Darwinian shortfalls in biodiversity conservation.

If we were to describe all the species on Earth and determine their distributions, we would solve the popularly termed 'Linnean' and 'Wallacean' shortfalls in biodiversity conservation. Even so, we would still be hindered by a 'Darwinian shortfall', that is, the lack of relevant phylogenetic information for most organisms. Overall, there are too few comprehensive phylogenies, large uncertainties in the estimation of divergence times, and, most critically, unknown evolutionary models linking phylogenies to relevant ecological traits and life history variation. Here, we discuss these issues and offer suggestions for further research to support evolutionary-based conservation planning.

Severe loss of suitable climatic conditions for marsupial species in Brazil: challenges and opportunities for conservation.

A wide range of evidences indicate climate change as one the greatest threats to biodiversity in the 21st century. The impacts of these changes, which may have already resulted in several recent species extinction, are species-specific and produce shifts in species phenology, ecological interactions, and geographical distributions. Here we used cutting-edge methods of species distribution models combining thousands of model projections to generate a complete and comprehensive ensemble of forecasts that shows the likely impacts of climate change in the distribution of all 55 marsupial species that occur in Brazil. Consensus projections forecasted range shifts that culminate with high species richness in the southeast of Brazil, both for the current time and for 2050. Most species had a significant range contraction and lost climate space. Turnover rates were relatively high, but vary across the country. We also mapped sites retaining climatic suitability. They can be found in all Brazilian biomes, especially in the pampas region, in the southern part of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, in the north of the Cerrado and Caatinga, and in the northwest of the Amazon. Our results provide a general overview on the likely effects of global climate change on the distribution of marsupials in the country as well as in the patterns of species richness and turnover found in regional marsupial assemblages.

Understanding global patterns of mammalian functional and phylogenetic diversity.

Documenting and exploring the patterns of diversity of life on Earth has always been a central theme in biology. Species richness despite being the most commonly used measure of diversity in macroecological studies suffers from not considering the evolutionary and ecological differences among species. Phylogenetic diversity (PD) and functional diversity (FD) have been proposed as alternative measures to overcome this limitation. Although species richness, PD and FD are closely related, their relationships have never been investigated on a global scale. Comparing PD and FD with species richness corroborated the general assumptions of surrogacy of the different diversity measures. However, the analysis of the residual variance suggested that the mismatches between the diversity measures are influenced by environmental conditions. PD increased relative to species richness with increasing mean annual temperature, whereas FD decreased with decreasing seasonality relative to PD. We also show that the tropical areas are characterized by a FD deficit, a phenomenon, that suggests that in tropical areas more species can be packed into the ecological space. We discuss potential mechanisms that could have resulted in the gradient of spatial mismatch observed in the different biodiversity measures and draw parallels to local scale studies. We conclude that the use of multiple diversity measures on a global scale can help to elucidate the relative importance of historical and ecological processes shaping the present gradients in mammalian diversity.

Climate change and American Bullfrog invasion: what could we expect in South America?

BACKGROUND: Biological invasion and climate change pose challenges to biodiversity conservation in the 21(st) century. Invasive species modify ecosystem structure and functioning and climatic changes are likely to produce invasive species' range shifts pushing some populations into protected areas. The American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is one of the hundred worst invasive species in the world. Native from the southeast of USA, it has colonized more than 75% of South America where it has been reported as a highly effective predator, competitor and vector of amphibian diseases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We modeled the potential distribution of the bullfrog in its native range based on different climate models and green-house gases emission scenarios, and projected the results onto South America for the years of 2050 and 2080. We also overlaid projected models onto the South American network of protected areas. Our results indicate a slight decrease in potential suitable area for bullfrog invasion, although protected areas will become more climatically suitable. Therefore, invasion of these sites is forecasted. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We provide new evidence supporting the vulnerability of the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot to bullfrog invasion and call attention to optimal future climatic conditions of the Andean-Patagonian forest, eastern Paraguay, and northwestern Bolivia, where invasive populations have not been found yet. We recommend several management and policy strategies to control bullfrog invasion and argue that these would be possible if based on appropriate articulation among government agencies, NGOs, research institutions and civil society.

[Canopy traps: a technique for sampling arboreal ants in forest vertical strata]. / Armadilhas de dossel: uma técnica para amostrar formigas no estrato vertical de florestas.

Our knowledge of tropical ant fauna is mainly based on samples collected in forest understory or in the soil. In this study, we describe a low-cost trap which is easy to produce and install to sample arboreal ants in forest vertical strata. We also present empirical evidences of the usefulness and effectiveness of such trap providing an example from results obtained in Pantanal forest patches.

New host-plant records for neotropical agromyzids (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from Asteraceae flower heads.

Agromyzidae is a large and cosmopolitan fly family with approximately 2,500 known species. Here we present 22 new records of agromyzid-host plant associations. Plants were sampled from 2002 to 2005 in São Paulo state, Brazil. A total of eight agromyzid species were reared from 18 Asteraceae host species. The genus Melanagromyza Hendel was the commonest. This is the first detailed study reporting associations between non-leafmining Agromyzidae and their host plants in Brazil.

Trap-nest occupation by solitary wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) in a forest urban remanent.

Temporal variation of solitary wasps and bees, nesting frequency, mortality, and parasitism were recorded from a remanent forest in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Wasps and bees were collected in trap-nests placed in areas with 25, 100, and 400 m2, from February to November 2004. The 137 trap-nests collected contained 11 species of wasps and bees. Wasps occupied most nests (75%). Occupation peaks occurred in March (25%) and September (26%); in June, the lowest occupation (2%) was observed. Except for Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse Saussure, no significant correlation was found between number of occupied nests, and temperature and rainfall means. In the nests, 48% of the immature specimens died; 13% of the nests were parasitized. Total death and parasitism rates of wasps and bees differed significantly.

Small-scale area effect on species richness and nesting occupancy of cavity-nesting bees and wasps

Small-scale area effect on species richness and nesting occupancy of cavity-nesting bees and wasps. The research was conducted in an urban forest remnant in southeast Brazil. We tested the predictions of the following hypotheses: (1) larger areas present higher species richness of bees and wasps, (2) solitary bees and wasps occupy more nests in larger areas, (3) rare species occupy more nests in smaller areas. We sampled Aculeate bees and wasps using trap nests from February to November 2004. We placed trap nests in sampling units (SU) with different size (25, 100 and 400 m²) located in 6 ha of secondary mesophytic forest. One hundred and thirty-seven trap nests were occupied by seven species of bees and four species of wasps. We found an increase in wasp, but not bee species richness following increase in SU size. Hymenoptera richness (i.e. bees plus wasps) was also greater in larger SU. Both the number and density of occupied nests increased with SU size. The wasp Trypoxylon lactitarse responded significantly to area size, larger SU having more occupied nests. The same pattern was exhibited by the wasp Auplopus militaris, the Megachile bee species, and the bee Anthodioctes megachiloides. Only Trypoxylon sp. was not affected by SU size. Our results show that cavity-nesting bee and wasps respond differently to the area effects. Such findings must be complemented by information on the frequency and dynamics of area colonization and nest occupancy by species of solitary Hymenoptera.

Efeito de área em pequena escala sobre a riqueza e comportamento de nidificação de abelhas e vespas solitárias. Este trabalho foi realizado em fragmento florestal urbano localizado na região sudeste do Brasil. Foram testadas as predições das seguintes hipóteses: (1) áreas maiores apresentam maior riqueza de espécies de abelhas e vespas que nidificam em cavidades pré-existentes, (2) espécies de abelhas e vespas que nidificam em cavidades pré-existentes ocupam mais ninhos em áreas maiores, (3) espécies raras ocupam mais ninhos em áreas menores. Estes insetos foram amostrados por meio de ninhos-armadilha de fevereiro a novembro de 2004. As armadilhas foram dispostas em unidades amostrais com diferentes tamanhos (25, 100 e 400 m²), alocadas em um fragmento de floresta mesofítica de 6 ha. Cento e trinta e sete armadilhas foram ocupadas por sete espécies de abelhas e quatro espécies de vespa. Observamos um aumento na riqueza de vespas associado a uma maior área amostral; não observamos o mesmo para abelhas. A riqueza de espécies de Hymenoptera (abelhas e vespas, em conjunto) foi maior em áreas maiores. Tanto a abundância quanto a densidade de ninhos ocupados por abelhas e vespas aumentou com o aumento da unidade amostral. Trypoxylon lactitarse ocorreu mais frequentemente em áreas maiores. O mesmo padrão foi observado para Auplopus militaris, espécies do gênero Megachile e Anthodioctes megachiloides. Apenas Trypoxylon sp. não foi afetada pelo tamanho da unidade amostral. Os resultados do estudo mostram que abelhas e vespas solitárias respondem de maneira diferente ao tamanho de área. O entendimento dessas relações deve ser complementado por informações sobre a frequência e dinâmica de ocupação de ninhos e colonização de áreas por abelhas e vespas solitárias.

Armadilhas de dossel: uma técnica para amostrar formigas no estrato vertical de florestas / Canopy traps: a technique for sampling arboreal ants in forest vertical strata

O conhecimento atual sobre a mirmecofauna tropical baseia-se principalmente em amostragens realizadas no sub-bosque ou no solo. Neste estudo, é descrita uma armadilha de baixo custo e de fácil montagem e instalação para amostrar formigas no estrato vertical de florestas. São ainda apresentadas evidências empíricas da utilidade e eficiência da armadilha, fornecendo um exemplo de resultados obtidos com a sua utilização em manchas de floresta localizadas na planície pantaneira.

Our knowledge of tropical ant fauna is mainly based on samples collected in forest understory or in the soil. In this study, we describe a low-cost trap which is easy to produce and install to sample arboreal ants in forest vertical strata. We also present empirical evidences of the usefulness and effectiveness of such trap providing an example from results obtained in Pantanal forest patches.

New host-plant records for neotropical agromyzids (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from Asteraceae flower heads

Agromyzidae is a large and cosmopolitan fly family with approximately 2,500 known species. Here we present 22 new records of agromyzid-host plant associations. Plants were sampled from 2002 to 2005 in São Paulo state, Brazil. A total of eight agromyzid species were reared from 18 Asteraceae host species. The genus Melanagromyza Hendel was the commonest. This is the first detailed study reporting associations between non-leafmining Agromyzidae and their host plants in Brazil.

A família Agromyzidae contém aproximadamente 2.500 espécies fitófagas conhecidas. Aqui são apresentados 22 novos registros de associação entre agromizídeos e suas plantas hospedeiras. Foram realizadas coletas entre 2002 e 2005 em remanescentes de cerrado no estado de São Paulo. As oito espécies de agromizídeos registradas pertencem ao gênero Melanagromyza Hendel e foram coletadas em 18 espécies de Asteraceae. Este é o primeiro estudo detalhado sobre associações entre agromizídeos não-minadores e suas plantas hospedeiras no Brasil.

Trap-nest occupation by solitary wasps and bees ( Hymenoptera: Aculeata ) in a forest urban remanent

Avaliou-se a variação temporal das freqüências de nidificação de vespas e abelhas solitárias, a mortalidade e o parasitismo associados às suas espécies em um fragmento de mata em Belo Horizonte, MG. Os Hymenoptera foram coletados por meio de ninhos-armadilha dispostos em três tamanhos de área (25, 100 e 400 m2). De fevereiro a novembro de 2004, coletou-se o total de 137 ninhos fundados por 11 espécies de abelhas e vespas. A maioria (75%) foi fundada por vespas. As armadilhas apresentaram picos de ocupação nos meses de março (25%) e setembro (26%). O mês em que ocorreu menor ocupação foi junho (2%). Excetuando-se Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse Saussure, não foram observadas correlações significativas entre o número de ninhos ocupados e as médias mensais de temperatura e pluviosidade. O total de 48% dos ninhos apresentou mortalidade de imaturos e 13% deles foram parasitados. As taxas de mortalidade e parasitismo foram diferentes para abelhas e vespas, i.e., ninhos de vespas apresentaram maior mortalidade.

Does Barypenthus concolor Burmeister (Trichoptera: Odontoceridae) select particles of different sizes for case building?

Many species of Trichoptera larvae use organic or inorganic particles to build cases that protect them from predators. The study of the wide variety of structures produced by trichopterans is important to understand the evolution of case building behavior. The objective of this work was to investigate if larvae of Barypenthus concolor (Burmeister) are capable of selecting particles of specific sizes to build their cases. The study site was an altitudinal stream in Serra do Cipó National Park, MG, Brazil). Cases and substrate samples were collected at three sites of the stream and submitted to granulometric analyses. The average mass of each particle size found in each site was used to determine the particle size proportion present in the substrate. The proportions of particle size of each case (site I: n = 10, site II: n = 19, site III: n = 13) were also analyzed. Possible differences between the proportions of the particle sizes of the substrate and of those used by B. concolor larvae were assessed by the Chi-square test. Medium and fine gravel predominated at the three sites (>70 percent). There were no significant differences between the expected and observed particle size proportion in the cases. Therefore, B. concolor does not select specific particle sizes for case building.

Larvas de muitas espécies de Trichoptera utilizam partículas orgânicas ou inorgânicas para construir seus casulos nos quais ficam protegidas de predadores. O estudo da grande variedade de estruturas produzidas por tricópteros é muito importante para o entendimento da evolução do comportamento de construção de casulos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar se larvas de Barypenthus concolor (Burmeister) são capazes de selecionar tamanhos específicos de partículas para a construção de casulos. O estudo foi realizado em um riacho de altitude no Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó, MG. Coletaram-se casulos e amostras do substrato em três locais do riacho, para os quais foram feitas análises granulométricas. A média da massa de cada tamanho de partícula encontrada em cada local foi utilizada para a determinação das proporções dos tamanhos de partícula presentes no substrato. As proporções dos tamanhos de partícula de cada casulo (ponto I: n = 10, ponto II: n = 19, ponto III: n = 13) foram também analisadas. As possíveis diferenças entre as proporções dos tamanhos de partícula presentes e dos tamanhos de partícula utilizados pelas larvas de B. concolor foram avaliadas por meio de Qui-quadrado. Cascalho médio e fino predominaram nos três locais amostrados (>70 por cento). Não houve diferenças significativas entre as proporções esperadas e as observadas para tamanhos de partícula nos casulos. Portanto, B. concolor não seleciona tamanhos específicos de partículas para a construção de casulos.