Monique Van Sluys

Influence of tadpole movement on predation by odonate naiads

, N. U. BHUTTEWADKAR, AND C. R. HIREMATH. 1990. Onset of breeding season in some anuran amphibians of Dharwad, Karnataka. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Society 87:156-157. KURIAN, T., AND S. K. SAIDAPUR. 1983. Frequency distribution of cell numbers in the spermatocysts during the annual testicular cycle in the Indian frog Rana tigrina. J. Herpetol. 17:315-319. LOFTS, B. 1984. Reproductive cycles of vertebratesamphibians. In G. E. Lemming (ed.), Marshalls Physiology of Reproduction, pp. 127-205. Churchill Livingstone, London. MIZELL, S. 1965. Seasonal changes in energy reserves in the common frog Rana pipiens. Cell Physiol. 66: 251-258.

Habitat use by marine tucuxis (Sotalia guianensis) (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in Guanabara Bay, south-eastern Brazil

Data on habitat use by marine tucuxis (Sotalia guianensis) were collected in Guanabara Bay (GB), south-eastern Brazil, over a two-year period. Diurnal activities of marine tucuxis were dominated by behaviour related to feeding/foraging (58% of all recorded time). Dolphins spent more time in feeding/foraging activities in the morning with a secondary peak in late afternoon. Dolphins were seen in waters of 2 to 35 m (11.63±6.05; median=12.0). Depths used by S. guianensis groups significantly differed from depths available in GB (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; Z=5.72; P<0.001). Most groups (69.8%) were sighted in depths between 5.1 and 15.0 m. Dolphins occupied an area of 136.9 km 2 , which represents about 42% of the entire water surface of GB. Individuals selected areas within GB and avoided the most degraded ones, which suggests that habitat degradation may affect S. guianensis distribution. Diurnal distances travelled by individuals ranged from 3.3 to 27.2 km in a same day. Dolphins found in main channel and adjacent waters moved along the north-south axis of GB throughout the day and covered distances three times greater than dolphins which concentrated their activities in north-eastern areas.

Whistles of tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis) in Brazil: Comparisons among populations

A quantitative and comparative analysis of the acoustic whistles parameters of tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis) from eight areas in Brazilian waters were conducted. Tucuxi produced mainly upsweep whistles, and despite their similar characteristics to other delphinids, whistles were shorter and less complex in shape. Some signals had fundamental frequency components above 24 kHz, and a broader band system may be useful in further studies concerning tucuxi whistles. The frequency parameters of the whistles had the lowest variation coefficients, whereas the duration and number of inflections had the highest variation coefficients. About 65% of all whistles had common characteristics between study localities, but SF, MinF, MeF, F1/4, F1/2, and F3/4 increased in frequency from southern to northern populations. The magnitude of the whistle characteristics variation was comparatively smaller between adjacent sites areas than between nonadjacent ones. However, for some pairwise comparisons the whistles were more similar between nonadjacent areas than between adjacent ones, indicating that other factors besides genetic and mixing affected tucuxi whistle characteristics. Only a few numbers of whistle variables were significantly different between adjacent areas and the parameter ranges of whistles overlapped, which made it difficult to discriminate whistles between adjacent tucuxi populations.

Environmental Factors Affecting Calling Activity of a Tropical Diurnal Frog (Hylodes phyllodes: Leptodactylidae)

ANANJEVA, N. B., M. E. DILMUCHAMEDOV, AND T. N. MATVEYEVA. 1991. The skin sense organs of some Iguanian lizards. Journal of Herpetology 25:186199. BENTLEY, P. J., AND W F. C. BLUMER. 1962. Uptake of water by the lizard, Moloch horridus. Nature 194: 699-700. BUXTON, P. A. 1923. Animal Life in Deserts. Edward Arnold, London. DIsI, A. M. 1996. A contribution to the knowledge of the herpetofauna of Jordan. IV. The Jordanian herpetofauna as zoogeographic indicator. Herpetozoa 9:71-81. DISI, A. M., AND Z. S. AMR. 1998. Distribution and ecology of lizards in Jordan (Reptilia: Sauria). Faunistische Abhandlungen des Staatlichen Museum fur Tierkunde Dresden 21 (Suppl. 1998):43-66. DISI, A. M., D. MODRY, P. NECAS, AND L. RIFAI. 2001. Amphibians and Reptiles of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. An Atlas and Field Guide. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. GANS, C., R. MERLIN, AND W. E C. BLUMER. 1982. The water-collecting mechanism of Moloch horridus reexamined. Amphibia-Reptilia 3:57-64. JOGER, U. 1991. A molecular phylogeny of agamid lizards. Copeia 1991:616-622. PETERSON, C. C. 1998. Rain-harvesting behavior by a free-ranging desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos). Southwestern Naturalist 43:391-394. SCHWENK, K., AND H. W GREENE. 1987. Water collection and drinking in Phrynocephalus helioscopus: a possible condensation mechanism. Journal of Herpetology 21:134-139 SHERBROOKE, W C. 1981. Horned Lizards: Unique Reptiles of Western North America. Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, Globe, AZ . 1990. Rain-harvesting in the lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum: behavior and integumental morphology. Journal of Herpetology 24:302-308. . 1991. Behavioral (predator-prey) interactions of captive grasshopper mice (Onychomys torridus) and horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum and P modestum). American Midland Naturalist 126:187195. . 1993. Rain-drinking behaviors of the Australian thorny devil (Sauria: Agamidae). Journal of Herpetology 27:270-273. STEWARD, G., AND P. DANIEL. 1975. Microornamentation of lizard scales: variation and taxonomic correlations. Herpetologica 31:425-428 WITHERS, P. 1993. Cutaneous water acquisition by the thorny devil (Moloch horridus: Agamidae). Journal of Herpetology 27:265-270.

The reproductive cycle of Tropidurus itambere (Sauria: Tropiduridae) in southeastern Brazil

The reproductive cycle of the lizard Tropidurus itambere was studied in an open area near Campinas, Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. Females had vitellogenic follicles or oviductal eggs only during the wet season, whereas males had large testes with spermatozoa throughout the year. Hatchlings were found from the height of the rainy season to its end (January to May). Mean growth rate was inversely related to snout-vent length. Juveniles from eggs laid at the beginning of the rainy season could potentially have reproduced in the first wet season after they hatched

Parasitism by Helminths in Eurolophosaurus nanuzae (Lacertilia: Tropiduridae) in an Area of Rocky Outcrops in Minas Gerais State, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract We studied the helminth fauna of the digestive tract of the lizard, Eurolophosaurus nanuzae, from the Serra do Cipo, Minas Gerais State, Brazil and tested for sexual, ontogenetic, and seasonal differences in prevalence (proportion of infected individuals) and intensity of infection (number of parasites per host). We also analyzed the distribution patterns of the helminths along the digestive tract of E. nanuzae. We found the nematodes Physaloptera lutzi, Subulura lacertilia, Parapharyngodon sceleratus, and Strongyluris oscari and the cestode Oochoristica vanzolinii. Males and females differed in prevalence for P. lutzi, S. lacertilian, and O. vanzolinii. None of the helminth species differed in intensity of infection between sexes. Prevalence was significantly higher in adults than in juveniles for P. lutzi and S. lacertila; however, this difference was not observed for P. sceleratus. Only adults were infected by S. oscari and O. vanzolinii. Intensity of infection increased with lizard body size ...

Growth and Body Condition of the Saxicolous Lizard Tropidurus itambere in Southeastern Brazil

I studied the growth of Tropidurus itambere in an outcrop formation in Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. I noosed lizards monthly from February 1993 to January 1995. Growth rate estimates were based on sizes (snout-vent length) of lizards recaptured within 25 to 40-day intervals. Male T: itambere grew faster (x = 0.15 mm/day) than females (x = 0.11 mm/day; ANCOVA, P < 0.01) and this difference may account for the sexual dimorphism observed in this species. There was no significant difference in size- independent growth rates between lizards with intact tails and those which lost their tails, suggesting that the energetic costs of tail loss and regeneration are not high enough to affect growth in this species. Female growth rates were not significantly affected by temperature, arthropod availability, or reproduction, but the overall effect of these variables significantly affected male growth rates. Arthropod biomass affected only female body condition. Age at maturity for males and females was approximately 150 and 180 days, respec- tively.

Herpetofauna of an Atlantic rainforest area (Morro São João) in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

We studied the herpetofaunal community from the Atlantic forest of Morro São João, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and present data on species composition, richness, relative abundance and densities. We combined three sampling methods: plot sampling, visual encounter surveys and pit-fall traps. We recorded sixteen species of amphibians and nine of reptiles. The estimated densities (based on results of plot sampling) were 4.5 ind/100 m2 for amphibians and 0.8 ind/100 m2 for lizards, and the overall density (amphibians and lizards) was 5.3 ind/100 m2. For amphibians, Eleutherodactylus and Scinax were the most speciose genera with three species each, and Eleutherodactylus binotatus was the most abundant species (mean density of 3.0 frogs/100 m2). The reptile community of Morro São João was dominated by species of the families Gekkonidae and Gymnophtalmidae (Lacertilia) and Colubridae (Serpentes). The gymnophtalmid lizard Leposoma scincoides was the most abundant reptile species (mean density of 0.3 ind/100 m2). We compare densities obtained in our study data with those of other studied rainforest sites in various tropical regions of the world.

Feeding Ecology of Thoropa miliaris (Anura, Cycloramphidae) in Four Areas of Atlantic Rain Forest, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract We analyzed the feeding ecology of four Thoropa miliaris (Anura, Cycloramphidae) populations from the Atlantic Rain Forest in Brazil. The diet was composed mostly of invertebrates, especially ants, beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and spiders. Plant consumption was considered incidental because of its low frequency. Ants were the most frequent (range 70–100%) and numerous (range 54.9–63.8%) dietary items. In terms of volume, ants were the principal item at two localities (26.1% and 47.6%), being also important items for the other two areas (19.3% and 21.9%). Grasshoppers (20.1%) and beetles (22.8%) had the largest volume for two populations. There was a significant relationship of prey size and volume with frog jaw width in three of the four areas. Only in one area was this relationship not found, probably because of the high frequency with which small ants and termites were ingested. Many of the dominant prey taxa of T. miliaris were similar to those of other rain-forest frogs.

Human-induced injuries to marine tucuxis ( Sotalia guianensis ) (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in Brazil

alexandre f. azevedo, jose lailson-brito, paulo r. dorneles, monique van sluys, hayde e a. cunha and ana b.l. fragoso Laboratorio de Mamiferos Aquaticos (MAQUA), Faculdade de Oceanografia, UERJ, Rua Sao Francisco Xavier 524, Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, 20550-013, Brazil, Laboratorio de Radioisotopos, UFRJ, Brazil, PPGEE/IBRAG, Departamento de Ecologia, UERJ, Brazil, Laboratorio de Biodiversidade Molecular, UFRJ, Brazil