Egg Morphology of Two Neotropical Dragonflies: Micrathyria hesperis and Miathyria simplex (Odonata: Libellulidae).

Odonata species live through their immature development in aquatic habitats, where the eggs are adapted to survive the initial stages. The survival of the eggs is linked to the layers that make up the eggshell. These layers are common to all odonate species, but show variations among them, depending on the oviposition method.

Forest conversion into pasture selects dung beetle traits at different biological scales depending on species pool composition.

The conversion of forests into open areas has large effects on the diversity and structure of native communities. The intensity of these effects may vary between regions, depending on the existence of native species adapted to open habitats in the regional pool or the time since habitat change.We assess the differences in species richness and functional diversity of dung beetle communities (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) between native forests and novel pasturelands of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, two biomes with contrasting histories of human occupation in Brazil.

Capuchin monkey (Sapajus spp.) diet: current knowledge, gaps, and future directions.

Knowledge of the feeding habits of primate species is important for an understanding of their natural history and ecological interactions between their groups, and their interactions with their environments. Capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) present significant diet flexibility and are a good model for investigating diet diversity between species.

Measuring stream habitat conditions: Can remote sensing substitute for field data?

The ongoing encroachment of agricultural activities into natural areas is a growing problem for the ecological condition of streams. Stream ecological condition is best measured using both biotic and abiotic parameters that reflect different channel, riparian zone and catchment aspects. Multiple physical-chemical measures of water quality have long been widely used to represent the environmental conditions of water bodies.

Model approaches to estimate spatial distribution of bee species richness and soybean production in the Brazilian Cerrado during 2000 to 2015.

Agricultural expansion as a main human activity has affected pollinator's habitat, causing spatial distribution changes. Meanwhile, pollinators still provide pollination service to improve crop production. However, their spatial response is unclear because of environmental changes.

Using worldwide edaphic data to model plant species niches: An assessment at a continental extent.

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) is a broadly used tool in different fields of plant ecology. Despite the importance of edaphic conditions in determining the niche of terrestrial plant species, edaphic data have rarely been included in ENMs of plant species perhaps because such data are not available for many regions. Recently, edaphic data has been made available at a global scale allowing its potential inclusion and evaluation on ENM performance for plant species.

Genotoxic and mutagenic effects of Atrazine Atanor 50 SC on Dendropsophus minutus Peters, 1872 (Anura: Hylidae) developmental larval stages.

The potential mutagenic and genotoxic effects of the herbicide atrazine were investigated in different developmental stages of Dendropsophus minutus tadpoles. These animals were exposed to 4 nominal concentrations of atrazine (2.25, 4.

Community assembly of adult odonates in tropical streams: an ecophysiological hypothesis.

Community assembly theory is founded on the premise that the relative importance of local environmental processes and dispersal shapes the compositional structure of metacommunities. The species sorting model predicts that assemblages are dominated by the environmental filtering of species that are readily able to disperse to suitable sites. We propose an ecophysiological hypothesis (EH) for the mechanism underlying the organization of species-sorting odonate metacommunities based on the interplay of thermoregulation, body size and the degree of sunlight availability in small-to-medium tropical streams.

Evaluation of glutathione S-transferase GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletion polymorphisms on type-2 diabetes mellitus risk.

Background: Due to the activity of GSTs in the detoxification of oxidative stress products, deletion polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 may contribute to susceptibility to T2DM, since B-cells express very low levels of antioxidant enzymes. Recently, some studies have shown an association between GSTM1-null/GSTT1-null genotypes and an increased susceptibility to T2DM. A relationship between these polymorphisms and changes in the clinical parameters of diabetic patients has also been investigated.