Luiz dos Anjos

Análise comparada da riqueza de anuros entre duas áreas com diferentes estados de conservação no município de Londrina, Paraná, Brasil (Amphibia, Anura)

This study provides a list of anurans occuring in Londrina Municipality, north of Parana, and analyses the difference in species richness between one well preserved forest area (Parque Estadual Mata dos Godoy) and another, altered area (Estacao de Piscicultura da Universidade Estadual de Londrina). The greatest number of species was in the preserved area (24 species) when compared to the altered one (14 species). The occurence of true forest species (stenoics), such Crossodactylus sp., Eleutherodactylus binotatus, E. guentheri, and Hyalinobatrachium uranoscopum, only in the Parque Estadual Mata dos Godoy shows the conservation leveis of areas and put in evidence the anurans as biological indicators of environmental quality. New registers for Parana State were the following species: H. uranoscopum, P. avelinoi and Scinax perereca.

Beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae) e seus recursos florais em uma área urbana do Sul do Brasil

The main purpose of this study was to identify the assemblage of flowers used by hummingbirds in an urban area of southern Brazil, as well as describe the patterns of resource partitioning among the hummingbird species. Twenty two plant species were recorded, which flowers are visited by ten hummingbird species. Most of these plants are exotics and regarded as non-ornithophilous. The hummingbirds displayed different combinations of morphological features (mass, bill length, wing length and relation bill/wing), which were reflected in the sets of flowers visited and the community role played by each species. In general, hummingbirds with largest niche breadths were also the most frequent ones, indicating that urban areas could be more suitable for generalist species.

Species richness and relative abundance of birds in natural and anthropogenic fragments of Brazilian Atlantic forest

Bird communities were studied in two types of fragmented habitat of Atlantic forest in the State of Parana, southern Brazil; one consisted of forest fragments that were created as a result of human activities (forest remnants), the other consisted of a set of naturally occurring forest fragments (forest patches). Using quantitative data obtained by the point counts method in 3 forest patches and 3 forest remnants during one year, species richness and relative abundance were compared in those habitats, considering species groups according to their general feeding habits. Insectivores, omnivores, and frugivores presented similar general tendencies in both habitats (decrease of species number with decreasing size and increasing isolation of forest fragment). However, these tendencies were different, when considering the relative abundance data: the trunk insectivores presented the highest value in the smallest patch while the lowest relative abundance was in the smallest remnant. In the naturally fragmented landscape, time permitted that the loss of some species of trunk insectivores be compensated for the increase in abundance of other species. In contrast, the remnants essentially represented newly formed islands that are not yet at equilibrium and where future species losses would make them similar to the patches.

The importance of riparian forest for the maintenance of bird species richness in an Atlantic Forest remnant, southern Brazil

We compared the composition and guild structure of bird communities of riparian and upland forest in an Atlantic forest reserve, the Godoy State Park (GP), in northern Parana State, southern Brazil. Unlimited distance point counts were sampled monthly from September-December 2001, along four trails. Two trails in upland forest (TA and TB) were parallel to each other and about 300 m apart. Two trails in riparian forest (TC and TD) were along the Apertados River, about 100 m away from the river. A total of 145 species were recorded: 81 species were recorded in both upland and riparian forests, 19 species were recorded only in upland forest and 45 species were recorded exclusively in riparian forest. Among the 81 species occurring in both forest types, 18 species had significantly higher numbers of contacts in the riparian forest while only 8 species had significantly higher numbers of contacts in the upland forest. Taking into account the contacts numbers of the species the large frugivores guild was closely associated to the upland forest, while bamboo and vine-tangles insectivore, canopy insectivores, edge omnivores, ground omnivore and midstory insectivores were those more closely related to the riparian forest.

The use of the point count method for bird survey in the Atlantic forest

The point count method has been widely used in tropical forest for sampling bird communities. In the present study, we investigated if data on richness and abundance acquired using the point count method are different comparing spring/summer (breeding season) and fall/winter (non-breeding season) in three types of the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Twelve sites were sampled seasonally during one year. In general we recorded more species and individuals during the breeding seasons. However, bird communities vary seasonally among the forest types and functional groups. We demonstrate that the use of point counts in tropical forest should be adjusted considering the differences in forest types and feeding guilds.

Flower morphology, nectar features, and hummingbird visitation to Palicourea crocea (Rubiaceae) in the Upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil

We investigated flower morphology, nectar features, and hummingbird visitation to Palicourea crocea (Rubiaceae), a common ornithophilous shrub found in the riparian forest understory in the Upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil. Flowers are distylous and the style-stamen dimorphism is accompanied by other intermorph dimorphisms in corolla length, anther length, and stigma lobe length and form. We did not observe strict reciprocity in the positioning of stigma and anthers between floral morphs. Flowering occurred during the rainy season, October to December. Nectar standing crop per flower was relatively constant throughout the day, which apparently resulted in hummingbirds visiting the plant throughout the day. Energetic content of the nectar in each flower (66.5 J) and that required daily by hummingbird visitors (up to 30 kJ) would oblige visits to hundreds of flowers each day, and thus movements between plants that should result in pollen flow. Three hummingbird species visited the flowers: the Gilded Sapphire (Hylocharis chrysura), the Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis), and the Glittering-bellied Emerald (Chlorostilbon aureoventris). The frequency of hummingbird visitation, nectar features, and the scarcity of other hummingbird-visited flowers in the study area, indicate that P. crocea is an important nectar resource for short-billed hummingbirds in the study site.

Feeding behavior of hummingbirds and perching birds on Erythrina speciosa Andrews (Fabaceae) flowers in an urban area, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

Nine species of birds - seven hummingbirds (Trochilidae) and two Passeriformes - were observed visiting the flowers of Erythrina speciosa Andrews (Fabaceae), a hummingbird-pollinated species present on the campus of Londrina State University, Parana State, Brazil. Nectar in bagged flowers bore little relationship with nectar in flowers opened to foragers either regarding quantity or diurnal pattern of availability. Birds were more frequent early in the morning and their activity on flowers further declined, apparently following the pattern of nectar availability. The manner to which birds probed the flowers and, in consequence, their role on pollination were greatly determined by morphological traits and approaching behavior of birds. E. speciosa seemed best suited for pollination by long-billed hummingbirds but some short to medium-billed species may play some role on its pollination.

Influence of lagoons size and prey availability on the wading birds (Ciconiiformes) in the upper Paraná river floodplain, Brazil

The influence of lagoons size and prey availability on the Ciconiiformes in the upper Parana river floodplain, Brazil, were analysed. The Ciconiiformes census was conducted quarterly in 2002, simultaneously to the fish census (gill nets and seining nets). There was strong relationship between the lagoons size and birds abundance, but modest relationship of lagoons size with the birds diversity and number of species. The presence of Ciconiiformes in the lagoons was better predicted by the fish density in seining nets than by the fish capture by unit of effort in gill nets. Except in the flood, there was strong relationship between the fishes density and birds relative abundance, and more modest relationship of the fishes density with birds diversity and number of species. The lagoons size and prey availability were strong predictors of Ciconiiformes abundance and relative abundance, respectively. However, environmental variables not analysed probably could have significant influence in the determination of the birds diversity and number of species.

Associação de aves a agrupamentos de bambu na porção Sul da Mata Atlântica, Londrina, Estado do Paraná, Brasil

Association of birds to bamboo stands in southern brazilian Atlantic Forest, Londrina, Parana State, Brazil. Bamboo stands have been considered relatively important for a high number of bird species, specially in Amazonia. In the present study variations on the abundance of bamboo associated birds were evaluated in areas with different availability of bamboo Chusquea sp. present inside native forest in the southern portion of the Atlantic Forest, Parana State. Point counts were performed during 25 days in five transects, three in bamboo stands areas and two where this microhabitat was absent; the transects differ in the availability of bamboo. The study areas were the Mata dos Godoy State Park and an adjacent forest fragment, which together sum a total area larger than 2,000 ha, in northern Parana State, southern Brazil. Nineteen bird species were analyzed and only five of them were recorded in the transects where the bamboo was absent. Five bird species decreased significantly their abundances according the decreasing in the availability of bamboo (G-test, P < 0.01). None species had higher abundance in the transects where the bamboo was absent. Differently of Amazonia, bamboo stands in the southern portion of the Brazilian Atlantic forest are not extensive areas; actually, this type of microhabitat is more disperse throughout the understory. Even so, this microhabitat may be important for conservation of certain bird species in the Atlantic forest.

Abundância, microhabitat e repartição ecológica de papa-formigas (Passeriformes, Thamnophilidae) na bacia hidrográfica do rio Tibagi, Paraná, Brasil

In this study, richness and abundance of Thamnophilidae were both evaluated and correlated with environmental parameters in four forest areas of the Tibagi river basin (B1, M1, A1 and A2), placed in an environmental gradient. In each site, the vegetation was characterized and, for each specie, was analyzed: 1) the microhabitat, 2) the spatial distribution and 3) the time spend in each foraging site (described here as foraging length). Bird species number was similar among areas, although, B1 inhabited higher abundance. The vegetation of this area, showed correlations relatively lower when compared to the other three, which showed higher values among themselves. Vine tangles in all strata, dense medium and higher strata and presence of clearings were representative in B1. Dense medium stratum showed representative to five species. On the other hand, vine tangles at the higher stratum and the absence of lower dense stratum were representative for only two species. The spatial distribution, the foraging length site and the microhabitats selection varied among the species. These were important factors in ecological partitioning of the species analyzed in this study.