Northeastern Uruguay Research Articles

Who Owns Wildlife In Uruguay? Connections Between Game Management and Local Perspectives on Wildlife Ownership

The connection between the legal definition of wildlife ownership is fundamental in establishing clear and appropriate hunting regulations. Ambiguity in the terminology used to justify the need for regulations and their relationship to traditional knowledge may impede species management and conservation. Between 2013 and 2018 we studied the relationship between the hunting national framework in Uruguay with local practices and perceptions of hunting and wildlife ownership. Based on ethnographic work in Paso Centurión, a small rural town in north-eastern Uruguay, we describe local forms of environmental engagement, wildlife ownership, and the impact of developing a protected area. We highlight the importance of considering local attitudes and perceptions of hunting regulation, incorporating a broader discussion about the ownership of nature and the forms of human-wildlife relations in rural contexts.

Phenotypic and Molecular Diversity of Wild Populations of Acca sellowiana (Berg.) Burret in the Southern Area of Natural Distribution

Acca sellowiana is a subtropical tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) native to southern Brazil and northeastern Uruguay. It is recognized for its value as a fruit-bearing, ornamental, and medicinal species. Based on distinctive characteristics of fruits, seeds, and leaves, as well as its geographical distribution pattern, two variants of the species are distinguished: the “Brazilian type” and the “Uruguayan type”. The objective of this study was to characterize, for the first time, the diversity of 202 individuals from four wild populations in Uruguay, representative of the species’ most southern natural distribution. Twenty-three morphological descriptors (leaf, flower, and fruit) and 204 RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) markers were used. The morphological data collected validated the main criteria that distinguish “Uruguayan type” populations from “Brazilian type” populations, such as lower seed weight and fruit size, thin and slightly rough skin, high pulp percentage, and hairy white abaxial leaf surfaces. Analyses of both morphological and molecular data indicated wide diversity and strong population structuring, which is relevant information for designing conservation plans, sustainable utilization, and genetic improvement of the plant genetic resources of this species.

Palynology and palynofacies of the Permian Paso Aguiar and Yaguarí formations (Paraná Basin, Uruguay): Paleoclimatic, paleoenvironmental, and biostratigraphic implications

The palynological information of the Paso Aguiar Formation (Paraná Basin, Uruguay) is scarce, and the overlying Yaguarí Formation has been hitherto considered as barren. In this study, the palynology and palynofacies of 17 samples recovered from borehole DINAMIGE 943 “Estancia El Águila”, drilled in the Cerro Largo Department (northeastern Uruguay), are analyzed. Palynological assemblages are dominated by striate bisaccate pollen grains, mainly those assigned to the genera Staurosaccites and Lueckisporites, and subordinated apiculate monolete and cingulizonate-cavate spores, essentially represented by Thymospora and Lundbladispora, Gondisporites, and Spelaeotriletes, respectively. The assemblages also include non-taeniate bisaccate and plicate-colpate pollen grains, laevigate and apiculate trilete spores, and algae. Moreover, laevigate monolete spores, non-taeniate and taeniate monosaccate pollen grains, and acritarchs are present in low quantities. The diverse palynoassemblages constitute evidence of a source palaeoflora primarily composed of gymnosperms, with important contributions from glossopterids and conifers. This is complemented by sub-dominant ferns and lycophytes, implying seasonally warmer and humid climates. The palynofacies analysis suggests marine depositional environments with terrestrial inputs related to fluvio-deltaic discharges. Proximal-distal variations are inferred for the lower and middle levels of the Paso Aguiar Formation, while high-energy proximal marine settings with variable redox conditions are deduced for the upper Paso Aguiar Formation and the lower Yaguarí Formation. The abundance of spores recorded is noteworthy, particularly when considering the environmental interpretations for these units. However, the influence of differences in preservation among palynomorphs cannot be entirely ruled out. The assemblages are assigned to the Striatoabieites anaverrucosus-Staurosaccites cordubensis Zone of the Paraná Basin in Uruguay. Nevertheless, obtaining additional data from the studied geological units is crucial to enhance and fine-tune the existing palynostratigraphic framework. Considering the radiometric ages available for the Paraná Basin, along with the ages proposed for comparable biozones in the region and assemblages from correlative units in Brazil, a late Cisuralian–late Guadalupian (Kungurian to Capitanian) age is suggested for the studied section.

Cross-continental hydroclimate proxies: Tree-rings in Central Chile reconstruct historical streamflow in Southeastern South American rivers

Regional teleconnections permit cross-continental modeling of hydroclimate throughout the world. Tree-rings are a good hydroclimatic proxy used to reconstruct drought and streamflow in regions that respond to common global forcings. We used a multi-species dataset of 32 tree-ring width chronologies from Chile and Uruguay as a climate proxy to infer annual streamflow (Q) variability in the Negro River basin, a grassland-dominated watershed of lowland Southeastern South America. A positive linear correlation between tree-ring chronologies from Central Chile and annual Negro River instrumental streamflow from 1957 to 2012 indicated a cross-continental teleconnection between hydroclimate variability in Central Chile and Northeastern Uruguay. This relationship was mediated in part by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), whereby the El Nino 3.4 Index was positively correlated with regional rainfall, annual tree growth, and Q anomalies. Despite the proximity of Uruguayan tree-ring chronologies to Negro River hydrometric stations, the Chilean tree-ring chronologies best predicted annual streamflow. Thus, using tree-ring data from four long-term moisture-sensitive chronologies of the species Cryptocarya alba in Central Chile (32–34°S), we present the first streamflow reconstruction (1890–2009) in the lower La Plata Basin. The reconstruction supports regional evidence for increasing frequency of extreme flood years over the past century in Uruguay. We demonstrate how climate teleconnections that mediate local hydroclimate variability permit the cross-continental reconstruction of streamflow, filling a major geographical gap in historical proxies for flooding and drought in grassland biomes of the southern hemisphere.

Availability and Environmental Performance of Wood for a Second-Generation Biorefinery

The current global climate change, the 2030 Agenda, and the planetary boundaries have driven new development strategies, such as the circular economy, bioeconomy, and biorefineries. In this framework, this study analyzes the potential availability and sustainability of the wood supply chain for a small-scale biorefinery aiming at producing 280–300 L of bioethanol per ton of dry biomass, consuming 30,000 t of dry biomass per year harvested in a 50 km radius. This wood production goal was assessed from Eucalyptus grandis stands planted for solid wood in northeastern Uruguay. Moreover, to understand the environmental performance of this biomass supply chain, the energy return on investment (EROI), carbon footprint (CF), and potential soil erosion were also assessed. The results showed that the potential wood production would supply an average of 81,800 t of dry mass per year, maintaining the soil erosion below the upper threshold recommended, an EROI of 2.3, and annual CF of 1.22 kg CO2−eq m−3 (2.6 g CO2−eq MJ−1). Combined with the environmental performance of the bioethanol biorefinery facility, these results would show acceptable values of sustainability according to EU Directive 2009/28/ec because the bioethanol CF becomes 1.7% of this petrol’s CF.

<p class="Cuerpo"><strong><em>Baccharis rectialata</em> (Compositae: Astereae): a new species of carqueja from Uruguay</strong></p>

Baccharis rectialata (Compositae: Astereae), a new species of B. sect. Caulopterae from the grasslands in northeastern Uruguay is described. The new species is morphologically similar to B. crispa and can be differentiated by its straight wing margins, shorter involucres and pappus in staminate capitula. We provide a detailed morphological description, and information on the distribution, habitat, phenology, and conservation status. Additionally, we discuss the main differences between B. rectialata and other closely related and morphologically similar species, and provide a key for identification of subshrubs belonging to B. sect. Caulopterae occurring in Uruguay, as well as illustrations, images, and a distribution map of the new species.

Between Subsistence Hunting and Environmental Sustainability: Conservation and Social Reproduction in the Northeast of Uruguay

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the relationships between subsistence hunting and sustainability from an anthropological perspective. We analyze sustainability as a form of social reproduction affected by tensions between conservation, production, rural lives and hunting. The work was carried out in Paso Centurión (north-eastern Uruguay), an area that is undergoing a process of environmentalization, where interests of conservation groups, sports hunters, wood industry and subsistence hunting come together. Based on an ethnographic fieldwork we propose that subsistence hunting should be considered as a practice that involves social, cultural and environmental engagements between humans and animals. Thinking about sustainability from that perspective makes it more robust than other logics present in the area focused on ecology or food security.

FIRST RECORD OF ‘Hemiancistrus’ punctulatus CARDOZO & MALABARBA, 1999 FOR URUGUAY (SILURIFORMES: LORICARIIDAE)

A recent expedition to lower Yaguarón river basin in northeastern Uruguay, revealed the presence of the loricariid catfish ‘Hemiancistrus’ punctulatus Cardozo & Malabarba, 1999, which represents the first record of this species for the country. We propose it as an endangered species for Uruguay considering its restricted distribution.

Modelos matemáticos para a estimativa da área foliar de cultivares brasileiros de goiabeira-serrana (Acca sellowiana)

A goiabeira-serrana [Acca sellowiana (O. Berg.) Burret] é uma espécie nativa do Sul do Brasil e do Nordeste do Uruguai. O conhecimento da área foliar é importante para o manejo das plantas, em estudos de fisiologia e para a estimativa de danos fitossanitários. Os modelos matemáticos utilizados para a estimativa da área foliar da goiabeira-serrana não consideram as diferenças entre os formatos das folhas de cada cultivar. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar, ajustar e validar modelos matemáticos para a estimativa da área foliar de quatro cultivares brasileiras de goiabeira-serrana. Foram realizadas duas coletas de folhas, a primeira para o estabelecimento dos modelos matemáticos e a segunda para a validação e estimativa da área foliar. As folhas dos cultivares SCS411 – ‘Alcântara’, SCS412 – ‘Helena’, SCS414 – ‘Mattos’ e SCS415 – ‘Nonante’ foram coletadas do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma (BAG) da Epagri, em São Joaquim/SC, Brasil. Foram mensurados: a área foliar (AF), o comprimento (C), a largura (L) e o índice de forma das folhas, sendo os dados analisados com o uso dos modelos de regressão linear e quadrático. A estimativa da área foliar a partir das equações propostas apresenta elevada precisão e simplicidade de execução. A equação y=0,7345x+0,0298, onde x refere-se ao produto do comprimento pela largura da folha (L*C), apresentou os melhores resultados de ajustes nos modelos testados. Termos para indexação: Feijoa; comprimento; largura; forma da folha; avaliação não destrutiva.

Atopsyche Banks (Trichoptera, Hydrobiosidae): New species, redescription, and new records.

Atopsyche is the largest genus of hydrobiosids, comprising 139 species in three subgenera (Atopsyche, Atopsaura, and Dolochorema), distributed from southwestern United States to northeastern Uruguay. Atopsyche (Atopsaura) is the most diverse subgenus with 65 species, Atopsyche (Atopsyche) with 51, and Atopsyche (Dolochorema) with three. This paper provides a taxonomic study of Atopsyche, including descriptions of A. (Atopsyche) bravoi n. sp. from Ecuador, A. (Atopsaura) beckeri n. sp. from Cuba, A. (Atopsaura) japi n. sp. from Brazil, and the redescription of A. (Atopsaura) usingeri. Additionally, the morphological variations of A. (Atopsaura) antisuya and A. (Atopsaura) diamantina are presented, as well new records. These results contribute to taxonomical knowledge of Atopsyche and increase the number of described species to 142.

A large cockroach from the mesosaur-bearing Konservat-Lagerstätte (Mangrullo Formation), Late Paleozoic of Uruguay.

Barona arcuata, n.gen et n.sp., a left forewing of a relatively large cockroach of the Order Blattaria, is described from mesosaur-bearing lagoonal shales of the Mangrullo Formation (north-eastern Uruguay). While most of the insect remains recovered from the Mangrullo Formation come from sandy limestones, associated to scarce isolated mesosaur bones and pygocephalomorph crustaceans, the cockroach wing here described was found in the overlaying green to brownish, gray and dark black shales associated to intercalated bentonites and evaporitic gypsum crystals. Barona arcuata shares some features with typical Late Carboniferous taxa such as its general venation pattern and outline of the wing, four main and powerful veins arising close together from near the base of the wing, Sc simple forked, pectinate, reaching the costal border through a long fork, R and M bifurcating and terminating in the wing margin above and below the apex respectively, short and narrow CuA, and the presence of a broad interspace between CuP and AA. Cross venation seems to be absent or it was not preserved. Some characters might relate Barona arcuata to the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian Neothroblattinidae such as the presence of sigmoidal veins in the anal area, a condition not found in any of the remaining representatives of the Palaeozoic Blattaria. Intriguingly, the Uruguayan blattarian also presents a strong similarity with Qilianiblatta namurensis Zhang, Schneider & Hong, 2012 from the Westphalian of China, clearly a smaller taxon that is also difficult to relate to any of the preexistent families. The apparent plesiomorphic venation pattern of the new species which is reminiscent of that present in the oldest known blattarians, is in agreement with a Permo-Carboniferous (Gzhelian-Asselian) age for the Mangrullo Formation also supported by the presence of a macrofloral assemblage dominated by arborescent lepidondendrids and other lycopsids and the pygocephalid-like morphology of the pygocephalomorph crustaceans from the same levels.

Genetic Admixture Analysis in the Population of Tacuarembó-Uruguay Using Alu Insertions.

Tacuarembó is a department located in northeastern Uruguay, whose population is the result of several migration waves from Europe and Near East, as well as Africans and Afro-descents mostly from Brazil; these waves settled with the territory's various Native ethnic groups (Charrúa, Minuán, and Guaraní). In the past, this population has been the focus of genetic studies showing this trihybrid origin, with greater contributions of Natives and Africans than in other Uruguayan regions. In this study we analyzed eight Alu insertions (A25, ACE, APOA1, B65, D1, F13B, PV92, TPA25) to provide valuable information for ancestrality and genetic differentiation and to compare with both previous studies on the Tacuarembó population and Alu frequencies in other Uruguayan populations. The European contribution to Alu and classical markers was almost equal to that of a previous study using 22 classical markers (63% vs. 65%), while African contribution was higher (30% vs. 15%), and Native American contribution shows an important difference in Alu: 7% versus 20%. We found no significant differences in genetic differentiation between Tacuarembó and Montevideo but significant differences between Tacuarembó and Basque descendants from Trinidad. Our results support previous findings obtained with classical markers that demonstrate the trihybrid composition of the Tacuarembó population, correlated with historical records. Thus, Alu insertions provide interesting information in light of the admixture process in the Uruguayan population.

First record of Pucrolia minuta (Sörensen, 1884) (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae) in Buenos Aires province: a case of recent expansion?

The Mesopotamian harvestmen are a faunistic set whose distribution coincides with the Argentinean Mesopotamia wetlands and surrounding areas as the Humid Chaco, north Buenos Aires province and eastern Uruguay. Pucrolia minuta (Sorensen, 1884) (Gonyleptidae: Pachylinae) is a Mesopotamian harvestman that lives in highly humid sites and tree dominated physiognomies. In this work, we cite for the first time this species in Buenos Aires province. The new record is located 400 km further south from the previously known collecting sites of the species, in the provinces of Entre Rios and Santa Fe. The new finding site, in the Pampean plain, is associated to a Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae) tree plantation in a highly modified area by agricultural and livestock activities. Due to its ecological requirements, its limited dispersal abilities and the adverse climatic pulses for its presence that occurred in the Pampean plain between the Pleistocene and the XIX century is improbable that a population of P. minuta had survived during this temporal lapse in the region. Possibly, the species has recently colonized the zone by anthropocory or by its natural dispersal abilities across non-native tree galleries in water courses of north Buenos Aires

Geology and geochronology of Paso del Dragón Complex (northeastern Uruguay): Implications on the evolution of the Dom Feliciano Belt (Western Gondwana)

New geologic and geochronologic data of Paso del Dragón Complex (PDC) located at Northeastern Uruguay is analyzed. Two lithodemic units are described and characterized, La Micaela Schists and Cerro La Tuna Serpentinites. La Micaela Schists represent 80% of PDC and it comprises a meta-volcano-sedimentary succession poly-deformed, composed by muscovite-quartz-feldspathic schists, quartzites, and felsic meta-volcanic rocks. Cerro La Tuna Serpentinites represents 20% of PDC and it comprises mafic-ultramafic rocks, also deformed and metamorphosed, composed by serpentinites, varied magnesian schists, hosted by La Micaela Schists. The complex is hosted to the north and west by the Granitic belt of the Dom Feliciano Belt that includes poly-intrusive plutons known from south to north as Aiguá, Cuchilla Dionisio and Sierra de los Ríos batholiths classified as high-K calc-alkaline pre-to post-collisional granitoids. Relevant U–Pb LA-ICP-MS analyses of metamorphic/detrital zircon grains from migmatitic-gneissic basement suggest an age of ca. 668 Ma for the metamorphic event associated with the migmatization process. The deposition and metamorphism age for La Micaela Schists lithodeme are ca. 590 Ma and 570 Ma respectively. The Complex is interpreted as remains of sedimentary and magmatic units generated in an arc-related environment tectonically emplaced within the granites. Their generation, deformation and metamorphism, mainly of Ediacaran age, are associated to the Western Gondwana assembly. This thrust sheet could be regarded as a dismembered ophiolite as previously suggested by other authors. Finally, it is proposed the correlation between Cerro Olivo Complex of Punta del Este Terrane and the migmatitic-gneissic basement of Paso del Dragón Complex based on their similar zircon U-Pb age patterns. Also, it is suggested that Cerro Olivo Complex of Punta del Este Terrane and the Granitic belt might be the main detrital sources for La Micaela Schist.

SEM/EDS-Assisted LAM-ICPMS Analyses of Tourmaline of Tourmalinites Hosted in Serpentinites of the Paso Del Dragón Complex, Northeastern Uruguay

SEM/EDS-Assisted LAM-ICPMS Analyses of Tourmaline of Tourmalinites Hosted in Serpentinites of the Paso Del Dragón Complex, Northeastern Uruguay

New records of Cuniculus paca (Rodentia: Cuniculidae) in a temperate grassland dominated landscape of the Pampa region of Brazil and Uruguay

Abstract Cuniculus paca is considered locally threatened in some parts of its range mainly because of hunting pressure and habitat loss. The species is widely distributed in South and Central America. Agouti’s distribution in Brazil is broad, although there is no information on its occurrence in the Northeast region and in the western part of Rio Grande do Sul state. The species presents a marginal distribution in northeastern Uruguay. Here, we describe 16 new records of the species in the Pampa region, including the western part of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil and Uruguay, expanding the C. paca known distribution.

Poisoning of sheep by Vernonia plantaginoides (Less.) Hieron in Uruguay.

Vernonia plantaginoides (Less.) Hieron, previously known as Vernonia squarrosa, is a rhizomatous subshrub with purple flowers that is prevalent in the natural grassland of Uruguay, Argentina, and southern Brazil. We report an outbreak of V. plantaginoides (yuyo moro) intoxication in sheep in Treinta y Tres Department, northeastern Uruguay. A total of 54 of 463 (12%) recently weaned lambs died 2-7 days after entering a natural pasture that had been invaded by sprouting V. plantaginoides The first cases were found dead. Affected lambs showed marked jaundice, edema of the face, ears, and eyelids, and severe photodermatitis. At the autopsies of 3 lambs, the carcass was yellow, the liver was enlarged with a marked acinar pattern ("nutmeg liver"), and hemorrhages were observed on serous membranes. Microscopic lesions were characterized by diffuse periacinar hepatocellular necrosis and cholemic nephrosis. Three female lambs were experimentally dosed with the aerial parts of V. plantaginoides collected immediately after the outbreak. The lamb that was dosed once with 40 g/kg body weight died after 36 h with severe hepatic necrosis. The lamb dosed with 20 g/kg daily for 4 days showed clinical signs and microscopic lesions in the liver with multiple apoptotic hepatocytes in the periacinar zone. The third lamb, dosed with 30, 17, and 15 g/kg daily over 3 days, respectively, showed transient clinical signs and a rise in liver enzymes, but recovered, and no lesions were found postmortem. These results demonstrate that V. plantaginoides was responsible for severe field outbreaks of poisoning in sheep in Uruguay.

A new species of inseminating seasonal killifish of the Cynopoecilus melanotaenia complex from southern Brazil (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae).

BackgroundThe Cynopoecilus melanotaenia complex is a morphologically homogeneous killifish group, endemic from an area encompassing southern Brazil and northeastern Uruguay. It presently comprises four valid species: C. melanotaenia, the type species of the genus, and C. fulgens, C. intimus, and C. nigrovittatus.New informationCynopoecilus feltrini, n. sp., from the lower Tubarão river basin, southern Brazil, is distinguished from all congeners of the C. melanotaenia complex by having frontal E-scales medially overlapped, branchiostegal region orangish red in males and dorsum with few dark brown spots above opercular region. A phylogenetic tree derived from the analysis of a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (681 bp) indicates that C. feltrini is a member of the clade that includes all species of the C. melanotaenia complex except C. melanotaenia, as well as that C. feltrini is the sister group of a clade comprising C. fulgens and C. nigrovittatus.

Lectotypification of the name Regnellidium diphyllum (Marsileaceae)

Regnellidium Lindman (1904: 2) is a genus that includes only the extant species Regnellidium diphyllum Lindman (1904: 14) in the family Marsileaceae Mirbel (1802: 126), which encompasses a total of three extant genera of aquatic, heterosporous ferns. While the other two genera within the family, Marsilea L. (1753: 1099) with 50–75 spp., and Pilularia L. (1753: 1100) with 3–6 spp., are nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, the extant species of Regnellidium is restricted to a small region of South America, found only in northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay (Schultz, 1949; de la Sota & Mitchel 1970; Tryon & Tryon 1982; Kramer, 1990; Alonso Paz & Bassagoda, 2002; Cúneo et al., 2013). It was only in 1892, on the first Regnell expedition, that Lindman discovered the plants, which he described as Regnellidium (Lindman, 1904), on the banks of the Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. The species was not found again until November 1935, when it was located at Santa Maria by Dr. W. Rau and at São Leopoldo by Dr. J. Dutra (Johnson & Chrysler, 1938). Today it is widely cultivated in Botanic Gardens.

Paleoamerican Artifacts from Cerro Largo, Northeastern Uruguay

A research program directed at deepening the knowledge and understanding of Paleo-American “Fishtail” points is being carried out. In pursuit of this goal, lithic remains from Cerro Largo Department, northeastern Uruguay were examined. One of the samples comes from Paso Centurión, a surface site that has yielded the greatest number of Fishtail points in Uruguay. There, and at the Paso Taborda site, several examples were reworked as scraping tools, constituting a peculiar case of stone-tool recycling and reclaiming by post-Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. The examined collection sheds new light on regional lithic assemblages, stone-tool use, and the early colonization of southeastern South America.