapajós were classified as random, suggesting that neutral processes gain importance at smaller spatial scales. Discussion. Our findings were consistent with previous studies showing that environmental gradients and major rivers limit the distribution of Odonata communities, supporting that larger Amazonian rivers act as barriers for the dispersal of this group. In addition, the importance of habitat integrity indicates that intactness of riparian vegetation is an important filter shaping metacommunity structure of Amazonian stream Odonata.This work was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel—CAPES (120147/2016-01), Brazil National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq (303252/2013-8, 574008/2008-0, 305542/2010-9,478884/2008-7, 314523/2014-6), Brazilian Agriculture Research Corporation EMBRAPA (SEG 02.08.06.005.00), the UK Darwin Initiative (17023), The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Environment Research Council—NERC (NE/F01614X/1 and NE/G000816/1)

Restrições de termoregulação sobre o comportamento: padrões em uma assembléia de libélulas tropicais

Odonate species are classified in terms of their thermoregulatory behavior into flier and percher categories. Larger perchers could be more efficient thermoregulators in sunny sites and smaller perchers depend more on air temperature. In this paper, an analysis of the behavioral temporal budget of an odonate neotropical assemblage was performed to determine the role of body size on territorial defense and general behavioral strategies. This analysis revealed three groups based on time budget. The first and second groups contained the species that remained perched for most of the activity time, but species of the first group differ from the second group by the larger proportion of transition flights. The third group contained species which were usually observed patrolling or in reproductive activities. The larger species spent more time in patrol and territorial defense activities, while smaller species remained perched. Larger dragonflies, with better thermoregulatory abilities could spend more time in reproductive activities. The behavioral classification of fliers and perchers is considered extremely useful but could oversimplify the behavioral patterns among species that have a wide body size variation. It is proposed that a behavioral continuum associated with the body size variation in perchers could explain some patterns of species interactions in odonate communities.As libélulas são classificadas comportamentalmente em voadoras e pousadoras com relação a sua capacidade de termoregulação. Libélulas de grande tamanho corporal devem termoregular de forma mais eficiente em locais com elevada irradiação solar, ao passo que libélulas menores dependem da temperatura ambiente. Neste estudo, foram realizadas análises de orçamento temporal de uma assembléia de libélulas para determinar como o tamanho corporal pode restringir a defesa de territórios e outros comportamentos. Baseado no orçamento temporal, foram observados três grupos de espécies. O primeiro e o segundo grupos abrangem espécies que permaneceram pousadas grande parte do tempo de atividade, entretanto espécies do primeiro grupo realizaram vôos de transição mais freqüentemente. O terceiro grupo conteve as espécies que foram observadas freqüentemente patrulhando seus territórios ou executando atividades reprodutivas. As espécies maiores permaneceram mais tempo em atividades de patrulha e defesa de seus territórios enquanto as espécies menores ficaram mais tempo pousadas. Libélulas maiores com maior habilidade de termoregulação puderam gastar mais tempo em atividades reprodutivas. A classificação das libélulas em voadoras e pousadoras é considerada extremamente útil, mas simplifica os padrões comportamentais observados entre espécies que têm grande variação de tamanho corporal. É provável que o contínuo comportamental associado com a variação de tamanho corporal, nos pousadores, possa explicar os padrões de interações entre espécies em comunidades de libélulas.15516

Mediumship: review of quantitatives studies published in the 21st century

Background Mediumship can be defined as the alleged ability to communicate with deceased persons. The last decade has been particularly productive for this field of research and the study of mediumship can help the understanding of the human mind-brain relationship and provide objective data to the scientific community and to the general population. Objective The aim of this review is to summarize and discuss the results found on recent studies investigating mediumship. Furthermore, we aim to discuss the psychophysiology underlying mediumship and future perspectives for this study topic. Methods A literature search for articles in English, Portuguese and Spanish published from January 2000 up to June 2015 was conducted using three electronic databases (PubMed, Lilacs and Web of Science). Review articles, qualitative studies and studies investigating altered states of consciousness caused by psychoactive substances were excluded. The original search returned 150 articles, but the application of exclusion criteria resulted in the inclusion of 19 articles for final analysis. Results The general findings were: (1) an association of mediumship with good mental health, predominantly in experienced mediums, (2) heterogeneous findings regarding the ability of mediums to provide accurate information what may be due to different study methodologies and (3) incipient studies assessing physiological correlations during mediumistic communications (i.e. hypoactivation of brain regions responsible for cognitive processing and writing planning during psychography compared to a control task; electroencephalographic (EEG) changes and a slight predominance of the sympathetic nervous system). Discussion There is a paucity of empirical data available in this controversial research field. New studies employing rigorous design (e.g.triple-blind protocols to test accuracy of mediumistic communications), and sensitive methods are required

Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and mediumship: a comparative study between spiritist mediums and controls

Mediumship and spirit possession are cultural phenomena found worldwide. The Spiritism, popular in Brazil, is a religious tradition that emphasizes mediumship. The “absorption hypothesis” (the association of marked increases in focused attention with concomitant decreases in self-awareness) is one of the neuropsychological explanatory theories for these experiences. We measured electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral power in frontal electrodes within theta, alpha and beta bandwidths, as well as cross-regional cortical coherences, in female Spiritist experienced mediums (n = 10) and in female non-medium control subjects from the same religious context (n = 10). Scalp EEG signals were captured simultaneously from participants in each of the two groups in three different moments: before, during and immediately after mediumistically speaking. Compared to non-medium controls, the mediums had greater beta power on some electrodes in all phases of the experiment, greater theta power on one electrode at the communication phase and greater alpha power on one electrode at the post-communication phase. No condition effects (within-group comparisons) were detected in any group. No group effects were noted for cross regional cortical coherences. No ictal EEG pattern was observed, except for one participant in the mediums group. These findings support the hypothesis that absorption could have a mechanistic role in anomalous sensorial experiences such as mediumship. The coherence pattern in mediums during the anomalous experience differed from prior studies on pathological dissociation and on hypnotic states. Cognitive control processes seem to be engaged during the anomalous sensorial experiences

The influence of habitat integrity and physical-chemical water variables on the structure of aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera

This work aimed to assess the effect of certain physical-chemical variables and the Habitat Integrity Index (HII) have on an aquatic and semi-aquatic heteropteran community. We collected in five streams (from 1st to 4th order) that differed in habitat integrity, in order to test 1) whether heteropteran richness decreases with the Habitat Integrity Index; and 2) whether richness responds to alterations in water physical-chemical variables, since these influence community structure. In each stream, linear transects of 100 m were demarcated. A total of 1425 specimens from 10 families, 30 genera and 67 morphospecies were collected. Species richness was correlated with the Habitat Integrity Index (HII), showing a positive relationship only for Gerromorpha. This may be due to the fact that streams with greater integrity offer nearby marginal vegetation where prey and shelter can be easily found, representing optimal places for oviposition and hunting. Species adapted to such conditions are more sensitive to alterations in the physical structure of rivers. Significant differences in the composition of Heteroptera and studied infra-orders were also observed, which suggests that the anthropic disturbances over these sites have changed these insect communities. Our results indicate that the alteration in riparian areas can lead to significant changes in Heteroptera composition, even though species richness was not affected. The physical-chemical variables showed no influence on the distribution of species. This result suggests that the environment presented insufficient variation that could cause changes in the investigated community, which implies that factors other than those analyzed here may explain such variation. Three species Rhagovelia trailli (White, 1879), Rhagovelia sp. 4 and Tenagobia incerta (Lundblad, 1928) were considered to be indicators of pristine sites. The results indicate that aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera and more specifically the sub-order Gerromorpha can be an important tool to assess environmental habitat integrity and enhance conservation actions of riparian forests

Septic spondylodiscitis: diagnosis and treatment

We studied retrospectively 24 patients with septic discitis of different etiologies (hematogenic, primary and infantile) and the different aspects involved in its diagnosis and treatment. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate proved to be a valuable parameter and should always be interpreted carefully along with the clinical and neuroimaging findings. Biopsies should be reserved for doubtful cases with atypical course. Clinical treatment should be initiated after the following situations have been ruled out: sepsis, neurological deficit, severe deformity, epidural abscess and foreign body (primary disease). The surgical approach may be chosen based on the stage of disease, being preferably posterior in suppurative forms and anterior in the non-suppurative stage. Based on our experience and on information gathered by literature review, we propose an algorithm to guide diagnosis and treatment in patients with septic discitis.Estudamos retrospectivamente 24 pacientes com espondilodiscite séptica de diferentes etiologias (hematogênica, primária e infantil) e os diferentes aspectos envolvidos em seu diagnóstico e tratamento. Constatamos que a velocidade de hemossedimentação é um bom parâmetro laboratorial para acompanhar a evolução da doença, mas deve ser sempre interpretada conjuntamente com o quadro clínico e os achados de neuroimagem. Biópsias devem ser reservadas para os casos de diagnóstico duvidoso e o tratamento clínico realizado sempre que afastadas as seguintes condições: sepse, déficit neurológico, deformidade severa, abscesso epidural e corpo estranho (discite primária). A abordagem cirúrgica deve ser planejada levando em conta o estágio da doença, sendo preferencialmente por via posterior nas fases supurativas e anterior nas demais. Baseados em nossa experiência e em revisão da literatura, propomos um algoritmo para orientar o diagnóstico e o tratamento das espondilodiscites sépticas.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Metacommunity patterns of Amazonian Odonata: the role of environmental gradients and major rivers

Background We identified and classified damselfly (Zygoptera) and dragonfly (Anisoptera) metacommunities in Brazilian Amazonia, relating species distribution patterns to known biological gradients and biogeographical history. We expected a random distribution of both Zygoptera and Anisoptera within interfluves. At the Amazonian scale, we expected Anisoptera metacommunities to be randomly distributed due to their higher dispersal ability and large environmental tolerance. In contrast, we expected Zygoptera communities to exhibit a Clementsian pattern, limited by the large Amazonia rivers due to their low dispersal ability. Methods We used a dataset of 58 first-to-third order well-sampled streamlets in four Amazonian interfluves and applied an extension of the Elements of Metacommunity Structure (EMS) framework, in which we order Zygoptera and Anisoptera metacommunities by known spatial and biogeographic predictors. Results At the Amazonian scale, both Zygoptera and Anisoptera presented a Clementsian pattern, driven by the same environmental and biogeographical predictors, namely biogeographic region (interfluve), annual mean temperature, habitat integrity and annual precipitation. At the interfluve scale, results were less consistent and only partially support our hypothesis. Zygoptera metacommunities at Guiana and Anisoptera metacommunities at Tapajós were classified as random, suggesting that neutral processes gain importance at smaller spatial scales. Discussion Our findings were consistent with previous studies showing that environmental gradients and major rivers limit the distribution of Odonata communities, supporting that larger Amazonian rivers act as barriers for the dispersal of this group. In addition, the importance of habitat integrity indicates that intactness of riparian vegetation is an important filter shaping metacommunity structure of Amazonian stream Odonata