Repositório RCAAP

In order to verify the microbial quality of the influents and effluents of one STP from southern Brazil, an eight-month survey was conducted to examine the presence of total and fecal coliforms and of adenovirus (HAdV), enterovirus (EV), genogroup A rotaviruses (GARV) and Torque teno virus (TTV), in treated effluent samples from São João/Navegantes STP, Porto Alegre (Brazil). A total of 16 samples were collected, eight of influent (raw sewage, prior to treatment), and the other eight of the effluent (post-treatment sewage). Total and fecal coliform levels ranging from 3.6 × 10(4) to 4.4 × 10(7) MPN/100 mL and 2.9 × 10³ to 1.7 × 10(7) MPN/100 mL, were detected in all samples. In raw sewage, HAdV (25%) and GARV (28.6%) viral genomes were detected. The analysis of effluent samples revealed the presence of HAdV (50%), EV (37.5%), and TTV (12.5%) genomic fragments. All samples, regardless of the month analysed, presented detection of a least one virus genus, except for in April. Higher virus detection rates were observed in treated sewage samples (62.5%), and in 80% of them (effluent positive samples) HAdV was detected. Results showed that improvements in sewage monitoring and treatment processes are necessary to reduce the viral and bacterial load on the environment in southern Brazil. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study showing the monitoring of viral genomes in influent and effluent samples from a STP located in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), southern Brazil.

Natural enemies of the Class Insecta are important agents in the balance of aphid populations and an alternative to using insecticides to control these insects. The aim of this study was to identify the species of natural enemies associated with aphids present in peach orchards and observe the efficiency of capturing different sampling methods. The experiment was conducted from July, 2005 to September, 2006 in six peach orchards 'Chimarrita', in Araucária, PR, Brazil. The samples were taken by visual analysis in peach plants and weeds, yellow pan traps, sticky traps and funnels. Predator species were identified: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, Cycloneda pulchella, Cycloneda sanguinea, Eriopis connexa, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia convergens and Scymnus sp. (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae), Allograpta sp., Palpada sp. and Toxomerus sp. (Diptera, Syrphidae) and Chrysoperla sp. (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae) and the parasitoids: Diaretiella rapae, Opius sp. and Praon sp (Braconidae). Examples of Encyrtidae and Eulophidae await identification. Chrysoperla sp. was a less abundant species. There were no statistically significant differences between the different sampling methods tested.

Experimental studies in rivers and streams are extremely difficult to run due to the fact that the conditions of these environments are very complex and provide a high level of heterogeneity, which hinders the precise control and standardization of variables. In this study, we present a practical sampler that was designed to make it easier to conduct research projects involving benthic communities of lotic environments, as well as a new nondestructive technique for quantification of the macroalgal communities typically found in these habitats. The sampler consists of an acrylic square tube in which water flows normally inside. This structure carries a removable glass plaque with a known area and can simulate various ecological situations by changing both biotic and abiotic conditions. Thus, it can mitigate the differences between environmental characteristics where each sampler is exposed. The new technique involves capturing digital images that can monitor a unique macroalgal community in development throughout time and a more precise quantification when compared with other techniques that are widely applied. The sampler is easy to build and the images simple to quantify, allowing the detection of spatial and temporal variations in richness and abundance of investigated communities.

We identified the avian assembly that consumes Miconia ligustroides (Melastomataceae) fruit and described its phenophases in a fragment of cerrado vegetation located in southeastern Brazil. The fruiting period occurred between March and June, a period of food shortage. In 2005 and 2008, we registered eighteen bird species consuming fruits, during 156 hours of observations. Species of the families Thraupidae and Tyrannidae were the most representative in the number of visits and fruit consumption. Short visits (less than three minutes) and low incidence of defecation apparently indicate that seeds may be released far from the parent-plant, suggesting dispersal efficiency by the studied assembly. Owing to its characteristics, we believe Miconia ligustroides may be useful in the restoration of degraded areas.

The Collared Crescentchest (Melanopareia torquata) is a small insectivore endemic to the Cerrado. We examine the habitat use of this bird in a preserved Cerrado area in southeastern Brazil. Despite its occurrence in grassland with shrubs, the species used these areas less frequently than expected. The Collared Crescentchest mainly used areas of campo cerrado, but it was not recorded in a disturbed one. The common occurrence of exotic grass (U. decumbens) and cattle grazing may have brought about factors for its occurrence. However, the preference for native grasses may indicate an adverse indirect relationship against its occurence as there is competition between native and exotic grasses in the Cerrado. The presence of the Collared Crescentchest included the highest density of tall shrubs (>1 m) and native grasses. Conservation of the species should involve preserved areas of campo cerrado with a dominance of native grasses and tall shrubs.

We designed a field survey (the entire river length; not dammed: First and Second plateaus; dammed: Third Plateau) to test the hypothesis that the cascade of reservoirs promoted a reduction in species richness and changed the composition of Oligochaeta assemblage along the Iguaçu River. Changes in environmental variables and in richness and composition of Oligochaeta were summarized by Canonic Correspondence Analysis. Along the Iguaçu River, conductivity, and altitude decreased, whereas temperature increased. Oligochaeta composition showed a significant spatial variation, with higher abundances of the family Tubificidae and the genus Dero (Naididae) occurring in the First Plateau. In the Second and Third plateaus, few species were dominant, with increases in the presence of species of Naididae below dams. We found a clear decrease in species richness along the Iguaçu River. Moreover, we found that Oligochaeta assemblage was influenced by some environmental variables such as altitude, conductivity, substrate type and temperature, and by anthropogenic activities (human occupation and damming). The results supported the use of Oligochaeta as surrogate taxa to predict environmental changes along impacted (dammed and eutrophic) rivers. The validity of this was indicated by the strong and significant gradient registered, from the headwater to mouth of the Iguaçu River.

Potamotrygon signata is an endemic freshwater stingray species in the Parnaíba River basin, Brazil. After its original description, only citations in systematic lists were recorded in the literature and the biology of the species remains unknown, including the feeding habits. The aim of this study is to characterize the overall diet of P. signata based on analysing stomach contents and to provide preliminary information on intraspecific diet variability between sexes and maturity stages. The stomach contents of 56 specimens of P. signata were analyzed. The taxonomic identification of food items showed the presence of 13 prey orders, including insects, mollusks, crustaceans and teleost fish. The Index of Relative Importance (IRI%) indicated P. signata as an insectivorous species, with a dominance of Diptera larvae (60.64%) and Ephemeroptera nymphs (34.68%). Differences in diet were observed between sexes, as well as between mature and immature individuals. The IRI% of females showed a similar occurrence of Diptera and Ephemeroptera (47.12% and 47.86%, respectively), whereas for males, Ephemeroptera was the main item (79.56%). Immature individuals showed a dominance of Diptera (76.20%) while mature individuals showed a similar occurrence of Diptera (46.95%) and Ephemeroptera (47.23%). The observed sexual and ontogenetic differences in diet may be related to distinct nutritional requirements of males and females, and to the variation of morphological aspects of the oral apparatus and dentition of males and females and of immature individuals and adults. The essentially insectivorous diet of the species is possibly adaptively advantageous in the Caatinga semi-arid environment, where the availability of fish as prey may be subject to strong seasonal variation.

Non-volant small mammals are organisms capable of yielding precise information on richness, abundance and species composition variations related to the use of habitats. The aim of this research was to compare these variations in Cerrado sensu stricto, Palm Forest, Gallery Forest and Rocky Field. From May 1999 to February 2000, we surveyed non-volant small mammals (hence small mammals) in Serra das Araras Ecological Station. We captured 218 individuals and recaptured 62 individuals, belonging to 21 taxa, 13 rodents and eight marsupials, in a total of 13200 trap-nights. Capture success was 1.7%. We observed higher richness of small mammals in forested areas (Gallery Forest and Palm Forest) than in open areas (Rocky Field and Cerrado sensu stricto). The Palm Forest had the highest richness of marsupials, possibly due to the quality of a specific niche. The Rocky Field had the smallest richness, but with very high abundance of few species, mainly Thrichomys pachyurus and Monodelphis domestica. Forest habitats had similar species composition. The open habitats, Cerrado sensu stricto and Rocky Field, had a distinct species composition between them, and also when compared to forested areas. Different species are exclusive or showed preference for specific habitats. The protection of horizontally heterogeneous biomes, such as Cerrado, has a fundamental importance to the maintenance of the regional diversity of the small mammal community of Central Brazil.

The whitefly Bemisia tuberculata has caused serious damage to cassava producing areas in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. However, little is known about the biological characteristics of this species. The objective of this study was therefore, to monitor the development of this species bred on cassava plants under controlled greenhouse conditions, and to determine its most vulnerable stages and its reproductive capacity, as well as measuring the length and width each stage of development. To obtain these data, adult individuals were kept in voile traps on cassava leaves of five different plants, totalling ten leaves. After 24 hours the leaves were removed from the traps thus making each egg-laden leaf an experimental unit. The lowest mortality rate was record in the last nymphal stage ('pupae) compared with the other development stages. The highest mortality occurred in the nymphs at the 2nd and 3rd instars. Each female laid an average of 6.3 eggs in 24 hours. Thirteen days after egg laying, every one of the nymphs was fixed on the leaves of cassava plants. From the egg laying stage up until the adult stage, the process took 26 days. The proportion of females was 73.5%. The average size of the B. tuberculata egg was 163.22 µm in length and 72.39 µm in width and the "pupae" is 915.82 µm in length and 628.71 µm in width. The measurements of males were 797.16 µm in length and 200.81 µm in width and the length females 916.12 µm in length and 338.99 µm in width. The parasitoid Encarsia porteri (Mercet, 1928) (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) was found in the insect stock culture.

The study of parasite body size is an important approach to understand the different patterns of helminth community structure, once it is usually analysed using only numerical descriptors which do not capture size heterogeneity among parasite species. In the present study, we compared the pattern in the helminth community of three sympatric wild rodent species Akodon cursor, A. montensis and Oligoryzomys nigripes using numerical abundance and biomass approaches. The cestode Rodentolepis akodontis was the worm with highest biomass in the three rodents. The trichostrongylid Stilestrongylus lanfrediae presented highest biomass in O. nigripes and represented 70% of the total numeric abundance of parasites. Interestingly, for Akodon spp. the species with more biomass represented less than 10% of the total numerical abundance. Parasites with the higher numeric abundance do not have the largest body size. Although the biomass pattern is different from numeric abundance, this difference does not influence in the helminth distribution community among the three sympatric hosts. The status change of a helminth species within the community due to its volumetric dominance might justify a new approach since parasites belonging to different taxa obtain resources from the host in different ways.

The purpose of this study was to elaborate a preliminary list of the mite species associated with rubber trees in the municipality of Santana, in the state of Amapá, Brazil. Two collections of rubber tree leaves were conducted on May 2nd and June 5th , 2010. Twenty-five plants were sampled at random. Three leaves were collected per plant, from the lower third of the crown. The samples were placed in paper bags, packed in an isothermal box chilled gel-based pulp plant (Gelo-X®), and transported to the Entomology Laboratory at Embrapa Amapá, in Macapá. The leaflets were examined under a stereomicroscope, and the mites found on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of the leaves were collected with a stilet, mounted on microscope slides in Hoyer's medium, and later identified. We collected a total of 1,722 mites of 10 families: Acaridae, Cunaxidae, Eriophyidae, Iolinidae, Phytoseiidae, Stigmaeidae, Tarsonemidae, Tenuipalpidae, Tydeidae, and Winterschmidtiidae, in addition to unidentified species of the suborders Oribatida and Astigmatina. The family Phytoseiidae represented only 2.90% of specimens collected, but showed the highest species richness (5 species). The only representative of Tenuipalpidae was Tenuipalpus heveae Baker, 1945, but 81.13% of the mites collected in this study belonged to this species.

In this work we aimed to characterise the diet of Astyanax taeniatus (Jenyns 1842) (Characiformes, Characidae) along the Mato Grosso stream and we hypothesised that the diet of this species would vary according to spatial, seasonal and ontogenetic differences. Specimens were collected every second month at three sites with different physical attributes. The feeding habits of 651 specimens were analysed using the Alimentary Index (IAi). Analysis of the diet showed an effect of spatial, temporal and ontogenetic factors. Vegetal allochthonous items were more important in the diet of Astyanax taeniatus in upstream sites while animal autochthonous items were more important downstream. Ontogenetic differences in the diet were significant only in upstream sites, where adults consumed a greater amount of vegetal matter than juveniles. These results reinforce the idea that Astyanax species are opportunistic and show trophic plasticity.

The parameters of infection by lung parasites from two sympatric lizards, Mabuya arajara and Anolis brasiliensis, from the Atlantic Rainforest of the lower slope of Chapada do Araripe in Northeastern Brazil were analyzed between September, 2009 and July, 2010. A total of 202 lizards were collected. 125 specimens were from Mabuya arajara and 77 from Anolis brasiliensis. M. arajara was infected by the pentastomid Raillietiella mottae while A. brasiliensis was infected by the nematode Rhabdias sp., with an overall prevalence of 1.6% and 28.6%, respectively. The mean intensity of infection by Rhabdias sp. was 3.63 ± 2.58 (range 1-15). The body size and sex of lizards did not influence the intensity of infection by Rhabdias sp. The overall prevalence was also not different between males and females hosts in A. brasiliensis. Both Anolis brasiliensis and Mabuya arajara represent a new host to Rhabdias sp. and Raillietiella mottae, respectively.

Melampus coffeus belongs to a primitive group of pulmonate mollusks found mainly in the upper levels of the marine intertidal zone. They are common in the neotropical mangroves. Little is known about the biology of this species, particularly about its reproduction. The aim of this study was to 1) characterize the morphology and histology of M. coffeus' gonad; 2) describe the main gametogenesis events and link them to a range of maturity stages; 3) chronologically evaluate the frequency of the different maturity stages and their relation to environmental factors such as water, air and sediment temperatures, relative humidity, salinity and rainfall; and 4) characterize M. coffeus' spawning, eggs and newly hatched veliger larvae. Samples were collected monthly between February, 2007 and January, 2009 from the mangroves of Praia de Arpoeiras, Acaraú County, State of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The characterization of the gonad development stages was carried out using routine histological techniques. The results of this study show that Melampus coffeus is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. The follicles have masculine and feminine elements, interleaved within the gonad. M. coffeus presents a well-defined synchronous reproductive cycle, showing successive maturation, release and resting periods. The average diameter of the oocytes was negatively correlated with salinity and positively correlated with rainfall. The results show that no reproductive activity occurs during periods of drought. After the dry season, the increasing rainfall levels and reduced salinity lead to the appearance of very dense populations, predominantly composed of small individuals.

The male of Hymenoepimecis japi (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) is described and illustrated. The specimen was collected in a modified web (cocoon web) of Leucauge roseosignata (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) made in a laboratory. Both, host and parasitoid were collected in Reserva Biológica Serra do Japi, located in Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil.

In this study, we describe and present original data on the bionomics and ecology of Tachygonus erythroxyli Hespenheide, New Species, on Erythroxylum subsessile (Mart.). Thirty individuals of E. subsessile were analysed every two months, from October, 2006 to October, 2007 at the National Park of Restinga de Jurubatiba (PNRJ) Carapebus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Females of T. erythroxyli lay their eggs singly on the upper surface of the host's leaves. The mine of T. erythroxyli is expanded with three bubbles, each one representing one larval instar. These mines occur throughout the year in at least half of the host plants and are markedly more abundant in summer. We obtained three parasitoid species, making a total of 53% of the rate of parasitism. Cirrospilus sp. (Eulophidae) was the most prevalent and represented 88% of the parasitoids. The great abundance of Tachygonus mines, their high frequency in their host plant, and local monophagy of this leaf miner weevil suggest a close association between T. erythroxyli and Erythroxylum subsessile.

Palms are distinctive plants of tropics and have peculiar allometric relations. Understanding such relations is useful in the case of introduced species because their ability to establish and invade must be clarified in terms of their responses in the new site. Our purpose was to assess the survival and invasive capacity of an introduced palm species in the Atlantic rainforest, Euterpe oleracea Mart., compared to the native Euterpe edulis Mart. and to the hybrids produced between the two species. Considering this, we compared the allometry in different ontogenetic stages, the germination rates, and aspects of the initial development. The ontogenetic stages proposed for both Euterpe illustrated the growth patterns described for palm trees. E. oleracea and hybrids adjusted to the geometric similarity allometric model, while E. edulis presented a slope greater than would be expected considering this model, indicating a greater height for a given diameter. E. oleracea showed the same amount of pulp per fruit as E. edulis and a similar initial development of seedlings. The main differences observed were a lower germination rate and a faster height gain of E. oleracea seedlings. We conclude that E. oleracea, which is similar to E. edulis in aspects of allometry, development, seed and seedling morphology, may be an important competitor of this native palm tree in the Atlantic Forest.

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