Extra-pair paternity in a Neotropical rainforest songbird, the White-necked Thrush Turdus albicollis (Aves: Turdidae)

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, several studies have shown that the mating systems of various birds are more complex than previously believed, and paternity tests performed with molecular techniques have proved, for instance, that the commonly observed social monogamy often presents important variations, such as extra-pair paternity. However, data are still largely biased towards temperate species. In our study, at an area of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we found broods containing at least one extra-pair young (EPY) in the socially monogamous White-necked Thrush Turdus albicollis (Vieillot, 1818). Paternity tests using six heterologous microsatellite loci revealed that four of 11 broods (36.4%) presented at least one extra-pair young (EPY). This rate of EPY is within the range found for other studies in the tropics. This is one of the few studies that present detailed paternity analyses of a Neotropical rainforest passerine. Our findings corroborate the early insights that breeding strategies involving cheating can also be widespread among Neotropical socially monogamous songbirds

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Pedagogical memory and the space of the postcolonial classroom : reading Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions

This article addresses issues of the mnemonic space of the literature classroom by interrogating a classic text of African women’s writing, Tsitsi Dangaremnga’s Nervous Conditions (1988) for the ways it speaks about education in 1960s and 1970s late-colonial Rhodesia. The article suggests that the novel reviews and critiques a number of memorial strategies that were crucial to the colonial educational system, thereby facilitating a reflexive application of the novel’s concerns to the contexts in which it is often taught, that of today’s postcolonial classrooms. The article seeks to place Dangarembga’s novel in the context of its present moment, contemporary South Africa – that of the present critic’s site of practice, both pedagogical and scholarly, and that of many of this article’s readers. This present moment, in turn, is made up the many sites, successive and simultaneous, in which the novel’s work of memory is being re-activated in the minds of students as readers and writers. Via a dialogue between the textual past and the pedagogical present, one which is often subject to critical amnesia, the article seeks to inaugurate a debate on the nature of pedagogical memory in the space of the postcolonial university or high school literature classroom.http://www.informaworld.com/RSCRhb2013gv201

Breeding behavior of the Atlantic Forest-endemic Blue-Manakin, Chiroxiphia caudade (Aves, Pipridae)

The family Pipridae is endemic to the Neotropics, having frugivorous habits. Males of some species make complex sexual displays to attract the females, and they live in the middle stratum of tropical forests. Of 51 species, 29 have their nests described, five have incubation periods descriptions, and six have nestling periods reported. The Blue Manakin, Chiroxiphia caudata, is common in humid and secondary forests of southeastern Brazil, northeastern Argentina and eastern Paraguay and its breeding biology is poorly documented. Here analyzed 36 active nests in two breeding seasons (2013/2014 and 2014/2015) in a well-preserved Brazilian Atlantic Forest continuum. Nests were swallow cups hung by their rims in horizontal forks, built in bushes or saplings, over or near forest streams. Reproductive activities were recorded from October to February and clutch sizes were invariably two eggs. Incubation period was 18 days, and nestling period was 15 - 16 days. Estimated overall nesting success, from egg-laying to fledging, was 40%, being higher than most studies on piprids that have been conducted in disturbed habitats. Our data give support to the theory that in the Pipridae family only females provide parental care.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Não informado pelo autor

Reproductive behavior of the Red-crested Finch Coryphospingus cucullatus (Aves: Thraupidae) in southeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT Several behavioral aspects of the Red-crested Finch Coryphospingus cucullatus (Statius Müller, 1776) are poorly studied. Here we provide reproductive information on 16 active nests. This information may be valuable to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships of this bird, and to design plans to manage it. Nesting activities occurred from October to February. Clutches consisted of two to three eggs (2.06 ± 0.25), which were laid on consecutive days. Incubation usually started the morning the females laid their last egg and lasted 11.27 ± 0.47 days. Hatching was synchronous, or happened at a one-day interval. The nestling stage lasted 12 ± 0.89 days. Only females incubated the eggs and they fed the young more often than the males did. Overall nesting success, from incubation to fledging, was 28.2%. Nest architecture and egg color proved to be diagnostic characteristics of Coryphospingus , supporting its maintenance as a distinct genus within the recently proposed sub-family Tachyphoninae. Red-crested Finches showed a preference for certain nesting sites, i.e., forest borders or a Cerrado in late regeneration stage. This information can be useful to programs aiming to release illegally trapped individuals

Nest site selection and reproductive parameters of the threatened Atlantic Royal Flycatcher (Onychorhynchus swainsoni) and their significance for conservation

Abstract Background Patterns of rarity can be explained by reproductive rates, levels of endemism, and habitat specificity, and knowledge on these parameters is important to understand the levels of vulnerability of each species and to formulate conservation strategies. Here, we studied nest-site selection and breeding biology of the Atlantic Royal Flycatcher (Onychorhynchus swainsoni), a poorly known vulnerable bird endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Methods We addressed nest site selection in three different levels: first, we searched for nests near and far from water to investigate whether birds could select water proximities to construct nests; second, we examined if they could select certain streams in detriment of others, and we analyzed the characteristics of used and non-used streams, and third, in streams in which nests were found, we addressed nest site selectivity by comparing a number of parameters between nest sites and random sites. Further, we provide information on breeding biology parameters related to annual fecundity. Results During five breeding seasons, we found 23 nests in a well-preserved forest continuum. All of the nests were constructed above water, and they were found in streams that were about 4 m in width, instead of smaller streams with about 1.5 m in width. Modeling analyses revealed that within the used streams, nests were constructed in sites with lower vegetation density in relation to random points, while stream width, water speed, and canopy cover presented no significant correlation. Atlantic Royal Flycatchers in our study had a 22-day incubation period and 24 to 27-day nestling period. Overall nest survival was comparatively high (62%), but clutch size was small (N = 2 eggs) and double-brooding was unlikely, which resulted in a low annual fecundity (1.4 ± 0.9 fledglings per reproductive female). Along the nesting streams, we found an average of 1.62 ± 0.07 breeding pairs/km. Conclusions These data suggest that nesting habitat specificity and low annual fecundity are among the factors contributing to the rarity of the Atlantic Royal Flycatcher in large forest continuums and to its absence in fragmented environments. It reinforces the importance of large well-preserved forest continuums for the conservation of habitat specialist Atlantic Forest bird species

First complete description of nest, eggs, and nestlings of the Squamate Antbird, Myrmoderus squamosus (Aves: Thamnophilidae)

Even though nest architecture has been useful for phylogenetic inferences among the Thamnophilidae (Aves: Passeriformes), the nests of only three out of five species of Myrmoderus (Ridgway, 1909) are known to science. Here we describe the nests, eggs, and nestling of the Squamate Antbird Myrmoderus squamosus (Pelzeln, 1868). Two nests were bulky bottom-supported cups, measuring 7.3 and 12 cm in maximum outside diameter, with a noticeably smaller egg cup, and they were placed within the crown of short, broad-leafed plants. Eggs were short-oval, with chalky white background color, and purple blotches and streaks more concentrated in the large end. One nestling was dark reddish grey, with bluish white feet, pinkish gray tarsi, and a blackish bill with bright yellow rictal flanges. In face of the great diversity of nest types found among the Thamnophilidae, we concluded that the nest of M. squamosus was similar to those of other congeners, giving support to this currently phylogenetically-defined genus