João Oldair Menegheti

Dolphin interactions with the mullet artisanal fishing on Southern Brazil: a qualitative and quantitative approach

A detailed analysis of the interactions between Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) and the artisanal fishing of mullets (Mugil spp.) is presented at two localities in the south of Brazil: Laguna (Santa Catarina) and Inibe/Tramandai (Rio Grande do Sul). Its behavioral strategies and the advantages of their association are re-described and quantified based on the success of the capture and on the selectivity of the prey sizes. The mullets are the main resource involved (92% to 75%) both at numerical level and as biomass. Twenty individuals of Tursiops truncatus participated in the interactions in Laguna and 9 in Imbe/Tramandai. The participation and learning of calves is also reported.

Dispersal of the European hare, Lepus europaeus in South America

Abstract. We provide an updated distribution and dispersal rate of the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) introduced in South America, with georeferenced record localities. According to our results the current geographic distribution of the European hare, would cover practically all of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, southeastern Peru, southwestern Bolivia, southeastern Paraguay, and central part of southern Brazil. During the process of invading new areas, the hare has occupied very dissimilar environments, from the bushy steppes and Andean deserts of Bolivia and Peru to the dry and humid forests and wooded savannahs of Paraguay and Brazil. This would explain the variation observed in the dispersal rates that varied between 10 and 37 km/year.