New species and new records of Belostoma Latreille, 1807 (Insecta: Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) from northeastern Brazil.

Belostoma zecai Stefanello sp. nov. (Insecta: Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) is described and illustrated based on specimens from the Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba National Park, a protected area in the state of Maranhão, northeastern Brazil.

Efficiency in using genera and families of heteroptera for stream biomonitoring in the Cerrado Biome, Eastern Maranhão, Brazil.

Heteroptera are aquatic insects sensitive to environmental impacts that are frequently used in biomonitoring programs. Resolving families and genera provides consistent responses and can be a useful alternative to accelerate monitoring results and simplify protocols. Our objective was to evaluate which taxonomic levels may be more effective in assessing environmental impacts by testing the following hypotheses: (i) higher taxa of Heteroptera (family and genus) will present congruence with lower taxa (species); (ii) the environmental integrity of the stream will affect the composition of the family, genera and species and will create change points in the abundance and frequency of each taxon.

Zygoptera / Anisoptera (Insecta: Odonata) ratio as a tool to assess anthropogenic changes in Brazilian Cerrado streams.

Aquatic ecosystems are among the most affected by anthropogenic impacts, and the rapid detection and measurement of these impacts are of great importance for the maintenance of such environments. The order of aquatic insects Odonata has emerged as an important bioindicator of environmental quality due to its sensitivity to environmental changes and its ecophysiological requirements, which make them closely associated with habitat conditions. The aim of this study was to test whether the Zygoptera/Anisoptera ratio can be used as an effective tool to assess anthropogenic changes in Cerrado streams.

Environmental thresholds of dragonflies and damselflies from a Cerrado-Caatinga ecotone.

Aquatic ecosystems are affected by different land uses that modify gradients of environmental conditions. These impacts act directly on the community structure, especially the most sensitive ones, such as aquatic insects. Thus, dragonflies have been used as good models to assess these changes, since their suborders Anisoptera and Zygoptera have different ecophysiological and behavioral requirements.

The genus Anacroneuria Klapálek, 1909 (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil.

Based on collections made from streams of the Itapecuru, Parnaíba and Tocantins River basins, three species of Anacroneuria Klapálek are recorded for the first time from Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil: A. atrifrons Klapálek, A. minuta Klapálek and A.

Evaluating the habitat integrity index as a potential surrogate for monitoring the water quality of streams in the cerrado-caatinga ecotone in northern Brazil.

Human activities have long been altering the natural conditions of streams, including the quality of their water, throughout most of Brazil. This problem is even worse in regions with low rainfall levels, such as the Brazilian Northeast, where water quality needs to be monitored more carefully. In this context, the present study investigated the effects of environmental integrity on the physicochemical characteristics of the streams of the basin of the Itapecuru River in northeastern Brazil.

New genus and new species of Chauliodinae (Insecta: Megaloptera: Corydalidae) from Brazil.

A new genus and new species of Chauliodinae are described and illustrated, Puri gen. nov. and P.