Márcia Cristina Pascotto

Osteologia craniana de Coraciiformes (Aves)

The families Alcedinidae (kingfishers), Momotidae (motmots), Todidae (todies), Meropidae (bee-eaters), Coraciidae (rollers), Brachypteraciidae (ground-rollers), Leptosomidae (cuckoo-rollers), Phoeniculidae (woodhoopoes), Upupidae (hoopoes) and Bucerotidae (hornbills) are traditionally grouped in the Order Coraciiformes, but no external morphological character is commom to the whole order. A comparative study of the cranial osteology of the Coraciiformes seeks to find characters capable to diagnose the order or groups of taxa, serving yet as a source to provide characters for future phylogenetic analysis. As established by the external morphological data, the cranial osteology has ratified the broad morphological divergence among the Coraciiformes taxa. Only two characters are common to the Order as a whole, as the presence of the laterosphenoid fossa and the absence of the suprameatic process, but these characters are not exclusive of the order. Primary homologies were found, showing similarities among several families, such as: the craniofacial flexion zone is an indefinite region in adults of the Coraciidae, Leptosomidae, Phoeniculidae, Upupidae and Bucerotidae; the temporal fossa has intermediate development and deepy in the Momotidae, Meropidae, Coraciidae, Brachypteraciidae and Bucerotidae; the lacrimal bone is absent in the Momotidae, fused with the ectethmoid in adults of the Upupidae, Phoeniculidae and Bucerotidae, and present and free in the Alcedinidae, Todidae, Meropidae, Coraciidae, Brachypteraciidae and Leptosomidae; and the o retroarticular process of the mandible is developed in the Upupidae, Phoeniculidae and Bucerotidae.

Frugivory by birds on Schefflera morototoni (Araliaceae) in a Cerrado-Amazon orest transition area, eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil

Schefflera morototoni fruits are important food source for neotropical frugivorous birds. The objectives of the present study were to record bird species that consumed fruits of S. morototoni in a forest in the transition Cerrado-Amazon Forest, Mato Grosso, Brazil and evaluate the potential of these bird species as seed dispersers of this plant species. During 31 observation hours, from November 1 to 5, 2011, 23 bird species were recorded consuming S. morototoni fruits. Out of these, 20 bird species were considered potential seed dispersers, as they swallow the fruits whole. The species consuming the greatest number of fruits were Aburria cujubi (24% of total consumed fruits), Pteroglossus castanotis (18%), Tangara palmarum (12%), Patagioenas speciosa (11%), Ramphastos toco (8%), and Dacnis lineata (5%). The species T. palmarum showed the highest visit frequency (VF = 1.51), followed by P. castanotis (VF = 0.80), and D. lineata (VF = 0.77). All bird species employed picking foraging method for removal of fruits and in 11 species (48%) this method was the only one used. Agonistic interactions represented 13% of the total number of visits. Dacnis lineata received the highest number of attacks and P. castanotis and Pitangus sulphuratus were the more aggressive species. The high bird richness and the great number of consumed fruits indicated that the fruits of S. morototoni may be an important food resource for birds in the Cerrado-Amazon Forest transition

Interactions between frugivorous birds and plants in savanna and forest formations of the Cerrado

Registramos interacoes entre aves frugivoras e plantas no Cerrado e avaliamos o papel e a importância das aves como potenciais dispersoras de sementes. Observamos como numeros de registros de alimentacao e de interacoes e composicao de especies de aves se distribuem entre formacoes savânicas e florestais e entre as estacoes seca e chuvosa. Realizamos amostragens entre agosto/2009 e outubro/2010 e entre novembro/2011 e agosto/2012 por meio de transeccoes e observacoes focais. Observamos 348 registros de alimentacao e 187 interacoes envolvendo 44 especies de plantas e 60 especies de aves. A maioria dos registros de alimentacao foi observada nas florestas e durante a estacao seca (χ2 = 39,529; gl = 1; p < 0,001). Ja em relacao ao numero de interacoes nao encontramos diferenca significativa (χ2 = 15,975; gl = 1; p = 0,06) entre as duas formacoes vegetacionais e entre as estacoes. A composicao de especies de aves diferiu entre formacoes savânicas e florestais (ANOSIM, R = 0,238; p < 0,001) e entre as estacoes seca e chuvosa (ANOSIM, R = 0,223; p < 0,001). A maioria das especies potencialmente dispersoras foi aves generalistas que ocupam preferencialmente florestas durante a estacao seca. Durante a estacao seca ha aumento de registros de alimentacao nas formacoes florestais, indicativo de que as aves usam estes locais como area de forrageio nesse periodo. Sugerimos que a manutencao de florestas em ecossistemas predominantemente savânicos como o Cerrado e extremamente importante para a avifauna frugivora e para as interacoes frugivoro-planta.