AIM: Veredas and the aquatic and semi-aquatic communities play a key role in watershed protection... more AIM: Veredas and the aquatic and semi-aquatic communities play a key role in watershed protection in the Cerrado Biome. Information about the effects of physical and chemical variables and habitat integrity on benthic communities has been increased in recent years; however, there is no study evaluating the influence of urbanization on macroinvertebrates of Vereda streams. Thus, improving the knowledge of the relationship between abiotic properties and benthic fauna is very important for understanding the functioning of ecological processes and health of aquatic ecosystems. This study investigated the influence of physical and chemical variables on benthic macroinvertebrate communities along a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance in four Vereda streams in Uberlândia (MG), one in a preserved area and three in the urban area; METHODS: samplings were collected during the dry and rainy seasons; RESULTS: principal component analysis separated the stream in the preserved area from those i...
In regions with a pronounced dry season, such as the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savannah), climate ... more In regions with a pronounced dry season, such as the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savannah), climate seasonality may affect food availability for canid species and, consequently, their foraging behavior. We investigated seasonal variation in foraging group size of crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) and hoary foxes (Pseudalopex vetulus) in the Cerrado region for three consecutive years. Data were obtained by direct observations of foraging foxes during spotlight surveys. Both species were sighted foraging individually or in pairs with or without their juvenile offspring. However, crab-eating foxes foraged in pairs more frequently in the wet season and individually more frequently in the dry season whereas hoary foxes foraged mostly individually throughout the year. The higher frequency of solitary foragers in the dry season is possibly a response to the seasonal shortages in the availability of clumped and locally abundant food resources such as fruit and insects, important items in the diet of the crab-eating fox during the wet season. The absence of seasonal variation in foraging group size of the hoary fox may be related to its specialized food habits, since termites predominate in the diet of this species in both seasons
Samples of Amphisbaena fuliginosa from the Cerrado biome are scarce and additional data are neede... more Samples of Amphisbaena fuliginosa from the Cerrado biome are scarce and additional data are needed to clarify the geographic distribution and patterns of differentiation of this species. During field works at a cattle farm in the south of the state of Goiás, Central Brazil, we found an adult individual of A. fuliginosa. Our specimen represents the southernmost record for the species, extending its distribution 150 km. The color is similar to that described for other specimens from Goiás state, corroborating the uniform pattern observed for Cerrado populations. We suggest that the fossorial habits of A. fuliginosa may allow its occurrence in anthropogenic habitats by offering protection against the changes in natural vegetation.
This study examines the diet of eight boid snakes: Boa c. constrictor, Boa c. amarali, Corallus c... more This study examines the diet of eight boid snakes: Boa c. constrictor, Boa c. amarali, Corallus caninus, C. hortulanus, Epicrates cenchria, E. crassus, E. assisi and Eunectes murinus mainly by analyzing the gut contents of preserved museum specimens, and includes a literature review to present an overview of the diet of Brazilian boids. Mammals constitute the primary prey consumed by the majority of the species. Birds are also frequently consumed by C. hortulanus and Boa contrictor, and are the most important prey for B. c. amarali. Ectotherms (mostly lizards) were only consumed by immature snakes. Such prey is rarely consumed by B. c. amarali and not recorded for Epicrates and Eunectes species in our dissections. C. caninus is likely a mammal specialist and Epicrates prey on birds more opportunistically. The niche overlap index varied from 0.27-0.52 for species occurring in the same bioma and geographic range but it is possible this overlap is lower as most sympatric species explor...
Tyto furcata is a relatively common owl in Brazil, popularly known as “barn owl”. It is a general... more Tyto furcata is a relatively common owl in Brazil, popularly known as “barn owl”. It is a generalist predatory bird and its diet consists mainly of small rodents, as well as other vertebrates such as bats, opossums, frogs and lizards, as well as some invertebrates. It is a common habit of some predatory birds to regurgitate the undigested remnants of their prey, in the form of pellets, which are used not only for research of the feeding ecology of this species, but also to acknowledge the diversity of small vertebrates hardly observed in the environment or caught in traps. In this contribution, the pellets collected were analyzed in a systematic way (fortnightly), in the rural town of Peirópolis, Uberaba, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The site of collection corresponds to an old, abandoned limestone mine located approximately 1.7km from Peirópolis. In this study, pellet analysis shows a high percentage of rodents Cricetidae, following by Didelphidae marsupials and arthropods (mostly Coleoptera and Orthoptera), as well as frogs and birds, but in very low percentages. Prey consumption significantly varied throughout seasons with a lower frequency of insects during winter and a lower frequency of rodents accompanied by an increase in the importance of marsupials during spring.
Page 1. FOOD HABITS AND ONTOGENETIC DIET SHIFTS OF THE LITTER DWELLING FROG PROCERA TOPHRYS BOIEI... more Page 1. FOOD HABITS AND ONTOGENETIC DIET SHIFTS OF THE LITTER DWELLING FROG PROCERA TOPHRYS BOIEI (WIED) Ariovaldo A. Giaretta 1 Marcio S. Araujo Hermes F. de Medeiros Katia G. Facure ABSTRACT. ...
AIM: Veredas and the aquatic and semi-aquatic communities play a key role in watershed protection... more AIM: Veredas and the aquatic and semi-aquatic communities play a key role in watershed protection in the Cerrado Biome. Information about the effects of physical and chemical variables and habitat integrity on benthic communities has been increased in recent years; however, there is no study evaluating the influence of urbanization on macroinvertebrates of Vereda streams. Thus, improving the knowledge of the relationship between abiotic properties and benthic fauna is very important for understanding the functioning of ecological processes and health of aquatic ecosystems. This study investigated the influence of physical and chemical variables on benthic macroinvertebrate communities along a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance in four Vereda streams in Uberlândia (MG), one in a preserved area and three in the urban area; METHODS: samplings were collected during the dry and rainy seasons; RESULTS: principal component analysis separated the stream in the preserved area from those i...
In regions with a pronounced dry season, such as the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savannah), climate ... more In regions with a pronounced dry season, such as the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savannah), climate seasonality may affect food availability for canid species and, consequently, their foraging behavior. We investigated seasonal variation in foraging group size of crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) and hoary foxes (Pseudalopex vetulus) in the Cerrado region for three consecutive years. Data were obtained by direct observations of foraging foxes during spotlight surveys. Both species were sighted foraging individually or in pairs with or without their juvenile offspring. However, crab-eating foxes foraged in pairs more frequently in the wet season and individually more frequently in the dry season whereas hoary foxes foraged mostly individually throughout the year. The higher frequency of solitary foragers in the dry season is possibly a response to the seasonal shortages in the availability of clumped and locally abundant food resources such as fruit and insects, important items in the diet of the crab-eating fox during the wet season. The absence of seasonal variation in foraging group size of the hoary fox may be related to its specialized food habits, since termites predominate in the diet of this species in both seasons
Samples of Amphisbaena fuliginosa from the Cerrado biome are scarce and additional data are neede... more Samples of Amphisbaena fuliginosa from the Cerrado biome are scarce and additional data are needed to clarify the geographic distribution and patterns of differentiation of this species. During field works at a cattle farm in the south of the state of Goiás, Central Brazil, we found an adult individual of A. fuliginosa. Our specimen represents the southernmost record for the species, extending its distribution 150 km. The color is similar to that described for other specimens from Goiás state, corroborating the uniform pattern observed for Cerrado populations. We suggest that the fossorial habits of A. fuliginosa may allow its occurrence in anthropogenic habitats by offering protection against the changes in natural vegetation.
This study examines the diet of eight boid snakes: Boa c. constrictor, Boa c. amarali, Corallus c... more This study examines the diet of eight boid snakes: Boa c. constrictor, Boa c. amarali, Corallus caninus, C. hortulanus, Epicrates cenchria, E. crassus, E. assisi and Eunectes murinus mainly by analyzing the gut contents of preserved museum specimens, and includes a literature review to present an overview of the diet of Brazilian boids. Mammals constitute the primary prey consumed by the majority of the species. Birds are also frequently consumed by C. hortulanus and Boa contrictor, and are the most important prey for B. c. amarali. Ectotherms (mostly lizards) were only consumed by immature snakes. Such prey is rarely consumed by B. c. amarali and not recorded for Epicrates and Eunectes species in our dissections. C. caninus is likely a mammal specialist and Epicrates prey on birds more opportunistically. The niche overlap index varied from 0.27-0.52 for species occurring in the same bioma and geographic range but it is possible this overlap is lower as most sympatric species explor...
Tyto furcata is a relatively common owl in Brazil, popularly known as “barn owl”. It is a general... more Tyto furcata is a relatively common owl in Brazil, popularly known as “barn owl”. It is a generalist predatory bird and its diet consists mainly of small rodents, as well as other vertebrates such as bats, opossums, frogs and lizards, as well as some invertebrates. It is a common habit of some predatory birds to regurgitate the undigested remnants of their prey, in the form of pellets, which are used not only for research of the feeding ecology of this species, but also to acknowledge the diversity of small vertebrates hardly observed in the environment or caught in traps. In this contribution, the pellets collected were analyzed in a systematic way (fortnightly), in the rural town of Peirópolis, Uberaba, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The site of collection corresponds to an old, abandoned limestone mine located approximately 1.7km from Peirópolis. In this study, pellet analysis shows a high percentage of rodents Cricetidae, following by Didelphidae marsupials and arthropods (mostly Coleoptera and Orthoptera), as well as frogs and birds, but in very low percentages. Prey consumption significantly varied throughout seasons with a lower frequency of insects during winter and a lower frequency of rodents accompanied by an increase in the importance of marsupials during spring.
Page 1. FOOD HABITS AND ONTOGENETIC DIET SHIFTS OF THE LITTER DWELLING FROG PROCERA TOPHRYS BOIEI... more Page 1. FOOD HABITS AND ONTOGENETIC DIET SHIFTS OF THE LITTER DWELLING FROG PROCERA TOPHRYS BOIEI (WIED) Ariovaldo A. Giaretta 1 Marcio S. Araujo Hermes F. de Medeiros Katia G. Facure ABSTRACT. ...
Uploads