O canto de anúncio é o principal sinal emitido pelos machos durante a estação reprodutiva e geralmente apresenta duas funções básicas: a atração de fêmeas coespecíficas receptivas sexualmente e o anúncio da posição de um macho para outros machos coespecíficos / heteroespecíficos, ajudando a manter o espaçamento entre os indivíduos vocalizando. A importância do canto de anúncio em anuros como mecanismo primário de isolamento reprodutivo foi extensivamente documentado na literatura e, em decorrência disso, os cantos tem se mostrado altamente valiosos na determinação da identidade das espécies, com aplicação potencial em abordagens macroevolutivas e zoogeográficas. O gênero Leptodactylus atualmente abriga 89 espécies, distribuídas do sul da América do Norte e ao longo de toda a extensão neotropical, do México e Antilhas até a Argentina e Uruguai, cujas espécies são atualmente classificadas em cinco grupos fenéticos. O grupo de L. fuscus é formado por 27 espécies que se distribuem desde o sul do México até o sul do Uruguai e norte da Argentina. Leptodactylus cunicularius foi descrito da Serra do Cipó, área serrana pertencente à porção meridional do complexo da Serra do Espinhaço, e posteriormente, citado de outras três regiões serranas do estado de Minas Gerais. O presente estudo tem como objetivo específico acessar dados bioacústicos e morfológicos/morfométricos de populações previamente atribuídas a Leptodactylus cunicularius, visando a caracterização de populações e o reconhecimento de espécies potencialmente novas. Para isso, analisamos espécimes adultos e cantos de anúncio de oito populações, incluindo a população topotípica, sendo que algumas populações foram previamente atribuídas a L. cunicularius, e outras populações eram desconhecidas até o presente momento. Cinco populações foram reconhecidas como distintas de L. cunicularius através de dados morfológicos/morfométricos e/ou bioacústicos. As outras duas populações ainda estão sob análise. Regiões serranas podem representar áreas de endemismo para anfíbios anuros, ao passo que em algumas delas, é possível detectar congruência biogeográfica para outros grupos de anuros, incluindo espécies próximas e populações confinadas a essas regiões sob complexos de espécies ainda não estudados. / The advertisement call is the main acoustic signal emitted by males during the reproductive season, and usually plays two basic roles: the attraction of conspecific females sexually receptive, and the advertisement of a males position to other conspecific / heteroespecific males, contributing to keep the distance among calling individuals. The importance of the advertisement call in anurans as a primary mechanism of reproductive isolation has been extensively documented in the literature, so that calls have been recognized as very useful to the recognition of species identity, in addition to potential application on macro-evolutionary and zoogeographic approaches. The genus Leptodactylus currently comprises 89 species, distributed from southern North America and throughout the Neotropics, from Mexico and Antilles to Argentina and Uruguay, whose species are today encompassed within five phonetic groups. The L. fuscus group includes 27 species distributed from southern Mexico to southern Uruguay and northern Argentina. Leptodactylus cunicularius was described from the Serra do Cipó, a montane region belonging to the southern secton of the Serra do Espinhaço mountain range, and later, cited from other three montane regions in the State of Minas Gerais. The aim of the present study is to assess bioacoustic and morphological/morphometric data of populations previously assigned to Leptodactylus cunicularius so as to the characterization of populations and the recognition of potentially new species. We analyzed adult specimens and advertisement calls of eight populations, including the topotypic population, considering that some populations were previously assigned to L. cunicularius, and other populations have been unreported so far. Five populations were recognized as different from L. cunicularius based on morphological/morphometric and/or bioacoustic data. The other two populations are still under analysis. Montane regions might represent endemism areas for anuran amphibians, since in some regions, it is already possible to detect biogeographic congruence concerning other anuran groups, including related species and populations restricted to these regions under complex of species unstudied.

O objetivo do trabalho foi realizar investigação sobre ocorrência de ranavirose, infecção causada por vírus do gênero Ranavirus, família Iridoviridiae, em anfíbios anuros silvestres nos municípios de Porto Ferreira e Pirassununga, cidades da região centro-leste do estado de São Paulo, Brasil, utilizando diagnóstico molecular. Ao todo, 40 anuros adultos silvestres da espécie Leptodactylus fuscus foram capturados nos municípios citados, sendo coletados três órgãos alvos (fígado, baço e rins) de replicação viral, com registro de eventuais alterações macroscópicas nesses órgãos, e dos quais extraiu-se DNA. Na sequência, realizou a reação em cadeia pela polimerase (PCR), utilizando-se primers específicos para o gene MCP (major capsid protein) de Frog Virus 3 (FV3), ranavírus circulante no Brasil, com isolado de FV3 pertencente ao biobanco do Laboratório de Higiene Zootécnica da FZEA-USP empregado como controle positivo e água livre de nuclease como controle negativo. Como resultados, em relação às alterações macroscópicas, somente um espécime apresentou hepatoesplenomegalia e hipopigmentação do coração. No entanto, ao diagnóstico molecular, nenhum dos 40 animais amostrados foi positivo à ranavirose. Tal resultado pode estar associado tanto a fatores intrínsecos (espécie, idade, resposta imune) como extrínsecos ao hospedeiro (alterações ambientais, patogenicidade viral). Em paralelo, em rãs de criação comercial, surtos por FV3 já foram detectados em vários ranários do país; contudo, essa é a primeira vez que uma prospecção para ranavirose é realizada especificamente com representantes da espécie Leptodactylus fuscus, em municípios da região centro-leste do estado de São Paulo. Assim, são necessárias mais pesquisas com espécies silvestres de rãs, particularmente no entorno de ranários com histórico de animais positivos para FV3, para melhor conhecimento da epidemiologia e dinâmica de transmissão da ranavirose entre rãs silvestres. / The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of ranavirus infection caused by virus belonging to genus Ranavirus, Iridoviridiae family, in wild anuran amphibians from Porto Ferreira and Pirassununga municipalities, located in the central-eastern region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, using molecular diagnostics. In all, 40 wild adult anurans of the species Leptodactylus fuscus were captured in the mentioned municipalities, and three target organs (liver, spleen and kidneys) of the viral replication were collected, being possible macroscopic changes in these organs recorded, and from which DNA was extracted. In the sequence, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out using primers specific for the MCP (major capsid protein) gene of Frog Virus 3 (FV3), a circulating ranavirus in Brazil, with a FV3 isolate belonging to the biobank of the Laboratory of Zootechnical Hygiene of FZEA-USP employed as positive control and nuclease-free water as negative control. As a result, in relation to macroscopic alterations, only one specimen showed hepatosplenomegaly and heart hypopigmentation. However, for molecular diagnostics, none of the 40 animals sampled were positive for ranavirus. This result may be associated to both intrinsic (species, age, immune response) and extrinsic (environmental changes, viral pathogenicity) factors to the host. In parallel, FV3 outbreaks have already been detected in several frog farms in the country. However, this is the first time that a prospection for ranavirus infection is performed specifically with specimens of the Leptodactylus fuscus from municipalities in the central-eastern region of the state of São Paulo. Thus, more studies on wild-type frogs are needed, particularly in the settings of frog farms with positive animal history for FV3, to better understand the epidemiology and dynamics of ranavirus transmission among wild frogs.

While they are pregnant and rearing pups, bats continue to leave their roosts to forage for food. Many bats use echolocation vocalizations as part of this process. Other mammalian species including primates experience changes in vocal characteristics during pregnancy and lactation. As echolocation is a vital tool for spatial navigation and prey detection in most bats, investigating echolocation characteristics during pregnancy through lactation may provide new insight into how reproduction, pregnancy and pup rearing influence vocalizations. We measured changes in mass and recorded echolocation calls of pregnant (n = 21) and non-pregnant (n = 2) female wild-caught big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) released by hand into roost emergence-like flight. Recording began ~15 days prepartum and ended when the last bat reached 34 days postpartum, when pups were expected to be weaned. Analyses were completed using MATLAB and R, primarily with repeated measures ANOVAs focused on echolocation calls present in the ~562 ms before and ~562 ms after take-off. Based on vocal changes experienced by humans during pregnancy and post-birth, correlations found between bat echolocation call characteristics and the effects of differences in mass on bat echolocation, we predicted that female bats in late-stage pregnancy would emit calls of shorter duration, longer pulse interval, narrower bandwidth, and lower centroid frequency compared to calls emitted by the same bat post-parturition and compared to non-pregnant bats, while source level remained unchanged. We found that pulse interval and source level did not change while pregnant/lactating or control bats were in flight, and that increases in call duration and decreases in centroid frequency and bandwidth in flight began in pregnancy and continued through the lactation period while remaining unchanged for the control bats. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The goals of this study were to see if big brown bats change the way that they echolocate while they are pregnant and/or nursing pups, and what changes occur. We did this by recording the vocal sounds bats made while they were pregnant and after they had given birth, and looking to see if there were any changes in the duration of echolocation calls, the time between individual sounds, the range of sound frequencies in each call, the central sound frequency in each call, and each call’s sound pressure level over this time and compared to non-pregnant/nursing female big brown bats. We found that echolocation call duration increases over pregnancy and nursing pups, while frequency range and the centre frequency decreases.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:02:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LilianeLGS.pdf: 3221431 bytes, checksum: 94de7bf42be19a1c9a513aa1e36efe19 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-07-10 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The reproductive ecology of fish plays a key role both for rational exploitation methods and for protective measures of natural stocks. The purpose of this study was to analyze the reproductive aspects of the damsel-fish, Stegastes fuscus, during October 2004 to September 2005, in the coastal rocky reefs of B?zios Beach, N?sia Floresta, RN. Fish were captured using hooks and hand nets, during low tide. Reproduction was determined using sexual ratio, mean length of first maturation (L50), absolute fecundity and macroscopic characteristics of gonads. The following parameters were related to gonadosomatic index (GSI): condition factor (CF), hepatosomatic index (HSI), rain fall and temperature. In relation to sex distribution, it was observed that 78% were females and 22% were males. The L50 was 6.2 cm for females and 7.0 for males. Average fecundity was 6832 oocytes. Results showed that S. fuscus had better body condition in the months prior to spawning, particularly during initial and intermediate stages of maturation. Five stages of gonadal maturation were identified through macroscopic analysis: immature, in maturation, mature, spent and resting. The HSI was inversely related to the GSI. This was possibly due to the reproductive cycle of this species which was associated to the dry period of this region. During this period, low rain fall and high temperatures provide an propitious reproductive condition for the study species / A ecologia reprodutiva dos peixes ? fundamental na racionaliza??o dos m?todos de explora??o e na prote??o dos estoques naturais. O presente estudo analisou aspectos relacionados ? reprodu??o do peixe-donzela, Stegastes fuscus, durante o per?odo de outubro de 2004 a setembro de 2005, nos arrecifes rochosos da praia de B?zios, N?sia Floresta, RN. Os peixes foram capturados durante a mar? baixa utilizando anz?is e rede de m?o. A reprodu??o foi verificada mediante a propor??o sexual, o comprimento m?dio da primeira matura??o, a fecundidade absoluta e os caracteres macrosc?picos gonadais. Os seguintes par?metros foram relacionados ao ?ndice gonadossom?tico (IGS): fator de condi??o (FC), ?ndice hepatossom?tico (IHS), pluviosidade e temperatura. Em rela??o ? distribui??o por sexo de S. fuscus, 78% foram f?meas e 22% foram machos. O L50 foi 6,2 cm para as f?meas e 7,0 cm para os machos. A m?dia da fecundidade absoluta foi 6832 ov?citos. S. fuscus apresentou melhores condi??es corporais nos meses que antecederam a desova, principalmente nos est?dios inicial e intermedi?rio de matura??o gonadal. A partir de an?lises macrosc?picas das g?nadas, foram identificados cinco est?dios de matura??o gonadal: imaturo, em matura??o, matura??o, esgotado e repouso. O IHS demonstrou tend?ncia inversa ao IGS. Este fato pode estar relacionado ao ciclo reprodutivo da esp?cie, que foi relacionado ao per?odo de seca na regi?o. Neste per?odo, as menores precipita??es e as temperaturas elevadas conferem condi??es reprodutivas favor?veis para a esp?cie em estudo

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BhaskaraC.pdf: 2061435 bytes, checksum: 1ff82521fda22176fb2e79fff7117ece (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-12-14 / The damselfish, Stegastes fuscus Cuvier, 1830 (Osteichthyes: Perciformes: Pomacentridae), is abundant in the coastal reefs of B?zios Beach, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil and they play an important role in the reef community ecology. The present study investigated the feeding strategy of this species considering the food habits and morfo-histology of the digestive tract. Influence of the environmental correlates such as temperature, rainfall and luminosity in the tidal rock pools were studied. The fish were captured on a monthly basis from September 2004 to August 2005, during which period 842 individuals of S. fuscus were captured, 125 males, 437 females and 280 individuals without sex identification. The sex ratio observed was 1 M : 3,5 F. The total body length of males varied from 3.6 to 11.3 cm, with a mean of 7.77 cm; that of females varied from 2.9 to 11.4 cm, with a mean of 7.85 cm, and that of sex grouped individuals varied from 2.9 to 11.4 cm, with a mean of 7.83. However, there was no difference between males and females in total body length. This species presented a positive alometric growth and the equations obtained for the relation between body mass and total body length were: Wt =0,0174Lt 3,1123 for males; Wt =0,0137Lt 3,2294 for females and Wt = 0,0148Lt 3.1928 for sex grouped individuals. The relation between total body length and standard length was L t = 1 ,3223Ls + 0,1527 for sex grouped individual s. February to August was associated to a long period of gonadal resting. The fish spawned during January and in September -October. The frequency of fish with empty stomachs occurred during August to December, whereas frequency of fish with food contents i n stomachs occurred during January to July. This species is considered as a preferential herbivore based on the volume of macroalgae in its diet composition. The morfo -histological aspects of S. fuscus confirm herbivory. Among the environmental factors con sidered only rainfall showed a correlation with the feeding habits of this species / O peixe-donzela, Stegastes fuscus Cuvier, 1830 (Osteichthyes: Perciformes: Pomacentridae), ? abundante nos arrecifes costeiros da praia de B?zios, Rio Grande do Norte e desempenha um important e papel ecol?gico em comunidades recifais. O presente estudo investigou a din?mica populacional e alimentar desta esp?cie levando em considera??o o regime alimentar e a morfo -histologia do trato digest?rio. Avaliou - se a influ?ncia das vari?veis ambientais, tais como, temperatura, pluviosidade e luminosidade em po?as de mar?. Foram realizadas coletas mensais no per?odo de setembro de 2004 a agosto de 2005, durante as quais foram capturados 842 indiv?duos de S. fuscus, sendo 125 machos, 437 f?meas al?m de 280 indiv?duos com sexo n?o identificado. A propor??o sexual observada foi de 1 M : 3,5 F. Em rela??o ao comprimento total os valores para machos machos variaram de 3,6 a 11,3 cm, com m?dia de 7,77 cm; para as f?meas de 2,9 a 11,4 cm, com m?dia de 7,85 cm e p ara os sexos agrupados de 2,9 a 11,4 cm, com m?dia de 7,83 cm, n?o havendo diferen?as entre os sexos quanto ao comprimento total. A esp?cie estudada apresentou um crescimento do tipo alom?trico positivo e as equa??es obtidas para a rela??o entre peso total e comprimento total foram: Wt = 0,0174Lt 3,1123 para machos; Wt =0,0137Lt 3,2294 para f?meas e Wt = 0,0148Lt 3,1928 para os sexos agrupados. A rela??o entre o comprimento total e o comprimento padr?o foi L t = 1,3223Ls + 0,1527 para os sexos agrupados. Nesses peixes foi observado um per?odo de repouso gonadal que se prolongou de fevereiro a agosto com a desova sendo realizada em janeiro e em setembro e outubro. Em rela??o ao regime alimentar, as maiores freq??ncias de est?magos sem alimento ocorreram entre os meses de agosto a dezembro enquanto que as maiores freq??ncias de est?magos com alimento ocorreram nos meses de janeiro a julho. Em fun??o do volume de macroalgas em sua composi??o de dieta, a esp?cie Stegastes fuscus ? considerada como preferencialmente herb?vora e os aspectos morfo-histol?gicos confirmam essa prefer?ncia. Dentre os fatores abi?ticos considerados por ocasi?o do estudo utilizando Stegastes fuscus, apenas a pluviosidade influenciou significativamente no regime alimentar desta esp?cie

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The genus Leptodactylus has wide distribution and it can be found in many physiographic and climatic zones. This fact has raised questions about the taxonomy of this genus because many species that are considered of great geographic distribution has shown to be two or more closely related. The species Leptodactylus fuscus and Leptodactylus latrans, both widely spread, are found in the state of Sergipe in the Caatinga biome and little is known about the ecology, biology and diversity between and within populations that occupy this exclusively Brazilian biome. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the species L. fuscus and L. latrans, which occur in different fragments of Caatinga from the state of Sergipe, using cytogenetic and morphometric data. The karyotypes of populations from the municipalities of Carira, Poço Redondo and Tobias Barreto were analyzed by conventional staining techniques, C-band and Ag-RON. The species showed similar cytogenetic patterns, without evidence of species-specific markers; however some variations in morphology and bands were observed when compared to the karyotypes described in the literature. In morphometric analysis, 21 different characters were analyzed in the two species in each location, showing that populations of L. fuscus presented no significant differences between them; however variations were found in samples of L. latrans, mainly on the size of the specimens. The analyzed data showed that there were no cytogenetic and morphometric differences within the L. fuscus populations and that the morphometric variations observed in L. latrans may be due to environmental effects. / O gênero Leptodactylus tem ampla distribuição geográfica e está presente nas mais diversas zonas climáticas e fisiográficas. Esse fato tem levantado questionamentos de caráter taxonômico, pois muitas espécies consideradas de grande distribuição geográfica têm mostrado tratar-se de duas ou mais espécies estreitamente relacionadas. As espécies Leptodactylus fuscus e Leptodactylus latrans, ambas de ampla distribuição, são encontradas no Estado de Sergipe no bioma Caatinga e pouco se conhece sobre a ecologia, biologia e diversidade inter e intrapopulacional em populações que ocupam este bioma exclusivamente brasileiro. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivos caracterizar através de dados citogenéticos e morfométricos as espécies L. fuscus e L. latrans de ocorrência em diferentes fragmentos de Caatinga do Estado de Sergipe. Os cariótipos das populações dos municípios de Carira, Poço Redondo e Tobias Barreto foram analisados, por meio de técnicas de coloração convencional, Banda C e Ag-RON. Os exemplares estudados apresentaram padrões citogenéticos bastante similares, sem evidências de marcadores espécie-específicos; porém, algumas variações de morfologia e bandas foram observadas quando comparadas aos cariótipos já descritos na literatura. Nas análises morfométricas, 21 caracteres foram analisados nas duas espécies, em cada uma das localidades, mostrando que as populações de L. fuscus não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre elas; contudo variações foram encontradas nas amostras de L. latrans, principalmente quanto ao tamanho dos espécimes coletados. Os dados analisados conjuntamente mostram que populações de L. fuscus não diferem citogenética e morfometricamente entre si e as variações morfométricas observadas em L. latrans podem ser devidas aos efeitos ambientais.

Submitted by Rafael Santana (rafael.silvasantana@ufpe.br) on 2017-07-14T18:46:22Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação_Walter DM Oliveira_ Oceanografia_UFPE.pdf: 1745886 bytes, checksum: 62870c6bfbb9848afc84e4fb94eff45e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-14T18:46:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação_Walter DM Oliveira_ Oceanografia_UFPE.pdf: 1745886 bytes, checksum: 62870c6bfbb9848afc84e4fb94eff45e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-31 / Os recifes costeiros são comumente afetados por ações antrópicas que vão desde o turismo contemplativo a poluição por efluentes domésticos. Essas formações recifais abrigam muitas espécies de peixe que em busca de abrigo para diferentes fazes do ciclo de vida e alimento. Nesses sentido as cristas recifais formam um importante papel para o desenvolvimento desses organismos, sem comumente um local de berçário natural. A cobertura de substrato é um outro fator importante para essas espécies pois pode gerar proteção, alimentação direta a indireta com invertebrados epifíticos. As cristas recifais do litoral sul de Pernambuco são dominadas por cobertura algal. Os recifes locais são importantes como fonte de renda para as comunidades locais e para conservação dos ambientes marinhos costeiros. Foram analisadas as relações entre a ictiofauna e a categorias de algas nas cristas recifais de Porto de Galinhas, Serrambi e São José da Coroa Grande, tendo sido amostrados três piscinas em cada praia. Para isso foram feitas amostragens com transecto de faixa de 20x2 m² em cada piscina, com registros fotográficos da cobertura de substrato, essas fotos foram posteriormente analisadas para estimar o percentual de cada categoria representada na cobertura do substrato da crista recifal. Os dados mostraram que Stegastes fuscus, Abudefduf saxatilis, Sparisoma axillare, Halichoeres poeyi e Ophioblennius trinitatis foram as espécies mais representativas nas cristas recifais analisadas. As algas calcárias articuladas e turf foram as algas mais abundantes nessas formações. As algas folhosas foram pouco abundantes, sendo mais representadas em São José da Coroa Grande. A maioria da abundância de peixes representou a categoria trófica de herbívoros errante e a mais rica foi comedores de invertebrados móveis. St. fuscus e O. trinitatis foram registrados em todas as classes de tamanho, enquanto A. saxatilis, Sp. axillare,e H. poeyi foram observados em fases juvenis. A relação verificada entre a comunidade de peixes, a cobertura de substrato e as características estruturais foi baixa visto que a distribuição de peixes foi homogênea e houve pouca variação nas categorias de algas. / The reef crests form an important habitat for fish of different habits and life stages. Coastal reefs are commonly affected by human activities ranging from the contemplative tourism to the pollution from domestic sewage. The substrate coverage can indicate the distribution of fish species that use this place to establish throughout the life cycle or in transitional phases. The reef crests of the southern coast of Pernambuco are dominated by algal cover. Local reefs are important as source of income for local communities and for conservation of coastal marine environments. The relationship between fish community and categories of algae on the reef crests of Porto de Galinhas, Serrambi and São José da Coroa Grande were analyzed. Three points were sampled at each beach. For the sampling of fish were made four transects of 20x2 m in each pool. At the same time were made photos of substrate coverage, these photos were then analyzed to estimate the percentage of each category. The data showed that Stegastes fuscus, Abudefduf saxatilis, Sparisoma axillare, Halichoeres poeyi and Ophioblennius trinitatis were the most significant species in the reef crests analyzed. The jointed calcareous macroalgae and turf were the most abundant in these formations. The sheet-like algaes were less abundant and more represented in São José da Coroa Grande. Most of the abundance of fish represented the trophic category herbivores and the richest was eaters of mobile invertebrates. St. fuscus and O. trinitatis were recorded in all size classes, while A. saxatilis, Sp. Axillare, and H. poeyi were observed in juvenile stages. The relationship between the fish community and substrate coverage and structural characteristics was low as the fish distribution is homogeneous and there was little variation in types of substrate coverage.

Orientador: Reinaldo José da Silva / Abstract: Species differ in their environmental preferences, leading to processes in the community based in gradient variations that decrease as the distance increases. This process diminishes faster in heterogeneous landscapes, especially in solid areas of bands like South American open diagonally, that is characterized by horizontal stratification environments, presenting a landscape mosaic that extends from the Caatinga to the regions of Chaco, through the Pantanal. The Cerrado, Pantanal and Caatinga are characterized by great diversity of vertebrate anuran species, including the host Leptodactylus fuscus. These regions are inserted in the open diagonal South American. The composition and the relationship between parasite-host infra-populations of helminth species associated with L. fuscus specimens were described in three different regions of Brazil. Amphibians are found in a variety of habitats and exhibit different reproductive and behavioral patterns, considered good models to study parasitology. The study evaluated if there is a decay on the similarity between geographically distant communities and concluded that these two variables are positively associated. This study assessed 155 hosts and found a total of 16 taxa: Aplectana membranosa, Aplectana pintoi, Schankiana formosula, Cosmocerca podicipinus, Oswaldocruzia lopesi, Oxyascaris necopinus, Glypthelmins linguatula, Catadiscus cf. marinholutzi, Physaloptera sp., Physalopteroides sp., Rhabdias sp., metacercariae (Diplostomid... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Resumo: As espécies diferem em suas preferências ambientais, isto conduz a processos na comunidade baseados em variações de gradiente que decrescem com o aumento da distância, sobretudo em faixas de áreas contínuas como a diagonal aberta sul-americana, apresentando um mosaico paisagístico que se estende desde a Caatinga até as regiões do Chaco. O Cerrado, Pantanal e Caatinga são caracterizados pela grande diversidade de espécies de vertebrados anuros, incluindo o hospedeiro Leptodactylus fuscus, e estas regiões estão inseridas na diagonal aberta Sul Americana. Foi descrita a composição e a relação entre parasita-hospedeiro de infra-populações das espécies de helmintos associados com espécimes do Leptodactylus fuscus em três regiões diferentes do Brasil. Os anfíbios são encontrados em uma variedade de habitats e exibem diversos padrões reprodutivos e comportamentais, por isso são considerados bons modelos de estudo para a parasitologia. O trabalho avaliou se ha um decaimento na similaridade entre comunidades geograficamente distantes, e concluiu que estas duas variáveis se associam positivamente. Foram avaliados 155 espécimes de hospedeiros totalizando 16 taxas de helmintos, Aplectana membranosa, Aplectana pintoi, Schankiana formosula, Cosmocerca podicipinus, Oswaldocruzia lopesi, Oxyascaris necopinus, Glypthelmins linguatula, Catadiscus cf. marinholutzi, Physaloptera sp., Physalopteroides sp., Rhabdias sp., metacercárias da Família Diplostomidae, nematodas da Família Cosmocercidae, ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Mestre

Historically, physiologists have believed steroid hormones act exclusively within the individual producing them. However, studies in mice have shown that bioactive 17β-estradiol (E2) is excreted in male urine and absorbed by female conspecifics where it binds to estrogen receptors in reproductive other tissues. This can lead to pregnancy disruption and/or cause precocious puberty in female conspecifics. In bats the transfer of tritium-labelled estradiol (3H-E2) from male to females has been shown during the mating season. I investigated the influence of season on 3H-E2 transfer and showed that females housed with 3H-E2 injected males had significantly higher levels of radioactivity in reproductive, neural, and peripheral tissues during reproductively relevant timepoints compared to the non-reproductive season. Because urine has been hypothesized as the vector of steroid hormone transmission in mice, I examined the natural patterns of sex steroids in the urine of male and female big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) across the annual reproductive cycle. I found that creatinine-adjusted E2, which corrects for animal hydration and activity, was significantly higher in male than female urine, and in adult compared to yearling urine. Seasonal differences in urinary E2 levels were observed within and between sexes. Finally, I designed a protocol to investigate the attractant properties of body odour and urine between bat sexes during the mating season. Using a two-alternative Y-maze arena, I found that female bats first approach the test arm containing urine of a male conspecific before exploring the arm with female urine. Females also tended to spend more time in the test-arm containing male urine and being in the male test-arm at the conclusion of the 5 min trial. My data supports the hypothesis that E2 has the potential to act as reproductive pheromone with urine as a likely vector. Given the close proximity of individual bats within a maternity roost, steroid hormone transfer between conspecifics quite likely occurs in nature and could have profound influences on female reproductive behaviour (e.g. receptivity) and physiology (e.g. estrus cycling). My research provides new evidence for the potential pheromonal actions of E2 in bats that is consistent with how sex steroids act as pheromones in other mammals. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Historically, physiologists have believed steroid hormones act exclusively within the individual producing them. However, studies in mice have shown that bioactive 17β-estradiol (E2) is excreted in male urine and absorbed by female conspecifics where it binds to estrogen receptors in reproductive and other tissues. This exogenous E2 can result in changes to female reproductive physiology and behaviour. Our lab has previously observed E2 to transfer between male and female captive big brown bats during the mating season. Research from this thesis provides evidence that the transfer of E2 from male to female bats is highest during times of mating and ovulation/fertilization. I also demonstrate that E2 naturally occurs in the urine of both male and females with age, sex, and seasonal differences in concentration. Lastly, I show that female bats are attracted to the urine of males. My research provides new evidence for the potential pheromonal actions of E2 in bats that is consistent with how sex steroids act as pheromones in other mammals.

<p>Developing bat pups produce distinct vocalizations called isolation calls (I‐calls) that serve to attract the bat’s mother. How individual pups shift their vocalizations from I‐calls to downward frequency modulated (FM) sweeps during development remains unclear. By recording individual bat pups from the day of birth to twenty‐five days postnatal we observed behavioural and bioacoustic (temporal and spectral) changes in pup calls. Temporal characteristics examined were call duration and call rate; spectral characteristics were minimum frequency, maximum frequency, peak spectral frequency, total signal bandwidth, maximum frequency of the fundamental acoustic element and bandwidth of the fundamental. I‐calls were produced only until a certain point in development, after which pups change from emitting long‐duration, tonal I‐calls to downward FM signals and eventually short‐duration biosonar vocalizations. We discovered additional spectral changes in the harmonic structure of pup calls, with the number of harmonic elements decreasing with age. We also recorded pup vocalizations during prolonged separation from their mothers to determine if extended isolation alters the type, number or acoustic structure of emitted vocalizations. Rate of calling was influenced by prolonged separation; younger pups had higher calling rates and called longer than older pups. We also compared temporal and spectral characteristics of spontaneous and provoked calls. We found that provoked calls were more similar to vocalizations produced by younger pups. By documenting the vocal behaviour and acoustic structure of pups calling in different situations, this research provides groundwork for further studies on the ontogeny and development of FM vocalizations in bats and other mammals.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)