Vertebrate-mediated seed rain and artificial perches contribute to overcome seed dispersal limitation in a Mediterranean old field

Natural regeneration of vegetation is a frequent outcome of land abandonment, although the rate and diversity of such regeneration may be severely restricted by seed dispersal limitation, among other factors. In spite of this, studies aiming to quantify seed rain and test methods to enhance it, such as artificial perches, are still underrepresented in the Mediterranean. In our study, we quantified seed rain density and richness and tested the effects of artificial perches on such rain over a distance gradient on seven Mediterranean island old fields. In each of the seven sites, we positioned three sampling stations, each consisting of 1 seed trap under an artificial perch and 1 as a control on the ground, distributed at 30, 60, and 90 m from natural vegetation remnant. All traps received seeds, suggesting no overall dispersal limitation. Of the 11 seed species found, 10 were fleshy-fruited and dispersed by vertebrates. Seed traps under perches received significantly higher seed rain of fleshy-fruited species dispersed by birds, while ground traps received significantly more seeds of the species also dispersed by mammals, especially Rubus ulmifolius. The distance from the seed source was nonsignificant in all cases. Our study demonstrates the key role of vertebrate-mediated seed dispersal services to overcome dispersal limitation in old fields, as well as the effective contribution of even small artificial perches in contrasting such limitation. The lack of differences over the distance gradient reveal that the upper spatial limit of dispersal limitation was not achieved

Gênese da atenção domiciliária no Brasil no início do século XX

Objetivo: problematizar as condições de possibilidade para o aparecimento da atenção domiciliária no início do século XX no Brasil.Método: estudo de inspiração genealógica sobre a atenção domiciliária. O material empírico foi constituído por dois documentos legais sobre o tema publicados no Diário Oficial. A análise documental utilizou as ferramentas analíticas poder, poder disciplinar e biopolítica, inspiradas em Foucault.Resultados: foram elaboradas duas categorias: “Vigilância no domicílio: as enfermeiras visitadoras e a tuberculose” e “Registros: o aparelho político e econômico”.Considerações finais: A tuberculose, a nova profissão das enfermeiras visitadoras, os registros produzidos pela vigilância e a análise minuciosa das cidades conferiram à atenção domiciliária um caráter de vigilância, inspeção e controle voltado a conduzir as condutas dos indivíduos.Palavras-chave: Vigilância da população. Serviços de assistência domiciliar. Assistência domiciliar. Enfermagem

Ethnobotany and traditional medicine of the inhabitants of the Pantanal Negro sub-region and the raizeiros of Miranda and Aquidauna, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

A survey on the use of medical plants was carried out in the rural communities of the Rio Negro sub-region of the Pantanal and the raizeiros from Aquidauana and Miranda municipalities, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in order to recover the ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological knowledge of these communities. Structured questionnaires were run with the residents of eight farms and 12 raizeiros. The results reveal 25 botanical families, 45 genera and 48 species of medicinal plants used, six of which are indicated for kidney disturbances, six for urinary disturbances, five for inflammation treatment, 13 for stomach aches, 10 for respiratory disturbances, four for treating sprains, four for healing wounds, four as anti-diarrheaic and one as antipyretic, among other illnesses. The main family was Asteraceae, with 12 species used. The principal preparation methods of the medicinal herbs in the Rio Negro sub-region and surrounding areas were infusion (35) and, mostly, mixed with "chimarrão" or "mate quente", traditional beverage. Nineteen exotic species are used by the raizeiros, (39.58%), which indicates a strong influence of the urban environment. The traditional pantaneiros have greater knowledge of medicinal plants than the raizeiros, and they cited only five exotic species (16.1%)

Coleoptera (Insecta) as forest fragmentation indicators in the Rio Negro sub-region of the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the integrity of two forest fragments in Rio Negro Pantanal sub-region, using coleopterans as environmental indicators. The study was carried out at Santa Emilia Farm in the Rio Negro sub-region, municipality of Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul (19º 30' 18'' S and 55° 36' 45'' W). Two sites were selected, locally denominated as "cordilheiras" (narrow and elongated strands of elevated soil), one with low degree of anthropic disturbance (CL) and the other, currently undergoing restoration process (TD). The sampling sites were determined using a GPS device. Ten pit-fall traps containing water and detergent were used for the specimens sampling, which were screened and identified. Abundance, richness, diversity and similarity were determined. Abundance was higher for CL (n = 277) than for TD (n = 251). The same was observed for the diversity indices, CL showed H' = 2.83 bit.individual-1 and TD = 2.48 bit.individual-1, confirming the interferences made for abundance. Specimens of ten families were captured in CL area and seven families in TD area, indicating higher richness in CL, when compared to TD. The linear correlation coefficient (p > 0.05) indicates that both areas are significantly different, showing similarity value of 66.7%. The data show that the structure and disturbance degree in the environment integrity influence the composition of beetles fauna, causing the increase of abundance, richness and diversity in anthropogenic environments undergoing the early stage of regeneration

The floristic heterogeneity of the Pantanal and the occurrence of species with different adaptive strategies to water stress

The Pantanal is characterised by a diversity of environments with areas ranging from periodic or permanent heavy flooding to areas with low flood levels, and even environments that never flood. Plant species which inhabit the floodplain are distributed in specific niches, with influence of various phytogeographic domains, including the Seasonal Semi-deciduous Forest, Amazon Rainforest, Cerrado and Chaco, as well rocky remnants, with a wide ecological span in their components. In intensely flooded areas, aquatic macrophytes are widely distributed, with their dynamics closely linked to time, depth and extent of flooding. Although the term "Pantanal" suggests a huge swamp-type wetland, water level variation during a seasonal cycle does not directly reach the root system of many plants. The landscape diversity of the Pantanal wetland is molded by the flood pulse, which interferes with the dynamics of plant communities. Therefore, the retraction and expansion of populations or communities is reflected in important ecological characteristics, considering the variety of morphological, anatomical and ecophysiological features of the species, whose phenotype is the result of a particular genotype. The present study discusses peculiar issues in the adaptation of species distributed in the Pantanal biome and underscores the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to obtain conclusive data on adaptive studies