Ecological networks in savannas reflect different levels of hydric stress in adjacent palm swamp forest ecosystems.

Palm swamp forests are wetland ecosystems typical of the Brazilian Cerrado, which in recent decades have undergone intense changes due to land use alterations and climate change. As a result of these disturbances, many palm swamps have been experiencing significant drying, which can also affect adjacent vegetation. In the present study, we evaluated whether the drying of palm swamps affects the structure of plant-herbivore networks located in adjacent savanna areas in Brazil.

Global effects of land-use intensity and exotic plants on the structure and phylogenetic signal of plant-herbivore networks.

Interactions between plants and herbivorous insects are often phylogenetically structured, with closely related insect species using similar sets of species or lineages of plants, while phylogenetically closer plants tend to share high proportions of their herbivore insect species. Notably, these phylogenetic constraints in plant-herbivore interactions tend to be more pronounced among internal plant-feeding herbivores (i.e.

Leishmania species infection of bats: A systematic review.

A wide variety of mammals, including domestic and wild species, have been considered potential hosts and reservoirs for Leishmania. Bats have longevity, dispersal capacity, and adaptability to synotropic environments, characteristics that may favor their role in maintaining the life cycle of parasites. Therefore, the objective of this study was to carry out a worldwide systematic review of the occurrence of Leishmania species in bats, as well as to identify associations between eating habits and the type of sample collected with the occurrence of the infection.

Diet, activity patterns, and home range use in forest and cultivated areas for one wild group of endangered crested capuchin monkeys (Sapajus robustus) in Reserva Natural Vale, Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Robust capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) are distributed widely in the Neotropics and may be able to survive in modified landscapes because of their omnivorous, opportunistic diet. The poorly known and endangered crested capuchin monkey (Sapajus robustus) is endemic to the Atlantic Forest in Bahia, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states, Brazil.

Leishmania diversity in bats from an endemic area for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis in Southeastern Brazil.

This study aimed to determine the occurrence of Leishmania infection in bats in urban and wild areas in an endemic municipality for visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Between April 2014 to April 2015, 247 bats were captured and classified into 26 species belonging to Phyllostomidae (90.7%), Vespertilionidae (8.

Geographical Patterns in the Architecture of Neotropical Flower-visitor Networks of Hummingbirds and Insects.

Geographical variations in environmental factors can affect species diversity and consequently influence the structure of interspecific ecological interactions. Relationships between flowering plants and animal flower visitors are among the most important ecological interactions and can structure and maintain ecological diversity in different environments. Additionally, many animal and plant species participate in these interactions, which shape the specific characteristics of these communities, in terms of both the responses of the interacting species involved and environmental differences.

Plant-galling insect interactions: a data set of host plants and their gall-inducing insects for the Cerrado.

Recent decades have seen increased research interest in the processes and mechanisms related to insect gall richness and host plants. The data set provided here includes 968 records of interactions between galling insects and host plants for the Cerrado biome. The data set comprises 505 species of 222 genera and 67 families of host plants.

Diversity of Gall-Inducing Insects Associated With a Widely Distributed Tropical Tree Species: Testing the Environmental Stress Hypothesis.

Abiotic factors can affect plant performance and cause stress, which in turn affects plant-herbivore interactions. The Environmental Stress Hypothesis (ESH) predicts that gall-inducing insect diversity will be greater on host plants that grow in stressful habitats. We tested this hypothesis, considering both historical and ecological scales, using the plant Copaifera langsdorffii Desf.

Nocturnal Mosquitoes of Pará State in the Brazilian Amazon: Species Composition, Habitat Segregation, and Seasonal Variation.

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are one of the most important disease vector species in the world. Many species have a high degree of anthropophilia and are often found in human habitations. In the present study, we have inventoried the nocturnal mosquito assemblage in intra-, peri-, and extradomicile environments in four municipalities in Pará, Brazil.

Superhost Plants Alter the Structure of Plant-Galling Insect Networks in Neotropical Savannas.

Host plants may harbor a variable number of galling insect species, with some species being able to harbor a high diversity of these insects, being therefore called superhost plants. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the occurrence of superhost plant species of genus (Vochysiaceae) affects the structure of plant-galling insect ecological networks in Brazilian Cerrado. We sampled a total of 1882 plants grouped in 131 species and 43 families, of which 64 species and 31 families of host plants hosted 112 galling insect species.

An overview of inventories of gall-inducing insects in Brazil: looking for patterns and identifying knowledge gaps.

We compiled published Brazilian gall-inducing insect inventories aiming to understand trends and biases in this field research and to investigate the factors that potentially explain the diversity of gall-inducing insects among different sampling sites. A total of 51 studies with gall-inducing insect inventories were compiled for Brazil, which sampled 151 sites in 88 municipalities, 13 states and five regions. The number of papers published on gall-inducing insects per year has increased over the last 30 years, being Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) the main galling taxon, Fabaceae the main host-plant family and Protium heptaphyllum (Burseraceae) the most important super-host species in these inventories.

Contrasting structures of plant-mite networks compounded by phytophagous and predatory mite species.

Differences in the feeding habits between phytophagous and predatory species can determine distinct ecological interactions between mites and their host plants. Herein, plant-mite networks were constructed using available literature on plant-dwelling mites from Brazilian natural vegetation in order to contrast phytophagous and predatory mite networks. The structural patterns of plant-mite networks were described through network specialization (connectance) and modularity.

Checklist of host plants of insect galls in the state of Goiás in the Midwest Region of Brazil.

Background: Surveys of host plants of insect galls have been performed in different regions of Brazil. The knowledge of species of host plants of insect galls is fundamental to further studies of plant-galling insect interactions. However, a list of host plant species of gall-inducing insects has not yet been compiled for the flora of the Midwest Region of Brazil.

Contrasting effects of land use intensity and exotic host plants on the specialization of interactions in plant-herbivore networks.

Human land use tends to decrease the diversity of native plant species and facilitate the invasion and establishment of exotic ones. Such changes in land use and plant community composition usually have negative impacts on the assemblages of native herbivorous insects. Highly specialized herbivores are expected to be especially sensitive to land use intensification and the presence of exotic plant species because they are neither capable of consuming alternative plant species of the native flora nor exotic plant species.

Size, age and composition: characteristics of plant taxa as diversity predictors of gall-midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae).

Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the diversity of gall-midge insects (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), some of them taking into account plant diversity. This study aims to test the importance of size, age and composition of host plant taxa in the diversity of Cecidomyiidae. For this we used inventories data on the diversity of galling and host plants in Brazil.