Phylogeography and species limits in the Gymnodactylus darwinii complex (Gekkonidae, Squamata): genetic structure coincides with river systems in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Abstract Fragmentation of natural environments as a result of human interference has been associated with a decrease in species richness and increase in abundance of a few species that have adapted to these environments. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, which has been undergoing an intense process of fragmentation and deforestation caused by human-made changes to the environment, is an important hotspot for malaria transmission. The main vector of simian and human malaria in this biome is the mosquito Anopheles cruzii. Anthropogenic processes reduce the availability of natural resources at the tree canopies, An. cruzii primary habitat. As a consequence, An. cruzii moves to the border of the Atlantic Forest nearing urban areas seeking resources, increasing their contact with humans in the process. We hypothesized that different levels of anthropogenic changes to the environment can be an important factor in driving the genetic structure and diversity in An. cruzii populations. Five different hypotheses using a cross-sectional and a longitudinal design were tested to assess genetic structure in sympatric An. cruzii populations and microevolutionary processes driving these populations. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were used to assess microgeographic genetic structure in An. cruzii populations in a low-endemicity area in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Our results show an overall weak genetic structure among the populations, indicating a high gene flow system. However, our results also pointed to the presence of significant genetic structure between sympatric An. cruzii populations collected at ground and tree-canopy habitats in the urban environment and higher genetic variation in the ground-level population. This indicates that anthropogenic modifications leading to habitat fragmentation and a higher genetic diversity and structure in ground-level populations could be driving the behavior of An. cruzii, ultimately increasing its contact with humans. Understanding how anthropogenic changes in natural areas affect An. cruzii is essential for the development of more effective mosquito control strategies and, on a broader scale, for malaria-elimination efforts in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

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Genetic and chemodiversity in native populations of Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi along the Brazilian Atlantic forest

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-00015-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jannaina Velasques ◽

Bruno do Amaral Crispim ◽

Adrielle Ayumi de Vasconcelos ◽

Miklos Maximiliano Bajay ◽

Claudia Andrea Lima Cardoso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Structure ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Isolation By Distance ◽

Population Diversity ◽

Raw Material ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Environmental Similarity ◽

Chemical Profiles ◽

Ombrophilous Forest ◽

Dense Ombrophilous Forest

AbstractSchinus terebinthifolia is a species native to different ecoregions in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The plant is listed on the National Relation of Medicinal Plants and recommended as phytomedicine, however while extractive exploitation prevails as the main route of raw material a significant variation of compounds will be detected. To assure the expansion of productive chain it is important to start by studying population diversity and chemical variations. We used SSR markers for studies of genetic structure among populations from dense ombrophilous forest (ES); the deciduous seasonal forest (SM); the savanna (DOU) and the sandbanks (ITA and MSP), and compared the results to their chemical profiles of essential oil. Genetic structure revealed differences among populations and significant fixation rates. Pairwise studies and Bayesian analysis showed similarities between ITA and SM and between DOU and MSP, proving that the patterns of distribution for the species do not follow the isolation by distance or similarity by environmental conditions. The comparison between PCA of genotypes and chemodiversity reinforces the unique profile for each population despite the environmental similarity observed and genetic analysis. The most divergent genotype and chemical group was found at the ombrophilous forest, strong evidence that we should undertake conservation efforts to prevent losses of biodiversity in that area.

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The centipede genus Otostigmus Porat in Brazil: Description of three new species from the Atlantic Forest; a summary and an identification key to the Brazilian species of this genus (Chilopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Scolopendridae, Otostigminae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3280.1.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3280 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

AMAZONAS CHAGAS-JÚNIOR

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

The State ◽

Junior Synonym ◽

Identification Key ◽

Nominal Species ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Three New Species ◽

First Time ◽

New Distribution

Three new species of Otostigmus Porat, 1876 from Brazilian Atlantic Forest are described. Otostigmus beckeri sp. n. andO. lanceolatus sp. n. are described from the state of Bahia and O. giupponii sp. n. from the state of Espírito Santo. InBrazil, the otostigmine scolopendrid genus Otostigmus comprises 22 species. A summary of Brazilian Otostigmus speciesis presented with new distribution records, taxonomic remarks when appropriate and an identification key. Otostigmus sul-catus Meinert, 1886 is recorded for the first time from Brazil; the Andean Otostigmus silvestrii Kraepelin 1903, previouslyrecorded from Brazil, is here considered not to be present in this country. Eight nominal species are regarded here as newsynonyms. Five of them—Otostigmus pradoi Bücherl, 1939, O. longistigma Bücherl, 1939, O. longipes Bücherl, 1939,O. langei Bücherl, 1946 and O. dentifusus Bücherl, 1946—are based on females of O. tibialis Brölemann, 1902. O. latipesBücherl, 1954 is conspecific with and is considered a junior synonym of O. sulcatus Meinert, 1886; O. limbatus diminutusBücherl, 1946 is a junior synonym of O. limbatus Meinert, 1886 and O. fossulatus Attems, 1928 is a junior synonym of O. goeldii Brölemann, 1898. A lectotype is designated for O. goeldii.

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Hide-and-Seek with Tiny Neotenic Beetles in One of the Hottest Biodiversity Hotspots: Towards an Understanding of the Real Diversity of Jurasaidae (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Biology ◽

10.3390/biology10050420 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 420

Author(s):

Gabriel Biffi ◽

Simone Policena Rosa ◽

Robin Kundrata

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Field Research ◽

Transitional Zone ◽

Biodiversity Hotspot ◽

Biodiversity Hotspots ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Life Stages ◽

Adult Males ◽

Undescribed Species ◽

First Time

Jurasaidae are a family of neotenic elateroid beetles which was described recently from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot based on three species in two genera. All life stages live in the soil, including the larviform females, and only adult males are able to fly. Here, we report the discovery of two new species, Jurasai miraculum sp. nov. and J. vanini sp. nov., and a new, morphologically remarkable population of J. digitusdei Rosa et al., 2020. Our discovery sheds further light on the diversity and biogeography of the group. Most species of Jurasaidae are known from the rainforest remnants of the Atlantic Forest, but here for the first time we report a jurasaid species from the relatively drier Atlantic Forest/Caatinga transitional zone. Considering our recent findings, minute body size and cryptic lifestyle of all jurasaids, together with potentially high numbers of yet undescribed species of this family from the Atlantic Forest and possibly also other surrounding ecoregions, we call for both field research in potentially suitable localities as well as for a detailed investigation of a massive amount of already collected but still unprocessed materials deposited in a number of Brazilian institutes, laboratories and collections.

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Sharing sound: Avian acoustic niches in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12907 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tristan Kleyn ◽

Mariane Cruz Kaizer ◽

Luiza F. Passos

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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