Hermes José Schmitz

Taxonomic survey of Drosophilidae (Diptera) from mangrove forests of Santa Catarina Island, Southern Brazil

Assemblages of drosophilids have been characterised in several environments of the Brazilian territory, like the Atlantic Rain Forest, urban areas, cerrados, the Amazon Forest, and others. The present survey is the first attempt to characterise the fauna of Drosophilidae in mangrove forests, an environment typical of tropical coasts worldwide. Twenty-eight samples were collected from the three main mangrove forests of Santa Catarina Island, southern Brazil, using banana-baited traps hung in trees. Samples were taken in January (summer), April (autumn), July (winter) and October (spring) between July 2002 and July 2005. In total, 82,942 specimens of drosophilids were caught, belonging to 69 species of six genera - Amiota Loew, Drosophila Fallén, Leucophenga Mik, Scaptodrosophila Duda, Zaprionus Coquillett and Zygothrica Wiedemann. The high abundance of D. simulans Sturtevant was remarkable, with some notable peaks of D. malerkotliana Parshad & Paika in autumn samples. Other common species were Zaprionus indianus Gupta, D. mediostriata Duda and D. willistoni Sturtevant. We also collected 45,826 flies of family Curtonotidae, the sister-group of Drosophilidae virtually absent in other environments. The assemblages of drosophilids were very similar in the three mangrove forests surveyed, despite the different surrounding environments. In general, the species sampled in the mangroves were the same as those observed in the surrounding environments, but in varying abundances. This suggests that drosophilids are differently affected by environmental pressures operating in mangroves.

The drosophilid fauna (Diptera, Drosophilidae) of the transition between the Pampa and Atlantic Forest Biomes in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil: first records

Embora os trabalhos com assembleias de drosofilideos (Diptera, Drosophilidae) tenham se tornado relativamente abundantes nas ultimas decadas, ainda existem ambientes a serem explorados. O presente trabalho buscou observar a composicao, a abundância das especies e a riqueza das assembleias de drosofilideos em duas diferentes areas do municipio de Cruz Alta, regiao Noroeste do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, e ponto de contato entre os biomas Mata Atlântica e Pampa: uma area urbana (2007), constituida por um pomar domestico de Citrus, e uma area de mata, no Centro de Educacao, Pesquisa e Protecao Ambiental - CEPPA (2008/2009), da Universidade de Cruz Alta, situado em um fragmento de mata ciliar. As coletas foram realizadas com armadilhas contendo banana fermentada e repetidas periodicamente. Um total de 7.428 individuos foi coletado, pertencente a duas subfamilias e 53 especies, de seis generos. Na area urbana, foram encontradas 22 especies, de dois generos (N = 2.421), enquanto na area de mata foram encontradas 46 especies, de seis generos (N = 5.007). Seis especies exoticas foram encontradas, sendo mais abundantes na area urbana, onde corresponderam a 95% dos especimes coletados, contra 50% na mata. Das especies neotropicais, as mais abundantes foram Drosophila maculifrons Duda e D. polymorpha Dobzhansky & Pavan. Apenas D. simulans Sturtevant foi capturada em todas as coletas em ambos os locais. O presente trabalho apresenta o primeiro registro para o estado do Rio Grande do Sul dos grupos de especies de D. canalinea e D. virilis e das especies D. arassari Cunha & Frota-Pessoa, D. fuscolineata Duda, D. nigricruria Patterson & Mainland, D. papei Bachli & Vilela, D. senei Vilela, D. trifilum Frota-Pessoa, D. virilis Sturtevant, Leucophenga maculosa (Coquillett) e Rhinoleucophenga obesa (Loew). Alem disso, tambem sao registrados pela primeira vez no estado os generos Amiota Loew, Leucophenga Mik e Rhinoleucophenga Hendel e a subfamilia Steganinae. No total, este estudo eleva de 66 para 75 o numero de especies de drosofilideos registradas no Rio Grande do Sul, o numero de generos de cinco para oito, e de subfamilia para duas.

Drosophilid Assemblages at Different Urbanization Levels in the City of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil

The present study analyzed the drosophilid assemblages in different levels of urbanization in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Collections were carried out in 2008 in three different environments: a highly urbanized area—“Jardim Botânico,” a forested area with intermediary urbanization—“Parque Gabriel Knijnik,” and in a relatively well-preserved forested area, although threatened by the urban growth—“Morro Santana.” In Jardim Botânico, 36 species belonging to four genera were found, with high abundance of exotic species as Drosophila simulans Sturtevant and Zaprionus indianus (Gupta). In Parque Gabriel Knijnik, 33 species that belonged to four genera were found, with higher abundances of native species belonging to the Drosophila tripunctata species group and Drosophila willistoni species subgroup, and lower abundance of exotic species. As for Morro Santana, 32 species and three genera were found, with higher abundances of native groups, low representativeness of exotic species, and absence of Zaprionus indianus. The analysis of the Jaccard index showed higher similarity in the species composition between samples collected in summer and autumn, and between samples collected in winter and spring. On the other hand, the Morisita index differentiated Jardim Botânico from the other two studied sites. Our results show that Morro Santana is an important area of native biodiversity, reinforcing, therefore, the inclusion of this area in the project for the creation of an ecological corridor as proposed by the Ministry of the Environment of Brazil.

Assemblages of drosophilids (Diptera, Drosophilidae) in mangrove forests: community ecology and species diversity

Brazilian fauna of drosophilids has been researched in various ecosystems, but those in mangrove forests remain overlooked in Brazil and elsewhere. The present study attempts to characterise the assemblages of drosophilids of this environment, based on 28 collections taken in three mangrove areas in Santa Catarina Island, southern Brazil. The three mangroves surveyed were different in their surroundings, which varied from highly urbanised areas to conservation areas with natural vegetation. Overall, 69 species were collected, and no remarkable difference was detected in species composition and abundances or in the richness, evenness and heterogeneity between sites. The species abundance distribution observed fitted to a theoretical lognormal distribution in the three mangroves. The species richness scored and the performance of the species richness estimators showed an unexpectedly high diversity, considering the very low floristic diversity and the harsh conditions of the environment. Regarding species composition and abundances, the drosophilid mangrove assemblages were shown to be more similar to those found in open environments, with a marked dominance of exotic species. Finally, considering the apparent lack of feeding and breeding sites, we suggest that mangrove forests are acting as sink habitats for the drosophilids populations.

The genus Zygothrica Wiedemann 1830 (Diptera, Drosophilidae) in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil: distribution and ecological notes

Doge, J.S., Gottschalk, M.S., Bizzo, L.E.M., Oliveira, S.C.F., Schmitz, H.J., Valente, V.L.S. & Hofmann, P.R.P. The genus Zygothrica Wiedemann 1830 (Diptera, Drosophilidae) in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil: distribution and ecological notes. Biota Neotrop. Sep/Dez 2007 vol. 7, no. 3 http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n3/pt/abstract?article+bn00207032007. ISSN 1676-0603. The present paper brings together survey data from nine collection sites in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. Samples were obtained during about four years in forested, coastal and urban areas. Flies were attracted by fermented banana baits and captured in traps. Among the species of the genus Zygothrica Wiedemann 1830 collected, Zygothrica apopoeyi Burla 1956, Z. bilineata (Williston 1896), Z. dispar (Wiedemann 1830), Z. lanceolata Burla 1956, Z. nigropleura Grimaldi 1987, and Z. poeyi (Sturtevant 1921) were recorded for the first time in Santa Catarina state and, except for Z. bilineata, also in southern Brazil. Apart from these species, we also collected Zygothrica hypandriata Burla 1956, Z. orbitalis (Sturtevant 1916) (as Z. parilis), Z. prodispar Duda 1925 and Z. vittimaculosa Burla 1956. Except for Z. bilineata and Z. hypandriata, these are the new southernmost records for the geographical distribution of these species. All the collected species were represented by few individuals, probably as a consequence of the collection method, and most of them was captured in winters and springs. Five species were restricted to the more preserved studied site, and most individuals were collected in forest sites. Nevertheless, four species were also captured in urban or xeric environments, indicating a higher tolerance and a wider ecological versatility in this genus as compared to what was previously thought, at least for some species.

Rhinoleucophenga joaquina sp. nov. (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from the Neotropical region.

The genus Rhinoleucophenga Hendel comprises 18 nominal species and has a Neotropical and Nearctic distribution. A new species was found in a collection in Florianópolis, SC, Brazil, and is described as Rhinoleucophenga joaquina sp. nov. The specimens found were reared from flowers of Dyckia encholirioides (Bromeliaceae), collected in a region of restinga on the dunes. The use of flowers as breeding site for Rhinoleucophenga has never been reported before.

Environmental Determinants on the Assemblage Structure of Drosophilidae Flies in a Temperate-Subtropical Region

The species composition and the relative abundance of species in an insect community can vary in time and space for many reasons, including climatic variables and habitat preferences. Drosophilids were collected each quarter from April 2011 to April 2012 (five collections in all) in a natural area of the Pampa biome, considering three environments: open field, forest edge and the interior of forest patches. Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests were used to examine the effects of temporal and spatial components on the drosophilid assemblage. Four diversity measures: Sobs, Srar, H’ and Evar were used to evaluate the community structure. A total of 7164 drosophilids belonging to 51 species were collected. The interaction of species in each environment varied among sampling periods. The abundance of both Neotropical and exotic species was affected by temporal and spatial components. The species of the D. repleta group were predominantly more abundant in the open field, but they migrated to the forest patches during periods of thermal stress. Generally, diversity was greatest in the interior of forest patches. Nevertheless, temporal components appear to be the predominant environmental determinant of the characteristics of the drosophilid community of the Pampas. Furthermore, the forest patches appear to act as a center of recolonization, reinforcing their importance in the maintenance of biodiversity in the Pampas; this function will be even more important in the future, when the temperatures will, most likely, be higher.

Intra-specific variability in Rhinoleucophenga punctulata populations (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Neotropical biomes: Combined analyses of morphological and molecular data: Rhinoleucophenga punctulata populations

Despite the fact that Drosophilidae is a very diverse and well‐studied taxon, the New World genus Rhinoleucophenga is yet poorly understood even in regard to species distribution and morphological variability pattern. In this sense, R. punctulata is a species widely distributed in the Neotropical region. Specimens of R. punctulata were collected from different biomes in Brazil: Pampa, Cerrado and Caatinga sensu strictu, and a southern Amazonian savannah enclave area. Geographical variations in the external body morphology and in the morphology of spermatheca were noticed among the different populations. The hypothesis that each population could be a different species was tested through molecular data. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxydase subunit I (COI) gene was sequenced to perform phylogenetic analyses through neighbor‐joining and Bayesian inferences. Pairwise genetic divergences of COI sequences were calculated using DNA barcode premises. The analyzed populations presented different variation levels in both morphology and molecular traits. However, new species were not proposed because the intra‐population nucleotide variations exceeded the inter‐population ones. The noticeable morphological and genetic variations revealed among the four studied populations of R. punctulata in different biomes of Brazil suggest the necessity that morphological, distributional and molecular data at the population level should be integrated into complementary datasets to better understand the biological diversity of Rhinoleucophenga through Neotropical environments.

Figure 10 In The New World Genus Rhinoleucophenga (Diptera: Drosophilidae): New Species And Notes On Occurrence Records

FIGURE 3. Male terminalia of the holotype of R. trivisualis sp. nov. a – c: aedeagus and aedeagal apodeme. a: dorsal view; b: ventral view; c: lateral view; d: epandrium, cerci and surstyli, caudal view (scale bar: 0.05 mm).