Marco Antonio Rego

Analysis of gonadotropin pulsatility in hirsute women with normal menstrual cycles and in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

OBJECTIVE To study the relation between plasma gonadotropin pulsatility, androgen levels, and estrogen levels in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), in hirsute women with normal menstrual cycles, and in healthy women. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING University medical center-based cellular and molecular endocrinology laboratory. PATIENT(S) Eight healthy women (group 1), 9 hirsute women with normal menstrual cycles (group 2), and 19 women with PCOS (group 3). INTERVENTION(S) Plasma concentrations of LH and FSH were measured by RIA every 15 minutes for 12 hours. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Rhythmic parameters of 12-hour LH and FSH secretion. RESULT(S) Rhythmic parameters of 12-hour LH secretion were significantly higher in patients with PCOS (group 3) than in controls (group 1) or in hirsute women with normal menstrual cycles (group 2). The frequency of LH pulses was statistically higher in patients with PCOS (group 3) than in controls (group 1). Statistically significant correlations were found when the frequency of LH pulses was plotted against basal LH concentrations and rhythmic parameters of 12-hour LH secretion. CONCLUSION(S) Luteinizing hormone pulse amplitude was higher in patients with PCOS than in hirsute women with normal menstrual cycles or in healthy women. The LH pulse frequency was increased only in patients with PCOS compared with healthy women and not in hirsute women with normal menstrual cycles.

On the ornithological collection of Friedrich Sellow in Brazil (1814–1831), with some considerations about the provenance of his specimens

The Prussian naturalist Friedrich Sellow (1789-1831) traveled through Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina between 1814 and 1831 gathering numerous zoological and botanical specimens. Despite the effort spent in those countries, the ornithological collection assembled by Sellow did not receive adequate care after it had been deposited in the Zoologische Museum in Berlin, thus compromising its integrity. In the present article we discuss the treatment given by Lichtenstein and by Sellow to this bird material, with special focus on some cases in which incorrect label information on Sellows specimens led to faulty conclusions on the zoogeography of South American birds.

A Multiscale Approach Indicates a Severe Reduction in Atlantic Forest Wetlands and Highlights that São Paulo Marsh Antwren Is on the Brink of Extinction

Over the last 200 years the wetlands of the Upper Tietê and Upper Paraíba do Sul basins, in the southeastern Atlantic Forest, Brazil, have been almost-completely transformed by urbanization, agriculture and mining. Endemic to these river basins, the São Paulo Marsh Antwren (Formicivora paludicola) survived these impacts, but remained unknown to science until its discovery in 2005. Its population status was cause for immediate concern. In order to understand the factors imperiling the species, and provide guidelines for its conservation, we investigated both the species’ distribution and the distribution of areas of suitable habitat using a multiscale approach encompassing species distribution modeling, fieldwork surveys and occupancy models. Of six species distribution models methods used (Generalized Linear Models, Generalized Additive Models, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines, Classification Tree Analysis, Artificial Neural Networks and Random Forest), Random Forest showed the best fit and was utilized to guide field validation. After surveying 59 sites, our results indicated that Formicivora paludicola occurred in only 13 sites, having narrow habitat specificity, and restricted habitat availability. Additionally, historic maps, distribution models and satellite imagery showed that human occupation has resulted in a loss of more than 346 km2 of suitable habitat for this species since the early twentieth century, so that it now only occupies a severely fragmented area (area of occupancy) of 1.42 km2, and it should be considered Critically Endangered according to IUCN criteria. Furthermore, averaged occupancy models showed that marshes with lower cattail (Typha dominguensis) densities have higher probabilities of being occupied. Thus, these areas should be prioritized in future conservation efforts to protect the species, and to restore a portion of Atlantic Forest wetlands, in times of unprecedented regional water supply problems.

Evaluation of methodological protocols using point counts and mist nets: a case study in southeastern Brazil

Embora muito utilizado com a finalidade de estimar a abundância de especies de aves, pontos de escuta e redes de neblina seguem protocolos desenvolvidos em regioes temperadas, com pouca atencao para modificacoes para sistemas tropicais. Para averiguar por quanto tempo e necessaria amostragem por pontos de escuta para o registro da maior parte da avifauna (ao menos 90% de todas as especies e individuos), assim como para determinar se as capturas com redes de neblina em intervalos de 1 h detectam igualmente numeros de especies e individuos, ambas as metodologia foram utilizadas a cada tres meses entre dezembro de 2009 e janeiro de 2011 em dois fragmentos florestais do sudeste do Brasil. Quatro pontos de escuta de 20 min conduzidos durante cinco dias consecutivos acumularam 90% da riqueza estimada apos 20 h (60 pontos de 20 minutos) em uma mata ombrofila densa (MC), enquanto 17 h (51 pontos de 20 minutos) foram insuficientes para o registro da mesma porcentagem de especies em uma mata semidecidual (IT). Os primeiros 5 min dos pontos de escuta detectaram significativamente mais especies em MC (63% do total de especies) e em IT (65%) em comparacao com os minutos restantes, mas foram necessarios 15 min para o registro de 86% do total de contatos em ambas as florestas. Cinco dias consecutivos (~ 9 h/dia) com redes de neblina abertas resultaram em 70,5 horas-rede/m2 (MC) e 74,8 horas-rede/m2 (IT) de esforco amostral, de modo que 80 a 85% do numero estimado de especies foram capturados. Embora curvas de acumulacao nao tenham apresentado tendencia a estabilizacao do numero de especies observado, o numero de especies estimado demonstrou assintota a partir das primeiras 20 h em ambas as florestas. Nao houve diferenca significativa na captura de especies ou individuos entre horarios de revisoes a cada hora, mas notou-se uma tendencia na qual tais parâmetros mostraram-se mais elevados entre as segundas e quartas revisoes do dia. Redes de neblina abertas durante tres dias (43,8 e 63,3 horas-rede/m2 em MC e IT, respectivamente) foram suficientes para o registro de 90% das especies capturadas. Essa diminuicao do esforco amostral nao prejudicou a estimativa do numero de especies, ao passo que o numero de individuos capturados diminuiu em 34% em MC e 38% em IT. As revisoes ate as 1100 h capturaram 90% de todas as especies registradas com redes de neblina em ambos os fragmentos, porem 67% de todos os individuos foram capturados ate este horario. Nossos resultados demonstram que o inventario e a estimativa de abundância da avifauna nessas localidades requerem delineamentos unicos, os quais devem ser testados antes do inicio da coleta de dados com pontos de escuta ou redes de neblina.

New records of the enigmatic Clytoctantes atrogularis (Thamnophilidae) in Amazonian Brazil, with remarks on plumage, natural history, and distribution

ABSTRACT Clytoctantes atrogularis Lanyon, Stotz and Willard, 1990 (Thamnophilidae) is one of the most mysterious and poorly known birds of the Neotropics. Endemic to Amazonian Brazil, it was known only from the holotype and two sight records at the type locality in Rondônia, and a sighting of a pair with a recording on the Sucunduri River in Amazonas. Here we review the distribution and report five new records in the states of Mato Grosso, Amazonas, and Rondônia, considerably increasing the known range of the species. We present the first detailed descriptions of males, for which the plumage was previously unknown. The records presented herein were made in terra firme forest with understories dominated by Lepidocaryum palms and also with sparse Guadua spp. of bamboo, demonstrating that the bird species occurs in habitats other than those previously described. Stomach contents of six individuals included mostly ants and their eggs, possibly obtained by opening stems of Guadua spp. The high rate of deforestation that characterizes a large part of the range of C. atrogularis could be causing declines in local populations.

Plant invasion: Another threat to the São Paulo Marsh Antwren (Formicivora paludicola), a species on the verge of extinction

During the past 100 years in densely populated south-eastern Brazil, wetlands have been severely transformed due to urbanization, agriculture and mining. The recently discovered São Paulo Marsh Antwren (Formicivora paludicola) is endemic to these wetlands, and is listed as “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN. The species is only found in an area of 1.42 km2, it has a sparse and fragmented distribution, low dispersal capacity, and has probably lost around 300 km2 of habitat in the past 100 years. Furthermore, very little is known about F. paludicola natural history, and so it is difficult to construct a robust conservation plan. Using Kernel home range estimations and the Adjusted-SD/Torus Shift test (a novel tool for animal-habitat association studies), we showed that the species avoids patches of the alien invasive ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium). Given the high density of their population (3.6 mature individuals/ha), F. paludicola could thrive in relatively small areas of suitable wetlands protected from human occupation and water contamination, however special attention should be paid to biological invasions, which may represent a serious threat to the remaining populations. Protecting a few small wetlands used by F. paludicola would be an important step towards general conservation and restoration of Atlantic Forest wetlands and its endemic endangered species.

A taxonomic review of Picumnus exilis (Aves: Picidae) reveals an underestimation of Piculet species diversity in South America

AbstractThe Picumnus exilis complex is composed of 6–7 subspecies distributed from eastern Colombia, through Venezuela, the Guianas, to northern and northeastern Brazil. They are characterized by a greenish back, whitish or yellowish belly (barred or tainted with black), and males with a red and/or orange forehead. Here we review the taxonomy of this complex based on morphometric and plumage characters from a total of 487 specimens that were analyzed. Eighteen plumage characters were found, of which 12 proved to be informative. The results suggest the existence of five valid taxa: Picumnus exilis (Lichtenstein 1823), a Brazilian endemic found near the coasts of Bahia and Sergipe States; Picumnus pernambucensis Zimmer (1947) another Brazilian endemic occurring north of the São Francisco River in the “Pernambuco” Area of Endemism; Picumnus buffonii Lafresnaye (1845) found in the Guiana Shield, east of the Rio Branco and east of the Rio Tocantins on the southern side of the Amazon River; Picumnus undulatus Hargitt (1889) occurring between the Rio Branco, Rio Negro, and Orinoco Rivers, and Picumnus obsoletus Allen (1892) which ranges from the Orinoco Delta north to far northeastern Venezuela. Furthermore, both P. e. salvini Hargitt (1893) and P. nigropunctatus Zimmer and Phelps (1950) proved to be junior synonyms of Picumnus obsoletus Allen (1892). Similarities between the species considered here and other representatives of this genus strongly suggest that the Picumnus exilis complex could also be related to groups of other complexes. This highlights the need for taxonomic reviews to understand the cryptic diversity within the Picumnus genus.ZusammenfassungEine taxonomische Analyse vonPicumnus exilis(Aves: Picidae) zeigt eine Unterschätzung der Artenvielfalt der Zwergspechte in Südamerika Der Picumnus exilis-Artenkomplex besteht aus sechs oder sieben Unterarten, die sich über den Osten Kolumbiens, durch Venezuela, die Guyanas bis hin zum Norden und Nordosten Brasiliens verteilen. Sie zeichnen sich aus durch einen grünlichen Rücken, weißlich bis gelbliche Bauchpartie (durchsetzt mit schwarzen Streifen oder Flecken) und bei Männchen eine rot und/oder orange gefärbte Stirn. Hier untersuchen wir die Taxonomie dieses Artenkomplexes in Bezug auf morphometrische Eigenschaften und Gefiedermerkmale anhand von 487 Exemplaren. Achtzehn Gefiedermerkmale wurden identifiziert, davon waren 12 informativ. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten auf die Existenz von fünf echten Taxa hin: Picumnus exilis (Lichtenstein 1823), eine in Brasilien endemische Art, in den Staaten Bahia und Sergipe in Küstennähe zu finden; Picumnus pernambucensis (Zimmer 1947), ebenfalls in Brasilien endemisch, tritt nördlich des São Francisco Flusses in der “Pernambuco Endemismus Region” auf; Picumnus buffonii (Lafresnaye 1845), zu finden im Hochland von Guyana, östlich des Rio Branco und des Rio Tocantins auf der südlichen Seite des Amazonas; Picumnus undulatus (Hargitt 1889), anzutreffen zwischen dem Rio Branco, Rio Negro und dem Orinoco Fluss; Picumnus obsoletus (Allen 1892), beheimatet vom nördlichen Orinoco Delta bis tief ins nordöstliche Venezuela. Des Weiteren fanden wir, dass sowohl P. e. salvini (Hargitt 1893) als auch P. nigropunctatus (Zimmer and Phelps 1950), juvenile Ausprägungen von Picumnus obsoletus (Allen 1892) waren. Ähnlichkeiten zwischen den Arten, die hier untersucht wurden und anderen Vertretern dieser Gattung deuten stark darauf hin, dass der Picumnus exilis Artenkomplex auch mit anderen Artenkomplexen verwandt sein könnte. Dies unterstreicht die Notwendigkeit weiterer taxonomischer Untersuchungen, um die kryptische Vielfalt der Picumnus-Gattung zu verstehen.