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Two recent fieldwork expeditions to Peru and Ecuador resulted in the finding of two Carex species (C. hypsipedos and C. sanctae-marthae) previously known from a single collection each, and of uncertain morphological and systematic affinities. We performed phylogenetic analyses using barcode molecular markers and a detailed morphological comparison among the new specimens and the original collections. A BLAST search was used to obtain the preliminary infrageneric affinities of problematic samples. Phylogenetic results confirmed the adscription of these species to two sectional Carex groups: Carex sect. Racemosae (subg. Carex) for C. hypsipedos and Carex sect. Junciformes (subg. Psyllophorae) for C. sanctae-marthae. Morphological revision revealed unique traits in C. hypsipedos, especially geocarpy, here strikingly reported for the first time for the genus Carex. On the other hand, the careful comparison of the new materials of C. sanctae-marthae revealed unequivocal affinities with the type, confirming its identity as this species. Our work illustrated that for the understanding of poorly known groups, such as these two Neotropical Carex, integrative approaches combining basic biosystematics tools are still very necessary: field and herbaria surveys and DNA barcode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of Neotropical aquatic beetles, Crenitulus namasus sp. n. from the Apurense plain and C. merida sp. n. from the Andes are described, both collected manually. Crenitulus namasus sp. n. is characterized by a minute body size, while C. merida sp. n. is characterized by its robustness. The main characteristic of the genus Crenitulus Winter, 1926 is evidenced in the body shape, which is wide in the humeral margin and attenuated towards the elytral apex, the antennae with nine antennomeres and the parameres pointed or attenuated towards the apex, in addition to presenting convexity in its outer margin. Based on a review of the species deposited in the Museum of Arthropods of the University of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela, Crenitulus gamboa García, 2016 is synonymized with C. solstitialis Kirsch, 1873. Habitus, palps, antenna, mentum, prosternum, mesoventral process and genital sclerite are illustrated and a list with all recorded Crenitulus species is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Land use change, notably the conversion of natural habitats into agriculture, has strong negative effects on wild animal populations. Effects of disturbance and seasonality on demographic parameters of the damselfly Mesamphiagrion laterale Selys, 1876 were assessed to investigate how individual survival probability and over population size changed according to season and anthropogenic disturbance (agricultural habitat vs. forested habitat). For each habitat type, forest cover, area covered by vegetation, percentage of macrophytes and water physicochemical attributes were measured. Likewise, population parameters such as sex ratio, population size, life expectancy, survival and recapture rates were estimated using Cormark-Jolly-Seber (CJ-S) models. Life expectancy of the total population was lower during the rainy season, while population size and survival in males were lower in agricultural habitats during this same season. Human activities related to agriculture and livestock production in the Colombian Andes threaten the long-term viability of odonate populations through degradation of aquatic habitats. Contrary to our initially proposed hypotheses, these effects were more intense for males due to their closer association with riparian vegetation and thus greater exposure to aquatic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]