Search

Human activities have triggered profound changes in natural landscapes, resulting in species loss and disruption of pivotal ecological interactions such as insect herbivory. This antagonistic interaction is affected by complex pathways (e.g., abundance of herbivores and predators, plant chemical defenses, and resource availability), but the knowledge regarding how forest loss and fragmentation affect insect herbivory in human-modified tropical landscapes still remains poorly understood. In this context, we assessed multi-pathways by which changes in landscape structure likely influence insect herbivory in 20 Atlantic forest fragments in Brazil. Using path analysis, we estimated the direct effects of forest cover and forest edge density, and the indirect effect via canopy openness, number of understory plants and phenolic compounds, on leaf damage in understory plants located in the edge and interior of forest fragments. In particular, plants located in forest edges experienced greater leaf damage than interior ones. We observed that landscape edge density exerted a positive and direct effect on leaf damage in plants sampled at the edge of forest fragments. Our findings also indicated that forest loss and increase of edge density led to an increase in the canopy opening in the forest interior, which causes a reduction in the number of understory plants and, consequently, an increase in leaf damage. In addition, we detected that phenolic compounds negatively influence leaf damage in forest interior plants. Given the increasing forest loss in tropical regions, in which forest fragments become stranded in highly deforested, edge-dominated and degraded landscapes, our study highlights the pervasive enhancement in insect herbivory in remaining forest fragments-especially along forest edges and canopy gaps in the forest interior. As a result, increased herbivory is likely to affect forest regeneration and accelerate the ecological meltdown processes in these highly deforested and disturbed anthropogenic landscapes., (© 2024 The Ecological Society of America.)

Tropical species richness is threatened by habitat degradation associated with land-use conversion, yet the consequences for functional diversity remain little understood. Progress has been hindered by difficulties in obtaining comprehensive species-level trait information to characterize entire assemblages and insufficient appreciation that increasing land-cover heterogeneity potentially compensates for species loss. We examined the impacts of tropical deforestation associated with land-use heterogeneity on bird species richness, functional redundancy, functional diversity, and associated components (i.e., alpha diversity, species dissimilarity, and interaction strength of the relationship between abundance and functional dissimilarity). We analyzed over 200 georeferenced bird assemblages in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. We characterized the functional role of the species of each assemblage and modeled biodiversity metrics as a function of forest cover and land-cover heterogeneity. Replacement of native Atlantic Forest with a mosaic of land uses (e.g., agriculture, pastures, and urbanization) reduced bird species richness in a nonrandom way. Core forest species, or species considered sensitive to edges, tended to be absent in communities in heterogenous environments. Overall, functional diversity and functional redundancy of bird species were not affected by forest loss. However, birds in highly heterogenous habitats were functionally distinct from birds in forest, suggesting a shift in community composition toward mosaic-exclusive species led by land-cover heterogeneity. Threatened species of the Atlantic Forest did not seem to tolerate degraded and heterogeneous environments; they remained primarily in areas with large forest tracts. Our results shed light on the complex effects of native forest transformation to mosaics of anthropogenic landscapes and emphasize the importance of considering the effects of deforestation and land-use heterogeneity when assessing deforestation effects on Neotropical biodiversity., (© 2024 Society for Conservation Biology.)

We report Rickettsia species from 2,334 ticks collected from environment (1,939 ticks) and animals (395 ticks) in the largest inland fragment of the Atlantic rainforest of southern Brazil and its fragments. Additionally, the DNA infection rates of Amblyomma ovale tick populations in the Neotropics with Rickettsia bellii and Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest were calculated using data from scientific publications, and their correlation was evaluated. From 11 tick species Rickettsia DNA was detected in seven (Amblyomma brasiliense, Amblyomma coelebs, Amblyomma incisum, Amblyomma longirostre, A. ovale, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Ixodes fuscipes) and was not detected in four species (Amblyomma dubitatum, Ixodes loricatus, Rhipicephalus microplus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato). DNA of five Rickettsia species was detected (R. bellii, Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia rhipicephali, Rickettsia felis and Rickettsia sp. Aragaoi). To determine the prevalence of Rickettsia DNA positivity according to vector species, ticks were processed individually or in pools of 2-10 individuals (samples). The most prevalent Rickettsia species was R. bellii, found in 112 samples, followed by R. amblyommatis, R. rhipicephali, R. felis and Rickettsia sp. Aragaoi, found in 16, five, two and one sample, respectively. Rickettsia bellii DNA was found in five tick species with the highest infection rate in A. ovale and A. brasiliense. Absence of R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest in A. ovale ticks was an unexpected result. Furthermore, a negative correlation was identified between the infection rates (DNA) of R. bellii and/or R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest within A. ovale tick populations in the Neotropics. Putting together current knowledge, it can be proposed that, within natural settings, the diversity of rickettsiae and ticks creates a buffering effect on the overgrowth of rickettsiae and episodes of bacteremia in the hosts., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Ants have long been known for their associations with other taxa, including macroscopic fungi and symbiotic bacteria. Recently, many ant species have had the composition and function of their bacterial communities investigated. Due to its behavioral and ecological diversity, the subfamily Ponerinae deserves more attention regarding its associated microbiota. Here, we used the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize the bacterial communities of Odontomachus chelifer (ground-nesting) and Odontomachus hastatus (arboreal), two ponerine trap-jaw species commonly found in the Brazilian savanna ("Cerrado") and Atlantic rainforest. We investigated habitat effects (O. chelifer in the Cerrado and the Atlantic rainforest) and species-specific effects (both species in the Atlantic rainforest) on the bacterial communities' structure (composition and abundance) in two different body parts: cuticle and gaster. Bacterial communities differed in all populations studied. Cuticular communities were more diverse, while gaster communities presented variants common to other ants, including Wolbachia and Candidatus Tokpelaia hoelldoblerii. Odontomachus chelifer populations presented different communities in both body parts, highlighting the influence of habitat type. In the Atlantic rainforest, the outcome depended on the body part targeted. Cuticular communities were similar between species, reinforcing the habitat effect on bacterial communities, which are mainly composed of environmentally acquired taxa. Gaster communities, however, differed between the two Odontomachus species, suggesting species-specific effects and selective filters. Unclassified Firmicutes and uncultured Rhizobiales variants are the main components accounting for the observed differences. Our study indicates that both host species and habitat act synergistically, but to different degrees, to shape the bacterial communities in these Odontomachus species., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This study assessed black carbon (BC) dynamics, concentrations, and the organic matter (OM) isotopic carbon composition in northeastern South America drainage basin coastal sediments. Paraíba do Sul (PSR; Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil) coastal sediments displayed more 13 C-enriched values (-22.6 ± 1.3 ‰ [n = 13]) than Amazon and Sinnamary (Amazon Rainforest in French Guiana and Brazil) sediments (-25.0 ± 3.1 ‰ [n = 14] and - 26.1 ± 1.0 ‰ [n = 6], respectively), indicating that local land-use basin changes have altered the OM composition, i.e., from natural C 3 plant to C 4 plants contributions. BC contents normalized to total organic carbon (TOC) content were 0.32 ± 0.24 (n = 8), 0.73 ± 0.67 (n = 6), and 0.95 ± 0.74 (n = 13) mg g -1 TOC for Amazon, Sinnamary and PSR samples, respectively, with BC sources appearing to differ according to different drainage basin vegetation covers. With increasing distance from the river mouths, BC contents exhibited different trends between the coastal zones, with values increasing for the PSR and decreasing values for the Amazon samples. BC distribution in Sinnamary coastal sediments did not display specific patterns. Regarding the Amazon coastal zone, BC contents decreased while the B6CA:B5CA ratios did not show a pattern, which could indicate that BC in the area originates from river transport (aged BC) and that the hydrophobic component of dissolved BC is removed. The BC content mostly increased in the PSR coastal zone, while the B6CA:B5CA ratios were not altered for the entire gradient, indicating the BC stability and possible atmospheric deposition of soot. Our findings indicate that different sources, transformation processes, and hydrological conditions affect BC contents within coastal zones. Continuous land cover changes in both the Amazon and Atlantic Rainforests may result in large-scale marine carbon cycling impacts., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Divergence in seed germination patterns among populations of the same species is important for understanding plant responses to environmental gradients and potential plant sensitivity to climate change. In order to test responses to flooding and decreasing water potentials, over 3 years we germinated and grew seeds from three habitats of Euterpe edulis Mart. occurring along an altitudinal gradient. Seed germination and root growth were evaluated under different water availability treatments: control, flood, -0.4 MPa, -0.8 MPa, in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, and in the final year of the experiment (2014) at -1.0 MPa and -1.5 MPa. Seeds from the montane habitat did not germinate in the flooding treatment. Seed germination of all three habitats decreased in the -1.5 MPa treatment and the montane habitat had lowest germination in this treatment. Time required for half of the seeds to germinate increased up to -0.8 MPa. Seeds from montane habitats germinated more slowly in all treatments. The only difference in seed germination synchrony was an increase in the submontane population under the flooding treatment. However, synchrony decreased at the lowest water potentials. Roots of the montane population were more vigorous in most treatments, except at -0.8 MPa. The unusual ability of these seeds to germinate at low water potentials might be related to early seed germination at the onset of the rainy season, which potentially decreases seed predation pressure. Seeds of the montane population were more sensitive to both types of water stress. A predicted increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme high rainfall or drought events may predispose early stages of this population to adverse factors that might negatively affect population viability with elevational in future climate change scenarios., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Chemical investigation of the extract of the macroscopic fungus Beenakia informis led to the isolation of a previously unreported γ-pyrone and two new isoprenylated cyclohexanoids, together with speciocin N. Their structures were elucidated spectroscopically and the absolute configuration was determined by comparison of the experimental vs. calculated ECD curves. Three of the compounds showed very good to moderate activity against phytopathogenic fungi., (© 2023 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

This paper provides the first description of the nesting biology of Ancistrocerus flavomarginatus (Brèthes) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae), the only species of the genus found in Brazil. Our trap-nest experiments were conducted in two Mixed Ombrophilous Forest fragments and two adjacent matrices in Guarapuava (Paraná state, Brazil) from August 2017 to July 2018. In each area, we set 192 trap nests divided into six groups of 32 units, totalling 768 trap nests. We obtained a total of 47 nests of A. flavomarginatus, the vast majority of them (43, 91.5%) founded in the forest fragments. Most nests were built in wooden traps with a bore diameter of either 5 or 7 mm (19 nests in each type, 80.8%). Nests comprised 1-12 subcylindrical brood cells arranged linearly and separated from one another by transverse partitions of soil mastic. Larvae consumed 6-10 lepidopteran caterpillars before spinning the cocoon. Ancistrocerus flavomarginatus produced up to 6 annual generations (multivoltinism) and its immature forms were parasitized by chrysidid and ichneumonid wasps. The calculated sex ratio (1.78:1) was statistically biased towards males, but since they (21.3 ± 2.0 mg) were significantly lighter than females (50.9 ± 4.0 mg), the resulting investment ratio (1.34:1) was female biased. Males emerged from more external cells and developed significantly faster (27.2 ± 0.46 days) than females (30.1 ± 0.66 days), hence a case of protandry. We demonstrated that A. flavomarginatus is largely dependent on the Atlantic Rainforest and thus that deforestation poses a critical threat to this important species., (© 2022. Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.)

Some ichneumonid wasps of the Polysphincta group of genera (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) induce behavioral modifications in their host spiders during a specific moment of their development, resulting in the construction of webs that differ in several aspects from those constructed by unparasitized individuals. In this study, we describe the parasitoid wasp Hymenoepimecis pinheirensis sp. n. (Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) and present information on behavioral modifications in the orb-web structure of its host, the spider Leucauge volupis (Keyserling 1893). Previously, reported observation on this host/parasitoid interaction was restricted to one locality, and the wasp species was misidentified as Hymenoepimecis jordanensis Loffredo and Penteado-Dias 2009. Modified webs built by parasitized spiders lack adhesive spirals and have several radii that converge to the web hub. The cocoon built by the wasp larvae is attached to the web hub, suspended by horizontal radial lines, and surrounded by a tridimensional tangle positioned below the hub. This modified web structure is similar to the most frequent architecture of webs constructed by individuals of Leucauge mariana (Taczanowski 1881) parasitized by Hymenoepimecis tedfordi Gauld 1991. However, cocoon webs built by L. volupis parasitized by H. pinheirensis sp. n. differ from the cocoon webs described for the other Leucauge species parasitized by Hymenoepimecis wasps. This evidence suggests that the modified web pattern in Leucauge species is determined by specific responses of each spider species to the behavioral manipulation mechanism displayed by the wasps., (© 2022. Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.)

Gymnopilus consists of a widely distributed genus of basidiomycetes, especially in tropical regions of the world, such as Japan, Australia, Paraguay, and Brazil. This genus biosynthesizes interesting bioactive compounds, such as sesquiterpenoids, oligoisoprenoids, styrylpyrones, and lectins. In the present study, the aqueous extract of the basidiomata of Gymnopilus imperialis (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Agaricales, Hymenogastraceae) was obtained by using the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) technique, followed by the precipitation of polysaccharide fraction with ethanol. Further purification by freeze-thawing processes, Fehling solution precipitation, and membrane dialysis with different pore sizes yield three main polysaccharide fractions ( Gi -MRSW, Gi -PFME, and Gi -SFME). According to monosaccharide composition and 13 C-NMR data, the Gi -MRSW and Gi -SFME fractions showed to be composed mainly of β-glucans and Gi -PFME by a heterogalactan. Moreover, the immunomodulatory potential of Gi -MRSW was evaluated using RAW 264.7 murine macrophage as a study model. The nitric oxide production was significantly increased in treated samples, and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) showed that the fraction Gi -MRSW from G . imperialis induces the M1 polarization phenotype.

Cariniana legalis (Mart.) Kuntze (Lecythidaceae), commonly known as "Jequitibá Rosa," an endemic tree from Brazil, is one of the largest trees that grows in the Atlantic Rain Forest. Jequitibá Rosa has been extensively exploited due to the excellent quality of its wood, which has resulted in the species being placed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN red list of threatened species (IUCN, 2021). Thus, conservation of the species is paramount. In October 2018, in the municipality of Ilhéus, Bahia (14º 79' 67" S, 39º 17' 32" W), trees of C. legalis were observed with approximately 80% of leaves presenting light to dark brown necrotic lesions with yellow edges at the tips and margins of the leaves; the lesions gradually expanded through the leaves and coalesced to form wider lesions, which resulted in death of the leaves and weakening of the trees. The symptoms indicate infection caused by a Colletotrichum spp., important pathogens known to cause diseases in several economically important plants. Symptomatic leaves were collected and lesions examined under a stereomicroscope at 20x magnification (Supplementary Figure S1. A). Conidia were transferred directly and aseptically from the leaf spots to potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) and incubated in the dark at 25 ± 1 ºC for 72 h. Subsequently, pure cultures were obtained by monosporic isolation. All fungal structures were measured using a Leica DM500 microscope at 1000x magnification. A pathogenicity test was performed both on hosts in the field and using detached leaves by inoculation with a conidial suspension 10 6 conidia/mL prepared from a culture grown on PDA incubated in the dark at 25 ± 1 ºC for 10 days. Six healthy and fully developed detached leaves were inoculated with two 10 μL drops of conidial suspension on the adaxial surface. Six leaves were inoculated with two drops of sterile water were used as controls. The inoculated leaves were kept in a humid chamber at 25º C with a 12 h photoperiod. Four trees of C. legalis growing in the field were selected and 120 healthy leaves (30 per tree) sprayed with a conidial suspension and covered with transparent polyethylene plastic bags, with a piece of wet cotton inside, to maintain moisture for 72 h. A further 30 leaves per tree were sprayed with sterile water as controls. DNA was extracted using the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method following the protocol described by Oliveira et al. (2016). Internal transcribed spacer (ITS), partial histone3 (HIS3), and partial glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatedehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene sequences were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), CYLH3F/CYLH3R (Crous et al. 2004), and GDF1/GDR1 (Guerber et al. 2003) primers. The PCR for the ITS amplification were performed according to Oliveira et al. (2014), and for the HIS3 and GAPDH according Damm et al. (2012). Maximum likelihood analysis (with support estimated by a bootstrap analysis with 1,000 replicates) was performed using PhyML 3.0 (Guindon and Gascuel 2003) and launched from Topali 2.5. The colony produced abundant white to light gray aerial mycelium, and an orange viscous mass of conidia (Supplementary Figure S1. B). Conidia were single-celled, smooth, hyaline and sub-cylindrical with rounded ends, 13 (11-15) × 3.5 (3-4) µm (Supplementary Figure S1. C); appressoria were aseptate, brown, subglobose to clavate, 11 (10-12) × 7 (6-8) µm (Supplementary Figure S1. D). BLASTn analysis revealed that the partial gene sequences of ITS (URM 8381 ‒ MZ158701), GAPDH (URM 8381 ‒ MZ189259) and HIS3 (URM 8381 ‒ MZ189260) were 100% identical to Colletotrichum tropicale (CPO 27.830 ‒MN744296/CBS 129983 ‒ MH865615), (CMM 4071 ‒ KC517181/CPO 27.719 ‒MN737355) and (CBS 124949 ‒ KY856395). A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was generated by combining all sequenced loci. The phylogenetic tree revealed that sequences of the isolate URM8381 formed a clade with the sequences from the type species of C. tropicale E.I. Rojas, S.A. Rehner & Samuels (CBS 124949) with a high support value (95), which is distinct from other related species (Supplementary Figure S1. E). The sequences from the isolate were deposited in GenBank under the following accession numbers: ITS: MZ158701; GAPDH: MZ189259 and HIS3: MZ189260. C. tropicale was reisolated from the inoculated leaves, and had the same cultural and morphological characteristics as the original isolate. Both detached leaves and leaves on trees were inoculated in the field and presented leaf spot symptoms (Supplementary Figure S1.F), at 6 and 8 days after inoculation, respectively, which further confirms C.tropicale as the causal agent of the symptoms observed on the leaves of C. legalis . The controls did not develop any symptoms (Supplementary Figure S1. G). C. tropicale belongs to the C. gloeosporioides species complex. In Brazil, C. tropicale causes anthracnose on various hosts, including Annona muricata L. (soursop) and Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) McVaugh ("camu-camu") (Costa et al. 2019; Matos et al. 2020). To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. tropical e causing leaf spot on C. legalis . References: Costa, J. F. O., et al. 2019. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 153:1119. Crous, P. W., et al. 2004. Stud. Mycol. 50:415. Damm, U., et al. 2012. Stud. Mycol. 73:1. Guerber, J. C., et al. 2003. Mycol. 95:87. Guindon, S.; Gascuel, O. 2003. Syst Biol 52(5): 696-704. https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150390235520. IUCN. 2021. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Matos, K. S., et al. 2020. Plant Dis. 104. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-19- 0882-PDN Oliveira R. J. V., et al. 2016. N. Hedw. 103:185. White, T. J., et al. 1990. In: Innis, M.A., et al. (Eds.) Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 315-322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-372180-8.50042-1.

Wild animals are of considerable importance in the ecology of infectious agents, as they can function as hosts and even as possible vectors. In this study, DNA from Rickettsia spp. was detected on ticks and fragments of skin collected from wild coatis with synanthropic habits in the Iguaçu National Park (INP) in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. Testing was carried out on a total of 566 ticks, comprising Amblyomma spp. larvae, nymphs of Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Amblyomma brasiliense, Amblyomma coelebs, and adults of Amblyomma ovale. The samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by amplifying htrA, gltA, ompA, and ompB gene fragments to detect Rickettsia spp. A fragment of each positive sample was sequenced in both directions, submitted to Genbank for a homology search, and also used for phylogenetic analyses. Samples of A. coelebs (1.90%, 8/420), A. ovale (13%, 6/45), and ring-tailed coati skin (1%, 1/75) amplified Rickettsia spp. DNA. Through sequencing, Rickettsia bellii was observed in A. ovale, Rickettsia amblyommatis in A. coelebs, while Rickettsia rhipicephali was detected in the skin samples. Wild ring-tailed coatis with synanthropic habits in the INP and their ticks are infected by Rickettsia spp., and associations with new hosts have been described., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Mercury (Hg) is a widespread and toxic contaminant with potential for long-range atmospheric transport. Previous work has shown that temperate and subtropical montane ecosystems have great potential for deposition of this element. However, little information exists regarding Hg dynamics in tropical mountains. In present study, we evaluated the influence of altitudinal distribution, size, trophic position, and degree of water dependence on Hg concentration in amphibians. For this purpose, we determined the mercury concentration in topsoil and amphibian samples collected at 32 points distributed between 327 and 2181 m above sea level in Serra dos Órgãos, a mountainous complex located in southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the concentration of mercury in whole body samples of 200 individuals of 30 amphibian species. Trophic position of the specimens was estimated by nitrogen stable isotope (δ 15 N) composition in muscle tissues. We observed a positive relationship between elevation and Hg concentration in topsoil samples from rainforest sites. However, in samples from nebular forest and campos de altitude (highland grasslands) sites, the concentration of Hg was considered lower than expected by the trend in rainforest points, indicating that the vegetation structure plays an important role in the deposition of atmospheric mercury. Mercury concentration in amphibians varies according to the functional characteristics of the species and the environment in which the individual is inserted. Elevation, trophic level and water dependence explained at least some degree of variation in Hg concentration in amphibian tissues. Thus, this community-level analysis suggests that mountainous areas in the tropical region, as recorded for temperate and subtropical mountains, act as regional convergence and deposition sites for atmospheric mercury., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The patterns of insect movement are the cumulate product of many individual decisions and can be shaped by the way morphology and behaviour interacts with landscape structure and composition. Hence, the ongoing process of habitat fragmentation increases the distance among suitable habitats and changes those in such a way that it may favour some movement behaviour. Our study described some biological traits (sex ratio, age structure and individual permanence in a population), as well as the movements of fruit-feeding butterflies along the horizontal dimension (among habitats: forest interior, natural forest transition - ecotone and anthropogenic forest transition - edge) and the vertical dimension (between canopy and understory). We sampled butterflies monthly over 1 year in the Atlantic rainforest, South-eastern Brazil, following a standardized design using bait traps. We found that sex ratio was male biased for five out of the six more abundant species and the age structure showed an increase in recruitment of new individuals in the dry season followed by a noticeable aging of the populations in the wet season. In general, our results revealed an aggregated spatial distribution, in which few individuals travelled long distances while most individuals were recaptured in the same trap, suggesting that all studied habitats currently provide the necessary conditions for the maintenance of butterfly populations, favouring fewer movements and narrow home ranges for both sexes and species. Conservation of a set of heterogeneous habitats it is especially important for the maintenance of sedentary butterflies and of those that move large distances., (© 2021. Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.)

Background and Aim: Metals and metalloids have been found in several streams and rivers from the Atlantic Rainforest (ARF), one of the world´s leading biodiversity hotspot, which may represent a risk for environmental and human health. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate the accumulation and distribution of 24 trace elements in water, sediments and fish tissues (muscle and gills) of sixteen species from the Atlantic Rainforest, 2) to explore bioaccumulation patterns in fish tissues and abiotic matrices, and 3) to assess the impact of metal and metalloids on the human health from water and fish consumption., Methods: Water, sediments and fish samples were collected from Ramos Stream (Misiones Province, Argentina). The concentrations of Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, Li, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Ti, U, V and Zn were determined by Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) were used to evaluate bioaccumulation of metals and metalloids in relation to water and sediment. The Hazard Quotient (HQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Target Hazard Quotient (THQ, general and fisherman populations) were calculated to assess the non-carcinogenic human health risk from water and fish consumption., Results: The concentrations of several elements in water and sediment were higher than the international guidelines for aquatic biota protection. Levels of As, Pb and Zn in muscle and gills were above national and international guidelines for human consumption. The bioaccumulation factors ranged from 749 to 13,029 being higher in gills than in muscle. The HQ and HI ranged from 0.001 to 0.015. The THQ for each element and total THQ values were lower than 0.1., Conclusion: Bioaccumulation factor suggests that several species have a moderate capacity to incorporate some metals and metalloids from the abiotic matrices. According to the HI and THQ values found, there is no risk to human health from consumption of water and fish., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The tick-borne pathogen Rickettsia parkeri causes a mild rickettsiosis, with cases reported from several countries to its known distribution in the Americas. Molecular analyses have identified a clear distinction between strains of R. parkeri sensu stricto (s. s.) and R. parkeri sensu lato (s. l.) as well as separation between North American and South American R. parkeri s. s. strains. To expand on this previous work, we developed a multilocus sequence typing analysis with two aims: first, to investigate the genetic diversity within strains of North American R. parkeri s. s., and second, to further the understanding of the genetic relationships between R. parkeri s. s. and R. parkeri s. l. Sixty-four R. parkeri isolates and 12 R. parkeri -positive tick lysates were analyzed using a novel typing scheme consisting of four coding regions and two intergenic regions. A concatenated Bayesian phylogeny that identified eight clades was constructed: three represent the R. parkeri s. l. strains, and five represent the R. parkeri s. s. strains. The clades appear to be generally phylogeographically organized and associated with specific tick vectors. However, while one of the four R. parkeri s. s. North American clades appears to be limited to the southwestern United States, the other North American clades exhibit broad dispersal, most notably seen in the largest group, which includes representative samples extending from northern Mexico to Delaware. This work highlights the increasingly recognized geographic range of R. parkeri in the Americas and suggests a potential public health risk for these areas. IMPORTANCE Since 1937, when Rickettsia parkeri was originally identified in Amblyomma maculatum group ticks, the recognized range and associated vectors for this pathogen have expanded significantly. In recent years, R. parkeri has been identified in 12 tick species from seven countries in the Americas. Herein, we provide evidence that the greatest genetic diversity within R. parkeri exists in North America, where one R. parkeri sensu lato and four R. parkeri sensu stricto genotypes are present. While one distinct R. parkeri sensu stricto genotype exists only in the southwestern United States, three genotypes are broadly distributed in the eastern United States, with the largest of these found across the known range of R. parkeri in North America. In contrast, the South American R. parkeri sensu stricto samples represent a single genotype and are completely clonal at the loci analyzed, irrespective of their country of origin.

Birds are important hosts in the maintenance and spread of ticks worldwide, including several species of Amblyomma which harbor rickettsial agents as members of the spotted fever group (SFG). The current survey shows the diversity of tick and rickettsial agents infecting ticks on wild birds from an Atlantic rainforest in the state of Bahia, Brazil. A total of 365 birds were captured, representing two orders, 22 families and 51 species, among which 68 specimens (18.6%) were parasitized. Overall, 132 immature ticks (81 larvae and 51 nymphs) were identified to species level, representing six recognized species of the genus Amblyomma: Amblyomma longirostre (n = 45), Amblyomma nodosum (n = 40), Amblyomma varium (n = 5), Amblyomma parkeri (n = 2), Amblyomma coelebs (n = 3) and Amblyomma calcaratum (n = 1). Amplification by PCR and sequencing of rickettsial genes (gltA and ompA), detected the presence of Rickettsia DNA in 12 (9.1%) of the ticks. Rickettsia amblyommatis was the only agent detected in nine larvae and two nymphs of A. longirostre and one nymph of A. varium with 99-100% similarity.

The endemic tree species Calyptranthes clusiifolia (Myrtaceae) plays a relevant ecological role in the forest fragments where it has a common occurrence. In this study, we reported the development of microsatellite markers for C. clusiifolia what will allow a better understanding of the relationship between the forest fragmentation process and the genetic structure and diversity of tree populations. Seven microsatellite markers were developed using an enriched genomic library and characterized in 30 individuals (from three populations). These seven loci were polymorphic and resulted in a total of 23 alleles. The expected heterozygosity (H E ) varied from 0.14 (Caly 06) to 0.73 (Caly 22). Linkage disequilibrium between the loci (p > 0.0007) pairs was not detected. The parentage exclusion power of the first (Pe-1) and the second (Pe-2) parents were 0.6099 and 0.8548, respectively. The microsatellite markers developed are indicated for future studies of the genetic diversity in natural populations of C. clusiifolia.

Diptera Mesembrinellidae present great ecological importance as potential bioindicators and Calliphoridae stand out for their medical-sanitary importance as potential vectors of pathogens and causes of human and animal diseases such as myiasis. They beneficially aid in elucidating crimes in forensic entomology, contributing to determine the postmortem interval (PMI) and assisting in the healing process of necrotic wounds in larval therapy. This study aimed to inventory the Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae fauna in order to evaluate structural parameters and to apply faunal indexes in catching species in the Itaipu-Piratininga lagoon complex, in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro), Brazil. The collections were carried out monthly from September 2015 to August 2016 with fish bait (sardines) exposed for 48 h, totaling six traps installed in three physiognomies (mangrove, ombrophilous forest, and restinga). In total, 9,773 individuals were captured, divided into two families, five genera, and 11 species. Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) was the predominant species, while Mesembrinella bellardiana (Aldrich, 1922) was the least representative species, indicating the preservation level of this ecosystem. Ombrophilous forest was the physiognomy with greater diversity and restinga was the physiognomy with greater species dominance. The similarity index indicated greater similarity among the mangrove and restinga populations., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

We investigated the biogeography of Stigmaphyllon , the second-largest lianescent genus of Malpighiaceae, as a model genus to reconstruct the age and biogeographic history of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest (BAF). Few studies to date have focused on the tertiary diversification of plant lineages in the BAFs, especially on Stigmaphyllon . Phylogenetic relationships for 24 species of Stigmaphyllon (18 ssp. From the Atlantic forest (out of 31 spp.), three spp. from the Amazon Rainforest, two spp. from the Caatinga biome, and a single species from the Cerrado biome) were inferred based on one nuclear DNA (PHYC) and two ribosomal DNA (ETS, ITS) regions using parsimony and Bayesian methods. A time-calibrated phylogenetic tree for ancestral area reconstructions was additionally generated, coupled with a meta-analysis of vascular plant lineages diversified in the BAFs. Our results show that: (1) Stigmaphyllon is monophyletic, but its subgenera are paraphyletic; (2) the most recent common ancestor of Stigmaphyllon originated in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest/Caatinga region in Northeastern Brazil ca. 26.0 Mya; (3) the genus colonized the Amazon Rainforest at two different times (ca. 22.0 and 6.0 Mya), the Caatinga biome at least four other times (ca. 14.0, 9.0, 7.0, and 1.0 Mya), the Cerrado biome a single time (ca. 15.0 Mya), and the Southern Atlantic Rainforests five times (from 26.0 to 9.0 Mya); (4) a history of at least seven expansion events connecting the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest to other biomes from 26.0 to 9.0 Mya, and (5) a single dispersion event from South America to Southeastern Asia and Oceania at 22.0 Mya via Antarctica was proposed. Compared to a meta-analysis of time-calibrated phylogenies for 64 lineages of vascular plants diversified in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforests, our results point to a late Eocene origin for this megadiverse biome.

Leishmaniases are a global health problem and in Argentina are considered emerging diseases. The new transmission scenarios of tegumentary leishmaniasis are especially important given that large areas of forest are being transformed into rural and urban systems. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of the construction of a large public building and a neighborhood on the assemblage of Phlebotominae in a rural area with forest remnants and to correlate the changes observed in the species assemblage with characteristics of the environment. Entomological surveys with light traps were conducted on the construction campus in the northeastern region of Argentina at six sites representing different environmental situations. Structural environmental characteristics and meteorological conditions were recorded and analyzed. At least 16 species of Phlebotominae sand flies were collected, the most prevalent being Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho), followed by the genus Brumptomyia (França & Parrot) and Migonemyia migonei (França). Our study provides evidence of how the structure of the assemblages and prevalent species respond to anthropogenic disturbances. As the construction progressed, both Ny. whitmani and the genus Brumptomyia were favored. The genus Brumptomyia was favored at sites surrounded by high proportions of forest, within patches of remnant vegetation, and relatively far from anthropogenic disturbances, while Ny. whitmani, the main vector of tegumentary leishmaniasis in the region, increases their abundant at short and intermediate distances from vegetation margins and areas close to anthropogenic disturbances, therefore increasing the risk of human exposure to vectors., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Uvaia is a Brazilian native species whose fruit has few studies on the nutritional composition and antioxidant properties. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the proximate composition, mineral content, carbohydrate profile, identification of organic compounds, and determination of antioxidant properties in two fractions of this fruit (edible fraction and seed). Edible fraction showed the highest content of ash, lipids, proteins, total fibers, minerals mainly K and Mg (1557.61 and 124.40 mg 100 g -1 , respectively), and carbohydrates such as fructose, sucrose, glucose (123.08; 64.40; and 42.39 mg g -1 , respectively), and maltotetraose (G4). From the ESI-LTQ-XL-MS/MS analysis, it was possible to identify 22 compounds in the edible fraction and 16 compounds in the uvaia seed, including organic acids, phenolic acids and flavonoids. On the other hand, uvaia seed had the highest content of total phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity. These results suggest that this fruit has great potential to be used in industry, with emphasis on making food with functional claims., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Basic knowledge of species, ecological preferences and behavior of ticks in preserved rainforests are scanty. We herein describe species richness, seasonal activity, altitude influence and questing height of ticks along 3375 m of animal trails within the largest remain of inland Atlantic rainforest in Brazil, the Iguaçu National Park (INP). Altogether, 2954 ticks from nine tick species were collected; Amblyomma brasiliense Aragão (49.09% of the specimens), Amblyomma coelebs Neumann (29.08%), Amblyomma incisum Neumann (12.49%), Haemaphysalis juxtakochi Cooley (5.21%), Amblyomma ovale Koch (2.64%), Amblyomma longirostre Koch (0.20%), Ixodes fuscipes Fonseca (0.17%), Ixodes loricatus Neumann (0.07%) and Amblyomma dubitatum Neumann (0.03%) (Ixodida: Ixodidae). There was an evident seasonal influence on tick host-questing activity, with each tick stage prevailing in a season before the following one, and a general trend of one tick generation per year. Adult tick questing height mode on vegetation showed a correspondence between tick species and preferred host size and height. Adult ticks quested higher than immatures, but several larval clusters were found high enough to seek for large-sized hosts as well. Nymphal and adult tick questing height increased significantly at higher altitudes within the park. Amblyomma incisum and A. coelebs were more abundant at higher and lower altitudes, respectively. The knowledge on tick species richness, ecological preferences and behavior herein obtained provides baseline information to understand tick-borne disease epidemiology occurring at landscapes under a strong anthropogenic impact., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Yeasts associated with rotting wood from four Atlantic Rain forest sites in Brazil were investigated using a culture medium based on sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate. A total of 330 yeast strains were isolated. Pichia manshurica, Candida pseudolambica, and Wickerhamomyces sp. 3 were the most frequently isolated species. Fourteen novel species were obtained in this study. All isolates were tested for their ability to ferment d-xylose and to produce xylanases. In the fermentation assays using d-xylose (30 g L -1 ), the main ethanol producers were Scheffersomyces stipitis (14.08 g L -1 ), Scheffersomyces sp. (7.94 g L -1 ) and Spathaspora boniae (7.16 g L -1 ). Sc. stipitis showed the highest ethanol yield (0.42 g g -1 ) and the highest productivity (0.39 g L -1 h -1 ). The fermentation results using hemicellulosic hydrolysate showed that Sc. stipitis was the best ethanol producer, achieving a yield of 0.32 g g -1 , while Sp. boniae and Scheffersomyces sp. were excellent xylitol producers. The best xylanase-producing yeasts at 50 °C belonged to the species Su. xylanicola (0.487 U mg -1 ) and Saitozyma podzolica (0.384 U mg -1 ). The results showed that rotting wood collected from the Atlantic Rainforest is a valuable source of yeasts able to grow in sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate, including species with promising biotechnological properties., (Copyright © 2020 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Birds are recognized hosts of ticks, especially for the immature stages which may harbor various species and strains of Rickettsia. To explore landscapes inhabited by birds and their ticks would expand the knowledge on host-parasite relationships and the rickettsiae. The aim of this paper was to record the diversity of ticks collected on wild birds and assess the phylogenetic position of a novel Rickettsia strain detected in immature ticks. Birds were captured in the Ibitipoca State Park, located in the Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil, as part of a long-term research project on the ecology of ticks, birds and Rickettsia. We found three tick species parasitizing birds: Amblyomma aureolatum (63 larvae, 10 nymphs), Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (28 larvae, seven nymphs) and Amblyomma romarioi (27 larvae). Among these, A. aureolatum was the most abundant species including 54% (73/135) of the collected ticks. New tick-host records were: A. romarioi on Turdus amaurochalinus and H. leporispalustris on Thamnophilus caerulescens, Saltator similis and Zonotrichia capensis. Of the 82 ticks tested for Rickettsia spp. by PCR, two larvae (2.5%) of A. romarioi were infected with 'Candidatus Rickettsia paranaensis', a novel putative Rickettsia species closely related to Rickettsia africae, Rickettsia sibirica and Rickettsia parkeri, as corroborated by our phylogenetic analysis. Finally, we present a list of all records of immature stages of H. leporispalustris on passerine birds in Brazil.

Assessments of spatial and temporal congruency across taxa from genetic data provide insights into the extent to which similar processes structure communities. However, for coastal regions that are affected continuously by cyclical sea-level changes over the Pleistocene, congruent interspecific response will not only depend upon codistributions, but also on similar dispersal histories among taxa. Here, we use SNPs to test for concordant genetic structure among four codistributed taxa of freshwater fishes (Teleostei: Characidae) along the Brazilian Atlantic coastal drainages. Based on population relationships and hierarchical genetic structure analyses, we identify all taxa share the same geographic structure suggesting the fish utilized common passages in the past to move between river basins. In contrast to this strong spatial concordance, model-based estimates of divergence times indicate that despite common routes for dispersal, these passages were traversed by each of the taxa at different times resulting in varying degrees of genetic differentiation across barriers with most divergences dating to the Upper Pleistocene, even when accounting for divergence with gene flow. Interestingly, when this temporal dissonance is viewed through the lens of the species-specific ecologies, it suggests that an ecological sieve influenced whether species dispersed readily, with an ecological generalist showing the highest propensity for historical dispersal among the isolated rivers of the Brazilian coast (i.e., the most recent divergence times and frequent gene flow estimated for barriers). We discuss how our findings, and in particular what the temporal dissonance, despite common geographic passages, suggest about past dispersal structuring coastal communities as a function of ecological and paleo-landscape sieves., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Spotted fever is the main rickettsial disease in Brazil. We report 12 cases of human parasitism by Amblyomma parkeri in the Atlantic rainforest, an area of Brazil to which spotted fever is endemic. Nine of the ticks were infected with Candidatus Rickettsia paranaensis.

Fleas are insects with a worldwide distribution that have been implicated in the transmission of several pathogens. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of Rickettsia spp. (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) and Bartonella spp. (Rhizobiales: Bartonellaceae) in fleas from free-ranging crab-eating foxes Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766) (Carnivora: Canidae) from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Fleas were collected manually from animals and used for the molecular detection of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. Twenty-nine C. thous were sampled in six municipalities. Four foxes were parasitized by 10 fleas, all of which were identified as Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché, 1935) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). DNA from Rickettsia felis Bouyer et al., 2001 and Rickettsia asembonensis Maina et al., 2016 were found in three and eight fleas, respectively. In four fleas, DNA of Bartonella sp. was identified. Phylogenetic analysis grouped Bartonella sp. together with other genotypes previously reported in C. felis worldwide. The scenario described in the present study highlights a Neotropical canid parasitized by the invasive cosmopolitan cat flea, which in turn, is carrying potentially invasive vector-borne microorganisms. These findings suggest that C. felis is adapted to wild hosts in wilderness areas in southern Brazil, hypothetically exposing the Neotropical fauna to unknown ecological and health disturbances., (© 2019 The Royal Entomological Society.)

Recent studies have reported several larvae of an unidentified Amblyomma species on passerine birds in Atlantic rainforest fragments in southeastern Brazil. These larvae yielded a unique 16S rRNA haplotype designated as Amblyomma sp. haplotype Nazaré, which showed nucleotide identity levels of 91% to Amblyomma parkeri Fonseca & Aragão, 1952 and 88% to Amblyomma longirostre (Koch, 1844). Herein, we describe Amblyomma sp. haplotype Nazaré as a new species, Amblyomma romarioi n. sp. Martins, Luz & Labruna, through a formal description of the male and female adult stages. Amblyomma romarioi is morphologically and genetically most closely related to A. parkeri, A. longirostre and Amblyomma geayi Neumann, 1899. Among males, the rectangular basis capituli and rounded coxa I spurs separates A. romarioi from A. parkeri, A. longirostre, and A. geayi, which have basis capituli triangular or slightly hexagonal, and pointed coxa I spurs. Among females, the V-shaped genital aperture and coxa I rounded spurs of A. romarioi contrasts to the U-shaped genital aperture and coxa I pointed spurs in A. parkeri, A. longirostre, and A. geayi. Larvae of A. romarioi have been collected on 24 species of passerines. The few records of nymphs and adults were on the black-fronted titi monkey Callicebus nigrifrons (Spix, 1823). The current distribution of A. romarioi is restricted to the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, southeastern Brazil, in areas with altitude between 363 and 1600 m, within the distribution of C. nigrifrons. We discuss ecological features of Amblyomma romarioi, comparatively to A. parkeri, A. longirostre and A. geayi. The present study increases the Brazilian tick fauna to 74 species., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has long been considered a global biodiversity hotspot. In the last decade, the phylogeographic patterns of endemic taxa have been unraveling the biogeographic history of the biome. However, highly diverse invertebrate species have still been poorly studied. Sodreana harvestmen (Gonyleptidae) are distributed in most of the humid coastal forests in the southern portion of the Atlantic Forest, a region that has experienced complex topographic evolution and differing climatic conditions since the Early Cretaceous, which likely affected the geographic distribution and diversification of the group. In this study, we investigated the molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of Sodreana to clarify the species relationships and to make inferences about the historical biogeography of the southern Atlantic Forest. We applied coalescent-based phylogenetic analyses using one mitochondrial and three nuclear markers coupled with an ecological niche modeling approach to verify relationships among species, date the main divergence events in the genus, and make inferences concerning possible changes in the geographical distribution and population dynamics from the past. Our results supported the validity of most Sodreana species and suggested that Paleogene-Neogene geomorphologic processes such as the formation of rivers systems, uplift of mountain ranges and related environmental changes have profoundly affected the evolutionary history of Sodreana. The ecological niche models showed that the areas potentially occupied by the species were greatly reduced during Quaternary glacial periods but no recent lineage divergences or genetic bottlenecks were detected, suggesting that climatically stable micro-habitats could have helped maintain populations during drier periods. Our study highlights the importance of humidity-dependent and poor-dispersal taxa in understanding the effects of ancient geological and climate processes on the Atlantic Forest biota., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Serra da Mantiqueira is one of the least inventoried physiographic areas of southeastern Brazil. There is great potential for detection of endemic species for which little or nothing is known about basic aspects of natural history. The Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio (PESP) within the Serra da Mantiqueira is an area of extreme biological importance because it houses mixed formations of grasslands, ombrophilous forests, and enclaves of Araucaria forests (mixed ombrophilous forest). Currently, the mixed ombrophilous forest covers less than 5% of its original range and areas occupied by this forest type, and associated ecosystems constitute refuges, housing several endemic, high altitude species. Between September 2015 and April 2016, field samplings were performed in the PESP using four distinct methods. The objective was to determine the composition and natural history of snakes from an isolated, high altitude area of the Serra da Mantiqueira. In PESP and surrounding areas, 80 individuals representing 24 species, 19 genera, and three families were recorded. Data are presented on abundance, habitat, daily activity, diet, reproduction, and defense. Comparison of the PESP snake assemblage with 30 other Atlantic Forest areas in southeastern Brazil indicate the Serra da Mantiqueira presents particular characteristics regarding snake composition.

Studies have tested whether model predictions based on species' occurrence can predict the spatial pattern of population abundance. The relationship between predicted environmental suitability and population abundance varies in shape, strength and predictive power. However, little attention has been paid to the congruence in predictions of different models fed with occurrence or abundance data, in particular when comparing metrics of climate change impact. Here, we used the ecological niche modeling fit with presence-absence and abundance data of orchid bees to predict the effect of climate change on species and assembly level distribution patterns. In addition, we assessed whether predictions of presence-absence models can be used as a proxy to abundance patterns. We obtained georeferenced abundance data of orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossina) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Sampling method consisted in attracting male orchid bees to baits of at least five different aromatic compounds and collecting the individuals with entomological nets or bait traps. We limited abundance data to those obtained by similar standard sampling protocol to avoid bias in abundance estimation. We used boosted regression trees to model ecological niches and project them into six climate models and two Representative Concentration Pathways. We found that models based on species occurrences worked as a proxy for changes in population abundance when the output of the models were continuous; results were very different when outputs were discretized to binary predictions. We found an overall trend of diminishing abundance in the future, but a clear retention of climatically suitable sites too. Furthermore, geographic distance to gained climatic suitable areas can be very short, although it embraces great variation. Changes in species richness and turnover would be concentrated in western and southern Atlantic Forest. Our findings offer support to the ongoing debate of suitability-abundance models and can be used to support spatial conservation prioritization schemes and species triage in Atlantic Forest., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The type of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis ( Ophiocordycipitaceae , Hypocreales , Ascomycota ) is based on an immature specimen collected on an ant in Brazil. The host was identified initially as a leaf-cutting ant ( Atta cephalotes , Attini, Myrmicinae). However, a critical examination of the original illustration reveals that the host is the golden carpenter ant, Camponotus sericeiventris (Camponotini, Formicinae). Because the holotype is no longer extant and the original diagnosis lacks critical taxonomic information - specifically, on ascus and ascospore morphology - a new type from Minas Gerais State of south-east Brazil is designated herein. A re-description of the fungus is provided and a new phylogenetic tree of the O. unilateralis clade is presented. It is predicted that many more species of zombie-ant fungi remain to be delimited within the O. unilateralis complex worldwide, on ants of the tribe Camponotini., (© 2018 Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute.)

Two strains of a novel yeast species were isolated from rotting wood of an ornamental tree (purple quaresmeira, Tibouchina granulosa, Melastomataceae) in an Atlantic Rainforest area in Brazil. Analysis of the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-5.8S) region and the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene showed that this species belongs to the Spathaspora clade, and is phylogenetically related to Spathaspora brasiliensis, Candida materiae and Sp. girioi. The novel species ferments D-xylose, producing ethanol, with amounts between 3.37 and 3.48 g L -1 ethanol from 2% D-xylose. Ascospores were not observed from this new species. The name Spathaspora piracicabensis f. a., sp. nov. is proposed to accommodate these isolates. The type strain is UFMG-CM-Y5867 T (= CBS 15054 T  = ESALQ-I54 T ). The MycoBank number is MB 822,320.

We describe two new species of miniaturized toadlet in the B. pernix group of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the Atlantic Forest of the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The first new species is distinguished from all congeners by the pale red coloration from the head to the pelvic region, with sides of the body and thighs dorsally yellowish green. It is known only from the type locality in a cloud forest at altitudes ranging between 1,144-1,228 m a.s.l. The second species, although more closely related to B. izecksohni , is morphologically similar to B. brunneus in its overall brown coloration, but distinct from that species in the color of the iris (black with conspicuous golden spots, instead of entirely black). It was found on three mountains, at altitudes between 1,095-1,320 m a.s.l., and in vegetation types including cloud forest, montane forest, and secondary forest. The two new species exhibit neither vertebral fusions nor osteoderms, but one has both a distinct neopalatine and well-developed odontoids on the maxillae. We discuss the conservation status of both species., Competing Interests: Marcio R. Pie is an Academic Editor for PeerJ.

A longstanding paradigm in ecology is that there are positive associations between herbivore diversity, specialization, and plant species diversity, with a focus on taxonomic diversity. However, phytochemical diversity is also an informative metric, as insect herbivores interact with host plants not as taxonomic entities, but as sources of nutrients, primary metabolites, and mixtures of attractant and repellant chemicals. The present research examines herbivore responses to phytochemical diversity measured as volatile similarity in the tropical genus Piper. We quantified associations between naturally occurring volatile variation and herbivory by specialist and generalist insects. Intraspecific similarity of volatile compounds across individuals was associated with greater overall herbivory. A structural equation model supported the hypothesis that plot level volatile similarity caused greater herbivory by generalists, but not specialists, which led to increased understory plant richness. These results demonstrate that using volatiles as a functional diversity metric is informative for understanding tropical forest diversity and indicate that generalist herbivores contribute to the maintenance of diversity., (© 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Iguaçu National Park, which contains the largest remnant of Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil and Iguaçu Falls as one of its main visiting points, is a year-round attraction for thousands of domestic and international tourists. Ring-tailed coatis are generalist, opportunistic carnivores that benefit from human association. These animals are the most abundant carnivores in this park, where they come into close contact with tourists and the resident population around the park. Moreover, as the park is surrounded by human dwellings, free roaming domestic dogs are frequently present, favoring the exchange of pathogens with wild animals. Wild carnivores are known to be infected with several pathogens, from viruses to arthropods, some of them passed on by domestic carnivores. Among the nematodes that infect wild carnivores, those of the Onchocercidae family are of concern due to their zoonotic potential. The objective of this research was to assess the prevalence of filarial nematodes in coatis and dogs in Iguaçu National Park, as well as the potential impact of infection on host health and body condition. To this end, 75 coatis and 50 adult dogs were captured in the aforementioned area. Seven species of filarioids, Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilaria repens, Acanthocheilonema reconditum, Brugia sp., Mansonella sp. and two undetermined species, confirmed by histochemical tests, were diagnosed in the area. Knott's concentration test in coatis and dogs showed a prevalence of 81.6% and 16.0%, respectively. Seven microfilarial morphotypes were diagnosed in the coatis and two morphotypes were found in the dogs. A specific immunoassay test for Dirofilaria immitis revealed the presence of D. immitis infection in 1.33% of the coatis and 22% of the domestic dogs. The parasitic infection had negligible effects on the body condition of both dog and coati hosts, but an increase was found in eosinophil counts in coatis with filarial infection, as well as decreases in hematocrit and hemoglobin in the infected domestic dogs. These findings represent new locality and host records for all the filarioids diagnosed in the area of this study, with some of the diagnosed parasites, given their zoonotic potential, representing a health risk for park visitors and the local population., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Yeasts are a necessary requisite in the diet of most Drosophila species that, in turn, may vector their dispersal in natural environments. Differential attractiveness experiments and the isolation of yeasts consumed by Drosophila may be informative for characterizing this association. Hanseniaspora uvarum is among the most common yeast species isolated from Drosophila crops, with high attractiveness to drosophilids. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been widely used to collect flies, and it allows broad sampling of almost all local Drosophila species. Pronounced differences in the field concerning Drosophila attractivity to baits seeded with these yeast species have been previously reported. However, few explicit generalizations have been set. Since late fifties, no field experiments of Drosophila attractivity were carried out in the Neotropical region, which is facing shifts in abiotic and biotic factors. Our objective is to characterize preference behavior that mediates the interaction in the wild among Neotropical Drosophila species and yeasts associated with them. We want to set a broad generalization about drosophilids attracted to these yeasts. Here we present the results of a differential attractiveness experiment we carried out in a natural Atlantic Rainforest fragment to assess the preferences of Drosophila species groups to baits inoculated with H. uvarum and S. cerevisiae ., Methods: Both yeast species were cultured in GYMP broth and separately poured in autoclaved mashed banana that was left fermenting. In the field, we collected drosophilids over five arrays of three different baits: non-inoculated autoclaved banana and banana inoculated with each yeast. In the laboratory the drosophilids were sorted to five sets according to their external morphology and/or genitalia: tripunctata ; guarani ; willistoni ; exotic ; and the remaining flies pooled in others ., Results and Conclusions: Uninoculated banana baits attracted virtually no flies. We found significant departures from random distribution over the other two baits (1:1 proportion) for all sets, except the pooled others . Flies of the sets willistoni and exotic preferred H . uvarum over S . cerevisiae, while the remaining sets were more attracted to S . cerevisiae . Previously, various authors reported similar patterns in attraction experiments with S . cerevisiae and H . uvarum . It is also noteworthy that both yeast species have been isolated from natural substrates and crops of Drosophila species. Taken together, these results suggest that the preferences among Drosophila species groups may be reflecting deep and stable relations with yeast species in natural environments. They can be summarized as: forest dwelling species from subgenus Drosophila (such as tripunctata and guarani groups) are attracted to banana baits seeded with S . cerevisiae ; while exotic (as D. melanogaster ) and subgenus Sophophora species are preferentially attracted to baits seeded with H . uvarum ., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Forest loss threatens biodiversity, but its potential effects on multitrophic ecological interactions are poorly understood. Insect herbivory depends on complex bottom-up (e.g., resource availability and plant antiherbivore defenses) and top-down forces (e.g., abundance of predators and herbivorous), but its determinants in human-altered tropical landscapes are largely unknown. Using structural equation models, we assessed the direct and indirect effects of forest loss on insect herbivory in 40 landscapes (115 ha each) from two regions with contrasting land-use change trajectories in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. We considered landscape forest cover as an exogenous predictor and (1) forest structure, (2) abundance of predators (birds and arthropods), and (3) abundance of herbivorous arthropods as endogenous predictors of insect leaf damage. From 12 predicted pathways, 11 were significant and showed that (1) leaf damage increases with forest loss (direct effect); (2) leaf damage increases with forest loss through the simplification of vegetation structure and its associated dominance of herbivorous insects (indirect effect); and further demonstrate (3) a lack of top-down control of herbivores by predators (birds and arthropods). We conclude that forest loss favors insect herbivory by undermining the bottom-up control (presumably reduced plant antiherbivore defense mechanisms) in forests dominated by fast-growing pioneer plant species, and by improving the conditions required for herbivores proliferation., (© 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.)

A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) is described from the Atlantic Forest of northeastern state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Nine specimens (eight adults and a juvenile) were collected from the leaf litter of montane forests 790-835 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The new species is a member of the pernix group by its bufoniform shape and the absence of dermal co-ossification and is distinguished from all its congeners by a combination of its general coloration (dorsal region of head, dorsum, legs, arms, and flanks light, brownish green to dark, olive green, with darker region in the middle of the dorsum and a white line along the vertebral column in most specimens) and by its smooth dorsum. The geographical distribution of the new species is highly reduced (extent of occurrence estimated as 25.04 ha, or possibly 34.37 ha). In addition, its habitat has experienced some level of degradation, raising concerns about the future conservation of the species. Preliminary density estimates suggest one calling individual every 3-4 m 2 at 815-835 m a.s.l. and every 100 m 2 at 790 m a.s.l. Together with the recently described B. boticario and B. fuscolineatus , the new species is among the southernmost species of Brachycephalus known to date., Competing Interests: Marcio R. Pie is an Academic Editor for PeerJ.

This study aimed at assessing the chemical composition of the essential oils from leaves and fruits of Conchocarpus fontanesianus, an endemic Brazilian species of Rutaceae. The plant material was harvested from two regions of the Atlantic rainforest in the State of São Paulo. The volatile compounds in the essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation (HD), and analyzed by GC/FID and GC/MS, allowing the quantification and identification of 54 components in total, which comprise about 97% of the total oil composition. From the leaves collected in Caraguatatuba and Juréia-Itatins, the major volatile compounds identified were as follows: spathulenol (22.32% and 16.67%) and α-cadinol (9.7% and 14.76%). However, β-myrcene (34.56%), (+)-epi-bicyclosesquiphellandrene (8.71%), and bicyclogermacrene (5.80%) were dominant in the fruits collected only in Juréia-Itatins. The in vitro biological activities were tested to evaluate the cytotoxic, antifungal, and antioxidant potential of essential oils from leaves and fruits., (© 2016 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zürich.)

Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest, that is considered to represent a genetic variant of Rickettsia parkeri, are confirmed as being capable of infecting humans in Brazil. This study reports the detection and characterization, by PCR and nucleotide sequencing, of Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rain forest in Amblyomma ovale parasitizing a human, in ticks infesting dogs and in free-living ticks collected from the environment where the human infestation was recorded. The data contribute to our knowledge of infection rates in A. ovale with Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest and identified an additional location in the state of São Paulo populated with ticks infected with this emerging pathogen., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Leaf-cutting ants interact with several fungi in addition to the fungal symbiont they cultivate for food. Here, we assessed alien fungal communities in colonies of Atta cephalotes. Fungus garden fragments were sampled from colonies in the Atlantic Rainforest and in a cabruca agrosystem in the state of Bahia (Brazil) in two distinct periods to evaluate whether differences in nest habitat influence the diversity of fungi in the ant colonies. We recovered a total of 403 alien fungi isolates from 628 garden fragments. The prevalent taxa found in these samples were Escovopsis sp. (26 %), Escovopsioides nivea (24 %), and Trichoderma spirale (10.9 %). Fungal diversity was similar between the colonies sampled in both areas suggesting that ants focus on reducing loads of alien fungi in the fungus gardens instead of avoiding specific fungi. However, fungal taxa composition differed between colonies sampled in the two areas and between the sampling periods. These differences are likely explained by the availability of plant substrates available for foraging over habitats and periods. Ordination analysis further supported that sampling period was the main attribute for community structuring but also revealed that additional factors may explain the structuring of fungal communities in colonies of A. cephalotes., (Copyright © 2015 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A new miniaturized toadled of the genus Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) is described from Serra do Quiriri in the municipality of Campo Alegre, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Specimens were collected from the leaf litter between from 1,263 and 1,318 m above sea level. The new species is distinguished from all its congeners by the combination of the following characters: snout-vent length 9.9-13.1 mm; skin on head and dorsum without dermal co-ossification; snout mucronate in dorsal view; dorsum rugose; general color brown, with a narrow orange vertebral stripe. The region where the new species is located is also shared with other endemic anuran species and has experienced strong anthropogenic impacts,suggesting that immediate actions should be taken to ensure their long-term preservation.

We describe seven new species of Selaginellasubg.Stachygynandrum (Selaginellaalstonii, Selaginellablepharodella, Selaginellacrinita, Selaginellamucronata, Selaginellamucugensis, Selaginellasaltuicola, and Selaginellasematophylla) from Brazil and discuss their possible affinities and conservation status. Scanning electron micrographs of stem sections, leaves, and spores are provided to illustrate the new taxa. In Selaginellaalstonii and Selaginellasaltuicola vegetative growth from strobilus tips is reported and discussed. Four of the new species are from the Espinhaço Mountain Range associated with Campos Rupestres (montane savannah/rocky fields) vegetation. Three of these (i.e., Selaginellablepharodella, Selaginellacrinita, and Selaginellamucugensis) were collected in the northern part of the range in Chapada Diamantina, state of Bahia, while Selaginellaalstonii is from the southern part of the range in the state of Minas Gerais. Selaginellamucronata is found in Atlantic Rainforest vegetation in the state of Espírito Santo, whereas Selaginellasaltuicola inhabits Cerrado (tropical savannah) vegetation in the state of Mato Grosso. Selaginellasematophylla is the most widely distributed of the new species and was collected in Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro states in Campos Rupestres and Atlantic Rainforest vegetation. Selaginellaalstonii occurs in rocky caves, Selaginellablepharodella, Selaginellacrinita, Selaginellamucugensis, and Selaginellasematophylla seem adapted to seasonally dry places, living on sandy or humid soils, Selaginellamucronata occupies humid, forest understory, and Selaginellasaltuicola is adapted to wet places associated with rocks or logs in waterfalls. Of the seven new species, six are considered local endemics (except for Selaginellasematophylla) because of their restricted currently known distributions to one or two localities within a single state in Brazil. Additionally, we propose new synonymy for Selaginellapalmiformis (syn. = Selaginellabahiensissubsp.manausensis, ≡ Selaginellamanausensis) and Selaginellavestiens (syn. = Selaginellafragillima); the last species is endemic to Brazil, recorded in the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais. Finally, based on literature discussed and this study, we conclude that the number of well-documented Brazilian Selaginella species is 61, of which 58 are native and three introduced and naturalized. These statistics are likely to change with further work on Selaginella from Brazil.

Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) is a remarkable genus of miniaturized frogs of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. Many of its species are highly endemic to cloud forests, being found only on one or a few mountaintops. Such level of microendemism might be caused by their climatic tolerance to a narrow set of environmental conditions found only in montane regions. This restriction severely limits the chance of discovery of new species, given the difficulty of exploring these inaccessible habitats. Following extensive fieldwork in montane areas of the southern portion of the Atlantic Rainforest, in this study we describe seven new species of Brachycephalus from the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. These species can be distinguished from one another based on coloration and the level of rugosity of the skin in different parts of their body. These discoveries increase considerably the number of described species of Brachycephalus in southern Brazil.

Floral color changes and retention of old flowers are frequently combined phenomena restricted to the floral guide or single flowers in few-flowered inflorescences. They are thought to increase the attractiveness over long distances and to direct nearby pollinators toward the rewarding flowers. In Tibouchina pulchra, a massively flowering tree, the whole flower changes its color during anthesis. On the first day, the flowers are white and on the next 3 days, they change to pink. This creates a new large-scale color pattern in which the white pre-changed flowers contrast against the pink post-changed ones over the entire tree. We describe the spectral characteristics of floral colors of T. pulchra and test bumblebees' response to this color pattern when viewed at different angles (simulating long and short distances). The results indicated the role of different color components in bumblebee attraction and the possible scenario in which this flower color pattern has evolved. We tested bumblebees' preference for simulated trees with 75% pink and 25% white flowers resembling the color patterns of T. pulchra, and trees with green leaves and pink flowers (control) in long-distance approach. We also compared an artificial setting with three pink flowers and one white flower (T. pulchra model) against four pink flowers with white floral guides (control) in short-distance approach. Bumblebees spontaneously preferred the simulated T. pulchra patterns in both approaches despite similar reward. Moreover, in short distances, pollinator visits to peripheral, non-rewarding flowers occurred only half as frequently in the simulated T. pulchra when compared to the control. Thefore, this exceptional floral color change and the retention of old flowers in T. pulchra favors the attraction of pollinators over long distances in a deception process while it honestly directs them toward the rewarding flowers at short distances possibly exploring their innate color preferences.

The Atlantic Rainforest does not have a uniform physiognomy, its relief determines different environmental conditions that define the composition of its flora and fauna. Within this ecosystem, bromeliads that form tanks with their leaves hold water reservoirs throughout the year, maintaining complex food chains, based mainly on autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria. Some works concluded that the water held by tank bromeliads concentrate the microbial diversity of their ecosystem. To investigate the bacterial diversity and the potential biotechnology of these ecosystems, tank bromeliads of the Neoregelia cruenta species from the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil were used as models for this research. Bacteria isolated from these models were tested for production of bioactive compounds. DGGE of the water held by tank bromeliads was performed in different seasons, locations and sun exposure to verify whether these environmental factors affect bacterial communities. The DGGE bands profile showed no grouping of bacterial community by the environmental factors tested. Most of the isolates demonstrated promising activities in the tests performed. Collectively, these results suggest that tank bromeliads of the N. cruenta species provide important habitats for a diverse microbial community, suggesting that each tank forms a distinct micro-habitat. These tanks can be considered excellent sources for the search for new enzymes and/or new bioactive composites of microbial origin.

A new species of Moraceae is described, illustrated and compared to its close morphological relatives. Dorstenia triseriata presents similarities with Dorstenia turnerifolia but distinguished by size of peduncle, diameter of receptacle, number of bract rows, color of marginal bracts, and by an indistinct fringe on inflorescence. A conservation assessment based on IUCN criteria determines the new species to be vulnerable (VU).

Understanding the relative importance of multiple processes on structuring species interactions within communities is one of the major challenges in ecology. Here, we evaluated the relative importance of species abundance and forbidden links in structuring a hummingbird-plant interaction network from the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. Our results show that models incorporating phenological overlapping and morphological matches were more accurate in predicting the observed interactions than models considering species abundance. This means that forbidden links, by imposing constraints on species interactions, play a greater role than species abundance in structuring the ecological network. We also show that using the frequency of interaction as a proxy for species abundance and network metrics to describe the detailed network structure might lead to biased conclusions regarding mechanisms generating network structure. Together, our findings suggest that species abundance can be a less important driver of species interactions in communities than previously thought.