Jean Carlos Santos

Caatinga: the scientific negligence experienced by a dry tropical forest

Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs) provide a habitat for a diverse number of species and cover significant land areas. Yet, the amount of scientific research they have attracted is minimal. Recently, an international debate on the generality, consequences and forces keeping SDTFs in a position of relative negligence has begun. This paper assesses and compares biodiversity-related knowledge across the major Brazilian ecosystems to verify in which extent the Caatinga vegetation (a mosaic of scrubs and patches of seasonally dry forest) has been scientifically unappreciated. In fact, Caatinga attracted the lowest scores from semi-quantitative indexes describing biodiversity-survey efforts and knowledge status, with a negligible number of papers published internationally. Caatinga also supports fewer research teams and senior researchers as compared to humid tropical forests (Amazonia and Atlantic Forest). Both the knowledge index and number of published papers were explained by a model combining ecosystem area (km2), inventory index plus the current number of research teams or senior researchers assigned to Brazilian ecosystems. These findings reinforce the notion that SDTFs have experienced lower scientific efforts, but also reveal an apparent connection between institutional capacity, production/accumulation of scientific knowledge and conservation efforts. Although the research agenda for reconciling land-use and biodiversity conservation has been launched, current institutional anemia across SDTFs is likely to limit its impacts and achievements.

Illustrated and Annotated Checklist of Brazilian Gall Morphotypes

The analysis on nine inventories on the richness and diversity of galling herbivores in Brazil accounted for 806 gall systems occurring in 443 host-plant species from 74 plant families. This checklist of the Brazilian gall morphotypes proposes seven standardized morphotypes and five additional shapes that group the majority of the three-dimensional shapes reported in literature. Criteria are proposed to standardize the terminology, and a critical analysis is provided aiming to avoid possible inconsistencies in order to generate easily comparable data in future inventories. The morphotypes are herein catalogued in alphabetical order, accompanied by a conceptual definition, an illustration, and examples that best represent the shape. It is proposed that the inventories should present at least the (1) host-plant species, (2) galling herbivore species or its identification to the lowest possible taxonomic level, (3) host-plant galled organ and gall position, (4) gall morphotype, (5) gall color and registration of indumentum when present, (6) gall phenological and developmental data, (7) association with other trophic levels, and (8) additional information, such as dimension, and number of chamber(s).

Richness of gall-inducing insects in the tropical dry forest (caatinga) of Pernambuco

Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the tropical dry forest (caatinga) of Pernambuco. We report on the richness of galling insects in the vegetation of caatinga of Pernambuco state, Brazil. We recorded 64 different types of galls collected primarily from leaves and stems of 48 species of host plants belonging to 17 families and 31 genera. The most common gall morphological types were spheroid and discoid, glabrous, predominantly green and with one chamber. The main gall inducing taxon was the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera). The results of this study contribute to existing knowledge of galling insect and host-plant diversity in caatinga.

Diversity of gall-inducing insects in the high altitude wetland forests in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil

We report on the richness of galling insects in the altitudinal wetland forests of Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil. We found 80 distinct types of insect galls on 49 species of host plants belonging to 28 families and 35 genera. Most of the galled plant species belong to Nyctaginaceae, Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae and Myrtaceae. The most common gall were spheroid and globoid; most galls were glabrous, predominantly green and with one chamber, and on the leaves. Most galls were induced by Cecidomyiidae (Diptera). The results of this study contribute to existing knowledge richness of galling insects and host-plant diversity in the altitudinal wetland forests of Northeastern Brazil.

Gall-inducing insects from Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil

An inventory of gall inducing insects and their host plants in the Atlantic forest of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil is presented. Samples of galls and their host plants were taken in six fragments of Atlantic forest. One hundred thirty-six different morphotypes of insect galls on 79 host plant species belonging to 35 plant families and 53 genera were recorded. The host plant families most attacked by galling insects were: Lecythidaceae, Myrtaceae, and Nyctaginaceae. The most frequent galling taxa were Diptera of the Cecidomyiidae family (95%), followed by Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Galls occurred most frequently on leaves and stems, had globoid and elliptical shapes, green color and absence of trichomes on the external walls. The data indicate an intermediary richness of gall inducing insects when compared to other Brazilian Atlantic forests.

A 15-year post evaluation of the fire effects on ant community in an area of Amazonian forest

Fire represents an important disturbance to ant communities in areas of fire regime. Otherwise, little is known about the effects of fire on ant communities in areas of non-fire regimes, such as in the Amazonian region. We evaluated the long-term effect of fire on ant species richness in a rain forest (Bacaba Plateau) burned 15-years ago and compare our data with the data of primary unburned forest. A total of 85 ant species distributed in 21 genera and 14 tribes were collected; among them, 72 and 44 species were found on the litter and vegetation, respectively. The fire damaged forest studied supports an intermediate richness of ants when compared to a primary unburned rain forest in the same region. A comparative analysis of ant species richness showed that the Bacaba Plateau presented a different ant fauna when compared with the primary unburned forests, suggesting that fire can alter ant species composition. Although, our results cannot be conclusive on the effects of fire on ant community, they represent a pioneer data on human induced fire in tropical rain forests.

Neotropical Insect Galls

Introduction.- 1. Neotropical Insect galls: status of knowledge and perspectives G. Wilson Fernandes et al.- 2. Developmental Anatomy of Galls in the Neotropics: Arthropods Stimuli vs. Host Plant Constraints Rosy Mary dos Santos Isaias et al.- 3. Functional Gradients in Insect Gall Tissues: Studies on Neotropical Host Plants Denis Coelho de Oliveira et al.- 4. Gall Morphotypes in the Neotropics and the Need to Standardize Them Rosy Mary dos Santos Isaias et al.- 5. Population Ecology of Galling Arthropods in the Neotropics Tiago Shizen Pacheco Toma, Milton de Souza Mendonca Jr.- 6. Bottom-up Effects on Gall Distribution Milton Barbosa, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes.- 7. Natural selection on a tropical system: gall-size distribution on Waltheria indica L. (Malvaceae) Jose M. A. Figueiredo et al.- 8. Density of insect galls in the forest understorey and canopy: Neotropical, Gondwanan or global patterns? Servio Pontes Ribeiro et al.- 9. Galling insects as indicators of habitat quality Tiago Shizen Pacheco Toma et al.- 10. Host specificity of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on ten species of Inga (Fabaceae) Amandine Bourg, Paul Hanson.- 11. Galling insect community associated with Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae): the role of inter- and intra-annual host plant phenology Marcilio Fagundes.- 12. Galling insects on Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Caryocaraceae) Germano Leao Demolin Leite.- 13. Baccharis: a Neotropical Model System to Study Insect Plant Interactions G. Wilson Fernandes et al.- 14. Galls and Galling Arthropods of southern Brazil Milton de Souza Mendonca et al.- 15. Galling insects in the Brazilian Cerrado: Ecological patterns and perspectives Walter Santos de Araujo et al.- 16. Galls in Brazilian mountains: new reports and perspectives Marco Antonio A. Carneiro et al.- 17. Galls in the Brazilian Coastal Vegetation Valeria Cid Maia et al.- 18. Galls from Brazilian Atlantic Forest: status of knowledge and perspectives Jean Carlos Santos et al.- 19. Galling Insects in the Pantanal Wetland and Amazonian Rainforest Genimar Reboucas Juliao et al.- 20. Galls from Brazilian Tropical Dry Forests: status of knowledge and perspectives Marcel S. Coelho et al.- 21. Galls of the temperate forest of southern South America: Argentina and Chile Carolina Quintero et al.- 22. Gall-Inducing Insects and Their Associated Parasitoid Assemblages in the Forests of Panama Enrique Medianero et al.- 23. Insect galls of Costa Rica and their parasitoids Paul Hanson et al.- 24. Mexican gall-inducing insects: importance of biotic and abiotic factors on species richness in tropical dry forest Pablo Cuevas-Reyes et al.

Gall Morphotypes in the Neotropics and the Need to Standardize Them

A morphotype can be defined as a specimen that illustrates a morphological variation within a species or, in the case of galls, a characteristic neo-formed plant organ generated by the interaction between a gall-inducing organism and a host plant. Once each gall morphotype is unique and derived from a species-specific interaction, there is a great confidence in using them to identify the different galling systems. In the Neotropics, where the biodiversity is high but somewhat unknown from the taxonomical point of view, the use of morphotypes helps assessing the abundance and richness of galling herbivores. This kind of knowledge would remain inaccessible if its report depended strictly on the taxonomic identification of the involved taxa. An effort on the standardization of the nomenclature used for inventories in the Neotropics revealed that some tridimensional shapes such as the globoid, ellipsoid, and lenticular are quite common, and may be the result of a series of similar events of cell division and expansion. When these morphotypes concomitantly occur on super-hosts of galling herbivores, special attention should be given to the possibility of overestimations, because variables such as the developmental stage of the gall, the age of the host organ by the time of oviposition, as well as morphological variations related to the sex of the inducer may be difficult to be visualized. In specific cases, the phenological and anatomical analyses are crucial to avoid misinterpretations.

Plant Vigor Hypothesis refuted: preference-performance linkage of a gall-inducing weevil on small-sized host plant resources

The Plant Vigor Hypothesis (PVH) predicts an oviposition preference of females and higher offspring performance for insect herbivores on longer and fast-growing plant modules. We tested the PVH predictions by investigating the effects of leaf size of Miconia prasina (Sw.) DC. (Melastomataceae) on the oviposition preference and on the offspring survival of the gall-inducing weevil Prospoliata bicolorata (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Additionally, we analysed the effects of top-down mortality force on this system. Approximately 83% of the developed galls resulted in adults of P. bicolorata, whereas 17% of the galls successfully induced were killed by natural enemies (top-down effect). Leaves of intermediate size were more abundant while smaller and longer leaves were rare. Nevertheless, the percentage of P. bicolorata galls was higher on the smallest leaves of M. prasina, refuting the preference prediction of the PVH. Our results also refuted the performance prediction: the ratio of survival per leaf was negatively related to the leaf length. Thus, we found a link between female preference and larval performance of P. bicolorata on small-sized leaves of M. prasina. The next goal is to understand the mechanisms involved in the selection of gall-inducing weevil on short leaves of its host plant.

Protein content and electrophoretic profile of insect galls on susceptible and resistant host plants of Bauhinia brevipes Vogel (Fabaceae)

Gall induction, mediated by insect-herbivore chemical stimuli, is the result from anatomical and biochemical alterations in the host-plant tissues that provides shelter, food and defence against natural enemies and the harsh environment to the gall inducer. Schizomya macrocapillata Maia (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) induces galls on Bauhinia brevipes Vogel (Fabaceae); the galls are spherical, with long reddish hairs that cover the adaxial wall surface of the gall, and a protuberance is observed on the abaxial leaf surface. Some plants are resistant to gall formation and, in many cases, this formation is inhibited by hypersensitive reaction. In the present work, samples from different parts of the non-galled and galled tissues from resistant and susceptible plants were carefully dissected. Indicating elevated metabolic activity, the protein concentration was 1.5–4.5-fold higher in the abaxial portion of the galls than in any other tissues, regardless of whether the galls were from resistant or susceptible plants. Different tissues from susceptible and resistant plants had distinct protein concentrations, and the fractionation of the proteins by SDS–PAGE and silver-staining showed shared and/or specific polypeptides. We hypothesise that specific proteins, possibly from distinct metabolic pathways, are involved in the physiological processes that determine whether the plant shows total and/or partial host resistance to the galling-insect attack.