Structure of mutualistic ant–treehopper interactions in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yve Eligiêr Alves Gadelha ◽  
Wesley Dáttilo ◽  
Olivia Evangelista ◽  
Benedito Cortês Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Recruitment Strategy ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Tropical Environments ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Abstract:Ant–treehopper mutualisms are centred on the availability of honeydew, a sugary fluid offered by treehoppers to attract ants, which respond by defending their hosts against predators and parasitoids. However, due to differences in the treehopper social behaviour (i.e. the amount of food resource available) ants can monopolize treehopper aggregations in many ways. Here we evaluated the topological structure of quantitative ant–treehopper interaction networks in three Brazilian Atlantic Forest localities. Moreover, we specifically investigated the role of ant recruitment strategy and treehopper behaviour in the structure of these networks. For this, we sampled ant–treehopper interactions along representative transects (6 km per site) within each studied site and recorded the mean number of individuals of treehopper and ant species. We found that independent of variation in environmental factors among study sites, ant–treehopper networks were highly compartmentalized (Mean ± SD: Q = 0.34 ± 0.1) when compared with null models, and exhibit low connectance (C = 0.18 ± 0.01) and specialization (H2’ = 0.36 ± 0.08) values. In addition, we also observed that larger aggregations of treehoppers interacted with a higher number of ant species and ants that were locally dominant and showed massive recruitment interacted with a larger number of treehopper species. In summary, our results illustrate the importance of foraging strategies in shaping ecological interactions in tropical environments.

First record of albino lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris Linnaeus 1758) in an important Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot

Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 601-604
Author(s):  
Mariana Bueno Landis ◽  
Luciano Candisani ◽  
Leticia Prado Munhoes ◽  
João Carlos Zecchini Gebin ◽  
Frineia Rezende ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
First Record ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Tapirus Terrestris

AbstractAlbinism is the absence of pigmentation or coloration and is rarely found in nature. In this study we examined photos and videos obtained by cameras traps in the Legado das Águas Reserve. In the images, we identified two albino lowland tapirs. The results highlight the necessity of understanding the genetic diversity of lowland tapir populations and the important role of the professional photography associated with scientific research.

scholarly journals Bioprospection and characterization of the amylolytic activity by filamentous fungi from Brazilian Atlantic Forest

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Zaghetto de Almeida ◽  
Marita Gimenez Pereira ◽  
Caio Cesar de Carvalho ◽  
Paulo Ricardo Heinen ◽  
Luciana Sobrani Ziotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Filamentous Fungi ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Rhizopus Oryzae ◽  
Residual Activity ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Tropical Environments ◽  
Aspergillus Brasiliensis ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Initial Ph ◽  
Ph Range

Abstract Filamentous fungi are widely diverse and ubiquitous organisms. Such biodiversity is barely known, making room for a great potential still to be discovered, especially in tropical environments - which are favorable to growth and species variety. Filamentous fungi are extensively applied to the production of industrial enzymes, such as the amylases. This class of enzymes acts in the hydrolysis of starch to glucose or maltooligosaccharides. In this work twenty-five filamentous fungi were isolated from samples of decomposing material collected in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The two best amylase producers were identified as Aspergillus brasiliensis and Rhizopus oryzae. Both are mesophilic, they grow well in organic nitrogen-rich media produce great amounts of glucoamylases. The enzymes of A. brasiliensis and R. oryzae are different, possibly because of their phylogenetical distance. The best amylase production of A. brasiliensis occurred during 120 hours with initial pH of 7.5; it had a better activity in the pH range of 3.5-5.0 and at 60-75°C. Both fungal glucoamylase had wide pH stability (3-8) and were activated by Mn2+. R. oryzae best production occurred in 96 hours and at pH 6.5. Its amylases had a greater activity in the pH range of 4.0-5.5 and temperature at 50-65ºC. The most significant difference between the enzymes produced by both fungi is the resistance to thermal denaturation: A. brasiliensis glucoamylase had a T50 of 60 minutes at 70ºC. The R. oryzae glucoamylase only had a residual activity when incubated at 50°C with a 12 min T50.

scholarly journals Reproductive phenology of Miconia mirabilis (Melastomataceae) within three distinct physiognomies of Atlantic Forest, Bahia, Brazil

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaele de Souza Pessoa ◽  
Kristel Myriam De Vleeschouwer ◽  
Daniela Custódio Talora ◽  
Larissa Rocha ◽  
André Márcio Araújo Amorim
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Disturbed Areas ◽  
Disturbed Forest ◽  
Study Sites

Although Miconia mirabilis is a very common species in disturbed forest areas and is known for providing food resources for the local fauna, little is known about its reproductive phenology and other ecological aspects. The present study compares intra- and inter-annual patterns in the reproductive phenophases of that species in three distinct physiognomies of Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Bahia based on semi-quantitative observations conducted over a period of three years. We searched for possiblerelationships with climatic variables, differences among sites and synchrony. Both the flowering and fruiting strategies of M. mirabilis were classified as annual extended in all three study sites. We found no significant differences among years. Despite low seasonality of the regional climate, intensities of the different phenophases were negatively correlated with day length and temperature. In general, inter- and intra-population synchrony for flowering and fruiting was high (between 0.65 and 0.78), except for inundated forest, probably due to the stress caused by flooding. Given that Miconia mirabilis has the potential to be an important food resource for the local fauna due to the large quantities of flowers and fruits produced and their almost year-round availability, and its capacity for occupying impoverished areas, the species may be considered in restoration programs as a potentially interesting species capable of attracting frugivores to disturbed areas.

scholarly journals The role of natural regeneration to ecosystem services provision and habitat availability: a case study in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Biotropica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 890-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo B. N. Strassburg ◽  
Felipe S. M. Barros ◽  
Renato Crouzeilles ◽  
Alvaro Iribarrem ◽  
Juliana Silveira dos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Habitat Availability ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The role of Eucalyptus planted forests for fruit-feeding butterflies' conservation in fragmented areas of the Brazilian Atlantic forest

2019 ◽  
Vol 432 ◽  
pp. 115-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Nogueira Vasconcelos ◽  
Elaine Cristina Barbosa Cambui ◽  
Eduardo Mariano-Neto ◽  
Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha ◽  
Márcio Zikán Cardoso
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Planted Forests

The role of very small fragments in conserving genetic diversity of a common tree in a hyper fragmented Brazilian Atlantic forest landscape

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 509-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Martins ◽  
Renato Kenji Kimura ◽  
Ana Flávia Francisconi ◽  
Salvador Gezan ◽  
Karen Kainer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Common Tree

scholarly journals Environmental niche and functional role similarity between invasive and native palms in the Atlantic Forest

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Bello ◽  
Ana Laura P. Cintra ◽  
Elisa Barreto ◽  
Maurício Humberto Vancine ◽  
Thadeu Sobral-Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Environmental Niche ◽  
The Impact

AbstractInvasive species can significantly affect native species when their niches are similar. Ecological and morphological similarities between the invasive Australian palm, Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, and the native palm from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Euterpe edulis, suggest that they have similar environmental requirements and functional roles (i.e., the function a species performs in an ecosystem). This similarity raises concerns about how the invasive palm could impact the native species in the present and future. We used spatial (species occurrences) and ecological information (frugivory events) to characterize the environmental niche and functional role of the two palms and assess their overlap. In addition, we predicted the potential area of occurrence of each palm within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest under current and future climate conditions.We estimated the environmental conditions used by the invasive plant based on its native distribution only, and based on all areas where the species is able to establish across the globe. We found that the environmental niches of the two palm species overlap up to 39%, which corresponds to 50% of the current geographic distribution of E. edulis in the Atlantic Forest. In the areas where the two species potentially co-occur, the impact of the invasive species on the native should be influenced by the invasive species interactions with frugivores. We found that the frugivory functional role of the two palms was similar (84% overlap) which suggest that A. cunninghamiana might disrupt the seed dispersal of the native palm. However, co-occurrence between the palms may decline with future climate change, as the potentially environmental suitable area for the invasive palm is predicted to decline by 10% to 55%. Evaluating the similarity in both the environmental niche, of the native and global extent, and the functional role of native and invasive plants provides a detailed understanding of the potential impact of invasive species on native species now and in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document