Repositório RCAAP

In order to verify the cascade-system effect in benthic macroinvertebrate communities, and the implications for policy making and proposals for conservation and sustainable use of the lower portion of São Francisco river basin (Bahia State, Brazil), a three-reservoir cascade system including two stretches downstream were studied during dry (June, 1997) and rainy (March, 1998) periods. The dominant groups found were Mollusca (Melanoides tuberculata), Oligochaeta, and Chironomidae larvae. Low Shannon-Wiener and Pielou index values were found, but with no significant difference between the sampling periods. However, density and taxonomic richness were significantly different (t(0.05; 31) = -2.1945; p < 0.05; e t(0.05; 31) = -3.0600; p < 0.01) between the sampling periods, with a reduction in the number of taxaand macroinvertebrate abundance during the rainy period. An increasing gradient in benthic macroinvertebrate community structures was noted along the reservoir cascade from the first reservoir (Apolônio Sales), followed by a decrease downstream from the third reservoir of the system (Xingó). Despite the negative consequences of rapid proliferation of dams, which have caused widespread loss of freshwater habitats, the reservoir cascade system promoted an increase in benthic macroinvertebrate diversity, due to water-quality improvement along the system.

An investigation of the histological and ultrastructural changes of Sertoli cells during the male reproductive cycle in Piaractus mesopotamicus was made. The results showed that the Sertoli cell development is closely related with germ cell maturation. Therefore, these cells may have some role in germ cell maturation during the reproductive cycle of this species, whether in forming a tissue framework for the developing spermatogenic cysts, aiding in testes reorganization for a new reproductive cycle, in addition to other possible functions discussed in the text.

Spatial patterns in biodiversity variation at a regional scale are rarely taken into account when a natural reserve is to be established, despite many available methods for determining them. In this paper, we used dimensions of occurrence of 105 species of Anura (Amphibia) in the cerrado region of central Brazil to create a regional system of potential areas that preserves all regional diversity, using three different algorithms to establish reserve networks: "greedy", rarity, and simulated annealing algorithms. These generated networks based on complementarity with 10, 12, and 8 regions, respectively, widely distributed in the biome, and encompassing various Brazilian states. Although the purpose of these algorithms is to find a small number of regions for which all species are represented at least once, the results showed that 67.6%, 76.2%, and 69.5% of the species were represented in two or more regions in the three networks. Simulated annealing produced the smallest network, but it left out three species (one endemic). On the other hand, while the greedy algorithm produce a smaller solution, the rarity-based algorithm ensured that more species were represented more than once, which can be advantageous because it takes into consideration the high levels of habitat loss in the cerrado. Although usually coarse, these macro-scale approaches can provide overall guidelines for conservation and are useful in determining the focus for more local and effective conservation efforts, which is especially important when dealing with a taxonomic group such as anurans, for which quick and drastic population declines have been reported throughout the world.

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, wildlife habitat destruction and species extinctions have greatly increased. As the number of endangered species grows, the use of reintroduction as a conservation tool against species extinction increases. This study focuses on a 16-month study on marsh deer reintroduced in the Jataí Ecological Station. The animals were radio tagged and tracked daily between December 1998 and April 2000. Displacement activity and spatial preferences were monitored by triangulation. The animals wandered the floodplains inside the protected area and also a floodplain that is part of privately owned property on the western edge of the Jataí Ecological Station. During the study, most of the reintroduced marsh deer preferred the private floodplain area more than the floodplains inside the protected area. This preference revealed the ecological importance of the area and the necessity of its incorporation into the Jataí Ecological Station.

In this study we analyzed the effect of migration on the persistence time of coupled local populations of Tribolium in different environments. Four treatments were set up to compare different levels of environmental heterogeneity. We established high, low, moderate, and no heterogeneity. These levels were estimated by the different amounts of food offered to each population. To investigate how risk spreading works, a stochastic model for two subpopulations was employed. The high heterogeneity treatment resulted in the longest persistence, even though survival analysis revealed no significant difference among treatments. The magnitude of differences in growth rates among subpopulations is probably associated with persistence.

We studied incubation and feeding rates in two of five broods in two oven nests of Furnarius figulus at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. During incubation, the number of visits and time spent in the nest did not differ between the adults. The number of feeding visits was significantly different between members of the breeding pair of the first but not of the second nest. Nestlings received arthropods, fishes, and larvae in the first nest and, in the second, arthropods, larvae, and fruits. The nestlings stayed about 23 days in the nests.

Insecticides may cause mortality and deleterious effects on predatory stinkbugs. For this reason, the effect of five concentrations of permethrin applied on third instar nymphs of Supputius cincticeps (Stål) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) was investigated on ovary activation in this predator. The nymphs received topical application of permethrin in the following concentrations (mg a.i./ml): 10-7, 10-6, 10-5, 10-4, and 10-3. Ovary lengths and oocyte numbers were quantified following first egg mass. Ovary length of S. cincticeps varied from 5.7 mm with 10-4 mg a.i./ml, to 6.4 mm with 10-7 mg a.i./ml, with similar values for the other permethrin concentrations and for the control. The number of oocytes per female varied from 13.5 with 10-3 mg a.i./ml, to 29.2 for the control, with significant differences.The number of oocytes per female of nymphs exposed to a permethrin concentration of 10-5 mg a.i./ml was similar to that of the control.However, the lower number of oocytes per female from nymphs exposed to other concentrations of permethrin suggests that this insecticide may affect the reproductive capacity of this predator. The results obtained are discussed in relation to tolerance of Heteroptera predators to insecticides and possible hormesis occurrence.

In a caatinga region the flowers and nonfloral resources visited by highly eusocial bees, stingless beess and Apis mellifera (Africanized honey bee) were studied. During one year, monthly sampling took place in two sites at Serra da Capivara National Park (Piauí State, Brazil), one of them, including the local village, outside the park, and the other inside, using already existing park trails. With the help of entomological nets, all bees were caught while visiting floral and nonfloral resources. At the study sites we observed more stingless bees in nonfloral resources, made possible by human presence. Twelve stingless bee species used the nonfloral resources in different proportions, showing no preference for time of day, season of the year, or sites. During the rainy season, more water sources and abundant flowering plants were observed, which attract stingless bees, even though many worker bees were found foraging in the aqueous substrates while few were observed at water sources. This relationship was higher for stingless bee species than for Africanized honey bees. Paratrigona lineata was represented by few specimens in floral and nonfloral resources and is perhaps rare in this region. Frieseomelitta silvestrii could be considered rare in the floral resources, but they were abundant in nonfloral resources. The variety and intriguing abundance of bees in nonfloral resources suggests that these are an important part of the stingless bee niches, even if these resources are used for nest construction and defense.

The yeast species found in necrotic stems of three columnar cacti (Pilosocereus machrisii, Pilosocereus vilaboensis, and Praecereus euchlorus)at eight localities in Brazil were described and a similarity analysis using Sorensen distances was used to compare the composition of yeast species at these localities. Of 56 necrotic cactus stems sampled,32 produced yeast colonies. Ten species of yeast or yeast-like microorganisms were identified from 53 isolates, with Pichia cactophila, Candida sonorensis, Geotrichum sp., and Sporopachydermia cereana being the most common. The remaining species occurred in low proportions in the cacti surveyed. The similarity analysis provided a dendogram (UPGMA) that clustered the yeast communities from different cactus species and indicated that host cactus species was unimportant in this clustering.

Metabolic changes, principally in intermediary metabolism and nitrogen excretion, were investigated in the marble swamp eel (Synbranchus marmoratus) after 15 and 45 days of artificially induced semi-aestivation. Glucose, glycogen, lactate, pyruvate, free amino acids, triglycerides, ammonia, urea, and urate contents were determined in liver, kidney, white muscle, heart, brain, and plasma. Lactate dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase, glutamine synthase, ornithine carbamoyl transferase, and arginase enzymes were assayed. The teleost S. marmoratus maintained initial energetic demands by lipid oxidation. The course of normal oxidative processes was observed through tissue enzyme profiles. After the lipid stores were exhausted, the fish consumed body proteins. Constant values of hematocrit during induced semi-aestivation suggested that the water balance remained normal. Therefore, the surrounding water was probably did not trigger the semi-aestivation in this teleost. Decrease of ammonia and increase of renal urea synthesis after 45 days of semi-aestivation led to the assumption that an alternative form of eliminating ammonia exists. Metabolic changes entailed by starvation were proposed to explain the biosynthesis of small molecules involved in the semi-aestivation of S. marmoratus.

The temporal variability of energetic reserves of zooplankton in the eutrophic Pampulha reservoir was investigated during two successive annual cycles. The effects of dominance of large filter-feeding cladocerans (Daphnia) and the occurrence of massive blooms of the cyanobacteria Microcystis on the energetic reserves of zooplankton were tested. This study showed that phytoplankton composition has a greater effect on energetic reserves of zooplankton. Some associations between lipid levels and the specific composition of zooplankton were also found. This study also demonstrated that the elementary composition of phosphorus in zooplankton can be used as an estimator of the nutritional status of zooplankton.

This is a long-term study (1993-1998) on the effects of increasing eutrophication on the crustacean zooplankton structure in a eutrophic reservoir. The study first demonstrates that the eutrophication increase verified is a phenomenon well described by a single abiotic variable: total phosphorus. During the study period, zooplankton suffered extensive qualitative and quantitative changes. Significant size and biomass responses of certain zooplankton groups to the temporal variations of total phosphorus were found. These findings suggest that the variables size and biomass of major zooplankton groups should always be considered simultaneously in order to assess impacts caused by eutrophication on the structure of zooplankton.

Neotropical parrots forage for various food items such as seeds, fruit pulp, flowers, young leaves, and even arthropods. While foraging, many species wander over large areas that include both open and closed habitats. In this study, I examined parrot foraging activity during a brief synchronous and massive flowering in August 1998 in a tecoma savanna (dominated by Tabebuia aurea) in the southern Pantanal. Six parrot species, ranging from the small Brotogeris chiriri to the large Amazona aestiva, foraged for T. aurea nectar, but Nandayus nenday was by far the major nectar consumer, and the results of each of their visits, like those of the other species, was damage of a substantial proportion of the existing flower crop. Parrots foraged mostly during the afternoon, when nectar concentration tended to be higher. Nevertheless, compared to bird-pollinated flowers, which produce copious nectar, T. aurea had a smaller mean nectar volume per flower. Hence, presumably the amount of damage wreaked by these parrots resulted from their efforts to obtain part of their daily energy and water requirements. Thus, the synchronous and massive flowering occurring in such a brief period in the dry season may be related to, among other factors, the necessity of satiating predators such as parrots, which are still abundant in the Pantanal.

The condition index (CI) of oysters represents an ecophysiological approach to estimate meat quality and yield in cultured bivalve mollusks. In the present study, the CI of oysters from a heavy-metal polluted bay was analyzed with respect to Zn and Cd contamination in soft tissues, spawning, and polychaete infestation. The CI was calculated through a new technique based on molds made to measure the volume of oyster-shell internal cavities. The higher CI values (over 9 in the dry season) were probably related availability of suspended particles rich in organic matter in the bay, while the rapid reduction in the CI from one season to the next at some stations suggests the effect of spawning. Polychaete infestation was considered low (18.7%) and produced no clear CI effects. The Cd in the oyster tissue collected during the rainy season was weak, although still significantly correlated with the CI (r = -0.36; p < 0.05). All other comparisons of CI and metal concentrations demonstrated a non-significant correlation. The CI variations observed on the temporal and spatial scale were likely to have been caused by availability of organic matter and spawning, rather than spionid infestation or metal body burdens.

We investigated participation of the brain serotonergic system in food intake control by using oral and systemic administration of serotonin precursors in quails (Coturnix japonica). Dietary supplemental tryptophan (0.1-50.0 g/kg) provoked a dose-dependent inhibition of food intake during a 5-h observation period, which persisted up to 24 h for doses of 30.0 and 50.0 g/kg. Normally fed and fasted animals treated with hydroxytryptophan (12.5-50.0 mg/kg) by the intracoelomic route showed an acute inhibition of food intake. Hypophagia in fasted birds was only effective when the precursor was administered immediately before food presentation. A similar response was obtained by administering serotonin (0.125-2.5 mg/kg, sc), with animals showing a hypnogenic response within the first ten minutes after administration, suggesting that, in contrast to mammals, the amine crosses the blood-brain barrier in quails. Administration of hydroxytryptophan at all doses tested induced significant dipsogenic behavior despite the concomitant hypnogenic response. The results suggest the involvement of serotonergic pathways in food intake control in quails and also show, for the first time, hypnogenic action induced by serotonin and a hyperdipsic effect elicited by hydroxytryptophan.

The black bass, Micropterus salmoides, was introduced to Brazil from North America in 1922. Since then the species has been reared in aquaculture facilities intended to stock reservoirs as additions to native stocks available for angling. At present no scientific information on the biology of black bass in Brazilian waters is available. Since black bass dispersion may cause severe impacts on native Brazilian fish fauna, information on the basic biological parameters of this species is necessary. The objective of the present study is to provide information on the growth, age structure, and mortality of the species in a small reservoir in southern Brazil, where the species reproduces regularly. Based on scale readings, the von Bertalanffy growth curve was calculated and compared to the length-frequency distribution of the population. Both methods showed similar results. Maximum length was about 44 cm. The mean length at the end of the first year was 23.1 cm (s.d. = 13.88); at that of the second, 37.3 cm (s.d. = 12.52); and 41.4 cm (s.d. = 9.92) at the third. Oldest fish were three years old. The growth performance index ø' was 3.28 cm year-1. Mortality increased from 0.16 year-1 between the first and the second cohort, to 0.8 year-1 between the second and third. The results show that black bass in Brazil grows faster than in its area of origin, but longevity is shorter and body shape, stouter. The cause of high mortality at a relatively early age may be connected with the loss of genetic diversity due to inbreeding of the Brazilian stocks, which originated from few introduced individuals a long time ago. The fact that black bass reproduces in reservoirs and grows rapidly may be considered a threat to conserving fish diversity in Brazilian ecosystems.

Adenosine is an important signaling molecule for many cellular events. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a key enzyme for the control of extra- and intra-cellular levels of adenosine. Activity of ADA was detected in hemolymph of B. glabrata and its optimum assay conditions were determined experimentally. The pH variation from 6.2 to 7.8 caused no significant change in ADA activity. Using adenosine as a substrate, the apparent Km at pH 6.8 was 734 µmols.L-1. Highest activity was found at 37ºC. Standard assay conditions were established as being 15 minutes of incubation time, 0.4 µL of pure hemolymph per assay, pH 6.8, and 37ºC. This enzyme showed activities of 834 ± 67 µmol.min-1.L-1 (25ºC) and 2029 ± 74 µmol.min-1.L-1 (37ºC), exceeding those in healthy human serum by 40 and 100 times, respectively. Higher incubation temperature caused a decrease in activity of 20% at 43ºC or 70% at 50ºC for 15 minutes. The ADA lost from 26 to 78% of its activity when hemolymph was pre-incubated at 50ºC for 2 or 15 minutes, respectively. Since the ADA from hemolymph presented high levels, it can be concluded that in healthy and fed animals, adenosine is maintained at low concentrations. In addition, the small variation in activity over the 6.2 to 7.8 range of pH suggests that adenosine is maintained at low levels in hemolymph even under adverse conditions, in which the pH is altered.

We compare the classic model of feeding of tropical fish by means of six bimonthly samplings using gillnets of varying mesh sizes that were inspected every twelve hours throughout a forty-eight hour period. The stomachs of the fish caught were classified in three categories according to quantity of food found. The amount of fat in the visceral cavity with respect to the energetic reserve deposition was also studied. The relative frequencies of the different categories of stomach repletion and fat deposition were examined for patterns of feeding seasonality. The stomachs considered full were examined to record diet composition. To assess the relative importance of the different food resources, we applied Feeding Importance Degree (FID), which is a useful index when difficulties exist in determining a common basis for volume, number, or weight of a given food item in different species, a common problem when dealing with fish species having different feeding habits. The fish species whose stomach contents were analyzed using the FID index were Serrasalmus spilopleura (Characidae), L. prolixa (Loricaridae), Schizodon nasutus (Anostomidae), and Pimelodus maculatus (Pimelodidae). Our findings indicate some contrasting elements , in dietary composition in relation to the classic model for tropical rivers. These factors include the importance of aquatic macrophytes, the lack of piscivorous species, and a lesser presence of allochthonous vegetation in the diet of the species studied.

We searched for correlations between water level, rainfall, temperature, and reproductive activity of fishes in a lotic stretch of the Grande River below the Volta Grande Dam. Gillnets were used to catch the fish on six field journeys made bimonthly between April 1998 and February 1999. Fish gonads were classified according to maturation grade and the amount of mature or spent gonads was correlated with rainfall and air temperature. Most fish species showed seasonal reproduction (between October and February). The relative frequency of fully mature and spent gonads significantly correlated with rainfall (Spearman r = 0.94, p = 0.005) and air temperature (r = 0.84, p = 0.036), showing the importance of these factors in regulating the reproductive cycle of fishes in this location. Nevertheless, dam operation resulted in minimal water level variation that did not significantly correlate with reproductive activity (r = -0.43, p = 0.396).

This work is based on a survey of small mammals carried out in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, a natural reserve located in the mountains of the Planalto Central Goiano in the Cerrado of Central Brazil. The 227 specimens collected represented six marsupial and 13 rodent species. Taxonomic, karyologic, and ecologic considerations are present and discussed in the present work. Our data reflected the faunal heterogeneity with respect to both elevation and vegetation because only eight of the 19 species were collected at both high and low elevations. The composition of the small mammal fauna of the park is influenced by predominance of forest formations at low elevations and cerrado with rupestrian areas at high elevations. Presence of endemic species and one undescribed demonstrated that the cerrado has an endemic fauna and a little known diversity of small mammals.