|
|
|
Insect conservation biology examined at conference in Brazil Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology July 25, 2005 Below are insect-related papers submitted for the conference. All descriptions are excepts from the official "Book of Abstracts" from the meeting. More abstracts. BROWN-JR, KEITH S.; Freitas, André V. L.; Osses, Francini; Uehara-Prado, Marcio; Ribeiro, Danilo B.; Cordeiro, Luciana; Alonso, Regina; Gifford, D. R. Museu de História Natural and Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CP 6109, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil, ksbrown((AT))unicamp.br (KSB). The very wide range of vegetation types in Central and South Brazil (herbaceous to woody formations in the interior cerrado, and denser arboreal formations in the southern sectors of Atlantic Forests) defies simplistic classification by indicator plant species, soils, climate, or hydrology. Standard monitoring of taxonomic/ ecological groups including common, conspicuous and well-known mobile Lepidoptera shows that the richness and structure of many diverse and easily recognized taxocenes reflects subtle differences among sites, seasons, and stages of anthropic modi- fication, as perceived by specialized herbivores but not by us. Particularly easy to census are fruit-attracted butterflies (Nymphalidae) and moths (Noctuidae), including indicator species present in all types of vegetation, and larger moths (especially Saturnidae, Sphingidae, Arctiidae) attracted to near-UV light. Statistical analyses show that important factors influencing the community structure of these insects include topography, soil and vegetation mosaics, temperature variation and dry season. With the help of insects to evaluate richness and variation, it should be possible to create "conservation landscapes" including human activities in biologically rich tropical biomes BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION OF EARTHWORMS (AND THEIR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES) IN BRAZIL. BROWN, GEORGE G.; James, Samuel W. Embrapa Soja, C.P. 231, Londrina, PR, 86.001-970, Brazil, browng((AT))cnpso.embrapa.br (GGB). Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA (SWJ). There are approximately 288 known species of earthworms in Brazil, although 800 to >2000 species are estimated to exist, placing Brazil as number one in the biodiversity of this ecologically important invertebrate. At present, most species (87%) are native and only 13% are exotic, invasive worms. Most of the native species show a restricted distribution and high endemicity, while exotic species have extensively colonized mostly disturbed habitats. One species (Pontoscolex corethrurus), native to N Brazil, should be considered invasive, as it has spread throughout the country and is the most abundant and well-known Brazilian earthworm. There more than 40 species of giant (>30 cm length, >1cm diam.) earthworms (minhocuçus) in Brazil. Several are harvested and widely commercialized as fish bait. Although prohibited, many families derive their income from worm harvesting and one species is on the IUCN endangered species list; others may also be endangered. Due to their importance for soil properties and processes and services to natural and agricultural ecosystems, conservation and sustainable use of these invertebrates is an imperative. Nevertheless, this is hampered by the lack of knowledge of their biology and ecology as well as the lack of trained taxonomists and earthworm researchers in Brazil VARIATION ON THE COMPOSITION OF ARTHROPODS COMMUNITIES FOUND WITHIN THE LEAF LITTER IN A FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPE IN THE STATE OF BAHIA - BRAZIL. TINÔCO, MOACIR S.; Rocha, Pedro L. B. Centro de Ecologia e Conservação Animal - ECOA- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Católica do Salvador, Salvador, BA, 40.710-000, Brazil, moacirst((AT))ucsal.br (MST). Laboratório de Vertebrados Terrestres, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, 40.170-000, Brazil (PLBR). This study intended to detect the variation in the composition of arthropod community and associate it with variation in environmental factors. We analyzed 3 landscape components: reference forest (M); forest remnant (R); and eucalypt monoculture (E), and used, in order to estimate composition, captures from two methods. Sampling was performed in four spatial replicates per component (January 2003 and February 2004). We obtained 8,233 individuals belonging to 27 arthropod categories. The composition and the environmental variables were compared among components based on permutation procedure. Then we generated one axis of direct ordination for the communities from the 12 replicates using NMDS and tested the hypothesis that it depends on the PCA of environmental variables using a multiple regression test. We found a significant difference in the composition and in environmental variables of M and R compared to E, but no difference among the first two. There was significant regression between PCA1 of the environmental variables and the NMDS axis of community composition. An autocorrelation test found no significant association between distance among unities and their differences in composition. Orders Coleoptera, Isoptera, Acari and Hymenoptera seemed associated mainly to M, whereas Isopoda, Opiliones, Araneae, Lepidoptera and Chilopoda were related to E LEARNING WITH THE SURVIVORS OF THE BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC FOREST: HOW MUCH AND WHY A SAPROPHAGOUS INSECT SPECIES IS AFFECTED BY FOREST FRAGMENTATION? PELLENS, ROSELI; Grandcolas, Philippe. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CCS, Bl. A, Ilha do Fundão, CEP 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Post-Doctor, CNPq (RP). UMR 5202 CNRS, Département Systématique et Evolution, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 45, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France, pellens((AT))mnhn.fr. Tel: 33 1 40 79 38 48; Fax: 33 1 40 79 56 79 (RP, PG). The cockroach Monastria biguttata was studied in remnants of the Brazilian Atlantic forest to understand how saprophagous insects are affected by forest fragmentation. Its distribution was studied in 24 sites, and a detailed populational study was developed during one and half year in four sites. The resource availability and the fluctuating asymmetry of the fore and mid femora were also studied. M. biguttata was very ubiquitous in reserves and in fragments, but absent in the matrix. Colony size, sex ratio and age structure were similar among sites, without interaction between seasonality and fragmentation. Fluctuating asymmetry did not indicate developmental instability of either characters. But the density of individuals on the trunks was much higher in the fragments, where the density of clumps of trunks as well as the density of colonies per area was also very high. Total population size in the fragments was estimated to be of at least a few hundred. This species is not negatively affected by forest fragmentation, and the abundance of its resource seems to be the main contributing factor Society for Conservation Biology - Brasilia 2005 News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
MONGABAY.COM
T-SHIRTS 
CALENDARS 
CANVAS BAGS 
|
