Survey of wild mammal hosts of cutaneous leishmaniasis parasites in panamá and costa rica.

The eco-epidemiology of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is driven by animal reservoir species that are a source of infection for sand flies that serve as vectors infecting humans with Leishmania spp parasites. The emergence and re-emergence of this disease across Latin America calls for further studies to identify reservoir species associated with enzootic transmission. Here, we present results from a survey of 52 individuals from 13 wild mammal species at endemic sites in Costa Rica and Panama where ACL mammal hosts have not been previously studied.

Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi across a fragmented forest in Panama: insular spore communities differ from mainland communities.

It is now understood that alterations in the species composition of soil organisms can lead to changes in aboveground communities. In this study, we assessed the importance of spatial scale and forest size on changes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) spore communities by sampling AMF spores in soils of forested mainland and island sites in the vicinity of Gatun Lake, Republic of Panama. We encountered a total of 27 AMF species or morphospecies, with 17, 8, 1 and 1 from the genera Glomus, Acaulospora, Sclerosystis, and Scutellospora, respectively.

Feeding success of Lutzomyia evansi (Diptera: Psychodidae) experimentally exposed to small mammal hosts in an endemic focus of Leishmania chagasi in northern Colombia.

Lutzomyia evansi is the vector of Leishmania chagasi in northern Colombia. Differences in feeding success were revealed, when this phlebotomine sand fly was fed on five species of small mammal hosts from an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis. In each trial, 50 female sand flies were provided access to similar-sized depilated areas of the hind foot of each of 44 individual mammals and allowed to feed for 30 minutes.

Bots (Diptera: Oestridae) infesting a neotropical forest rodent, Proechimys semispinosus (Rodentia: Echimyidae), in Panama.

Botfly larvae (Cuterebra sp.) infesting spiny rats (Proechimys semispinosus) in 8 small islands in the Panama Canal were studied. Rats were live trapped monthly on each island from January 1991 through February 2000 and visually examined for the presence of bots.

Impact of habitat degradation on phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) of tropical dry forests in Northern Colombia.

We examined changes in the phlebotomine fauna resulting from human intervention in a tropical dry forest of Northern Colombia where visceral and cutaneous leishmaniases are endemic. A natural forest reserve (Colosó) and a highly degraded area (San Andrés de Sotavento [SAS]) were sampled monthly for 8 mo using Shannon traps, sticky traps, and resting-site collections. Overall abundances were higher in Colosó (15,988) than in SAS (2,324).

Seasonal dispersal of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi by spiny rats in a neotropical forest.

Many species of neotropical rodents consume and subsequently disperse viable spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Consequently, rodents may be important determinants of both AMF and tree community composition in neotropical forests. We examined the influence of both availability of other food resources and season on the consumption and subsequent dispersal of AMF spores by Proechimys semispinosus (the Central American spiny rat) from seven island populations located in Gatun Lake, Panama over a 13-month period.

The island syndrome in isolated populations of a tropical forest rodent.

I examined population traits of eight isolated populations of a tropical forest rodent (Proechimys semispinosus, the Central American spiny rat) for 1 year in central Panamá. Populations were sampled by monthly live-trapping, and seven traits (density, population growth rate, adult survival, reproductive effort, age structure, sex ratio, and body mass) were compared among populations. I also compared results with published data from nearby mainland populations.

Demography of a Habitat Generalist, The White-Footed Mouse, in a Heterogeneous Environment.

A population of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in southeastern Massachusetts was lived-trapped monthly in five habitat types for 5 yr in order to study the demography of a habitat generalist. We identified three demographic groups (two of low density and one of high density), which differed primarily in density, adult survival, proportion of males breeding, and variability in the proportion of males. The low-density segments of this population were at times able to achieve demographic performance equivalent to the high-density segments.

Small mammals on Massachusetts islands: the use of probability functions in clarifying biogeographic relationships.

Thirty-three insular small mammal communities along the coast of Massachusetts (USA) were surveyed to investigate the biogeographic relationships of the insular communities and to examine the distribution patterns of individual species. Nine species of terrestrial small mammals were observed in the total insular fauna, whereas thirteen occurred on the mainland. The species-area relation yielded a z value of 0.