Biological Inventories Research Articles

New species of Haematoloechus (Digenea: Plagiorchidae) in the lung of the foothill yellow-legged frog Rana boylii (Anura), from Humboldt County, California, USA

A new species of Haematoloechus is described from the lungs of Rana boylii from Humboldt County, California. The new species is similar to Haematoloechus buttensis, Haematoloechus kernensis, and Haematoloechus complexus in general course of the uterus and gonad shape. It is similar to H. buttensis by having a cirrus sac terminating midway between the posterior margin of the pharynx and the anterior margin of the ovary, and having a smaller oral/ ventral sucker ratio; to H. complexus by having the genital pore ventral to the pharynx, and it is similar to H. kernensis by having a larger oral sucker to pharynx width ratio. The new species is unique by lacking an extra-cecal longitudinal uterine loop from the hind-body. Molecularly, the new species differs 1.04–1.15% in partial 28S sequence with respect to H. complexus, and a monophyletic grouping of these specimens in a phylogenetic analysis of all available sequence data consistent with the species-specific status proposed herein. Evidence is also presented to suggest that specimens identified as H. buttensis in Rana pretiosa from British Columbia, Canada represents a new, but still undescribed species. The importance of conducting biological inventories of helminths, along with continued monitoring of populations, and collections based taxonomy are related.

A Biological Inventory of Meacham Cave (Independence County, Arkansas)

During September 2008 through June 2011, we compiled a biological inventory of Meacham Cave in Independence County, AR. Compared to other caves in the region, Meacham Cave houses few vertebrates, but non-aquatic invertebrates were relatively common. A transiently-increased bacterial load in the cave’s only pool of water indicated recent fecal contamination. The combination of vandalism, low vertebrate populations, and high coliform bacterial load reveals that human abuse of the cave has significantly disrupted its ecosystem. Gating the cave in such a way as to allow the movement of bats, salamanders and other animals, while excluding humans, may allow the cave ecosystem to recover. The close proximity of the cave to Lyon College makes it ideal for long-term investigation.

La ganadería ligada a procesos de conservación en la sabana inundable de la Orinoquia

Titulo en ingles: Livestock activity linked to conservation processes in the Orinoquia´s flood plainsRESUMEN: En el marco del Convenio de cooperación inter-institucional entre The Nature Conservancy (TNC), la Asociación Red Colombiana de Reservas Naturales de la Sociedad Civil (Resnatur) y la Fundación horizonte Verde (FHV), se trabajó entre Noviembre de 2007 y Octubre de 2009 en el desarrollo de una propuesta de ganadería ligada a procesos de conservación en sabanas inundables de la Orinoquia Colombiana. Estableciendo Reservas Naturales de la Sociedad Civil y acuerdos de conservación se mejora la productividad de los terrenos, mediante la implementación de propuestas técnicas acordes al trópico, que contribuyan a optimizar el manejo y los índices productivos de la ganadería en la sabana inundable y a conservar la biodiversidad allí existente. La propuesta técnica implementada ayuda a mejorar y mantener a futuro la ganadería tradicional basada en la oferta natural de pastos nativos, más la suplementación en verano con bloque multinutricional energético (BME), rotación de potreros con cerca eléctrica y el incremento en biomasa con cultivos forrajeros. De esta manera, se evita la transformación de la sabana natural a otros sistemas productivos que empobrecen los bienes y servicios ambientales ofertados por esta, y a su vez incrementa la rentabilidad del sistema ganadero. En las dos reservas naturales establecidas en el municipio de Paz de Ariporo, Casanare: “La Esperanza” y “La Gloria” se realizó la caracterización biológica, planes de manejo, desarrollo de ensayos piloto, el análisis económico costo-beneficio de la propuesta técnica evaluando el aporte de consumo en proteína animal ofertado por la sabana inundable. Se obtuvieron resultados positivos con las alternativas productivas ensayadas; el sistema ganadero debe aumentar un 16% de natalidad para que sea viable la inversión y sostenible a futuro; la inversión económica del sistema propuesto es menor al costo de la transformación del paisaje y su mantenimiento. Estas alternativas demostraron que procesos como los desarrollados en el marco de este Convenio, son una alternativa para la conservación de ecosistemas estratégicos regionales, bajo el enfoque de conservación-producción.Palabras claves: bloque energético, ganadería, reserva natural, Paz de Ariporo, sabana inundable.ABSTRACT: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Colombian Network Association of Nature Reserves of the Civil Society (Resnatur) and the Green Horizon Foundation (FHV), as part of a cooperation agreement from November 2007 to October 2009, have been working to support the development of cattle production linked to conservation processes on the flooded savannas of the Colombian Orinoquia. Through declaring new Nature Reserves of the Civil Society and conservation agreements we intend to improve productivity of the land implementing alternative technical proposals suitable for tropical conditions. This will contribute to optimize cattle management and productive indicators under flooded savannas conditions, coexisting with the existing biodiversity. The technical proposal intends to improve and keep traditional livestock production, improving local cattle production based on the natural pastures already available, adding multi-nutritional energy block supplementation during the dry season, pasture rotation using electric fences and an increase of forage biomass production. This strategy intends to avoid the transformation of the flooded savanna into other productive systems which may deteriorate environmental goods and services offered by the savanna, improving profitability of the local cattle production system. In two nature reserves established Paz de Ariporo, Casanare: “La Esperanza” y “La Gloria” biological inventories were made, pilot studies were developed, the management plans were formulated and the cost-benefit analysis related to the technical purpose were done evaluating animal protein consumption offered by the flooded savanna.Positive results were obtained with the alternative proposals tested; cattle productive system must raise 16 % of the birth rate for the system to be sustainable in the future and for the investment to be viable. The investment of the here proposed system is less than the costs of the landscape transformation and its maintainance. This productive proposal demonstrated that processes like the one developed during this cooperation agreement are an alternative to preserve regional strategic natural ecosystems, under the production-conservation approach.Key words: cattle, energetic block, flooded savannas, nature reserve, Paz de Ariporo

DNA barcoding of African Podostemaceae (river‐weeds): A test of proposed barcode regions

AbstractDNA barcoding has the possibility for application in many fields, ranging from biological inventory and species discovery to forensics and quality control. Barcoding could have great utility within the aquatic angiosperm family Podostemaceae, as these plants can be extremely difficult to identify on the basis of morphological characters alone, but are important components of tropical rivers and face threats from increased water pollution. Several potential barcodes for land plants have been suggested, including two 3‐locus combinations proposed by the Plant Working Group of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life. These loci, matK, rpoB, rpoC1, and trnH‐psbA, were tested for their potential utility in African members of the Podostemaceae. Our results show that although the rpoC1 region performs best in terms of universality of amplification and sequencing, the superior resolving power of matK makes it the most promising of the regions for use in barcoding. In the light of these results, we discuss the potential to apply barcoding to Podostemaceae of Africa and make suggestions for the directions of future work to exploit the full potential of this new technology in this group of plants.

Estudio preliminar de la fauna en el morro de basuras de Moravia y presencia de metales pesados en artrópodos y roedores

<p><strong></strong>Characterization of the species present in a given locality by means of biological inventories provides information about diversity, even if it is done in disturbed environments such as open dumps, which are considered a threat for health due to the accumulation of heavy metals that are well known for their negative effects on human health and the environment. <strong>Objectives</strong>. To carry out a preliminary characterization of arthropods and non-flying small mammals in the <em>Morro de Moravia</em> open dump, and to determine the heavy metal contents in animal tissue samples. <strong>Materials and Methods. </strong>Arthropods were collected with pitfall traps and manually. Rodents were captured with Sherman traps. The heavy metal analysis was carried out with atomic spectroscopy. <strong>Results</strong>. A total of 9 orders, 51 families and 75 morphospecies of insects, 5 families of spiders, two syrphid and a millipede species were identified; <em>Mus musculus</em> was the only small mammal species identified. Heavy metal analysis showed various concentrations mainly of Pb and Cd. The highest content of Pb (45.05 mg/kg) was found in samples of <em>M. musculus</em> and the highest Cd content (10.31 mg/kg) was found in spiders of the family Gasteracantha. <strong>Conclusions</strong>. The <em>Morro de Moravia</em> open dump provides conditions that allow the establishment of an arthropod community with various diets and niches. The transference of heavy metals from the residue matrix towards higher levels of the trophic chain was corroborated.</p> <p><strong>Key words:</strong> arthropods, biological inventories, cadmium, <em>Mus musculus, </em>lead</p><br />

Deriving Species Richness, Endemism, and Threatened Species Patterns from Incomplete Distribution Data in the Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea

The knowledge of the spatial patterns of species richness and, particularly, of endemic and threatened species at the scale at which management activities take place is crucial for conservation. Yet, detailed descriptions of species’ distribution areas are often lacking or incomplete, especially in the tropics. This article focuses on the African island of Bioko and uses species accumulation curves to evaluate the completeness of its biological inventory for three plant groups (ferns, monocotyledons and dicotyledons), birds and monkeys. Results showed that the current inventory is fairly complete for monkeys and birds, but only covers half of the vegetation in the island. Bioclimatic models were used to estimate the potential distribution of each species and to assemble species richness patterns for each taxa and for endemic and threatened species, revealing that montane and lowland rainforests were the richest habitats, while high altitude shrubs and subalpine meadows were the poorest ones. Predicted richness values for monsoon forests were unexpectedly low for plants and birds, probably because of insufficient sampling in these areas. Additionally, the comparison of species richness patterns with the proposed delineation of protected areas for the island shows that these will cover most hotspots of species richness, endemism and threatened species, except for dicotyledonous plants and endemic birds. The potential utility of the predicted patterns for conservation priorities and initiatives in Bioko is discussed.

New State Record and Western Range Extension forPseudosinella dubiaChristiansen (Collembola: Entomobryidae) from Oklahoma, U.S.A.

Pseudosinella dubia Christiansen 1960 was described from specimens collected in four caves of Washington County, Arkansas (Christiansen, 1960). Christiansen and Bellinger (1998) documented another Washington County cave record, and Peck and Peck (1982) recollected the species from one of the original four localities. Gardner (1986) reported a Pseudosinella collection from a cave in Dent County, Missouri, which was subsequently identified as P. dubia by K. Christiansen (pers. comm., 2009). Although two recent biological inventories have been conducted in Arkansas caves, no additional records of P. dubia were reported (Graening et al., 2003; Graening et al, 2006). On 11 January 2003, GOG, DBF, R. Stark, and A. Harris collected various collembolans from Oklahoma's largest cave, the Duncan Field System (Adair County), in an attempt to acquire specimens needed to describe a new species endemic to this cave (Pseudosinella sp. nov. “AB”, reported in Christiansen and Bellinger, 1996). Instead, 5 specimens of Pseudosinella dubia were collected (out of 20 observed) and identified by K. Christiansen (Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa). This is the first record of P. dubia in Oklahoma and represents a western range extension of 27 km from the cluster of caves in Arkansas. Although P. dubia shows no clear troglomorphism, it has never been collected outside caves (K. Christiansen, per. comm., 2009). Specimens are retained in the personal collection of K. Christiansen.

Ictiofauna de campos alagados da Ilha do Marajó, Estado do Pará, Brasil

Os campos alagados ou savanas da ilha do Marajó é uma área disjunta do bioma Cerrado na Amazônia, e é considerada de grande importância para planos de manejo, conservação e preservação ambiental. A fim de ampliar o conhecimento ictiofaunístico da região, o presente estudo reuniu informações coletadas em campo, compiladas da literatura e selecionadas de coleções ictiológicas sobre a fauna de peixes da eco-região savana do Marajó. As coletas de campo ocorreram entre os anos de 2003 e 2005, e apresentaram como métodos a rede de mão, rede de arrasto, rede de tapagem e captura manual por técnica de mergulho, sendo que durante esse período foram amostrados os municípios de Ponta de Pedras, Chaves e Muaná. Além desses, outros quatro municípios também foram abordadas em estudos pretéritos. A eficiência desse inventário biológico foi avaliada pelos métodos de acumulação de espécies (rarefação) e pela estimativa de riqueza Bootstrap. Nestes três locais foram coligidas 146 espécies, sendo que destas, 89 espécies (60%) e oito famílias da classe Actinopterygii foram registradas como novas ocorrências para os campos do Marajó. Com o incremento das coletas nos três municípios, o total de espécies para os campos da ilha é de 254 espécies. Desse total, 44 espécies (17%) são alvos da pesca comercial para fins de alimentação e 46 espécies (18%) são capturadas na pesca ornamental. Sendo assim, inventários biológicos realizados em locais de grande importância ambiental como ou campos alagados da Ilha do Marajó são imprescindíveis, pois sem esta documentação, qualquer avaliação de biodiversidade, delimitação de áreas de endemismo e distribuição geográfica para execução de medidas conservacionistas fica prejudicada. Torna-se necessário, portanto, não apenas criar condições para proteger a fauna, mas para torná-la melhor conhecida através da criação de mecanismos de apoio a projetos de inventariamento e estudos de taxonomia e sistemática.

Use of Approximate Inference in an Index of Completeness of Biological Inventories

To assess the completeness of a floristic or faunal inventory, one may use the ratio of the observed number of species to the "true number" of species (C). If the inventory is complete, C =1. The estimate of the true number can be obtained from accumulation curves, nonparametric methods, or other techniques. We devised a simple method for computing confidence intervals (CI) for C and for evaluating the null hypothesis that the inventory is complete. The method is based on the assumptions that an estimate of the variance of the true number of species is known and that the distribution of the estimator of the true number of species is approximately normal. We applied our method to bird inventories in the Balsas Basin of Mexico. The completeness index for subtransects were lower (84.0, 85.4, and 89.9%) than for the whole transect (91.6%) (all significantly different from 100%). Thus, these particular inventories were incomplete at 2 spatial resolutions. Our method of estimating CI for C can be used to estimate species richness obtained from databases of different sites or to test the null hypothesis that an inventory derived from a database is complete.

Ampliación de la distribución de tres carnívoros en el noroeste de México.

Abstract: We report new localities in 2006 and 2008 for three carnivore species from sarcocaule and microphythic desert scrub at the Sierra Seri, Sonora and from croplands Norwest Coastal Plains region, Sinaloa, extending their known distribution ranges. Species were identified through visual recognition of pictures. The presence of these species can be explained by two different mutually exclusive hypotheses: first, that the species has been historically present and were not recorded earlier; and second, that these species have just recently dispersed into the coastal zone. We strongly support the first hypothesis. The relevance of this note stands in the fact that it gives elements to extend the map of distribution for each of these species more than 100 km to the West; this pinpoints the need for continuing conducting biological inventories in the many unexplored areas at Norwest Mexico.Palabras clave: Distribución, Sonora, Sinaloa, Carnivora, Mephitis macroura, Spilogale gracilis, Taxidea taxus.Key words: Distribution, Sonora, Sinaloa, Carnivora, Mephitis macroura, Spilogale gracilis, Taxidea taxus.

Inventario de las arañas (Arachnida: Araneae) de la Reserva Ecológica Limones-Tuabaquey, Sierra De Cubitas, Camagüey, Cuba

Se realiza un inventario rápido de las arañas de la Reserva Ecológica Limones-Tuabaquey, Sierra de Cubitas, Camagüey, Cuba. En total, se registran para el área protegida 71 especies, agrupadas en 59 géneros y 26 familias. Se registra por primera vez para Cuba y las Antillas Mayores la especie Homalometa nigritarsi Simon, 1897 (Tetragnathidae) y se amplia además la distribución conocida de cinco especies: Ariamnes mexicanus Exline y Levi, 1962, Anisaitis squamata Bryant, 1940 (Salticidae), Scytodes blanda Bryant, 1940 (Scytodidae), Theridion antillanum Simon, 1894 (Theridiidae) y Episinus gratiosus Bryant, 1940 (Theridiidae). Se determinan 17 especies endémicas, las cuales se consideran objetos de conservación del área protegida, particularmente Anisaitis squamata Bryant, 1940 y Scytodes blanda Bryant, 1940; especies raras que sólo se conocen de pocas localidades en el archipiélago cubano.

Rapid high-quality imaging of fishes using a flat-bed scanner

Photography has played an increasingly important role infish taxonomy, systematic studies, aquarium literature, fieldguides, and fisheries literature. Images are a particularlyimportant aid in taxonomy for recording pigmentationpatterns as well as meristic and morphometric character-istics. Photographs have also been used for estimating fishweights and lengths (Baugh 1982).Several techniques have been developed for photo-graphing preserved fish specimens (Randall 1961; Emeryand Winterbottom 1980; Flescher 1983; Holm 1989). Themost popular technique (Emery and Winterbottom 1980)involves the use of an inclined glass plate inside anaquarium to stabilize the specimen and artificial lighting.This setup has two disadvantages; the imaging of speci-mens is slow, and small fish specimens are sometimesdifficult to position between the inclined plate and theaquarium glass.The value of digital images, termed ‘‘e-Vouchers’’(Monk and Baker 2001), in documenting both specimensthat are too large to retain, and in providing broader accessto smaller specimens, is becoming an important data layerin modern natural history collections. However, thegrowing scale of biological inventories means that strate-gies are needed to gather high-quality images rapidly andcost-effectively. There is also an increasing trend formodern genetic resource collections to maintain onlinecatalogs, the most elaborate of which host digital imagesillustrating various aspects of organismal morphology. Forexample, the international Fish Barcode of Life campaign(http://www.fishbol.org) aims to establish a comprehensivereference library of DNA barcodes for all fish specieswithin the next 5 years, a task that will require the sequenceanalysis and imaging of some 500,000 specimens.Here we report a simple, inexpensive technique forimaging small- to medium-sized fishes by using a standardflat-bed photo scanner (HP Scan Jet 4850), clear transpar-ency film for copiers, a ruler, and a color bar (total costapproximately 200 US$). Figure 1 shows the workplaceused for imaging frozen fish specimens up to 25 cm inlength.The transparency film was first placed on the scannersurface, followed by one to five specimens. We employedtransparency film to protect the scanner surface fromexposure to water, preservation liquid, and secretions fromthe fish skin. Its use also avoids cross-contamination ofsamples, which might pose a problem for subsequentgenetic analysis.By convention, lateral photographs of the left side aremost useful for taxonomic purposes. Because size andcoloration are often important for identification, a color barand ruler were included in every scan. To ensure optimalillumination, a brushed glass plate was placed above thefishes. To avoid reflections, most of the water or preser-vation liquid was removed from the fish skin beforeimaging.Scans were taken with different resolutions rangingfrom 300 to 1,800 dpi. The resulting images were pro-cessed with Adobe Photoshop 6.0. Single-specimenimages were cut (4

Are Biological Species and Higher‐Ranking Categories Real? Fish Folk Taxonomy on Brazil's Atlantic Forest Coast and in the Amazon

Analysis of Brazilian fishers' classifications of 24 marine (Atlantic coast) and 24 freshwater (Amazon) fish species reveals that fishers from the Atlantic coast identify fish mainly through generic names (primary lexemes), while riverine Amazonian fishers typically identify them through binomials. The similarity of Amazonian fish species seems to contribute to the detailed folk taxonomy used by riverine fishers. High‐ranking groups called “relatives” or “cousins” are sorted by fishers in terms of similarities of habitat, diet, and morphology and, secondarily, behavior. The general correspondence between the folk and scientific taxonomies reinforces the reality of both the supracategories used by these fishers and the biological groups as discontinuities in nature. Given the urgency of biological inventories and the lack of knowledge of high‐biodiversity environments such as the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon, these results suggest that fisher knowledge and experience could contribute to scientific research.

Enhancing ecosystem management through social-ecological inventories: lessons from Kristianstads Vattenrike, Sweden

Environmental policy increasingly emphasizes involvement of local users and land owners in ecosystem management, but conservation planning is still largely a bureaucratic-scientific endeavour of identifying biological values for protection. Neither biological inventories nor stakeholder analyses, that tend to focus on conflicting interests, capture human resources in the landscape or the social structures and processes underlying biological conservation values. Social-ecological inventories are therefore proposed during the preparation phase of conservation projects as a means to identify people with ecosystem knowledge that practise ecosystem management. The method presented here focuses on local steward groups acting outside official management plans. In a social-ecological inventory of a river basin of southern Sweden, local steward groups, their ecosystem management activities, motives and links to other actors involved in ecosystem management were identified through interviews, participatory observations and a review of documents and other written material. Several hundred active local stewards were organized in 10 local steward groups that managed and monitored a range of ecosystem services at different spatial scales. Contributions of local stewards included on-site ecosystem management, long-term and detailed monitoring of species and ecosystem dynamics, local ecological knowledge, public support for ecosystem management and specialized networks. Two conservation projects are used to illustrate how local steward groups came together in multi-level networks and collaborated around specific conservation issues. The projects have been linked to ecosystem management at the landscape level through a flexible municipality organization, the Ecomuseum Kristianstads Vattenrike (EKV). EKV has acted as a ‘bridging organization’, coordinating and connecting many of the local steward groups to organizations and institutions at other levels. The process has been guided by social capital and shared visions for the whole landscape. The study shows that ecosystem management likely relies on multi-level collaboration and social-ecological inventories may help identify actors that are fundamental in such management systems. Social-ecological inventories should be employed in any attempt to develop and implement ecosystem management.

A new species of poeciliid fish, Poeciliopsis santaelena, from Peninsula Santa Elena, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica

An undescribed freshwater fish was recently discovered during a biological inventory of Area de Conservaci6n Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica. This new species of Poeciliopsis is closely related to a group of widespread species of small spotted fishes designated as the Poeciliopsis gracilis complex in this study. The complex extends on both versants from southern Mexico to Nicaragua, and with this new finding, extends into Costa Rica. The new species is distinguished from its Central American relatives by its lack of lateral and ventral markings, higher pectoral and caudal-fin counts and more posterior placement of the dorsal fin. Poeciliopsis santaelena is endemic to the Rio Potrero Grande, a river whose flow is reduced to just a few pools during the long dry season and flows fully only during very rainy weather. It is just another in a growing list of threatened or endangered species found in this unique peninsular environment.

Nuevo registro de <i>Balaenoptera musculus</i> Linnaeus, 1758 (Mysticeti: Balaenopteridae) para la costa de Oaxaca, México.

Abstract: Oaxaca is one of the most biodiversity regions in México harboring a high number of mammals species. In spite of the large number of mammal inventories conducted in this State, there are still many unexplored areas. We collected a specimen of the Balaenoptera musculus outside of its known distribution range. This new record pinpoints the need for continuing conducting biological inventories in regions holding a high biodiversity. Key words: Balaenoptera musculus, record, Oaxaca, México. Palabras claves: Balaenoptera musculus, nuevo registro, Oaxaca, México.

Shortcuts for biodiversity evaluation: a review of terminology and recommendations for the use of target groups, bioindicators and surrogates

The terms related to rapid alternative routes for appraising species diversity (biodiversity assessment shortcuts), through the use of biodiversity target groups, indicator groups and other biodiversity surrogates are examined. Biodiversity target groups are selected for their methodological and taxonomical advantages, and the purpose of their use is the assessment of their own diversity patterns. The focus of biodiversity indicator groups is on assessing the health of the entire ecosystem or a part of it, with respect to a visible phenomenon. Biodiversity surrogates include taxa-for-taxa surrogates, higher taxa, morphospecies and environmental surrogates. These are faster, less expensive routes for assessing general biodiversity patterns as compared with taking complete biological inventories. These concepts are clarified, examples of their use are examined and the published studies that have implemented such shortcuts are also analysed. For the selection of biological groups according to biodiversity research goals we have also proposed general recommendations.

Insights into the historical construction of species‐rich biomes from dated plant phylogenies, neutral ecological theory and phylogenetic community structure

Analytical methods are now available that can date all nodes in a molecular phylogenetic tree with one calibration, and which correct for variable rates of DNA substitution in different lineages. Although these techniques are approximate, they offer a new tool to investigate the historical construction of species-rich biomes. Dated phylogenies of globally distributed plant families often indicate that dispersal, even across oceans, rather than plate tectonics, has generated their wide distributions. By contrast, there are indications that animal lineages have undergone less long distance dispersal. Dating the origin of biome-specific plant groups offers a means of estimating the age of the biomes they characterize. However, rather than a simple emphasis on biome age, we stress the importance of studies that seek to unravel the processes that have led to the accumulation of large numbers of species in some biomes. The synthesis of biological inventory, systematics and evolutionary biology offered by the frameworks of neutral ecological theory and phylogenetic community structure offers a promising route for future work.

A NEW SPECIES OF FROG OF THE ELEUTHERODACTYLUS LACRIMOSUS ASSEMBLAGE (LEPTODACTYLIDAE) FROM THE WESTERN AMAZON BASIN, WITH COMMENTS ON THE UTILITY OF CANOPY SURVEYS IN LOWLAND RAINFOREST

We describe a new species of Eleutherodactylus from the lowlands of the western Amazon Basin. The new species is referred to the Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus group, lacrimosus assemblage. It differs from other members of the group by having a dorsal olive-green coloration with an interorbital creamy yellow stripe that extends posterolaterally and reaches the level of the sacrum, and low ulnar and tarsal tubercles. The new species inhabits western Amazon tropical rainforests and has been found in arboreal bromeliads by day and on vegetation by night. We discuss the effect of lack of sampling in the forest canopy in our understanding of tropical amphibian communities. Based on work conducted at two localities in Ecuadorian Amazonia, we find that even limited sampling effort in the canopy can greatly improve efficiency of biological inventories.

NUEVO REGISTRO DE CONEPATUS SEMISTRIATUS BODDAERT, 1784 (CARNIVORA: MUSTELIDAE) EN OAXACA, MÉXICO

Oaxaca is one of the most biodiverse regions in México harboring a high number of mammals species. In spite of the large number of mammal inventories conducted in this State, there are still many unexplored areas. We collected a specimen of the skunk Conepatus semistriatus outside of its known distribution range, located at La Fortaleza, Municipio de Santa Maria, Chimalapa. This new record pinpoints the need for continuing conducting biological inventories in regions holding a high biodiversity.