Contamination status by persistent organic pollutants of the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) at the metapopulation level.

The Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) is an endemic species of the tropical-temperate Atlantic Ocean with widespread distribution. Although this species has been the subject of a large number of studies throughout its range, it remains in the "data deficient" category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Chemical pollution by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been listed as one of the major threats to this species, however, there is no information on a wide scale.

Tempo and rates of diversification in the South American cichlid genus Apistogramma (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae).

Evaluating biodiversity and understanding the processes involved in diversification are noticeable conservation issues in fishes subject to large, sometimes illegal, ornamental trade purposes. Here, the diversity and evolutionary history of the Neotropical dwarf cichlid genus Apistogramma from several South American countries are investigated. Mitochondrial and nuclear markers are used to infer phylogenetic relationships between 31 genetically identified species.

Molecular identification of a cryptic species in the Amazonian predatory catfish genus Pseudoplatystoma (Bleeker, 1962) from Peru.

Pseudoplatystoma species are highly prized South American Pimelodid migratory catfishes. Until recently, their taxonomy was not clearly established, with discrepancies between morphological and molecular analyses. Here, Pseudoplatystoma species from the Peruvian Amazon were characterized at the molecular level from a sample representing the observed range of their color pattern variations in the study area.

Patterns of diversification in two African forest shrews: Sylvisorex johnstoni and Sylvisorex ollula (Soricidae, Insectivora) in relation to paleo-environmental changes.

We analysed the phylogeographic patterns of two congeneric and syntopic species of forest shrews and compared them with biogeographical scenarios proposed for the Central African tropical forest. Our results, based on 82 partial 16s rRNA mitochondrial sequences, suggest that both species must have originated in the Plio-Pleistocene and that their haplotype distributions could reflect the effect of forest fragmentation and expansion associated with paleoclimatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene. However, it seems that the two species responded very differently to environmental changes.