O bicho mineiro é considerado uma importante praga do café e sua ocorrência causa perda na produtividade e menores colheitas. O controle desta espécie dá principalmente por insumos químicos, mas que nfelizmente podem levar ao aparecimento de populações resistentes. Assim entender as dinamicas populacionais desta espécie, pode ser parte essencial na procura de programas de manejos mais adequados e eficientes. Nesse trabalho buscamos entender quais fatores ambientais (temperatura e precipitação) podem interferir na ocorrência de ataques por L. coffeella às folhas do cafeeiro, e se estes mesmos fatores podem interferir nas taxas de predação de vespas sobre lagartas desse lepidóptero. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o aumento da ocorrência de larvas de L. coffeella está correlacionado a temperatura ambiental, sendo mais abundante nos meses quentes do ano. Nesta mesma época são maiores as ocorrências de minas predadas por vespas, que são atraídas para as lavouras de café atraídos pela abundância das larvas que são utilizadas como recurso alimentar, e dessa forma, atuam como controladores biológicos. Outro importante fator de controle de L. coffeella são a chuvas, que diminuem a abundância desta praga, auxiliando no controle da espécie, mesmo nos meses de maiores abundância do lepidóptero.

The present study expands the distribution of Gauromydas mystaceus (Wiedemann, 1830) for the Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil in Cerrado biome. Previously, this species was only recorded in Brazil (Pará), French Guyana, Guyana and Surinam on Tropical Forest biome.

This study provides a quantitative assessment of the craniofacial variation among recognized species and subspecies in the Saguinus mystax species group and tests the reliability of the proposed method in detecting differences among taxa. Thirty measurements were taken of 66 tamarin specimens. We used non-parametric MANOVA to test for differentiation among species and among subspecies. Interspecific analyses showed significant variation among species, except for S. inustus. We detected significant differentiation between S. mystax mystax and S. m. pileatus, whereas no significant morphometric difference was found between S. imperator subspecies. Measurements presenting some differentiation among species were selected for subsequent analysis of variance. Univariate analyses detected significant differences among species only for three measurements. Our results suggest that the cranial morphometric variation has limited information to discriminate among the taxa in the S. mystax group. However, we cannot disregard the lack of statistical power due to small sampling in some taxa, absence of some subspecies in the analyses, or even lack of informativeness of the chosen measurements. Morphometric analyses was insufficient to demonstrate complete differentiation in Saguinus. The use of morphometric analyses should not be considered as a definitive method for taxa differentiation and delimitation in Saguinus.

Habitat modification has been pointed as one of the main causes of population decline and extinction of several species. Studies on communities in disturbed areas are very important for they provide data about the new organization of assemblages, imposed by the intense modification of habitats. An amphibian assemblage (Anura) was studied in an urban area under strong human pressure, 35 km southeast of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state). Data collection was performed between March/2002 and March/2003, totaling 22 nights of observations. Fourteen species from three families were detected: Bufonidae (1), Leptodactylidae (5) and Hylidae (8). Most species, as well as the largest number of individuals, were recorded during the warm wet months of the year. Habitat use was quite restricted among species, unlike use of substrates. High substrate overlap was observed among hylids, which, besides sharing many types of substrate, occupied the same heights of the vegetation. The largest number of species was recorded on the vegetation at the margins of ponds, considered as the most important substrate for local anurans. Reproductive evidence was recorded for four species. The beginning of the reproductive period of Physalaemus cuvieri and Hyla faber was associated with the beginning of the rainy season, while Bufo crucifer and Scinax longilineus reproduced mostly during the dry months. The variety of habitats occupied and the local species richness, compared to other studies in the region, suggest that the study area, although greatly modified, may be of importance as an ecological corridor.

Resource allocation patterns have been extensively studied on the dioecious shrub Baccharis concinna Barroso (Asteraceae) in rupestrian grasslands in Brazil. Female plants have longer apical shoots, more flowers per shoot, and greater leaf, flower and stem biomass on apical shoots while male plants have longer lateral shoots. Otherwise, no differences were observed in total biomass of vegetative parts between male and female plants. We further investigated the relationship between lateral shoot growth rates and the richness and abundance of galling-insect species on this host plant. Male plants had longer lateral shoots due to greater growth rates throughout the year. On the other hand, galling-insect richness and abundance did not differ between male and female plants throughout the year. Gall-inducing insects showed greater richness and abundance in the drier months of the year while lateral shoot growth rates were greater during the rainy season. In conclusion, male plants allocated more resources to the growth of lateral shoots when compared to female plants, but this differential growth did not reflect on male plants being more attacked by galling-insects.

The Patagonian Andes possess a great variety of glaciers, large temperate ice masses, and glacially formed water bodies. Most of these environments are included in protected areas characterized by low anthropogenic impact and minimal atmospheric pollution. Studies on occurrence of psychrotolerant (cold-adapted) and psychrophilic yeasts in these natural environments have allowed the characterization of native cold-adapted yeast communities, the description of six novel species, as well as description of the capability of these yeasts to produce extracellular enzymes, and other metabolites (carotenoids and mycosporines). Cold-adapted yeasts from Patagonian glaciers were able to hydrolyze natural polymers (casein, lipids, starch, pectin and carboxymethylcellulose) at low temperatures and some were able to produce photo-protective compounds. These results suggest a significant ecological role of these organisms as organic matter decomposers and nutrient cyclers, also reveal that some of these yeasts could be used for further metabolic, ecological and biotechnological studies. The objective of this review is to summarize all the findings related to cold adapted yeasts from glacial environments of the South Hemisphere (outside Antarctica), also to highlight the importance of continental ice masses from the microbiological perspective.
 Keywords: yeasts, psychrophilic, glaciers, extracellular enzymes.

Facilitation is defined as an interaction between two or more species, which benefits at least one of them and causes harm to neither. The establishment of non-native species in new areas is a global phenomenon that raises the question of how facilitation may help in successful biological invasions. We describe a possible facilitation process between the catfish Hoplosternum littorale (Tamboatá) and its predators: Pygocentrus nattereri (piranha) and Cichla cf kelberi (tucunaré), all non-native fish that live in the lakes of the Middle Doce River Basin, southeastern Brazil. We found evidence of indirect facilitation, where non-native predators probably release H. littorale from competition, as they prefer to prey on native fish. Our main evidence in favor of this interpretation was a difference in the abundance of H. littorale between lakes where these species co-occur and lakes where H. littorale is the only non-native fish species. This difference was not associated with environmental differences between lakes or spatial segregation of age classes of H. littorale. Differences in peak activity among H. littorale and non-native predators are probably the main driver of co-occurrence.

We describe, for the first time, the attraction of an unidentified millipede species (Urostreptus sp.) to an elaiosomes of a Euphorbiaceae species (Jatropha mutabilis (Pohl) Baill.). After field observations of Urostreptus specimens feeding on elaiosomes’ seeds of J. mutabilis in areas of Caatinga in Petrolina, northeast Brazil, we conducted experiments to test the hypothesis that this millipede is specifically attracted to J. mutabilis elaiosomes. In the first experiment, millipedes were offered a choice between pairs of seeds with and without elaiosomes. In each trial we recorded the animal choice and the time required to access the seed. In the second experiment, millipedes were offered a choice between pairs of pebbles similar in size to the seeds, one of which was soaked in elaiosome extract. The results showed that millipedes significantly preferred seeds with elaiosomes and were all attracted to pebbles soaked in the elaiosome extract. We also speculate some of the potential implications for seed dispersal and seedlings distribution.

Factors such as the discordance on the choice of characters by different authors and the fragmentary condition of the majority of fossils are responsible for many issues on the taxonomy of the South American Tayassuidae. The extinct Tayassuidae species Catagonus stenocephalus (Lund in Reinhardt 1880) presents a confuse nomenclatural history and a questionable genus designation. The morphometric analysis performed in this study, based on craniomandibular and dental characters, allowed to distinguished three groups morphologically distant from each other within the Catagonus genus. This result highlights the need for more precise phylogenetic analysis for the definition of taxonomic groups in the South American Tayassuidae.

Frogs from the Family Leptodactylidae are among the most important opportunistic feeders on other anuran species. Here we report a case of predation of Pseudis platensis by the Cei’s white-lipped frog Leptodactylus chaquensis in breeding habitat from agricultural landscape, southern Brazil.