The Impact of Life Philosophy and Major Field of Study on Brazilian Students' Knowledge of Biological Evolution.

Evolutionary theory (ET) is the unifying theory of Life Sciences, but it is largely misunderstood and the target of dispute in many countries, mainly because of conflicts with religious beliefs. Brazil is a country with a culture that is deeply rooted belief in God. In this paper, we report a study in Brazil where we applied a 12-question questionnaire to understand the relationship among the major field of study and the self-declared religious and philosophical context on the knowledge of evolutionary theory by Brazilian freshmen. We answer the following questions: (1) Is there a difference in ET comprehension according to the major field of study? (2) Are religious and philosophical contexts related to the comprehension of ET? (3) Are major field of study and religious/philosophical contexts together related to the comprehension of ET by Brazilian freshmen? A total of 153 freshmen students answered our questionnaire. Students from the Biological Sciences fared better than students from most other major field of study but were equal to students of Humanities. The philosophical perception of life had a major correlation with their knowledge about evolution, with self-declared atheists and agnostics showing better performance than religious students. There were no clear trends in the interaction of major field of study and philosophy of life. We discuss these results in the light of the rising ideological activism in Brazilian society since philosophy of life was the main driver of evolutionary theory perception. We highlight the importance of scientists and teachers in reassuring the role of science and scientific knowledge in modern societies. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11191-021-00286-z.

How much leaf area do insects eat? A data set of insect herbivory sampled globally with a standardized protocol.

Herbivory is ubiquitous. Despite being a potential driver of plant distribution and performance, herbivory remains largely undocumented. Some early attempts have been made to review, globally, how much leaf area is removed through insect feeding. Kozlov et al., in one of the most comprehensive reviews regarding global patterns of herbivory, have compiled published studies regarding foliar removal and sampled data on global herbivory levels using a standardized protocol. However, in the review by Kozlov et al., only 15 sampling sites, comprising 33 plant species, were evaluated in tropical areas around the globe. In Brazil, which ranks first in terms of plant biodiversity, with a total of 46,097 species, almost half (43%) being endemic, a single data point was sampled, covering only two plant species. In an attempt to increase knowledge regarding herbivory in tropical plant species and to provide the raw data needed to test general hypotheses related to plant-herbivore interactions across large spatial scales, we proposed a joint, collaborative network to evaluate tropical herbivory. This network allowed us to update and expand the data on insect herbivory in tropical and temperate plant species. Our data set, collected with a standardized protocol, covers 45 sampling sites from nine countries and includes leaf herbivory measurements of 57,239 leaves from 209 species of vascular plants belonging to 65 families from tropical and temperate regions. They expand previous data sets by including a total of 32 sampling sites from tropical areas around the globe, comprising 152 species, 146 of them being sampled in Brazil. For temperate areas, it includes 13 sampling sites, comprising 59 species. Thus, when compared to the most recent comprehensive review of insect herbivory (Kozlov et al.), our data set has increased the base of available data for the tropical plants more than 460% (from 33 to 152 species) and the Brazilian sampling was increased 7,300% (from 2 to 146 species). Data on precise levels of herbivory are presented for more than 57,000 leaves worldwide. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this paper when using the current data in publications; the authors request to be informed how the data is used in the publications.

Exploring plastic-induced satiety in foraging green turtles.

In the last decade many studies have described the ingestion of plastic in marine animals. While most studies were dedicated to understanding the pre-ingestion processes involving decision-making foraging choices based on visual and olfactory cues of animals, our knowledge in the post-ingestion consequences remains limited. Here we proposed a theoretical complementary view of post-ingestion consequences, attempting to connect plastic ingestion with plastic-induced satiety. We analyzed data of plastic ingestion and dietary information of 223 immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from tropical Brazilian reefs in order to understand the impacts of plastic ingestion on foraging behavior. Generalized linear mixing models and permutational analysis of variance suggested that plastic accumulations in esophagus, stomach and intestine differed in their impact on green turtle's food intake. At the initial stages of plastic ingestion, where the plastic still in the stomach, an increase in food intake was observed. The accumulation of plastic in the gastrointestinal tract can reduce food intake likely leading to plastic-induced satiety. Our results also suggest that higher amounts of plastics in the gastrointestinal tract may led to underweight and emaciated turtles. We hope that adopting and refining our proposed framework will help to clarify the post-ingestion consequences of plastic ingestion in wildlife.

Prevalence and risk factors for viral exposure in rural dogs around protected areas of the Atlantic forest.

BACKGROUND: Despite the crucial role of domestic dogs as reservoirs for zoonosis and some of the most threatening diseases for wild carnivores such as distemper and parvovirosis, little is known about the epidemiological features and the risk factors involved in pathogen exposure of dogs that live in human/wildlife interfaces and actually contacts wildlife. Through a cross-sectional serological approach and questionnaire survey, we assessed the prevalence along with individual and environment-associated risk factors for four important viral diseases of rural dogs living in households around six Atlantic Forest fragments in southeast Brazil. RESULTS: Widespread exposure to canine parvovirus (97%), canine distemper virus (15%) and canine adenovirus (27%) was detected, but none for canine coronavirus. Dogs from small private reserves were more exposed to parvovirus and canine distemper virus than those from larger state parks. Exposure was associated with dog sex and age, lack of health care and the number of people in the households. Remarkably, factors linked to free-ranging behaviour of dogs were associated with the exposure for all pathogens detected. CONCLUSIONS: According to identified associations, reducing viral pathogen exposure in dogs will require inhibiting dog's movements and access to nearby forests and villages and improving veterinary assistance. Promoting dog vaccination and population control through sterilization around protected areas is also necessary. The study provides support for preventive management actions aimed to protect the health of rural dogs, and consequently of Atlantic Forest's wild carnivores.

Can anthropic fires affect epigaeic and hypogaeic Cerrado ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) communities in the same way?

Fire occurrences are a common perturbation in Cerrado ecosystems, and may differently impact the local biodiversity. Arthropods are one of the taxa affected by fires, and among them, ants are known as good bioindicators. We aimed to evaluate the effect of anthropic fires on epigaeic and hypogaeic ant communities (species richness and composition) in Cerrado areas with different post-fire event recovery periods. We conducted the study in four Cerrado areas during two weeks of 2012 dry season: one unburned and three at different post-fire times (one month, one and two years). We sampled ants with pitfall traps in epigaeic and hypogaeic microhabitats. We collected 71 ant morpho-species from 25 genera. In the epigaeic microhabitat we sampled 56 morpho-species and 42 in the hypogaeic microhabitat. The area with the shortest recovery time presented lower epigaeic ant species richness (4.3 ± 2.00) in comparison to the other areas (8.1 ± 2.68 species on one year area; 10.3 ± 2.66 species on two years area; 10.4 ± 2.31 species on control area), but recovery time did not affect hypogaeic ant species richness. Regarding ant species composition, fire did not directly affect hypogaeic ant species, which remained the same even one month after fire event. However, two years were not enough to reestablish ant species composition in both microhabitats in relation to our control group samples. Our study is the first to assess anthropic fire effects upon epigaeic and hypogaeic ants communities; highlighting the importance of evaluating different microhabitats, to more accurately detect the effects of anthropic disturbances in biological communities. We concluded that ant communities are just partially affected by fire occurrences, and epigaeic assemblages are the most affected ones in comparison to hypogaeic ants. Furthermore the study provides knowledge to aid in the creation of vegetation management programs that allow Cerrado conservation.

Factors associated with the seroprevalence of leishmaniasis in dogs living around Atlantic Forest fragments.

Canine visceral leishmaniasis is an important zoonosis in Brazil. However, infection patterns are unknown in some scenarios such as rural settlements around Atlantic Forest fragments. Additionally, controversy remains over risk factors, and most identified patterns of infection in dogs have been found in urban areas. We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological survey to assess the prevalence of leishmaniasis in dogs through three different serological tests, and interviews with owners to assess features of dogs and households around five Atlantic Forest remnants in southeastern Brazil. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models and Chi-square tests to detect associations between prevalence and variables that might influence Leishmania infection, and a nearest neighbor dispersion analysis to assess clustering in the spatial distribution of seropositive dogs. Our findings showed an average prevalence of 20% (ranging from 10 to 32%) in dogs. Nearly 40% (ranging from 22 to 55%) of households had at least one seropositive dog. Some individual traits of dogs (height, sterilization, long fur, age class) were found to positively influence the prevalence, while some had negative influence (weight, body score, presence of ectoparasites). Environmental and management features (number of cats in the households, dogs with free-ranging behavior) also entered models as negative associations with seropositivity. Strong and consistent negative (protective) influences of the presence of chickens and pigs in dog seropositivity were detected. Spatial clustering of cases was detected in only one of the five study sites. The results showed that different risk factors than those found in urban areas may drive the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis in farm/forest interfaces, and that humans and wildlife risk infection in these areas. Domestic dog population limitation by gonadectomy, legal restriction of dog numbers per household and owner education are of the greatest importance for the control of visceral leishmaniasis in rural zones near forest fragments.

Density-dependent morphological plasticity and trade-offs among vegetative traits in Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae) / Plasticidade morfológica dependente da densidade e compensação entre traços vegetativos em Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae)

Density-dependent responses are an important component of the organism life-history, and the resource allocation theory is a central concept to the life-history theory. When resource allocation varies due to environmental changes, a plant may change its morphology or physiology to cope with the new conditions, a process known as phenotypic plasticity. Our study aimed to evaluate how plant density affects Eichhornia crassipes allocation patterns. A total of 214 individuals in high and low density were collected. The density effect was observed in all plant traits examined including biomass accumulation. All traits of E. crassipes demonstrated higher values in high density conditions, except for biomass of leaves. Density exhibited a high influence on vegetative traits of E. crassipes, but did not influence allocation pattern, since a trade-off among the vegetative traits was not found. The morphological plasticity and the absence of trade-offs were discussed as strategies to overcome neighbor plants in competition situations. In high density conditions, there were clear changes in the morphology of the plants which probably allows for their survival in a highly competitive environment.

As respostas dependentes da densidade são um componente importante da história de vida de um organismo e a teoria da alocação de recursos é um conceito central para a teoria da história de vida. Quando a alocação de recursos varia de acordo com mudanças ambientais a planta pode alterar sua morfologia ou fisiologia para lidar com as novas condições, um processo chamado plasticidade fenotípica. Nosso estudo objetivou avaliar como a densidade de plantas afeta os padrões de alocação de Eichhornia crassipes. Foram coletadas 214 indivíduos em alta e baixa densidade. O efeito da densidade foi verificado nos traços vegetativos e na biomassa. Todas as características vegetativas medidas em E. crassipes foram maiores em condições de alta densidade com exceção da massa seca de folhas. A densidade apresentou grande influência sobre as características vegetativas de E. crassipes, mas não influenciou os padrões de alocação, já que não foram identificados 'trade-offs' entre as características vegetativas da planta.