High prevalence of anomalies in Nyctimantis brunoi (Anura: Hylidae) from a restinga protected area in southeastern Brazil

In the present study we monitored a population of Nyctimantis brunoi, a species commonly found in restingas of southeastern Brazil. Field activities were carried out in the Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba (PNRJ), a protected area located in the northern portion of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Specimens were sampled through a complete species inventory. We analyzed 218 individuals, 32 (14.7%) of which have anomalies. Additionally, a subsample of 15 specimens were radiographed to verify the occurrence of skeletal anomalies not externally detectable and to verify if the classification of anomalies attributed by means of external examination are detectable in the osteological structure of the specimen. There are 12 types of anomalies recognized in this population, three of them only detectable through internal investigation (radiography). We verified that most of anomalies externally detectable were correctly classified when compared to the osteological morphology of the radiographed specimens. Thus, in this investigation, the study of external malformations was capable to detect 60% of the types of anomalies. We conclude that further ecotoxicological and epidemiological studies of the population of N. brunoi in the PNRJ are necessary to establish the origins of anomalies in this species.

The Ancient Civilizations

This chapter provides an interpretive synthesis of the current state of knowledge of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Central America from the time of earliest human habitation until European contact. In terms of cultural affinities, the northern portion of the area formed the southeastern periphery of the culture area of Mesoamerica, and the southern regions pertained to the Isthmo-Colombian area (or Intermediate Area). With its relatively high population density, the area is highly susceptible to volcanic, seismic, and climatic natural disasters such as droughts, tropical storms, flooding, and landslides, and the same was true in the past. A recurrent theme in the study of ancient Central American civilizations is the impact of natural disasters and societal responses to cataclysmic events.

Defining Spatial Conservation Priorities For the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)

ABSTRACT The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is a culturally iconic wildlife symbol for the South American Andes, but is naturally found at very low population densities, and is increasingly threatened. Using the Range Wide Priority Setting methodology, we (a group of 38 Andean Condor experts) updated the Andean Condor historical range (3,230,061 km2), systematized 9998 Andean Condor distribution points across the range, and identified geographic areas for which there was expert knowledge (66%), including areas where Andean Condors no longer occur (7%), and geographic areas where condors are believed to range, but for which there was not expert knowledge about condor presence (34%). To prioritize conservation action into the future and identify existing Andean Condor population strongholds, we used expert knowledge to identify 21 of the most important areas for the conservation of the species (i.e., Andean Condor Conservation Units [ACCUs]) that cover 37% of the revised historical range, and range in size from 837 km2 to 298,951 km2. In general, ACCUs were relatively small in the northern portion of the range in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru, and significantly larger in the central and southern portion of the range in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, reflecting the reduced and narrower historical range in the northern portion of the range, as well as increased threats. Andean Condors can fly extremely long distances and so the populations of many neighboring ACCUs are probably still functionally connected, although this situation also underlines the need for integrated and large-scale conservation efforts for this species. As a function of the Range Wide Priority Setting results, we make recommendations to ensure population connectivity into the future and engage a wide range of actors in Andean Condor conservation efforts.

Cytogeography of the Solidago rugosa Mill. Complex (Asteraceae: Astereae) in Eastern North America

Chromosome numbers are reported here for the first time from 117 individuals of Solidago rugosa and S. fistulosa. Including 178 previously published reports for the two species plus S. latissimifolia, chromosome numbers have been determined from 295 individuals from 269 locations. Only diploids (2n = 18) were found throughout the range of S. fistulosa on the coastal plain in the eastern U.S.A. (44 counts). Diploids (2n = 18) were found in the northern portion of the range of S. latissimifolia, and tetraploids (2n = 36) and hexaploids (2n = 54) were found in the central and southern portions of the range (nine counts in total). Diploids (2n = 18) were found throughout the range of S. rugosa in much of eastern North America in four of the five varieties (northern var. rugosa, var. sphagnophila; southern var. aspera and var. celtidifolia). Tetraploids (2n = 36) were found in all four of these varieties and exclusively in var. cronquistiana in the southern high Appalachian Mountains. Hexaploids (2n = 54) were found in var. sphagnophila at scattered locations. One possible hexaploid in var. rugosa was found in the Allegheny Mountains. The diversity in ploidy levels was independent of the size of the range and the diversity of growing conditions among the three species of S. subsect. Venosae.

Internal Solitary Waves in the Andaman Sea Revealed by Long-term Mooring Observations

The complex behaviors of internal solitary waves (ISWs) in the Andaman Sea were revealed using data collected over nearly 22-month-long observation period completed by two moorings. Emanating from the submarine ridges northwest of Sumatra Island and south of Car Nicobar, two types of ISWs, referred to as S- and C-ISWs, respectively, were identified in the measurements, and S-ISWs were generally found to be stronger than C-ISWs. The observed S- and C-ISWs frequently appeared as multi-wave packets, accounting for 87% and 43% of their observed episodes, respectively. The simultaneous measurements collected by the two moorings featured evident variability along the S-ISW crests, with the average wave amplitude in the northern portion being 36% larger than that in the southern portion. The analyses of the arrival times revealed that the S-ISWs in the northern portion occurred more frequently and arrived more irregularly than those in the southern portion. Moreover, the temporal variability of ISWs drastically differed on monthly and seasonal time scales, characterized by relatively stronger S-ISWs in spring and autumn. Over interannual time scale, the temporal variations in ISWs were generally subtle. The monthly-to-annual variations of ISWs could be mostly explained by the variability in stratification, which could be modulated by the monsoons, the winds in equatorial Indian Ocean and the mesoscale eddies in Andaman Sea. From careful analyses preformed based on the long-term measurements, we argued that the observed ISWs were likely generated via internal tide release mechanism and their generation processes were obviously modulated by background circulations.

On the availability of the recently proposed nomen Leptodactylus avivoca (Anura, Leptodactylidae)

In a recent contribution to the systematics of Leptodactylus Fitzinger, 1826 frogs endemic to the Brazilian campo rupestre (Carvalho et al. 2021), we revealed a genetically divergent lineage as an unnamed species distributed in the northern portion of the Espinhaço Mountain Range (EMR). The species was named and described as Leptodactylus avivoca in the taxonomic account section of the same paper, where a definition and diagnosis were provided to satisfy the provisions regarding the availability and validity of new nomina (see Chapters 4 and 6 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, hereinafter the Code; Anonymous 1999). On that occasion, because of space limits imposed by the journal, we had to transfer most of the new species description into an Appendix, keeping in the main publication only the minimum requirements that would satisfy the rules and recommendations governed by the Code, thereby ensuring the availability and validity of the proposed new name. As a result of the transference from the main text to the Appendix, we ended up not taking notice that the species’ holotype had not been fixed in the main publication and appeared only as part of Appendix S1. Additionally, this Appendix was made available only as Online Supporting Material (Carvalho et al. 2021: Appendix S1) and not published alongside the main publication in the printed version. That rendered the proposition of Leptodactylus avivoca as originally published an atelonym (sensu Dubois 2011), i.e. an unavailable nomen (sensu Dubois 2000) as a consequence of the lack of explicit fixation of a holotype and statement of the collection where it was deposited in the main publication (Article 16.4 of the Code). In this paper, we intend to correct this nomenclatural oversight by proposing a new (homographic) nomen for the new Leptodactylus species, which corresponds to a genetic lineage endemic to the northern portion of the EMR, and also provide a definition and differential diagnosis in its own clade (L. plaumanni clade; sensu Carvalho et al. 2021).

RANGE EXTENSION OF CARRIKER’S ROUND-EARED BAT, Lophostoma carrikeri (ALLEN, 1910) (CHIROPTERA: PHYLLOSTOMIDAE) IN THE CERRADO AND CAATINGA

Lophostoma carrikeri is a bat species widely distributed in the northern portion of South America and has been reported in a great variety of forested habitats. However, it is still poorly represented in scientific collections and wildlife surveys. In Brazil, L. carrikeri is known mainly for the Amazon basin and few localities in the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes. Here we report the first records of Lophostoma carrikeri from the states of Minas Gerais and Ceará based on specimens examined in taxonomic collections and collected during fieldwork. These new records represent the easternmost limits on the distribution of L. carrikeri and expand its known geographic range in approximately 488 km southeast and 490 km east of the nearest known records (São Domingos, state of Goiás and Teresina, state of Piauí). We also provide measurements, comments on morphological variation and an overall review of the species geographic distribution.

Leptospermum repo (Myrtaceae), a new species from northern Aotearoa / New Zealand peat bog habitats, segregated from Leptospermum scoparium s. l.

Leptospermum repo de Lange & L.M.H.Schmid sp. nov. (Myrtaceae) is segregated from L. scoparium J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (sensu lato). The new species is endemic to the peat bogs of the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and adjacent eastern ranges of the northern portion of Te Ika a Maui / North Island, Aotearoa / New Zealand. The new species belongs to the northern Te Ika a Maui / North Island clade of L. scoparium s. l., from whose other members it is morphologically distinguished by its gracile, spindly, open-branched growth habit; widely divergent, longer, linear, linear-lanceolate (rarely filiform), shortly cuspidate leaves; flowers with white petals, stamens mostly with white filaments (very rarely tinged pink near base), and by the style and stigma which are usually green (very rarely pink). Leptospermum repo now occupies ca. 10% of its former peat bog habitat, where aside from a few protected peat bogs the species is still in decline through loss of its habitat. A more recent potential threat to L. repo is myrtle rust disease, caused by Austropuccinia psidii, an exotic rust first detected in Aotearoa / New Zealand in May 2017. This rust poses a serious threat to the Myrtaceae of Aotearoa / New Zealand, for which there is at present no known effective treatment to prevent the death of infected hosts. Therefore, due to the historic loss of habitat, a threat which is still ongoing, causing the decline of many L. repo populations; and the potential threat of Austropuccinia psidii to this species, the listing proposed for the species (as Leptospermum aff. scoparium (c) (AK191319; "Waikato peat bog") by the New Zealand Indigenous Vascular Plant Threat Listing Panel of "Threatened / Nationally Critical DP, De" is here upheld.

Total and Leached Arsenic, Mercury and Antimony in the Mining Waste Dumping Area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Mt. Amiata, Central Italy)

Total and leached Arsenic, Mercury and Antimony were determined in the topsoils developed on the mining waste dumping area of Le Lame (Mt. Amiata, central Italy) where the post-processing Hg-rich ore deposits from the mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore were stored. The concentrations of As, Hg and Sb were up to 610, 1910 and 1610 mg kg−1, respectively, while those in the leachates (carried out with CO2-saturated MilliQ water to simulate the meteoric water conditions) were up to 102, 7 and 661 μg·L−1, respectively. Most aqueous solutions were characterized by Hg content <0.1 μg·L−1. This is likely suggesting that the mine wastes (locally named “rosticci”) were possibly resulting from an efficient roasting process that favored either the removal or inertization of Hg operated by the Gould furnaces and located in the southern sector of Le Lame. The highest values of total and leachate mercury were indeed mostly found in the northern portion where the “rosticci”, derived by the less efficient and older Spirek-Cermak furnaces, was accumulated. The saturation index was positive for the great majority of leachate samples in Fe-oxy-hydroxides, e.g., ferrihydrite, hematite, magnetite, goethite, and Al-hydroxides (boehmite and gibbsite). On the other hand, As- and Hg-compounds were shown to be systematically undersaturated, whereas oversaturation in tripuhyte (FeSbO4) and romeite (Ca2Sb2O7) was evidenced. The Eh-pH diagrams for the three chalcophile elements were also constructed and computed and updated according to the recent literature data.

Snow Water Equivalent Accumulation Patterns from a Trajectory Approach over the U.S. Southern Rocky Mountains

The spatial characteristics and patterns of snow accumulation and ablation inform the amount of water stored and subsequently available for runoff and the timing of snowmelt. This paper characterizes the snow accumulation phase to investigate the spatiotemporal snow water equivalent (SWE) distribution by fitting a function to the trajectory plot of the standard deviation versus mean SWE across a domain. Data were used from 90 snow stations for a 34-year period across the Southern Rocky Mountains in the western United States. The stations were divided into sub-sets based on elevation, latitude, and the mean annual maximum SWE. The best function was a linear fit, excluding the first 35 mm of SWE. There was less variability with SWE data compared to snow depth data. The trajectory of the accumulation phase was consistent for most years, with limited correlation to the amount of accumulation. These trajectories are more similar for the northern portion of the domain and for below average snow years. This work could inform where to locate new stations, or be applied to other earth system variables.